Description:
It takes less than thirty seconds to size up the Aliens and their peripatetic ways: "Setting Sun" nods shamelessly to both XTC and "All Along the Watchtower," using the mathematics of influence to make something instantly memorable--but still super-referential. Therein lies a slight problem for these once-Beta Band mainstays. Yes, this might well be considered a remnant project from the Beta Band, defunct since 2005. They reprise straight-up disco beats, make numerous declarative exclamations ("I am the robot man" and "I am the unknown" and, twice, "We are the aliens"), blow pla
It takes less than thirty seconds to size up the Aliens and their peripatetic ways: "Setting Sun" nods shamelessly to both XTC and "All Along the Watchtower," using the mathematics of influence to make something instantly memorable--but still super-referential. Therein lies a slight problem for these once-Beta Band mainstays. Yes, this might well be considered a remnant project from the Beta Band, defunct since 2005. They reprise straight-up disco beats, make numerous declarative exclamations ("I am the robot man" and "I am the unknown" and, twice, "We are the aliens"), blow plaintive harmonica, and sing forlornly about love and the wide, wide world. This is a psychedelic manifesto of sorts, extending the Beta's languidly trippy sphere of influence and then adding to it without seeking acclaim for having done so. Chanted vocals, polyrhythmic backdrops, and angle-bending keyboards make the Aliens otherworldly, smudging the spot where you'd place them in the post-punk's history. --Andrew Bartlett
Album Description
The Aliens have landed! Astronomy For Dogs sees former Beta Band members Gordon Anderson (aka Lone Pigeon), John Maclean and Robin Jones reunite for a fantastically eclectic debut album. It's epic, it's Psychedelic, it's Pop. It's gloriously over-the-top but also sharply on-the-money. This cosmically ambitious record begins with the organ-led Pop swagger of 'Setting Sun' and motors straight into 'Robot Man' (sounds like the superfunk jazzerama sound of Sly Stone meeting Steely Dan), and Astronomy For Dogs doesn't let up. Thrill to the Garage Rock shimmy and shake - imagine The Velvet Underground gone Funk - of 'Only Waiting'. Jump around to the Merseybeat charm of 'Glover'. And on it goes, this album that's set its controls for the heart of the sun, and for the sunny side of your heart (and sometimes the rainy side, too). 'The Happy Song' is, irrepressibly, irresistibly, just that. EMI. 2007.
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Manufacturer: Astralwerks
Release date: 19 June 2007
EAN: 0094639052325 UPC: 094639052325
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