Experiment Zero

Man Or Astro-Man?: Star Crunch (guitar, synthesizer, lap steel, Moog synthesizer, vocals); Coco The Electronic Monkey Wizard (bass, synthesizer, Theremin, samples); Birdstuff (drums); Dexter X-Man From Planet Q.
Recorded at Zero Return Sound Center, Wetumpka, Alabama on January 5-7, 1996.
As born-again surf rockers, Man Or Astro-Man? bring back the frothy, metallic tones of the eternal Telecaster guitar. They also throw in spoken-word sound clips, which act as the ambient accompaniment to their trebly surf-rock sound. The result, EXPERIMENT ZERO, is full of truly adventurous guitar-sample sculptures.
In the middle of this instrumental feast, the band covers the Talking Heads' "Television Man," shedding light on their appreciation for Martian flicks. Man Or Astro-Man?'s gleeful retro approach is reminiscent of when guitar instrumentals beckoned the ultimate wave and the final frontier.
How do they do it? After what seems like a million EPs and a number of full-lengths under their belt, one would think that Man or Astro-man? would either run out of material or at least develop a severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome. But with Experiment Zero, they prove that a band can stay one step ahead of everyone as long as they're not shy about covering new ground. Sure, this could have been another surf record that mimics the style of the Ventures or Dick Dale, but Man or Astro-man? always add their own unique brand of wacked-out science fiction and off the wall playfulness. With that mentality, Man or Astro-man? continue to manage to stray away from adjectives such as "generic" or "carbon copy" with Experiment Zero. ~ Mike DaRonco