The Astrobastards are three guys based out of Bridgewater, Ma. With a name like The Astrobastards there really is no telling what to expect, although the Bridgewater, Ma part didn’t have me bracing for bone crunching riffs and gargling-with-gravel vocals – all of which can be quite satisfying if done right and a horrible parody of itself when done wrong. Thankfully The Astrobastards are neither of these. With their album release “Die Nameless,” you get a strong sense of where they’re coming from and where they are going as they develop as a band.
The opening song “Hippycrite” starts off with a solo guitar riff that is quick and busy, before the rest of the band joins in with guitar, bass, and drum crashes reminiscent of the Who. Add to that the multi-harmony “ooooo’s” that accompany this and you understand that these guys are not afraid to draw from the gamut of what is permissible in rock, even though punk is primarily their bread and butter.
Stream the whole album here:
But what kind of punk? Songs like “Hippycrite,” Space Madness,” and “Tribbles on the Bridge” have that early Replacements sound off “Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash” – purposely thrashy and loud, as if more emphasis were put on the kick and snare so you’d feel it in your chest. The guitars are distorted enough to still play open chords and the vocals sound close enough to Westerberg’s that I’d bet they could pull off an incredible cover.
But with the entirety of the annals of Indie rock and Punk at their disposal, The Astrobastards aren’t content to stick to one niche, or maybe tempo is a better word. “Vampire Cavemen” is a slow and drudgy number. The guitars are thicker and more distorted and the singer sounds like he’s screaming through gritted teeth, but before you chalk any of this up to angst you’ll probably notice a pattern which you should’ve been expecting: sci-fi. Duh! It’s in their name “Astro.”
When they are not singing about StarTrek and monsters, their lyrics are still very tongue-in-cheek and irreverent. In this respect, they remind me a lot of the Dead Milkmen. Musically, similarities exist as well in songs like “Eye of the Hawk” and “Chain Fight – Smoothie Day” with the light distortion and guitar riffs that use many two-stringed chords that teeter the line between chords and melody.
Songs like “My Brain” and “Coral Reefer Madness” show how these guys are willing to reach even farther back into rock for inspiration; I’m referring to the Beach boys. The folk-rock and vocal harmonizing are well done. At the same time “Carrier Pigeon” gives you a good idea of where they could comfortably center themselves for widespread mass appeal. It’s point between the Pixies and Weezer. Prime real estate, really, and these guys would have no trouble claiming it.
