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Man or Astro-man? — ROYGBIV (Recordings from the BBC)
(Bandcamp Chunklet Industries CHK7100, 2000/2024, 9x7" / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2025-01-20

ROYGBIV (Recordings from the BBC) Cover art

It seems kind of strange that we’ve never before covered a release by Man or Astro-man? here at Exposé, but we’re about to rectify that lapse. For those unfamiliar with them, the group started in the early 90s in Alabama, mashing up the sounds of classic surf rock with snippets of old movies and TV shows, primarily science fiction. The result is an infectious Mystery Science Theater 3000 vibe that gathered many fans, prominent among them British DJ John Peel. Between 1993 and 2000, Peel had the band on his show six times, and they also played on other BBC Radio shows as well, a total of 12 different sessions. This set compiles together all of those BBC sessions. That’s more than 30 tracks, available in a box set of 7” singles or as a download. (The title stands for the colors of the singles: Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet.) The box set version is probably best for collectors of the band’s releases — for more casual music fans, the download provides a wealth of fun music that’s hard to resist. Titles like “Rocketship SL-3,” “Invasion of the Dragonmen,” Nitrous Burnout,” “Transmissions from Venus,” and “A Mouthful of Exhaust” set the mood for high-energy tunes full of twanging guitars and throbbing drums, with only occasional vocals. They indulge in some humorous musical play as well, pairing their tune “Inside the Atom” with a new tune called “Inside the Head of Mr. John Peel.” It’s hard to pick favorites here, with so many gems to choose from. Suffice it to say that if you’re into surf rock and don’t already have this band in your library, you should definitely seek it out, and if you’re already a fan, hopefully you got your copy, since the box set version is sold out. There is a scaled down version with seven of the singles still available as of this writing.


Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases, 2000 recordings

Related artist(s): Man or Astro-man?

More info
http://chunklet.bandcamp.com/album/roygbiv-recordings-from-the-bbc

 

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