Man or Astro-man?

Beaming down to our humble planet during the retro surf revival of the early ’90s, Man or Astro-man? gifted humankind with hyperactive guitar riffs, kitsch sci-fi, lo-fi instrumentals and spacey garage rock. What better way to drink into the night than with the return of MOAM? After over a decade, they landed a new recording last year, the ripping album Defcon 5…4…3…2…1. Sound wizard Steve Albini, who has manned the boards on a couple of earlier albums, produced the latest one, and it bloody rocks. During this century, they’ve done sporadic gigs, and now the band is back on the road with harder-edged, propulsive rock without diluting their signature surf backdrop. Along with a slew of albums, they’ve also composed numerous bits of film and soundtrack work, including compositions for Nickelodeon and The Cartoon Network. They will perform on Saturday, April 26 at the Visulite Theater in Charlotte. www.visulite.com.

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