EEVIAC

VINYL FORMAT. Coming up with one of their tightest and most listenable albums to date, Man or Astro-man? apply their hard-driving, sci-fi surf-rock to something of a concept album on EEVIAC (full title: EEVIAC: Operational Index and Reference Guide, Including Other Modern Computational Devices). The exact nature of that concept is difficult to decipher -- something about an alien supercomputer and an obsession with technical jargon -- but what matters more is that the group has continued to expand its sound, using more electronic effects and de-emphasizing kitschy samples in favor of their own, electronically altered vocals. There are even a few numbers that recall the punky, amphetamine-fueled guitar-pop of early British new wave; the jams -- although still providing a few meandering moments -- generally create fleshed-out soundscapes. One of the group's better albums. -allmusic.com