Warehouse Stock Clearance Sale

Grab a bargain today!


YOU'D PREFER AN ASTRONAUT
By

Rating

Product Description
Product Details
Performer Notes
  • Hum: Matt Talbott (guitar, vocals); Tim Lash (guitar); Jeff Dimpsey (bass); Bryan St. Pere (drums).
  • Engineers: Keith Cleversley (tracks 1-4, 6-9); Adam Schmitt (track 5).
  • Recorded at Playground, Chicago, Illinois and Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, Minnesota.
  • All songs written by Hum.
  • Hum's sound is a tasteful musical hybrid of the era's most aggressive guitar textures--the shimmering heaviness of My Bloody Valentine and Swervedriver, and the detached deadpan of Dinosaur Jr. and Smashing Pumpkins. And though Hum's tough guitar knots clench and clamor, the songwriting adds a rare sensitivity that contrasts the six-string muscle.
  • "And so I give myself away/to everybody every day," is the declaration on "Suicidal Machine," an aching mix of hushed guitar and distant snare drums. "And so I give myself to you/and you need it more than I do...with just a whisper/I'm lonelier than God." Hum's vulnerability and intelligence shines through the slamming riffs and aggressive rhythm section. The guitar in "The Very Old Man" sounds more like a banjo, and the acoustic break of "The Pod" brings an eerie intimacy to the song's female character who "begs me to pick from a hundred ways to feel no pain..."
  • YOU'D PREFER AN ASTRONAUT is a look into a wounded yet insightful era of pop where the dissatisfaction is on the sleeve, but the reaction is from the heart.
  • After stirring up a substantial buzz in the indie, art rock, and hardcore undergrounds with the angular, excellent ELECTRA 2000, Hum stepped up to the majors in 1995 with YOU'D PREFER AN ASTRONAUT. While the album contains more hooks, most notably the gargantuan guitar riff of "Stars," a sizable modern rock hit, it loses none of the intricately interlaced rhythms, moodiness, and overlapping, inflamed guitars that made its predecessor such a find. From the perpetual drone of "The Pod" to the hypnotic melancholia of "Suicide Machine" to the borderline-Baroque balladry of "The Very Old Man," Hum create an elegant form of chaos and ASTRONAUT is one of the more beguiling slices of `90s angst rock.
Professional Reviews
Alternative Press (8/95, pp.89-90) - "...They mix crunching, heavy, almost metallic guitars in their atmospheric fuzz with rare energy....Hum reach a magnetic balance betweeen fuzzy ambience and hard guitars on YOU'D PREFER AN ASTRONAUT. Far out."

Option (9-10/95, pp.114-115) - "...Hum have mastered the art of feedback, turning seemingly garbled noise into power pop ditties, all of which make YOU'D PREFER AN ASTRONAUT an engaging excursion into the intense realm of hi-energy psychedelia..."

Melody Maker (5/4/96, p.55) - "...`Why I Like Robins' and `I'd Like Your Hair Long,' like `Jurassic Park,' resurrect Dinosaurs. Jr ones, naturally, but with a still clear voice from the Pavement's edge, and lyrics decanted from the Beck stream of conciousness..."
Ask a Question About this Product More...
 
Look for similar items by category
How Fishpond Works
Fishpond works with suppliers all over the world to bring you a huge selection of products, really great prices, and delivery included on over 25 million products that we sell. We do our best every day to make Fishpond an awesome place for customers to shop and get what they want — all at the best prices online.
Webmasters, Bloggers & Website Owners
You can earn a 8% commission by selling YOU'D PREFER AN ASTRONAUT on your website. It's easy to get started - we will give you example code. After you're set-up, your website can earn you money while you work, play or even sleep! You should start right now!
Authors / Publishers
Are you the Author or Publisher of a book? Or the manufacturer of one of the millions of products that we sell. You can improve sales and grow your revenue by submitting additional information on this title. The better the information we have about a product, the more we will sell!
Item ships from and is sold by Fishpond World Ltd.

Back to top