Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

A few years ago, during the first incarnation of this web site, I reviewed an album called "TV for Dogs," and I recall liking the disc. Based on nothing more than that, I grabbed a CD entitled Astronomy for Dogs, for review. After all, dogs are good, right?

As far as such random pick-ups go, Astronomy for Dogs rates pretty well. The band responsible for this set, The Aliens, features three of the orginal members of "The Beta Band," and like that outfit, they’ve got a thing for self-indulgent jams, and a knack for putting a psychedelic twist on their well-developed appreciation for the music of the 60s and 70s. That fact cuts in both directions, as it’s fun listening through and identifying which classic band The Aliens are paying tribute to at any given moment. However, it also robs the disc of any individuality, any stamp of, ok, this is what The Aliens are all about.

Frankly, the more I listen to this disc with an ear out for the purposes of writing a review, the more I find to complain about. It’s a occupational hazard as a reviewer, I guess, but during the first few, get to know the disc spins, I was able to enjoy on a, "wow, this is an absurdly catchy CD" level. Those first few times around, the questionable funk of Robot Man was down and dirty fun, and I had no problems with the fact that the "I am the Robot Man," chorus was recycled on the track, Rox. I really didn’t mind that the opener, Setting Sun, was overstuffed with a self-indulgence that seems to be a hallmark of The Aliens, because I was just exulting in the CS&N harmonies and the California-rock vibes being sent out by the song. The fact that The Beatles influence is represented here there and everywhere on the disc? Not a problem, because The Beatles kick ass, and for all the bands that have tried to recreate their style over the past 40 years, The Aliens, give them a run for their money with the song, Tomorrow.

For all that, there are some darn fun tunes on this disc. The album’s best stretch comes on tracks 6-8, starting with the "Steve Miller Band"-drenched Only Waiting. She Don’t Love Me No More brings a bit of melancholy to the proceedings, with a plaintive violin adding a tragic-sounding note. Glover immediately puts the bounce back in the disc, even if the lyrics tell an entirely different story, "They come into your life/then they walk away," and "Forget that girl/She’s only gonna bring you down." It sounds like the songwriter’s been burned a few times. Amusing touches include the kazoo, and the spoken phrase, "What are you gonna do when it’s game over then?" in a song where the choruses are replete with sound effects lifted from the old Atari game, "Defender." The video game noises, on top on everything else, lifts Glover, to the top of the Astronomy for Dogs, heap, despite the depressing, "Did you really love her all that much, anyway?/I don’t think so," take-away message.

The disc crashes to an end shortly thereafter, but not until subjecting the listener to the ridiculous, The Happy Song. It’s catchy, I can’t deny them that, and there are nods to the California surf rock of the Beach Boys thrown in there, but the novelty of the "Happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, you wanna be happy!" wears off all too quickly, leaving a horribly annoying taste behind. For what it’s worth, the word happy is used at least 100 times in the song. I lost count.

Bottom line, this is a disc that I’ll be spinning from time to time when I need a pick up, or when I’m in the mood for a little classic rock distilled through a circa 2007 filter. It’s just that Astronomy for Dogs, isn’t a disc that should be analyzed too closely, lest you can’t get the thought that you’ve heard it all before out of your head.