Astrosoniq is a Spacerock group from the Dutch metropolis of Oss. And they have never released anything really interesting to date in my opinion. Inspired by probably Black Sabbath and early Monster Magnet, the music released upto now wasn't very exciting. The pride of Oss is quite a exciting live band though, I quite enjoyed their live performance at the Roadburn festival last year. A good stoner album has riffs that slowly lift you out of your seat before hitting the roof, leaving you with a neat scar on your head. And now that Astrosoniq's new baby has been born, it's time to check our heads and take a seat.

 

First of all, 'Speeder People' is Astrosoniq's best album so far. It's tiny journey through thirteen songs is actually quite entertaining. Even though I will never be a fan of the vocal parts, the music is better. I must warn people who don't like Hawkwindish "million soundeffects per second" approach. Warning: Astrosoniq has a "million soundeffects per second approach! If you can stand it, you are served with a dreamy trippy album bulking with atmosphere and led-heavy riffs.

 

But the real fun starts when you notice the outer influences, there's metal. There's your unexpected hip-hop sample. But the one and only real treat is served through the creepy jazz song "Lonely woman", a very, very weird combination of female jazz vocals and doom metal music. Quite a succesfull expiriment. However, one could argue that it's too successfull for Astrosoniq. As it's such a cool song, it exceeds all the other material on 'Speeder People'. Maybe hooking up with this singer for a Jazz/Doom sideproject is a suggestion?

 

All in all it's Astrosoniq's best so far. It's a very decent Stoner/Space album that'll keep you entertained on long and boring rides in public transit. Ignoring the silly lyrics ("I hit the road so hard it hit back again") or the fact that the bio claims that "the song's the center point" in their music (which I disagree on, the sound and the atmosphere dominate the song material), it's one of the more entertaining albums of the month.