There's a distinct absence of wildlife or astronauts on Lowell electronica quartet Bearstronaut's latest release. But their name is not total nonsense — it's actually a fitting description of their sonic approach, which combines groove-heavy dance pop and noisy punk rock.
And whereas a bear helming a spacecraft would go over as well as a fart in a spacesuit, Bearstronaut pull off their particular trick quite well. The housey bass line on "Shere Khan" sounds right at home among the speedy tempos and brackish guitar riffs, and on "Pink Ladies and Sassy Babies," frontman Dave Martineau's distorted vocals about punching holes in the ceiling pump up the intensity while synths dance in the background.
In other words, it's kind of amazing — it could put bears on the moon.
