Somewhere between "Girlfriend"-era Matthew
Sweet and Iron Butterfly lives American Cosmonaut. Their three-song EP Speed Is King
features tunes that, while hookish, clearly show the bands’ interest in the darker
side of the 60’s. Their sound is heavy and psychedelic with a gloss of pop over the
top, but not enough to make it sweet. Rather, AC chooses to take things farther out, with
shades of Moog and Theremin, than to swing for the airwaves with a more Beatle-esque
sound. Lead vocalist/guitarist Adam Thompson has a drawn-out, sneering delivery that suits
the material presented here very well. While all three tunes are decent and fun to listen
to, it is on the closing track, "Carnival Ride," that the group really stretches
out and achieves their stated goal of "space rock." The tune is rocking, trippy,
and catchy all at once and is the high point of the disc.
Three songs is not an awful lot of material on which to judge a band or artist, but,
based on Speed Is King, American Cosmonaut seems to have a good handle on the
sound they are pursuing. They are mining territory that is often flown over on the way to
the more common Fab Four 60’s influence, but is just as classic and timeless. Until
they have a full-length release to inhale, Speed Is King is a good place to tune
in and turn on.
