It looks like a collection of just about every variety of shape, angularity and granularity, about every variety of rock you could find," says an anonymous voice near the end of the latest album from Alabama's Man or Astro-Man? That's what you call truth in advertising: Just as the Cramps whipped up rockabilly with B-movie iconography, Man or Astro-Man? take all sorts of surf instrumentals, '60s garage rock, screwball science fiction and film-dialogue clips, and send them through enough feedback and guitar distortion to create their own monster. For the most part, Made From Technetium continues the Man or Astro-Man? tradition of making dexterous instrumental music for the Space Age. "Muzak for Cybernetics" puts an airraid siren over a pummeling beat, while "Weightless at Zero Return" sounds like the Batman theme lifted into orbit. Technetium's biggest surprise is "Lo Batt," a churning punkrock tune with actual vocals. The rest is typical Man or Astro-Man? fare – which is still plenty out-there for us earthlings. (RS 769)

ROB O'CONNOR