After the Astronaut

AMG Review of After the Astronaut

Greg Prato
All Music Guide

When compared to past albums like Rembrandt Pussyhorse and Independent Worm Saloon, the Butthole Surfers' After the Astronaut is rather tame. There's been a total change stylistically -- gone are the days of puzzling demented humor, real drums (almost the entire album features a beat box or drum machine of some sort), and shockingly over-the-top performances. Wildman Gibby Haynes used to have a singing style all his own, with distortion and other effects added to his voice, but now he seems to be caught in a rut, sounding uncannily like John Lydon at times ("Jet Fighter" and "Venus"). And there's also a shortage of material that leaves any sort of long-lasting impression. The band seems to be obsessed with water-related sound effects, used on "Yentel," "Mexico," and "I Don't Have a Problem." The only standout tracks on the album are the stiff and geeky "Intelligent Guy," and the album closer "Turkey & Dressing," which is the only song in which the band can muster up enough energy to almost match past spirited performances. Hopefully, this once-great cutting-edge band will wake up from their lackadaisical hibernation and make music that matters. [This album went unreleased when critical and label reception was unanimously negative, and Weird Revolution eventually came out in this album's place]