Spoozys - Existence of Super Earth
First of all, we would like to apologize for being behind on the podcasts. Our captain must maintain his earthling cover while infiltrating and hence has been submerged in your Earth college tradition of writing term papers.
In the meantime, we have decided to explore further the touch of the Plastics on the Tokyo Neo-New Wave scene, and we just happened to have received a recent delivery with The Spoozys debut album, the 1998 Existence of Super Earth. Unfortunately, we do not have the antiquated technology necessary to make a two-dimensional "scan" of the cover image and all Drexzor turned up in his searches on the web were tiny images. Hence, you get the above image of the Spoozys in full-gear (they often started their shows in these outfits and, typically, lost the helmets after a bit.)
Having only been familiar with Astral Astronauts and the Astro '99 EP, we were surprised to hear the sounds on this disc. The Plastics influence is obvious at first listen. The jangly guitars, the synthesizer sounds, all a bit reminiscent of this band's forefathers/mothers. However, there is a touch more of surf-style guitar found here. Furthermore, this album is a bit "unpolished" as opposed to the later works and it really gives a sense of how the band developed over the course of time.
The band had a lot of buzz with their U.S. release of Astral Astronauts, but this quickly faded. So quickly, in fact, that their third album 'CE-III' is almost impossible to find. (if anyone has a copy, PLEASE send us a rip or a link to a reputable seller who will ship to the U.S.).
Spoozys are often compared to the U.S. surf-sci-fi-rock band Man or Astroman?. The fact that Spoozys toured with MOA after Astral Astronauts was released probably helps to strengthen this connection. While this is understandable to some degree, it is worth noting a significant difference. MOA are, at their heart, a straight-up surf-rock band that utilizes some cool sci-fi samples in their songs. With the exception of MOA's A Spectrum of Infinite Scale and perhaps some of the disappointing Eeviac, MOA always seemed happy to let their guitars do the talking. Spoozys do a nice job of mixing in synths with their guitars, with an interesting and satisfying experience being the result of their sonic concoctions. None of this is meant to detract from MOA or really to state one band is better than the other, but simply to note that the comparison oft made is not exactly apt.
Astral Astronauts is a great album. It mixes the eccentric blips and beeps found on this disc with a tighter song structure and higher production values. That said, we actually are digging this album a bit more than its predecessor. The experimentation with vocal effects, the pure sci-fi theme running throughout the album, everything about it just sparks interest a bit more than the later releases. It is interesting to note the similarities in sound between Spoozys and their contemporaries such as P-Model and Polysics. While Spoozys (apparently) have disappeared, it really establishes that there was a lot of innovation taking place in the late 90s in Tokyo. We may also put up the Spoozys remix of a Polysics tune "Which!" off of the 6-D album later this week. Until then, enjoy the Surf Space Invaders From Out of Space sound of the Spoozys!
(This post meets FDA standards for providing 100% of your recommended daily alliteration.)
Track Listing:
1.Cone Shape U.F.O.
2. Can Computers Have a Mind?
3. Invasion of the Flying Saucer
4. Pets
5. Alien Have the Ability to Aerobi
6. Space Man
7. Human Cyborg Relation
8. Space Biosphere Ventures
9. Spoozys Theme
10. The Man With The X-Ray Eyes
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