Released into an apparent vacuum of critical and audience interest,
Blastronaut proved to be the Lee Harvey Oswald Band's swan song. Once again Touch & Go was a step ahead of the industry in releasing the album -- a true glam rock & roll stomper -- at a particularly rock-hostile moment in time. Combining the fashion sense of
the New York Dolls, the vocal style of alien-era
David Bowie, and some grinding guitar work a la
Johnny Thunders,
Blastronaut rocks out from the opening notes until the final fade out. "Surrender Earthlings" could have been a track that got left off the
Ziggy Stardust album for being too sludgy. And their cover of the Move's "Brontosaurus" is a welcome surprise. As a follow-up to the excellent yet slightly inconsistent
Taste of Prison,
Blastronaut is 36 minutes of triumphant rock & roll. ~ Alex Zorn