Over a decade after they graced the world with A Spectrum of Infinite Scale, space-age surf rockers Man or Astro-Man? make their return to Earth with their ninth album, Defcon 5…4…3…2…1. Though their sound still retains a lot of the shadowy surf touches that longtime fans will be familiar with, the album finds the band going in more rockin' direction. A more rock-focused album than their earlier retro-futuristic explorations, Defcon has a heftier sound to it, making it a bit of a shock to the system on the initial listen. In the absence of the non-stop energy, however, is something darker and more ominous. Like the title implies, the album always feels as though it's counting down, building in tension with each of the "Defcon" tracks before finally culminating in the explosive surf rock of "Defcon 1," a track that feels like classic Man or Astro-Man?. Although Defcon 5…4…3…2…1 feels like a more terrestrial album than any of their previous outings, it feels like a logical piece of their evolution. Where their other albums felt powered by the wonder of scientific idealism, Defcon mines the feeling of impending doom and anxiety that begins to grow once that idealism is weaponized. At the end of the day, Defcon 5…4…3…2…1 might not be Man or Astro-Man?'s most fun record, but given how much the world has changed in the band's absence, it definitely feels like their most timely and topical record to date.