Alien Stadium - Livin' In Elizabethan Times

It’s always great when artists get to muck around and take on collaborative projects. Alien Stadium is the melding of Steve Mason and Primal Scream’s Martin Duffy, with Livin’ In Elizabethan Times their lovechild EP.

There is a distinct theme over the four tracks; a wacky, alternative pop from outer-space. The music itself is triumphant, while the lyrics are foreboding. If you don’t sense them lambasting the human race on ‘This One’s For The Humans’ then you’ll certainly pick up on it as a Dalek-esque voice reels off an amusing list of our failings as a species, followed by the gleeful demand of “Die, Die, Die”.

None of the tracks fall under six minutes, which, if you don’t fall in love for the quirky, firework keyboards, can make it seem a little flabby. Sure, they’re enjoying themselves all the way, but you might not be. Somewhere between a David Bowie space odyssey and a Yellow Submarine trip, you might find yourself lost at times - maybe that’s the feeling they’re after?

‘The Moon Is Not Your Friend’ could be carved into a fantastic pop song if it weren’t so damn long. Tooting trumpets and twittering synth eventually give way to a jungle cacophony of noise for the final minute or so, leaving you unsure what track you’re now on (a similar thing happens on the final track too).

A nice little bit of British space-pop that, on the one hand, you’re glad they didn’t try to spin out into an album for the sake of it, but on the other hand, you wish they’d have broken up and made more of. These conflicting views don’t leave you wishing to come back for many repeat listenings, but do leave you wanting some more, self-edited fun from an alien perspective.