It’s always nice to lay off the critical glasses and enjoy some well made pop that all can relate to and I’ve been doing that for the last week. True, authenticity is very important for a critic but it’s not easy to listen to challenging music all the time, and when you consider that the half-life of pop groups are about 1 or at most 2 albums before they start producing crap and this puts you in a constant demand for relevant pop music.

Astronauts of Antiquity’s Rocket Science for Dummies is precisely that, an above average downtempo/pop/jazz album with inspired songwriting, mellow vibes and good musicianship. Think of Morcheeba’s first 2-3 albums or Zero 7’s debut, Lamb or Thievery Corporation and you’ll be prepared for what the Astronauts are gonna bring to the table. Yes, it’s the tried and tested formula but it doesn’t change the fact that “Rocket Science” is a solid effort with more than a few tracks that you can hum to, and when you got half of the world trying to create the most ironic/viral/noisy whatever tunes in the post-music era, you never know when you might need to hum. 3.5/5