It takes less than thirty seconds to size up the Aliens and their peripatetic ways: "Setting Sun" nods shamelessly to both XTC and "All Along the Watchtower," using the mathematics of influence to make something instantly memorable--but still super-referential. Therein lies a slight problem for these once-Beta Band mainstays. Yes, this might well be considered a remnant project from the Beta Band, defunct since 2005. They reprise straight-up disco beats, make numerous declarative exclamations ("I am the robot man" and "I am the unknown" and, twice, "We are the aliens"), blow plaintive harmonica, and sing forlornly about love and the wide, wide world. This is a psychedelic manifesto of sorts, extending the Beta's languidly trippy sphere of influence and then adding to it without seeking acclaim for having done so. Chanted vocals, polyrhythmic backdrops, and angle-bending keyboards make the Aliens otherworldly, smudging the spot where you'd place them in the post-punk's history.--Andrew Bartlett