Rust 5 The Rusty Robot Birds of Becket
This is a write up of the latest Tim Mungenast & Astro Al album, Rust 5 The Rusty Robot Birds of Becket
Rust 5 is here
This album was mostly recorded in Becket MA.
Becket MA has an old query that has been converted into a park.
The park is filled with rusted out broken machinery and for some unknown reason an empty shipping container,
This place is the perfect backdrop for us to create the sounds of rust.
1. Scene 24 With Bells 5:18 - A mostly instrumental track to welcome you into the rusted madness. Bells upon bells. This was from the May 2023 session. Some gorgeous guitar by Tim on this one.
2. No More Robot Kings 6:04 -This track was recorded during the No Kings protest. We drove by many demonstrators and it was thrilling and inspiring to see them.
Fascism is decay. This was from the 2025 session. Some nice cigar box guitar playing from DNA Girl.
3. Tap Tap/Ding Ding 5:46- From the May 2023 recording session. Lots of bashing upon rusted out equipment. More tasty Tim guitar.
4. Robo-Skrunge Versus The Deadly Melodica 5:52 - This is from the 2025 session. DNA Girl going to town on the melodica. This is a cosmic truth.
I’m not sure who or what Robo-Skrunge is but I like the name. Tim titled this one. If memory serves he titled most of the tracks on this album. Nice distorted guitar on this track.
5. Back-Porch Blues Revelation 5:22 - Tim delivers the spoken word piece. A delightful tale of an aging blues man who has a revelation. Bonus points to Tim for mentioning Martians.From the 2025 session.
Me on the harmonica. This contains one of my favorite bits on the album. I made a loop of us pounding on a shipping container. I think it came out well.
6. Hymn to the Rusty Robot Birds of Becket 5:42 - From the 2025 recordings. This is one of the reasons I really enjoy recording outside. You never know what amazing sounds you’ll capture in the background. I think the birds were digging singing along with us.
The wind really got into it too. As I type this our cats ears are going crazy. No doubt they enjoy the bird songs.
7. The Void Is Where The Groovy People Hang Out 4:47 - A frothy bit of inanity. A fun way to end the album. We knew this would be the final track almost as soon as it was done. From the first recording session in 2023.
The bulk of this track was recorded right in front of the ledge overlooking the water. Silly sounds.
The stuff we played
Tim Mungenast: Teak Wonder guitar, Marshall MS-2 toy amp, Mesa Boogie Studio .22+ amp, Babybox analog synth, FX, overtone singing, vocals, whirlie, balalaika, broken Marshall MS-2 Micro Amp, bell, transsubstantiation flooba module, shipping container fist percussion.
Astro Al is:
DNA Girl: Vocals, Ibanez mandolin, wah-wah tube, rocks, rusted artifacts in the forest, steel drum, synth, tongue drum, cabasa, slide, field recordings, cigar box guitar, melodica, rocks, singing, shipping container percussion
Count Robot: Vocals, microphones, duotron, monotron, springatron, kazoo, rusted artifacts in the forest, Aztec death whistle, metal, field recordings, FX, zither, harmonica, walkman, virtual synth, modified cassette player, toy voice changers, shipping container percussion
Recorded May 2023 & June 2025 in Becket MA, Weirdfield MA, and Ballston Spa NY
Written, performed, produced, and mastered by Tim Mungenast & Astro Al
Copyright 2026 Tim Mungenast & Astro Al
Will there be another Rust album? Yes, we still have some unused stuff from this session and a return trip to Beckett will happen eventually.
Plus the rust series has grown on us like… well rust.
Yours in rusting ungracefully,
Count Robot
