Secret Machines – Secret Machines

There should really be an unspoken rule somewhere that bands after their first album should not be allowed to release a self-titled album. I know there are bands that don’t want name the records and that is fine but something needs to be done here. Other than that small little problem The Secret Machines return with another massive sounding album. The Secret Machines have yet to release an album that is ten tracks long. The record is again being produced by the band themselves with help from Brandon Mason. It is the first album to feature the band’s new guitarist Phil Karnats, who replaced Benjamin Curtis after he left the band in March of last year to focus on School of Seven Bells.

The record starts off with “Atomic Heels” and with a big bang from the drum and then those always spacey guitars kick in and bring things together rather nicely. I always enjoyed Brandon Curtis as a vocalist as he has a great dark/evil delivery but still sounding very polished at the same time. You can easily see “Atomic Heels” getting the single treatment as it is one of the most straightforward songs on the album. “Last Believer, Drop Dead” is classic Secret Machines if there is such a thing. The track starts off with this droned out bit that seems to last for the first two minutes of the song. “Have I Run Out” really starts to get the album going with the first seven minute plus track of the album. The track starts off really slow and you don’t really know where they might take this song. Then at a minute and half into the song there is a loud explosion of drums that just takes over the song. They are almost are tribal-like in the massive sound and scope. “Now Your Gone” starts off really slow and I did get a little bored by the track but towards the end its emotion starts to grow on you. “The Fire Is Waiting” is the track I was waiting for. It is a marathon session that clocks in at just under twelve minutes that just keeps on trucking along and it does not really follow much a pattern. It is a track that you can just pop on and get lost in it.

A lot has changed for the band before the release of this record. They lost a member and switched to an indie label. The band sound a bit rawer and the songs are not as accessible as their previous records. But, the record is still solid

By John Siwicki

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