Secret Machines
Secret Machines
World's Fair/TSM
By Mike Randall
Aside from the fact that a band’s third release is often prove-it-or-lose-it time, Dallas-via-New-York’s Secret Machines has a little extra to demonstrate with their triennial full-length. With the 2007 departure of guitarist/vocalist Ben Curtis, and off of Reprise Records, there was a fairly good reason to believe there wouldn’t be a third record, and even the band itself wouldn’t argue with that. Not to mention that critical acclaim aside, the more new wave direction the trio took with their second record, Ten Silver Drops, left some fans yearning for a little more Pink Floyd and Zeppelin and a little less U2.
Rather than feel the weight of the pressure, the band elected to avoid any kind of fresh start by not doing anything drastic. Originally planning to rotate axe men, guitarist Phil Karnats (Tripping Daisy) was added to the fold, took over the slot permanently and eased any worries that this would sound like a new band – it doesn’t. The result is a record that resembles a hybrid of the best moments of their first two records, although it leans leans heavier on going back to the basis of their debut with an emphasis on the instrumental madness that brought them such notoriety.
Karnats fits in perfectly with drummer Josh Garza’s Bonham-like assault and bassist-keyboardist-vocalist Brandon Curtis’ (Ben’s brother) extraterrestrial accompaniment. The layers-upon-layers of atmospherics make for a cosmic wall, giving off the illusion that this three-piece is actually a five piece, and they make their presence felt as soon as you push play. “Atomic Heels,” an “Immigrant Song”-style stomp leads things off, powered by Garza’s thunderous drumming and the echoes of Karnats’ siren-like guitar. Featuring a big, driving chorus, “Atomic Heels” offers the kind of blend fans have been clamoring for – the familiar Zeppelin, Floyd and My Bloody Valentine with a small dose of INXS.
Still, despite the flurry of influences that find their way into a Secret Machines track, it’s their channeling of Pink Floyd that they’re able to come back to like an old reliable friend. “Have I Run Out” echoes a sleepier “Run Like Hell” that spills into a psych-space trip with a “When the Levee Breaks” groove delivered by Garza. The band is at their best in moments like these when they drift of into sprawling instrumental weirdness and staircases of noise as they do here, and the surefire Dark Side follower of “The Walls Are Starting to Crack” is a second prime example. The album-closing, 11-minute prog monster of “The Fire Is Waiting” offers another excellent take - with the help of Karnats’ droning guitar and Curtis’ David Gilmour-like vocals, “The Fire Is Waiting” sounds like doom in motion.
A new facet to their arsenal, however, is the ability to sound trippy and progressive while being affective and raw. They set the controls toward the galaxy of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” during “Now You’re Gone,” which descends into something that can only be described as stripped down and emotional. Unfamiliar territory, but it works because Karnats drapes his guitar around Curtis’ desperate vocals: “Now you’re gone/It’s too late.” They even channel Beck’s Sea Change on acid with “I Never Thought to Ask,” which unveils shifting chimes of guitars and keyboards and another instance of starkness and vulnerability.
The opening to “Last Believer, Drop Dead” might offer a good analogy to getting Secret Machines off the ground. It begins sounding like a motorcycle struggling to get into gear before sliding into an electro-psych groove that just seems to make sense despite all the chaos going on around it. There was a while there when it seemed like it was going to take more than just an engine replacement to get things started again, but Secret Machines has managed to shake off the rust to put out one pretty enjoyable record. While the amount of gas in the tank remains to be seen, at the moment the engine is certainly purring.
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