Secret Machines - Brighton Digital
A triumphant evening for these modern psych-rock trailblazers.
Perennial Next-Big-Things The Secret Machines visit the UK for the first time since a major line-up change (Phil Karnats replacing founder member Benjamin Curtis on guitar) and their release from a major label contract after just two albums; One might expect a band at half-mast given the situation but as their recent, spectacular New York shows proved, Secret Machines are a reinvigorated, bold and adventurous proposition in their current incarnation.
Their popularity seems to have been maintained here too – last night’s London show was a complete sell-out and the futuristic beachside venue Digital is fairly packed tonight, with a crowd ranging from emo teens screaming every word in the front row to sage-looking Uncut readers nodding approvingly into their bitter further back in the shadows.
We’ve been told somewhat relentlessly that this NY band are part of the New Prog movement, with great debts owed to Pink Floyd et al. But while their juddering, build and shift and take-off song structures are certainly not straightforward rock'n'roll they seem to be more indebted to the purposefully strange psychedelia of the ‘60s than the poe-faced musical wankery of the mid-seventies scene.
Tracks from their new album ‘The Secret Machines’ are both immensely tuneful (‘Atomic Heels’) and quite moving (‘Now You’re Gone’), albeit in an otherworldly, defiantly challenging way.
Old favourites drawn from debut release ‘Now Here is Nowhere’ and sophomore release ‘Ten Silver Drops’ such as ‘Nowhere Again’ (which receives the biggest response of the night) and ‘Alone, Jealous And Stoned’ (a rousing, wild semi-classic) are delivered with intricate attention to detail and unbridled power, particularly from their driving force drummer Josh Garza.
What is most remarkable about this trio of serious, dedicated musicians is their absolute lack of pretension; there’s no bluster, no arrogance whatsoever; they are genuinely all about the music – the song’s the thing with these fellas and one can’t help but admire that in a music scene packed with showboats paying endless tribute to themselves while lacking the actual talent to deliver anything even half as hypnotic, charged and purely impressive as this band offers tonight.
A triumphant evening for these modern psych-rock trailblazers.James O’Connell
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