(TSM/Shock)

US space-rockers continue to traverse the musical galaxy on self-titled third album

The New York-through-Dallas trio The Secret Machines are the 21^st century schizoid men who avoid radical stylistic changes, yet make radical music; the critics either don’t like them that much or brand them “Emerson, Lake and Palmer for the new generation” despite Brandon Curtis and co’s reluctance to align themselves with prog-rock revival. With original guitarist and Brandon’s brother Benjamin Curtis (who left in 2007) replaced by Phil Karnats, the band’s sound undergoes a transgression from the Zeppelin-ish stomp of their first two records to hookier, more immediate guitar soundscapes, as evidenced by the jangly Underneath The Concrete. The break in the melodic Now You’re Gone could have come straight from Placebo’s Black Market Music, while slow-burning The Walls Are Starting To Crack manages to blend Bowie, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Van Der Graaf Generator and even Tangerine Dream within the space of six-and-a-half-minutes. However even when they employ a broader sonic template, the Machines remain very much the same band: the epic closer The Fire Is Waiting harks back to the old days while still looking into the future, Josh Garza’s familiar Bonham-esque drums and Brandon’s dreamy vocals and gigantic bass and synth lines to the fore. Have I Run Out’s guitar maelstrom hints at uncertainty but doesn’t answer the question; we’ll see what happens next.  

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DENIS SEMCHENKO

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