Secret Machines' Secret Machines

A friend described The Secret Machines to me as psychedelic noise-rock, with epic songs that develop from primordial rumblings into a frenzy of crash cymbals and distorted feedback. I imagined Bitches Brew with guitar riffs and synthesizers, turned up to eleven. But as I queued up their third, eponymous album, I was caught unawares by the steady rock pulse that begins the album’s opening track, “Atomic Heels.”


The kick drum and power-chords impart a weighty feel to the upbeat tempo; heavy use of effects creates a spacey vibe, with lots of flange, echo, and reverb. I abandoned my earlier conception of The Secret Machines and arrived at a new one: a serious, sober, prog-rock band with a forceful, protean sound, extra-galactic tendencies, and a booming drummer.

Based in New York but with Texan origins, The Secret Machines are well-defined by the company they keep: Muse, Interpol, M83, and Kings of Leon have been among their touring companions. Their sound alternates between driving hard-rock riffs by newcomer guitarist Phil Karnats and the sparse, ethereal echoes of frontman Brandon Curtis on keys, but the trio’s self-described “space-rock” sound is grounded in the thunderous rhythms of drummer Josh Grouza. The next track, “Last Believer, Drop Dead,” continues in a prog-rock vein, but surprises with a bridge that grooves so hard it had me thinking of Led Zeppelin minus Robert Plant. The album then takes a dramatic shift into “Have I Run Out,” a long, brooding song, filled with theremins and other ambient noise, punctuated by descending minor scales. At eight minutes, it’s one of the album’s longer tracks, which is, in this case, unfortunate. The tension builds interminably as the song nears its climax, but after a perfunctory resolution to the relative major key, it trickles unremarkably to its end.

I’m not sure what it means for The Secret Machines that their strongest efforts on this album are also the songs most obviously influenced by other artists. In any case, the next two tracks immediately recapture the listener’s attention: the synth-heavy “Underneath the Concrete” reminds me of what was good about the 80’s, while the shoegazing “Now You’re Gone” sounds like what Interpol’s third album should have. Despite this, these tracks retain something unmistakably Secret Machines.

While the same is true about “The Walls Are Starting To Crack,” the title is more apt as a description of the end of the album. After some Pink Floyd-style meandering, and an uncharacteristic acoustic passage, the song descends into a “Revolution 9”–Dark Side of the Moon mash-up. The album ends with “The Fire is Waiting,” which breaks the eleven minute mark, clocking in at five minutes too long.

After the limited success of their earlier albums, The Secret Machines were hoping to the third time would be a charm. They certainly didn’t fail, but whether this solid album will be enough to make The Secret Machines as big as they sound remains to be seen. - James Magagna