Secret Machines -Ten Silver Drops (album)
The Secret Machines made their name on the basis of some ferocious drumming and tracks that bordered on prog-like levels of guitar workouts and track lengths. Amazingly enough, they combined this manic commercial suicide approach with a keen grasp of melody and choruses and their record sold in modest amounts and tour after tour saw them build up a moderate fanbase and saw the band pick up on the dynamic of a live show.
Initially seeing the act in King Tuts in Glasgow, they opened with 'First Wave Intact', an intense and frankly superb 9 minute track quickly followed by another single and from here on out, there was nowhere for the gig to go and the band had spent their lot far too early. Seeing them again throughout the year, the set-list was turned around with the show building to the peak of their debut albums special moments and really worked as a showcase for the band. Noel Gallagher may have got fully behind them but the Secret Machines wouldn’t necessarily appeal to his fans and the act kept on in the UK at their own pace. Now, with their second album on release, the potential for the band to provide a full evenings entertainment is a tantalising prospect.
"Ten Silver Drops" opens with "Alone, Jealous and Stoned" and is an immediate note that the band hasn't changed their style too much. It’s a long track but its never sprawling, the focus and tightness remains throughout and just when you expect the sing to fully take off, it reigns itself in slightly, proving that perhaps the band have learned more about control and that building tension can be greater than releasing it. As openers go, it draws the listener in and promises a lot more.
Single "Lightning Blue Eyes" encapsulates all that is good about the band. The drums are right in the listeners face (err ears) never deviating from the jerky rhythm it builds with the guitar riffs and chorus jostling to determine what is catchier. It’s a musical tour-de-force instantly recalling anything memorable from good 1970s acts and only hinting at the horrors that they acts contained. The song continually ups the temp and tenacity throughout and if this music is your thing, it threatens to sweep you away long before the lead guitar finally kicks off.
There are maybe some moments on the record that drag, "Daddy's In The Doldrums" possibly slows the tempo but as the on-line analysts have already decreed that the track is about drug abuse its probably unlikely to be a jaunty pop blast that will get them on Top Of The Pops.
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