This EP is the first release from Edinburgh based THE MACHINE ROOM. The band formed in 2010 and comprises John Bryden, Adie Emanuel, Scott Hichings, Ryan Marinello and Cecelia Stamp and have been described as a "synth pop group." These songs suggest the description doesn’t really do them justice, because while their tracks contain liberal use of synthesizers, the guitar work and rhythm section are definitely within the style of late 1970s/ early 1980s alternative music. Indeed, if the sadly defunct 'Sounds' magazine were still running, this would feature quite highly in their Indie Charts.
Of the four tracks on the EP, the opener ‘Cost of Progress’ is the least satisfying. Whilst it’s a blend of synths, heavy bass and drums with some fine guitar work, the vocals are completely indistinct, shrouded in echo. As a result, it wasn't easy to listen to, and it's certainly not something to sing along to after a few plays.
Fortunately, with the second track, ‘Your Head on the Floor Next Door’, things changed dramatically for the better. This is an introspective synth pop song with some degree of reverb and distortion, and a clever twist in lyrics: - “So, I’ve never felt so good, since I sang ‘Away in a Manger’/ Yet I’ve never felt so bad since I went down on a stranger.” With some excellent harmonies and a chorus that included the wonderful question
“I don’t know what’s right/ Will I ever understand you?” This is perfect alt pop at its best, and with a drumming solo that sounds as good as the Cure’s on ‘The Hanging Garden’. It's a classy classic.
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‘Camino de Soda’ is another goodie, with chiming guitars, vocals swathed in echo, and the desperate lament: “I’m scrolling through the numbers on my phone/ In search of someone tonight to make me feel less alone.” By this time, I was really starting to warm to the band, whose catchy songs were starting to rub off on me.
The closing track on the E.P. ‘Picking Holes’ is also impressive. Starting off with the sort of jangly pop that The Smiths would be proud of before becoming a lot heavier, this sort of indie music can't help remind of tiny nightclubs in 1983!
The lyrics again are a cry of alienation: - “Well I want to sleep and never wake, coz I can’t communicate a single feeling/ We’re picking holes in World peace, coz I can’t communicate a single feeling.”
There you have it, a band whose first EP has three out of four excellent tracks. The Machine Room take all the right elements The Smiths, The Cure, The Associates and New Order and do something quite specil with 'em. Good enough for me.
Listen and download The Machine Room at Bandcamp
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