Rock • The
Secret Machines are formed by brothers Brandon
and Ben Curtis and friend Josh Garza. Photo
by Klaus Thymann
The Secret Machines creates new sound from old
By Matthew Wilkinson
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
The Secret Machines are not revolutionizing music.
The Dallas, Texas, trio has taken on a different challenge. They have taken all
their favorite elements from popular ’70s,’80s and ’90s bands,
thrown them in a blender and poured them in the album “Ten Silver Drops,” a
new eight-song effort just released by Reprise Records.
From just a glance at the song titles, you can already tell the disc has a strong
theme of isolation. That might have something to do with the fact the band had
been on the road for the previous 18 months before writing the record.
“
We experienced a decon-struction of our personal lives,” said
bassist Brandon Curtis, keyboardist and vocalist. “Coming home
to a familiar setting and being alien to it created a sense of isolation
from the people we are close to.”
Secret Machines is made up of Curtis, his brother guitarist and vocalist Ben
and drummer Josh Garza. They formed in July 2000 and released an EP before being
signed.
Upon first listen, Secret Machines sound like a rockier version of Coldplay.
The first track “Alone, Jealous and Stoned” starts off with a mellow
medley of keyboards, guitar and drums before finally picking up toward the end
of the almost seven-minute song.
It’s on the third track, “Lightning Blue Eyes” where you realize
Coldplay was a bad comparison. The creative keyboards, crashing drums, long guitar
solos and haunting vocals make the band sound like a hybrid of INXS, U2 and Led
Zeppelin. It’s a super mix of the three great elements.
The eight-minute plus “Daddy’s in the Doldrums” proves to be
one of the essential tracks on the new release. The hypnotic guitar riff mixed
with Garza’s drums produces a beat you can’t help but to rock your
body to.
“
I Hate Pretending” features Curtis singing over the synthesizer
in an almost Bright Eyes fashion. Garza shows off his drumming skills
toward the end of this track, slamming and crashing on anything that
gets in his way.
Just like the group did on its debut CD, the band chose to produce “Ten
Silver Drops” themselves. They spent five weeks recording at a studio on
a mountaintop in New York. Tensions ran high, but they worked together to finish
the record.
“
Producing ourselves, we came away with the essential nature of preserving
the sanctity of the vibe of a recording studio,” Brandon said. “A
producer can dictate the terms, set the schedule and create a sensory
feeling in the room by lighting it or making it smell a certain way.
When you’re doing it yourself, you have to be responsible for
dictating the feel you want.”
The members aimed to deter critics of the first album who said it was two dimensional.
This time the band wrote songs with more chords and melodic movement.
When the Secret Machines took the stage at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles
Thursday, it was to an enormous applause.
The crowd was a much different scene than I’m used to seeing at Chain Reaction
and other Orange County venues. The average age seemed like late 20s/early 30s.
This show was the Secret Machines’ record release party and they decided
to play in the round. A circular stage was set up in the middle of the room and
everyone gathered around it. It made for a close, intimate show.
The group kicked off its 13-song, 90-minute set with “Alone, Jealous and
Stoned.” It proved to be a good opener with a nice mellow intro while slowly
getting more and more intense.
The band played in almost complete darkness. A few multicolored stage lights
were spread around the circle and were lit through the heavy fog to bring emphasis
at crescendos and to draw attention to band members during solos. It made for
a visually stimulating show.
The set drew mostly from the band previous release. Seven of the 13 songs were
from 2004’s “Now Here is Nowhere” and they played “Better
Bring Your Friends” from the 2005 EP “The Road Leads Where It’s
Led.”
In addition to the opener, they also played “Faded Lines,” “Daddy’s
In The Doldrums,” “Lightning Blue Eyes” and “I Hate Pretending” from “Ten
Silver Drops.”
The band had very little to say to the crowd. It thanked them for coming, thanked
Warner Brothers for putting on the show and that was it.
All three members had an awesome stage presence. Brandon did an excellent job
singing and juggling keyboards and bass guitar, Ben ripped Zeppelin-like solos
and Garza is probably one of the most talented drummers I’ve seen. Even
during the slower songs, he wailed on his drum kit so hard, the walls shook.
Secret Machines are a jam band. The boys jammed through their set from Song 1
to 13 with no distraction. The energy is high, the songs are good and the crowd
dances. The band will finish its summer tour before heading overseas. They will
also be featured at Lollapalooza in Chicago.
|
