Secret Machines - Awake In The Brain Chamber

Heralded as space rock pioneers a decade-and-a-half ago, Secret Machines – against all expectations and amidst a backdrop that has been beset by tragedy – are finally ready to release their fourth album.

Never mainstream rock in sound yet somehow granted a place at the top table by luminaries including U2, Oasis, Kings Of Leon and David Bowie (who even interviewed them), their progressive krautrock had no shortage of fans before the band was put on ice in 2010.

Brandon Curtis (guitarist and singer) joined Interpol, but sadly in 2013 his brother Benjamin passed away after a short battle with an aggressive form of lymphoma. After dalliances in various side-projects, Benjamin and drummer Josh Garza teased a return in 2018, but at the start of the following year Garza’s wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and so the reunion was understandably put on hold.

Indeed, it wasn’t guaranteed that this album would come out at all, but the stars have aligned and, with their shared experiences deepening their bond, Garza and Curtis bludgeon us into submission once more. Still in place are the dreamy harmonies, cacophonous drumming and ethereal soundscapes; recorded over the last decade, the inconsequential jams that were sprinkled over their first three albums have been jettisoned to make way for more discipline.

https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2020/08/album-review-secret-machines-awake-in-the-brain-chamber/