The M Machine - Glare

The M Machine
Glare
2017
Spotify

Glare The M Machine's debut record came out a month early with the caveat that fans had to listen to the album together. It's nothing new for artists to want their music to be experienced communally rather than alone in your room, but often times that is where we find ourselves. There are a lot of albums and a lot of bands who you can instantly figure out where they are coming from, what they mean and how to analyze it. The M Machine are different. When you listen for the first time it becomes about drinking in the experience and letting it fully consume you. Trying to hard to sit and pick the record apart becomes almost impossible. At one point they are giving you bleeps and bloops like on "I AM" or something more subtle and soundscapey like "The Warehouse". This may be the first time in electronic music history that a song called "The Warehouse" was not a straight up house jam, but that is The M Machine, taking what you expect and doing none of it. At times you will feel like you are listening to Justice in 2099 while at others it is a more chilled out vibe where you can lay back and let the music come to you. This constant shaking things up can leave you a bit lost at times, yet The M Machine manage to keep pushing through those moments to find something better on the other side.

"Heart Sandwich" is a standout because it comes in with this bold piano line that is filled with heart and just suddenly bursts into this electronic dreamscape only to be sucked back down again. You can only imagine the journey these tracks would take you on at a live show. The way they slide from genre to genre, style to style is so slick that you almost miss that they are even doing it. "Glare" for all it's surprise sometimes can feel a bit to bogged down in it's own headiness. The single "Talking Machine" has so much going on with TV clips and all the other stuff laid on top of the track that it feels jumbled. By the time the track ends you are off kilter, a bit confused, but maybe you liked it? "Honeybucket" is a song that is far to twee sounding for this electronic record with it's little flute backing. This record is so creative and so full of brilliant moments that you can't but start getting excited for what is coming next.

7.9 out of 10