The Secret Machines sophomore effort "Ten Silver Drops" is, to make a long story short, simply amazing. The album is incredibly well constructed with moods and feelings that range in various forms of down trodden complexity to ultimate triumph that you just don't hear much these days.As Brandon Curtis explains “We experienced a deconstruction of our personal lives. Coming home to a familiar setting and being alien to it created a sense of isolation from the people we’re close to. There were all these invisible barriers that were tough to reach through. So we ended up with songs like ‘Alone, Jealous, and Stoned’ and ‘Lighting Blue Eyes,’ about how our emotions propel us toward these conflicts and away from the people we love.”
Bands hungry to make music their life often tour incessantly (check out Secret Machines live @ Top of the Pops in order to gather enough exposure to pay the bills and in the end forgo many friendships and the closeness of family all for the love of making great music. It seems even though Brandon (bass, vox, and keywords) has his brother, Ben across the stage with him on guitar and drummer Josh Garza kicking out Bonham like beats... the drag of the road has once again produced a great album which leaves all rules of songwriting behind with the average song length clocking in over 5 minutes.
Brandon mentions “Some things are worth soaking in... If you think of music as a picture or a
story, sometimes you want to be immersed in that world for a while. If we get something going, we enjoy the feeling that it gives us and want to let it spin. Just because it can’t be said fast, doesn’t mean it’s not valid.”The Secret Machines have a streaming live video shot at Austin City Limits coming out soon. Make sure to check it out and go out and grab Ten Silver Drops
(produced by Alan Moulder, who is known for his work with Nine Inch Nails & My Bloody Valentine)
