The fact that The Secret Machines are an American band hugely influenced by the most British of acts is not what makes them anomalous. Certainly, a percentage of musicians, regardless of their nationalities, owe some sort of debt to the likes of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and David Bowie. Where this Dallas three-piece differ, however, is in their attempts to recreate the sound of those three acts; in the process of doing so, they become insufferably self-indulgent at times.
Still, Secret Machines are a respected band, and this, their third album, isn't a completely lost cause. Their first release since the departure of guitarist Ben Curtis (who left to steer his new band School of Seven Bells), 'Secret Machines' is acceptable in the right doses and the right mood. Be warned, though: if you're not a fan of prog, the semi-apocalyptic 'Have I Run Out', the hugely-overdone eleven minute-long closer 'The Fire Is Waiting', and the multi-sectioned screecher 'The Walls Are Starting to Crack' will try your patience.
Moments of redemption come on the industrial glam rock of 'Atomic Heels' and the subterranean '80s disco beat of the aptly-titled 'Underneath the Concrete'; yet despite the occasionally entrancing drumming, the moments of blissful dark grunge, and the occasional flicker of gauzy radiance, it wallows a little too much in its own projected brilliance. Consequently, there's not much here to warrant repeated listens.
