Album
Echo Machine
Instant Transmissions
February 28 2020 (Riverman Records / Assai Records)
7.5/10
Words: Ali Mack
Recorded at La Chunky Studios in Glasgow, and produced by SAW (aka Stephen Watkins), Dundee synth-pop band Echo Machine describe this debut album as "an eleven track biography of a modern man." Whilst that may give rise to expecting some highly pretentious piece of work detailing the travails of the Gen X brigade, in practice it is actually an 80s influenced, sonic satellite that beams out pulses of fuzzy, new wave punk.
The propulsive 'Chameleon', while nor as in your face as some of the other tracks here, has a compelling underbelly. As programmed drum beats and reverbed guitars fill it out, it gives a picture via its distinct sound, not just of the band, but their depiction of detached existence: "I feel nothing" is the clinical refrain. The dancefloor mix of standout 'Headlights' is a meatier, two and a half minute infectiously unadulterated disco-pop bop musically, yet Gary Moore also somehow manages to add a certain vulnerability to both vocals and lyrics.
'Automatic Love', a full-on belter that has both a retro 80s feel to it in its synth line and disco-dance groove, belies its more heavyweight value about "the modern curses of distraction and instant satisfaction,” Moore has said previously. “We don't really know what we want, but we want it right now, and it has to be perfect. We spend our time comparing ourselves to avatars of our own creation, getting sad that we never match up to this ideal version of ourselves, or to the ideal versions other people project of themselves. We are all fighting good causes, but never find the time to really commit."
With latest single, the driving 'The Road' further fulfilling its duty in synth-pop terms, and 'In Flight' adding addictive emphasis, the polished production on 'Instant Transmissions' gives the glam Machine plenty of power to fire its engine.
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