Glancing at the half-man, half-machine
cover art produced by Mark Wilkinson (Marillion, Judas Priest,
Iron Maiden, The Darkness), one gets the immediate impression
that this is a band with a big-sound on a mission to produce a
contemporary take on 80’s influenced hard-rock. This impression
is not far wrong. London based ‘No Machine’ is the
brainchild of the Athenian born, classically trained Rivers brothers.
With Al Rivers on Vocals and Emil Rivers on Piano, they bring
together Fred (Guitar), Joca (Drums), Pedro (Bass) and Daniel
(Organ, Synths) to create a full-bodied, varied and rather grandiose
slice of contemporary classic-rock. Growing up on a diet that
ranges from Prince to Johnny Cash and Marillion to King Crimson,
the band plough through 11 tracks which bring in to play many
facets of 70’s neo-prog, 80’s metal, 90’s hard-rock
and 00’s retro rock, fusing them with an unreserved ease
that comes with years of experimentation.
‘No Machine’ is an album that
fizz’s and bubble’s with a confident and fully assured
swagger. Tracks like the splendid opener, ‘A Terrible Thing’
and ‘I Choose You’ pitch relatively complex arrangements
with ultra-catchy melodies to create classic rock-songs which
engrain themselves into your head and make you bounce around like
an Air-Guitar hero. Full of emotion, energy and playfulness, they
are the kind of tracks that a deserted highway and a 4.0L where
created for! ‘I Get Down’ is a fast-paced and contemporary
ode to ‘No Prayer To The Dying’ era Iron Maiden with
its beguiling and progressive melodic-stomp whilst on ‘Divine’
the group create an angular, glam-rock orientate piece of fusion.
Sounding like the more rock-focused works of Prince fused with
the pomp of glam-rockers King Adora mixed in with an uncanny sixties
Americana influence, it is undoubtedly a live favourite!
Elsewhere on the album, the attention is drawn towards ‘The
Races’ which showcases No Machine in all their glory, delivering
a neo-prog beast that explodes forth with a propulsive and melodic
swirl. It is expertly arranged and undeniably catchy, featuring
an epic chorus which is dripping with visions of sonic-grandeur.
The groove-laden, electro-rock riffage struts with a dark, contemplative
yet optimistic sentiment and is reminiscent of Porcupine Tree’s
finest. Following this is, ‘Sunshine (ain’t no friend
of mine)’. A dark-pop masterpiece, underpinned by an intermittent
funk-based groove and utilising dark breathy vocals, jazzy melodies
and tight percussion, it sparkles with all the mysticism and shadowy-glory
of a ‘Wicked Game’ era Chris Isaak hit, although admittedly
the drawn-out chorus serves to calm down the track rather than
acting as a point of release.
A special mention has to be given to Al
River’s dynamic and energetic vocal-work throughout the
album. Undoubtedly aided by Mark Wallis’ (U2, Travis, The
Smiths) mixing skills, Al River’s pins down a near-perfect
performance and the resultant sound comes across like another
layer of instrumentation, oozing invitingly out of the speakers.
The rest of the album is littered with slower-paced, atmospheric
and contemplative MOR rock songs which do little to distinguish
the band from the plethora of soft-rock bands out there. They
are well constructed, sung with emotion and delivered with high
quality instrumentation but they just don’t break the mold
and ultimately tend to stagnate in comparison to the more energetic
numbers. Don’t let this put you off as there is much quality
and uniqueness contained within ‘A Terrible Thing’
to not only warrant purchasing this record, but also to elevate
‘No Machine’ into a position near the top of the contemporary
classic-rock circuit. (RM)
For
fans of: Iron Maiden meets Porcupine Tree meets Fish meet Chris
Issak meets Nickelback
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