Read the rest…

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

MP3: The Secret Machines – Atomic Heels

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

MP3: The Secret Machines – Dreaming of Dreaming

I was very lucky to get some time to chat with Brandon Curtis of the Secret Machines this week.  With 2, soon to be 3, stellar albums under their belt, they have proven they can create distinct, independent soundscapes from album to album while still retaining signature and identity as a band.  Though the departure of founding member and brother Benjamin Curtis (now in School of Seven Bells) was obviously disorienting, it appears the Machines have bounced back, remaining vital and true to form while still progressing their sound and artistry.

Aural States- So could you tell us what you guys have been up to since the last album and touch on Ben’s departure? Read the rest…

So I heaped some praise on the guys in the Secret Machines for their latest album.  It’s quite good.  Here’s your first chance to sneak a listen.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

MP3: The Secret Machines – Atomic Heels

The tour supporting their latest effort kicks off October 16 at the 9:30 Club in good ol’ Washington DC.  The new self-titled jammy drops just a few days before, on October 14.

The Secret Machines have been through some changes. Founding member, and brother/guitarist Benjamin Curtis left to pursue the School of Seven Bells project.

This left only workhorse drummer Josh Garza and singer/bassist/keyboardist Brandon Curtis to find their way.

The album’s title, Secret Machines, suggests a band re-defining itself, starting over after a fairly significant shake-up. But the reality is actually a valid, and quite different, alternative.

It finds the band reasserting itself. Re-affirming its roots and its identity, adamantly stating that they are still alive and well, building upon all that came before. Read the rest…

Hot off the heels of this post on the Secret Machines’ latest plans, we received two tracks from the wayward Curtis sibling’s (Ben) project, School of Seven Bells. Sample, download and judge the merits for yourself.

They open for M83 at the Black Cat this November. Save the date, keep your calendars marked.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

MP3: School of Seven Bells – Connjur

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

MP3: The Secret Machines – Dreaming of Dreaming

I was alarmed and concerned when I heard first news out of the Secret Machines camp right before their stint at David Bowie-curated Highline festival in New York: founding member, guitarist, backup vocalist and brother Ben Curtis had left the 3-piece band to pursue his other project, School of Seven Bells. I couldn’t (and still can’t) fathom why he would want to leave a band that had released two great to spectacular albums and was well on their way.

The Secret Machines have delivered some of the most transcendentally beautiful moments I’ve ever experienced in a live music setting. Thankfully, when I saw them at an errant DC stop at the Rock and Roll Hotel, they still seemed to be on point and building on their spacious post-rock sound, with new guitarist Phil E. Karnats (formerly of Tripping Daisy). They seemed to really be taking things into a darker and more jam-filled space.

Now, with their new track “Dreaming of Dreaming,” we can get a glimpse of where they are headed stylistically.  And it seems an organic outgrowth.  In addition, we get some tasty info: the self-titled album is being released on their own label, TSM Recordings, and has a street date of Oct. 14th.  I really can’t wait.