National Music Reviews
La Machine
Phases & Repetition
Castle Face Records
Street: 07.16
La Machine = The In Sound from Way Out + Booker T + Man or Astro-Man?
I can’t help but imagine these tracks backing a David Lynch film—something along the lines of a black Cadillac racing through the desert night pursued by creepy-looking pale corpses in dark suits. I speak first of the imagery that comes to mind when I listen to this because the music itself is minimal in execution—heavy bass, steady drums, ambient noise. These elements come together in phases through repetition (yup, exactly like the name of the album!) to create several tracks that manage to tap different musical styles to give us a little industrial, a little reggae, a little psych, etc. The mind can’t help but conjure up these obscure avante garde scenarios as the repetitious and catchy tunes allow the listener a good deal of mental stimulation. If I wasn’t writing this review right now, I would probably listen to this album while purging my brain into some other project with great fervor. –Ben Trentelman