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Secret Machines - Ten Silver Drops Audio CD

A fair review of the Secret Machines "Ten Silver Drops" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Secret Machines reviews here, or go back to the Secret Machines tabs.

Secret Machines Band: Secret Machines
Title: Ten Silver Drops
Rating:
Release Date: 2006-04-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Alone, Jealous, and Stoned 2: All At Once (It's Not Important) 3: Lightning Blue Eyes 4: Daddy's in the Doldrums 5: I Hate Pretending 6: Faded Lines 7: I Want To Know 8: 1,000 Seconds

Great sound, great band, good cd.
I wouldn't say this is a redundency though. If you like Secret Machines' first cd then you will like this one. The sound/style is certainly in the same vein but there is some new stuff here. I find them to be excellent at setting a mood and really enjoy driving to both their releases thus far. Definitely recommend this to any fans, and if you're new to the Machines, you can start with either cd. I expect these guys to release something truly excellent one day, but for now they are very good.


Largely disappointing follow-up
Sadly, I smell the odour of record company interference here - perhaps "Now This is Nowhere" didn't sell quite as well as Reprise hoped, and they've strongarmed the band into making their songs more compact, and their production more bombastic, in order to foster a crossover appeal to the emo/stadium/college-rock crowd. Having enjoyed both the Machines' debut EP "September 000" and their first full-legnth "Now This is Nowhere", and been especially impressed by their more improvisatory live shows, this album is a let-down.

"Ten Silver Drops" (actually only eight) has elements of all three genres, but very little of the two-chord minimlist drones and the contrast between uptempo rockers and slower, more reflective numbers that their earlier releases had. The lyrics are also more personal, and - it has to be said - cliched in places. Although it's the best song here, even "Lightning Blue Eyes" sounds a little too much like the obvious coice of soundtrack for a teen exploitation movie in which the nerdy, infatuated loner finally confesses to the Prom Queen that he's been adoring her from afar for months.

"All at Once (It's Not Important)" is a compelling, if lyrically obvious, song about the break-up of a relationship. Overall, however, "Ten Silver Drops" is too reminiscent of the House of Love's equally disastrous second album for Fontana. The production is too epically grandiose, with none of the intimacy and space that helped make the debut so likeable. In one or two places, it's even reminiscent of . . . sorry, but I find it difficult to even type the name without throwing up . . . U2. Bleurgh!

Incidentally, my opinion would seem to have been borne out by the fact that Secret Machines have now been dropped by Reprise (two-strikes-and-you're-out being the standard contractual policy of most major labels), released another disappointing self-titled third album, and recorded a cover of "I Am the Walrus" with (shudder!) Bono.

Meanwhile, their former guitarist Ben Curtis - correctly disillusioned by the direction in which his band semed to be heading - has tellingly opted out of Secret Machines and formed the far more interesting - if less commercially viable - School of Seven Bells. Well done Ben old chap -you're well out of this mess.
.


da
my only complant about this disk is that the songs are bit to long or atlest they seem to never want to end .


Hated it on first listen. Tried again later and thought, "what the hell was I thinking?"
I wrote the name on a scrap of paper and forgot about it. I discovered this band completely by accident one day when they were on some satellite radio station my friend had on. Found it later and ordered Now Here is Nowhere, which was f'ing awesome.

I ordered Ten Silver Drops and listened to it once, hated it, and forgot about it. Now, today, I decided to give it a second try and BAM! If my ears had a face, this CD would have punched them in it. Awesome stuff.

Thus, I felt so guilty that I had to come on here and spread the good word. Secret Machines, I know you guys read these reviews. . . well done dudes, rock on. .


Bang on the bass drum
The lyrics are good innocent high school poetry, but they really work. You gotta hand to these guys. The musicians have average talent, but with all the effects they use, still get the feeling across. It doesn't bother me at all. And of course the drummer is as solid as you could ever want in a drummer. The amazing thing about this band is the song writing and the styles they borrow and transform into their own special sound. They do alot with what they have. This album is more even than their first one. Not alot of hooks, but consistent. I prefer them live, when they have the freedom to drone on one drum beat as long as they want till you are hypnotized. I'd have to say that this one is not as good as the first one because they don't have anything that compares to "Now we're Nowhere Now". This is not a must have, but a worthy effort.


You can see a complete list of all Secret Machines discography, or go back to the Secret Machines tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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