Immaculate Machine - Immaculate Machine's Fables

  by Mark Rowland

published: 11 / 8 / 2007

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Review

Immaculate Machine’s Kathryn Calder is a reasonably prominent figure on the Canadian indie scene. An occasional member of New Pornographers for some years (she is the niece of Pornographers founder Carl Newman), she is now essentially Neko Case’s replacement in the band. Al hough this has allegedly taken Pornographers’ fans some time to get used to, there is no denying the power of her own band. They are little-known in the UK, but with each album the band get that bit bigger. ‘Fables’, their second album with Mint Records, will almost certainly raise their profile this side of the pond, with guest appearances from the Cribs and Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, who all contribute backing vocals to opener and single ‘Jarhand’; an epic indie-rocker which showcases Calder’s vocal strengths and ends with a catchy refrain. The rest of the album is filled with more catchy, quirky indie songs, with Calder’s voice a dominant force in the proceedings. Her voice is sweet and powerful; it wouldn’t sound out of place on a country record, but is versatile enough to work brilliantly with Immaculate Machines’ big sound. Like a lot of current Canadian indie bands, Immaculate Machines’ songs are often epic and dense, with sweeping, hooky melodies. Yet another album showcasing Canada’s impressive presence in today’s indie rock scene.

Track Listing:-

1 Jarhand
2 Dear Confessor
3 Roman Statues
4 Old Flame
5 Small Talk
6 Nothing Ever Happens
7 Northeastern Wind
8 C'mon Sea Legs
9 Pocket
10 Blinding Light