Man Without Machines - The Kreuzberg Press

  by Fiona Hutchings

published: 8 / 4 / 2013

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Review

This is the debut album from Dundee five piece, Man Without Machines. Describing themselves as heavily influenced by 80's synth pop and European politics, I was not sure whether to expect from them a new take on The Human League or a party political broadcast. This 12 track offering opens with 'Even Still Even Though'. It does have that Casio keyboard vibe so evident in the first La Roux album and the vocals put me in mind of Devo. It has the sharp edges of both smoothed off though. 'Anyway' is slightly 'off' somewhere, like the lyrics and musics don't quite marry up or the tunes are from different songs. By accident or design it makes you pay attention. 'Sound of Your Lies' mixes the higher and somehow thinner electronic noie with some much deeper fat ones for a really driven and satisfying sound. 'Peterloo' has definite shades of 'Dare'- era Human League, and 'Falling Star' is as wistful as the name suggests. Somehow synth sounds like stars that are, indeed, falling. 'Something's Happening Here' has all the making of an instant earworm while 'Scorelines' is the weakest track, lacking both variation and direction. 'It's Closer' sounds more like a guitar driven number with lyrics remanicent of Belle and Sebastian. Overall this proves that synth songs can be varied. It isn't twelve tracks that sound so similar they are hard to distinguish from each other. Although the band's influences are evident they don't take over. It is too fresh to be mistaken as an unknown gem from 1981 but it should be a very well known gem of 2013.

Track Listing:-

1 Even Still Even Though
2 Anyway
3 Share the Love
4 Sound of Your Lies
5 Peterloo
6 Falling Star
7 Something's Happening Here
8 Constitution
9 Scorelines
10 We Talk
11 It's Closer
12 In Salt

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/Man-Without-M
https://twitter.com/ManWithoutMachi