Album Review: The Machine – Wave Cannon (Majestic Mountain Records)

Originally formed in 2007, Dordrecht’s The Machine returns with a reinvigorated sense of purpose that finds them stepping back from the noise rock-centred influence of their 2018 album Faceshift, to take cues from the heavier sides of shoegaze, progressive rock, and psychedelia.

Their new album, ‘Wave Cannon’, will be released on May 12th, 2023, via Majestic Mountain Records.

Offering up six immersive and detailed tracks, The Machine’s Wave Cannon is an album that captivates and confounds in equal measures. An album that is not one thing or the other and putting it in a specific category is meaningless. To understand what Wave Cannon is and what The Machine are doing here, you must hear it.

It’s extremely psychedelic, unyieldingly progressive, dreamy in a shoegaze way, and both heavy and light in equal measures. Each track is an expedition into the feverish imagination of The Machine. Lengthy explorations of the light and the dark, coarse and comforting, perilous and pensive. It’s a lesson in feeling, where the experience is one that wraps around the mind like a shroud. Once you go in, there’s no coming out until the final notes dissipate.

Experiences like this are few and far between. While there may be bands that deliver a similar style, few can make it sound and feel so encompassing. It’s that which makes Wave Cannon an album like no other. Especially, the more time spent in the company of The Machine. Where a 21-minute track like Return to Sphere (Kneiter II) can feel like a quarter of its length because of how it is performed.

Wave Cannon is never boring. Which is high praise when you consider attention spans and how The Machine change their tone and style throughout the album. Talented? It goes without saying.

All this being said, Wave Cannon isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste and not just because of the eclectic blend of genres. It requires a willingness and a high level of enthusiasm to immerse yourself in it. Be game, and you might find something that fills you with joy.

The Machine – Wave Cannon Track Listing:

1. Reversion
2. Genau or Never
3. Glider
4. Ride On Crash Kick
5. Return to Sphere (Kneiter II)
6. Wave Cannon

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