Modern Rock with a late 90’s flavour to it is what you get in these 11 tracks from Cinder that make up ‘The Machine.’ So logically if you like the sort of Rock that is celebrated these days and loved the crunch of the late 90’s post-grunge then you should connect here. Imagine the eye and observation of Bowie, the directness of Velvet Revolver, a hint of STP and a diverse mix of sounds ranging from the Beatles to Creed and you have just a nudge in the direction this takes.
The story of the band has a little twist though – originally signed to Geffen in 2002 and recording their debut ”Break Your Silence’ things ground to a sudden and unexpected halt – the album was never released due to the sale of the label, and it till hasn’t been to this day. This then is almost like a rebirth.
And it’s a great sounding rebirth too – big sounds, crisp production and great songs pretty much sums it up with an opener in ‘Free Fall Junkie’ that is crying out to be heard by a very large audience. It’s not just a one-trick-pony show though there’s plenty here to love – from the ultra-modern ‘Human After All’ to the stomping ‘Day of The Dance.’
Best though might just be the power pop via Cheap Trick of “Suicide Girl’ or maybe the industrially-charged ‘Enough Outta You’ or even the late-period Beatles of ‘Rockey Boy.’
Maybe even the title track and closer ‘The Machine’ which picks it all up and mashes it together has the most to say. Just think if we’d had heard that first album 17 years ago, who knows where we’d be now?