Album: Now Here Is Nowhere
Artist: The Secret Machines
Born: Dallas, Texas
Released: May 2004
Genre: Space Rock
Summer 2004 saw two significant album releases from Dallas bands, this and Together We're Heavy by The Polyphonic Spree. Both were heavily indebted to 70s psychedelic rock and influenced by more recent records from The Flaming Lips and Grandaddy. The Secret Machines also dabbled in prog rock and krautrock and for me one of the best elements of their sound is Josh Garza's drumming, which combines the heavy, furious thumping of Led Zeppelin's John Bonham and the tight motorik beat of krautrock. The other two members of the band were brothers, Brandon and Benjamin Curtis, who had been part of the local Dallas music scene since the late 90s. They started out in the garage rock band, UFOFU, and then split to join other groups before reconvening with Garza in 2000 to form The Secret Machines. Now Here Is Nowhere was their first LP but soon after their second (Ten Silver Drops) was released in 2006, Ben left the band to form another group, School Of Seven Bells (I really like their 2010 LP, Disconnect From Desire, but it's not quite great enough to be included on this blog). Very sadly, Ben died in 2013 of lymphoma, aged just 35. I'll always remember his brilliant performance at Glastonbury in 2005, where he caused the John Peel Tent to go wild with his electrifying guitar solos. Nowhere Again was especially memorable live.
Coming at the end of the space rock trend, I think The Secret Machines were unlucky to slip under the radar. The group did achieve moderate success in the UK, winning new fans for the way they absorbed and mutated classic British influences like Pink Floyd and Soft Machine, but never managed to make it big despite playing support slots for Spiritualized, Oasis and others. Any group that starts and ends an LP with 9-minute songs is going to struggle in the modern era, where short attention spans mean economy is prized, and for me First Wave Intact and Now Here Is Nowhere worked much better live than on record. For me, the highlights on this LP are Sad & Lonely, Nowhere Again, The Road Leads Where It's Led and You Are Chains. I picked up both vinyl single versions of Sad & Lonely, which contain different B-sides (the blue one has a cover of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks and the white one has a cover of Bob Dylan's Girl From The North Country), and I love how the song shifts from Led Zep stomp and swagger to blissful Spiritualized chorus. This duality is reflected in the track sequencing, which goes from harder-rocking songs to quieter moments like Leaves Are Gone and You Are Chains ("Blinded by wonder and lust / and you never noticed your chains"), with its reflective lyrics reminiscent of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's famous quote, "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains". For a brief moment in 2004, the Dallas music scene had its moment in the spotlight, and this record deserves wider appreciation.
Summer 2004 saw two significant album releases from Dallas bands, this and Together We're Heavy by The Polyphonic Spree. Both were heavily indebted to 70s psychedelic rock and influenced by more recent records from The Flaming Lips and Grandaddy. The Secret Machines also dabbled in prog rock and krautrock and for me one of the best elements of their sound is Josh Garza's drumming, which combines the heavy, furious thumping of Led Zeppelin's John Bonham and the tight motorik beat of krautrock. The other two members of the band were brothers, Brandon and Benjamin Curtis, who had been part of the local Dallas music scene since the late 90s. They started out in the garage rock band, UFOFU, and then split to join other groups before reconvening with Garza in 2000 to form The Secret Machines. Now Here Is Nowhere was their first LP but soon after their second (Ten Silver Drops) was released in 2006, Ben left the band to form another group, School Of Seven Bells (I really like their 2010 LP, Disconnect From Desire, but it's not quite great enough to be included on this blog). Very sadly, Ben died in 2013 of lymphoma, aged just 35. I'll always remember his brilliant performance at Glastonbury in 2005, where he caused the John Peel Tent to go wild with his electrifying guitar solos. Nowhere Again was especially memorable live.
Coming at the end of the space rock trend, I think The Secret Machines were unlucky to slip under the radar. The group did achieve moderate success in the UK, winning new fans for the way they absorbed and mutated classic British influences like Pink Floyd and Soft Machine, but never managed to make it big despite playing support slots for Spiritualized, Oasis and others. Any group that starts and ends an LP with 9-minute songs is going to struggle in the modern era, where short attention spans mean economy is prized, and for me First Wave Intact and Now Here Is Nowhere worked much better live than on record. For me, the highlights on this LP are Sad & Lonely, Nowhere Again, The Road Leads Where It's Led and You Are Chains. I picked up both vinyl single versions of Sad & Lonely, which contain different B-sides (the blue one has a cover of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks and the white one has a cover of Bob Dylan's Girl From The North Country), and I love how the song shifts from Led Zep stomp and swagger to blissful Spiritualized chorus. This duality is reflected in the track sequencing, which goes from harder-rocking songs to quieter moments like Leaves Are Gone and You Are Chains ("Blinded by wonder and lust / and you never noticed your chains"), with its reflective lyrics reminiscent of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's famous quote, "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains". For a brief moment in 2004, the Dallas music scene had its moment in the spotlight, and this record deserves wider appreciation.
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