Monday 15 December 2014

EP Review - Machines In Heaven - Hindu Milk


Dynamic Glaswegian trio Machines In Heaven produce the kind of music that my experimental electro-dance loving self finds incredibly satisfying.  Their new EP Hindu Milk  is a cacophony of beautiful sounds, created courtesy of Davey Gwynne (production, guitar, synth, vocals), Greg Hurst (production, synths) and Connor Reid (production, guitar, synths).

The record gets down to business immediately with opener Edge Of The Middle.  Random ambient bleeps make way for surging guitar and intense melody, always with that killer beat.  This has already got me nodding my head and wanting to get the lights out and up dancing on my bedroom floor.

The light, glistening intro to the next track, the eponymous Hindu Milk,  is built up gently and magically.  I’m shaking my head in wonder now, as crunchy beats and electronically angelic vocals transcend the song to another level.  These guys know what they’re doing.  This is what electronic music should be: transformative, infectious and full of surprises.

You know you’re onto something good when you feel like you don’t even want to listen to the next song – I was inclined to save it up for later as a treat.  Voodoo Mechanics  doesn’t disappoint.  Packed with sassy guitar and sprinkled with kooky bloops, the strength of the synth carries it through to when the beat drops, releasing a whole world of chaotically organised sounds.  Another inducer of the head-shake, this one has the power to possess.

Feel Slow  is one of the band’ most popular tracks, and with a melody as captivating and beats as atmospheric as this, I can see why.  Just like in the way that composers of classical music tell a story with their music, so do the best makers of electro.  The drama created by the music alone is amazing, and it’s heightened by emotive vocals on top.

Sweetly picked strings are the foundation of the last song Holy Particles.  An altogether more chilled out vibe is offered here, and I must give the band kudos for apt song titles, as little chunks of heaven is what this track conjures.  This ambling sound gives way to a euphoric amalgam that escalates angelically.  A stream of sound that becomes almost mind-achingly reminiscent of infinity and space and the unknown.

The trio have hit the nail on the head with their own name too; these are the kinds of sounds I would be happy to hear in paradise.  Once you’ve heard their music there is no going back…

- Maura Keane

Machines In Heaven - Hindu Milk  is out now via Hot Gem Records and available to download via all good online music retailers.

Catch them live at Broadcast in Glasgow on the 17th December.

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