Mechanimal –
Secret Science (Inner Ear Records)
CD/DL
Out Now
Greece based
‘drone n roll’ trio release their new album.
Why have a
never been told how good Mechanimal are?
Well, if I’d have listened to the recommendations of Transmission 13 I
might have known. But, why aren’t
Mechanimal more in my face? Why haven’t
I fallen in love with their music before now? I have now.
Born out of
the unrestful streets of Athens in 2011, fronted by Giannis Papaioannou a journalist
and pioneer of the electronic music scene the group produce an exciting mix of
industrial-electro-post-punk which recalls Rammstein, Kraftwerk and Joy
Division.
Their sound
is fresh and clinically raw, continuous bass throbs and krautrock melodies
accompany spoken word lyrics and shoegaze guitars over ten tracks of the very highest
quality. Album opener, Kindergarten sets
the scene with a bizarre intro, almost haunting (imagine Tears For Fears’
forgotten b-side The Big Chair) with creepy voice and gurgling synth before
guitars and bass synths crash in to complete the opus.
Sensucht
then begins with a repetitive hook almost reminiscent of 80s electro as
chugging guitars knurl away at the clean-cut sound with a raw passion. Vocals are wonderfully dark and even manage
to sneak in a very effective chorus line.
We Come
Alive cannot avoid the comparisons to a Depeche Mode remix, but what a
compliment. Effervescent synths stamp
along with a driving beat and vocals from American Freddie Faulkenberry add an
enflamed semi-rage to the piece. His
voice on The Den has similarities to the black, lonesome tones of Ian Curtis as
Mechanimal continue to recount the troubled Greek landscape with convincing
effect.
The group’s ability
to effortlessly move between hard industrial sounds and more poppy electronica
ones is superb as Song To The Sirens demonstrates. There’s something completely gripping about
their sound that a UK audience would devour in droves.
Album closer,
the mammoth Down in The Basement in sheer bliss. Constructed like your favourite extended
remix it builds and drops and rises back again like a proverbial phoenix, and
threatens to fill any void that the mighty Cabaret Voltaire may have left in
our souls.
Mechanimal
are exciting and bold and sinister. More
importantly they are here, now, and just have released on of the finest albums
of the year.
9.5/10
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