The last time I had Sunset The Machine under the pen, I praised their heads-down-no-nonsense approach to making music. The new one, “Owl Scream,” only reinforces their decision to take such an unfussy approach. After all, you could argue that rock music found its perfect form a long time ago. All the modern rock and roller has to do is take those tried and tested moves and grooves and move them around, play with the finished sound and put them back together in a fresh yet wonderfully familiar way. And that is what Sunset the Machine is doing here.
And the results are excellent. It is recognisable, old-school rock and roll with enough modern twists and dynamic movement to make it stand on its own two feet. They play with big slabs of rock grit but throw in enough swing and swagger to stop it from becoming monolithic. They pound relentlessly away but do so with enough space and air that the song breaths. They add plenty of unique guitar effects, not to mention dynamic lulls to break things up, meaning when they kick back in, they have further to go, intensifying the effect brilliantly.
Some might accuse Sunset the Machine of trying to reinvent the wheel, but I would say that if this is true, at least they are smart enough to add some tasteful white walls and burn that rubber until the street is full of smoke. They have woken up the neighbours and then careered off down the road, leaving a trail of toxic fumes and the rattle of empty beer cans in their wake. Isn’t that what rock and roll is all about anyway? Who’s along for the ride?
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