Secret Machines

Graduates from the University of Audio Alchemy, the Secret Machines create music that's just as mechanical as it's organic. Intricately arranged symphonies of distorted analog sounds soar upward alongside digital accoutrements before being blown apart by what sounds like fireworks. The Machines channel a myriad of influences, blending Pink Floyd's early space rock romanticism with Neu's static-happy electro drones, and Spiritualized's post-shoegazer tremolos with My Bloody Valentine's warbling walls of guitar effects. Singer Ben Curtis has a Flaming-Lips-by-way-of-Neil-Young style on some songs but seems most at home when accompanied by two-part vocal harmonies. Their music flirts heavily with various psychedelic styles, but you don't need to take mind-bending drugs to enjoy it.