CD Review: Pain Machinery, The - Restart

Written by Petra Whiteley Friday, 12 October 2012 09:59

Artist: The Pain Machinery
Title: Restart
Genre: Electro / Industrial
Release Date: 29th June 2012
Label: Complete Control Productions

Album Review

Year after ‘Surveillance Culture’, the Swedish duo of THE PAIN MACHINERY are back with ‘Restart’.  Let’s brush on best moments of the album: ‘Damage’ is a song that has an unobtrusive danceablity about it. Robert Lane of //TENSE// has collaborated on ‘There Will Be Blood’, which begs a question of its relation to the Paul Thomas Anderson’s film; well, only in so far as a parallel of personal struggles. This also points at the lyrical change, whereas their previous album took on social issues, there are more personal issues on the table, so to speak, with ‘Restart’. Though, there are still tracks that concern their hate of hypocrites of any political leanings, such as ‘Running Red’, which also in another version has provided a closing, instrumental track that gets you into introspective mood before you know it.

They make the old EBM school sound still relevant and the same goes for their sound being embedded in old school synth punk tradition of UK, not to mention the Chicago acid house tradition. So what is it that doesn’t make them sound just like a retro-trip and only good for nostalgiacs? It’s the fact that they transmuted all those elements into a vision that comes to modern scene like a breath of fresh air; it feels artistic rather than manufactured or formulaic, yet still enjoyable to the last beat. It’s ‘less is more’ approach shows a good breadth of skills, it’s not an easy feat to accomplish a lot with not a whole lot of tricks up the sleeve.


Tracklist

01. Liquid Silver
02. Kick
03. Outside
04. Wired
05. Running Red
06. There Will Be Blood
07. Damage
08. Like Ice (Digi)
09. Running Red Bonus Beats


Line-up

Anders Karlsson: Machinery
Jonas Hedberg: Vocals


Websites

https://www.facebook.com/thepainmachinery / http://www.thepainmachinery.com


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 8
Sound: 9
Total: 8.5 / 10