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"Sloppy pop is so cool. There are the classics of rigid, formalist pop -- the Beach Boys, the Big Stars -- and that's all well and good. Sometimes, though, it's nice to hear self-imposed amateurism for the sake of authenticity, the feeling that rock is populist, not just for the elite, talent-borne. Machine Go Boom falls into the current indie-pop zeitgeist, but has the same kind of lo-fi diffidence of a Times New Viking or Sebadoh, instead of the overkill instrumentation and multi-part harmonies of New Pornographers or Arcade Fire.
. . .
"Machine Go Boom also uses synthesizers to great effect. The riffs are never complicated, and always hummable. Good thing, because the songs stick on first listen. "M.I.A." is stunning, the synth and tribal percussion backing a great vocal melody. Future car commercial material there. The closer "Lazy Weekend" so accurately captures that oh-well contentment of having done nothing with the weekend, because it will be back in five days, and you can just try again then. "A little publicity, more touring and possibly a stroke of luck will help Machine Go Boom bring its fun-pop statement to dejected, baroque-gorged listeners - a hopeful sentiment, because Music For Parents is a constantly thrilling statement." "[Machine Go Boom] strikes indie pop frankincense when they unearth mega-bouncy melodies. The sincere irreverence and undeniable charm that leaps from every corner of the album creates decadently orgasmic pop that transcends its own goofiness and perches itself upon rainbows made of smiles and Buddy Holly glasses. Before you can possibly recover from the last manically-howled hook, another one hops on its back before they stumble giddily into the next ditty. If there's one thing Mikey and Co. can do with terrifying aplomb, it's squeezing out minute-and-a-half gems. "All the Way to PA" and "Build Me a Ladder" are berserk examples of pure bananas pop genius, as is the chant of "Hate!" on "Gentleman's Reply," which will ultimately lead to holes in the drywall. Are they the best band in Cleveland or the best pop outfit in the whole wiggle-wide world? This question's all that remains after "Music for Parents" wrecks the living room, clogs the toilet and pours pixie sticks down the cat's throat." "Is it merely a matter of promotion and luck that keeps Machine Go Boom from being the biggest indie-rock heroes in the country? It must be, because the music itself really couldn’t get much better. I’ve been listening to their new CD, Music for Parents . . . and I’m reminded of their last effort, Thank You Captain Obvious in all the best ways. Both records sound epic without actually being overlong –- and I don’t mean that in any Queen or Rush sort of way. I just mean that so much unchecked / unvarnished / unflagging emotion comes at you in 50-odd minutes that, when you’re done with it, it clearly feels like An Album Proper. Yet at the same time, the pop and ease of the melodies make it all wisk by like a trip down a waterslide. So of course you hit repeat, and wonder all over again. How can something that sounds so fun also feel so weighty? How can music that feels like lifeblood chug along so merrily? I have some reference-math if you want it: Machine Go Boom make good on the promise of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea with a Sebadoh-like kitchen-sink prolificacy. Theirs is a rich-yet-frayed exuberance, singing joyfully in spite of cracked voices, smiling fully through cracked lips. As contagious and immediate as the best busker you’ve ever heard, this is lived-in music, and you should live in it, too." "Too bad Tommy Stinson already burned the name: If there has ever been a band that deserved the moniker Bash & Pop, it's these guys. Let's start with the pop: There's the lilting, Shins-like '800 lb. Gorilla,' as well as two indie-paeans to high-school humiliation -- the horns-abetted 'Oh My' and 'M.I.A.,' which sounds like Brian Jonestown Massacre covering Simon & Garfunkel's 'Cecilia.' As for the bash, MGB churns out Pixies-ish throttle like the pogoing 'Gentleman's Reply,' the joyously off-kilter 'Build Me a Ladder,' and the furiously jangling 'Uh-Oh...,' where they admit to hanging 'with the hobos drinking gin/Never knowing what it is in.' And with its opening complaint, 'I hate the light of day,' the accordion-driven 'Dirty Pipes' could serve as a slacker anthem for half of Lakewood while competing with 'Build Me a Ladder' for best track. But with 16 terrific cuts, Music for Parents rivals recent releases by Bears and Houseguest for top-to-bottom excellence and might be better for its breadth." "Ultimately, it's this juxtaposition of age and maturity with the uncontrollable vigor of youth (often within the same song), that makes Music For Parents so compelling. 'Parents' may musically sound grown up, but thematically, it deals with young lovers running away. Or, consider the circus carnival sounds of 'M.I.A.,' and how it hides fear and death behind a clown disguise. Parents, young adults, and teenagers can all learn a valuable lesson from this album: getting older may mean dealing with grown-up problems, but it doesn't mean that you have to stop having fun." "Listening to the 16 top-notch tracks that did make the cut, you've got to wonder how bad the leftovers can be. The tunes cover a range of moods, attitudes and stylistic approaches, from folky tracks like 'Small' and 'Parents' that are soft but with surprisingly busy arrangements, rockers like the jabbering 'Gentleman's Reply' or the explosive, roof-rattling 'Niagara Falls' which breaks down at the end, 'Layla'-like, into a puddling keyboard-driven outro, and the smudged power pop of tracks like 'Circle of Dirt' with its melodic but noisy guitars. . . . And, with its expert blend of folk, pop and rock and the wistful yet anxious lyrics that mostly tackle the pitfalls of groping toward maturity, the disc exudes a distinctively British aura. Unsurprisingly, Baranick cities the Kinks, especially the 1968 album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, as a major influence. None of the tunes slavishly copies that style, but it's clearly in their DNA." back |
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