The Secret Machines - Ten Silver Drops (Warner)

The follow-up to the prog-pop’s Now Here is Nowhere feels much more restrained than their previous work. Gone are the infectious jam sessions of songs like “First Wave Intact” and “Sad and Lonely” on their debut and the insanely catchy “Nowhere Again.” Instead, they give us massively boring “Daddy’s in the Doldrums.” Even their slower songs at the end of the album can’t hold a candle to the gracefulness of “Pharaoh’s Daughter” from their debut. With that said, the rest of album, with only a whooping total of eight tracks, isn’t half bad. It starts off quite strong with its first three tracks being their best. While not directly sounding like bands such as Led Zeppelin or U2, the band manages to create a powerful atmosphere that could only be done those bands. The problem with the album is it seems like they are trying too hard to create their epic sound that was present in their first album. Even though Brandon Curtis’ vocals are as strong as ever, the songs focus too much on his voice, rather than the band as a whole, which is what made their debut so good. I’m not quite ready to give up on the band – they definitely have the talent to create really great music, but this is definitely a pothole in that path.

– Tamon Go