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Electric:
We Are Flying Machines
For some reason, the Midwest and Chicago in particular have always been the geographical fountainhead of indie rock. This may seem like a controversial claim, but with the amount and diversity of bands that have been spawned there, it is hard to see who would dispute it. Maybe it is Chicagos hothouse isolation that creates its vibrancy, maybe it is Chicagoans relentless need to overcome their second cityness, or maybe it is just a historical accident that so many great indie rock musicians and innovators call or have called Chicago their home. Another band to recently join the continually creative Chicago scene is Electric, a three piece with a bad name and surprisingly good music. Their first LP, We are Flying Machines, landed in my stereo as I prepared to resign myself to spending the next 45 minutes or so to fighting back boredom and the desire to hit the stop button. Fortunately, Electric did not force me into that less than desirable state. I found myself interested from the first ringing notes of the first song until the ringing climax at the end of the album. Never too eager to please, yet also not alienating, Electric manages to fuse understated moodiness with an interesting melodic sense. They build suspense and tension slowly and deliberately without blowing their load too soon or insulting their listeners by being too obvious about their motives. This is a welcome change from some bands who mistake extreme volume changes and random time signatures for songwriting skills. Electric, on the other hand, keep their songs fairly simple musically, yet manage to evoke a subtlety of impression that most bands could only hope for. My only complaint is with the singing which, while not bad, began to wear on me towards the end of the album. This is by no means a fatal flaw and should probably be chalked up to the idiosyncratic vocal tastes of this reviewer. The guitars, however, are put to particularly good use by relinquishing most rhythm tasks to the bass and drums and sticking only to creating atmosphere and punctuating vocal melodies to which they are admirably suited. We are Flying Machines is easily one of the better underground records of the year, and we should hear more good things from this band in the future.
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