The third album from Dallas trio the Secret Machines isn’t really an opus. It’s more like a love letter to David Bowie. Literally every track is steeped in Ziggy-isms and while this writer counts himself as one of the many Bowie fans out there, this self-titled release pales in comparison to anything the Thin White Duke has ever produced. From the opening squeal of ‘Atomic Heels’ (which sounds like an out-take from Diamond Dogs) right through to ‘I Never Thought To Ask’ (which calls to mind David’s Tin Machine misfire), the record is more of a homage than anything else.
Sounding slightly less rocky than before (new boy Ben Curtis’ guitar could almost be mistaken for a keyboard) the band’s spiralling, swirling prog ditties are by and large pretty dull and boring. Saving grace is the mid-section freak out of ‘The Walls Are Starting To Crack’, which is something special and will have fans of King Crimson, Pink Floyd and various other over-blown bands in raptures – but for all of that track’s invention, plodding doom-fests such as ‘Have I Run Out’ and ‘Now You’re Gone’ let the record down in bagfuls. Their ambition and risk-taking is to be applauded, but the endless crescendos and wailing, spacey guitars of 11 minute long final track ‘The Fire Is Waiting’ makes you thankful for the fact that they haven’t released a double album instead of wanting to hit the play button again.

Key Track: ‘Last Believer, Drop Dead’