Immaculate Machine – High On Jackson Hill CD Review
Things on the west coast are either behind of ahead of the times. In fact it’s both. That trivial time zone thing notwithstanding, life and culture out west seems to be a humble bow to the past combined with a hopeful nod to the future.
Perhaps it’s the laid back lifestyle or the more agreeable climate but things just seem to happen at a different pace out there. The music – that aural reflection of society – just seems different the closer you get to the Pacific Ocean. So much of it seems timeless, not so much in its elegance but in the simple fact you have one helluva time telling some of today’s stuff from something unlocked from the musical vaults of the past. Date-stamping by sound alone is virtually impossible.
Immaculate Machine certainly fits that description. The Vancouver Island-based band at times reminds one of a band born in the frazzled and freeloving of the sixties with harmonies and almost juvenile riffs reminiscent of something from Hair or Jesus Christ Superstar. Then, at other times, they sound new and very contemporary.
The band’s been with us since late in 2002 and have produced two independent albums the View and Transporter which garnered the band some good vibes through heavy play on college radio, Immaculate Machine is essentially long-time friends Brooke Gallupe (vocals/guitar), Kathryn Calder (vocals/ keyboards), and Luke Kozlowski (vocals/drums) who – as I mentioned – sound like something out of a different time and place with their unique three part harmonies and simple analog instrumentations.
High on Jackson Hill is, at its bare minimum, a mild homage to the threadbare sixties but, at its pinnacle, a new sound seemingly built on a very old sound. Too many bands badly try to replicate what they weren’t around for, figuring its more about the acoustics and lyrics than it is about the very essence and the vibe. Immaculate machine ramps up the What and How and pretty much disregards the much more strivial When. With this offering High On Jackson Hill manages to capture that elusive timeless quality where ability triumphs over style – as it always should.
Immaculate Machine – Sound The Alarms
Immaculate Machine – Blurry Days
Tags: album
