21 April 2021

PENNY MACHINE

 

While I only really discovered this mid-teens Oakland band a few weeks ago, I've devoured this cassette front to back more times than I can count. PENNY MACHINE sometimes sound like a relic of a lost decade (and continent) - blatant early UK post punk and twee influences creep into the sound but rarely stick around, giving way to modern day urban warehouse dwellers and damp basement hooks. Guitars do a modern dance together; in sync but in opposition, distortion free rhythm in the shadows while a damaged lead takes the melody...or the inverse. Because there are no rules. "Roses" is the single (if there is a single), a sharp and snappy burner with a wash of cymbals and high end that dominate the chorus and a screaming lick that owns the bridge while a chorus of lead and backing vocals fill every remaining crevice. I guess what I'm really trying to say (and failing) is: This is brilliant pop music. Or at least it should be what pop music is (or vice versa), and it is definitely brilliant. 

PENNY MACHINE