Viva Machine – Viva Machine
Viva Machine - Viva Machine
It’s been a fair while since this reviewer caught Viva Machine live; back in 2007, not too long after they had decided to change their name from Ipsofacto. Without wishing to begin on a detrimental note, one of the few things that stuck out in an uninspiring set that night was catching a drumstick thrown into the Bristol Academy crowd.
The opening 30 seconds of opener ‘Robotbodyrox’ sound worryingly like scraps from the table of emo bands such as My Chemical Romance before somehow the song turns around into what is actually quite a catchy indie pop number, similar to the earlier work of The Automatic, obviously without the annoying scream vocal of former member Pennie.
The positive energy is continued into ‘Go! Go! Go!’ – one of the bands oldest cuts, and despite the modern production that has obviously been applied, there is still an underlying sense that the song feels oddly dated, almost as if this is a Best-Of collection of singles, not a debut album.
Lead single ‘Earthquakes & Loveshakes’ rounds off an opening trio of songs which sound like cover versions of b-sides of either The Automatic (the headline act at the aforementioned gig in the start of this review) or Biffy Clyro, yet offer neither the pure fun energy of one, nor the cleverly thought out lyrics of the other.
A brief bit of research into Viva Machine brings up a list of supposed influences including Biffy Clyro, Queens Of The Stone Age, Radiohead, Weezer and The Beach Boys yet it is hard to decide whether any of these artists (with the exception of Biffy) are actual influences, or just a short list of bands that Viva Machine like or appreciate the work of, as none of the definitive styles of the bands listed have managed to make their way into this record.
The middle order of songs is disappointingly limp – ‘Deathstar Trucker’ almost instantly smacks of an attempt at a Tenacious D knock-off, lacking the narrative that songs like ‘Tribute’ carry. The next two tracks ‘Yo Ho’ and ‘Here Comes The Speed Of Light’ have been generously overlooked in order to reduce the tedium of commenting on how bad large chunks of the album is. This reviewer has many a time considered the merits that a negative review provides, and concluded that there isn’t many. Nobody really benefits – artist, reader, or even reviewer.
Thankfully, the record makes an attempt to pick up in quality for the last three tracks, giving the album an almost sandwich-like effect – except with only a bland sawdust-style concoction as filling. ‘Supernova’ matches synth with heavy guitar riffs in a way that allows the listener to overlook the copycat vocal of Biffy’s Simon Neil. Even the totally unnecessary spelling out of words during the next track ‘A Futuristic Dracula’ can almost be forgiven.
Closer ‘Mental State’ is the record’s longest track – and its most extravagant – a six minute culmination of cute synth beats and cuter lyrics akin to those of the more poignant tracks from Biffy Clyro’s ‘Puzzle’ – an record which was released in 2007, and had Viva Machine released this in the same time bracket, then their success as a band may have been multiplied several times over. However the fact remains that the year is 2009, and music has progressed over the last two years, leaving Viva Machine lagging behind.
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