Secret Machines - Lightning Blue Eyes (Reprise/679)
UK release date: 27 March 2006
If you didn't know already, Secret Machines are well on their way to
becoming one of the biggest bands of the year. Currently residing under
the moniker of 'cult favourites' there is little doubt that their cult
status will soon be upgraded to 'celebrity'.
Lightning Blue Eyes is the second release from the forthcoming album
Ten Silver Drops and sees the band in fine form. First single 'Alone,
Jealous and Stoned' was a mammoth affair clocking in at around the
seven minute mark, and drew some comparisons to the likes of Pink
Floyd amongst others. If you work solely in terms of Secret Machines
however, then Lightning Blues Eyes is the Sad and Lonely to Alone Jealous
and Stoned's First Wave Intact (the gargantuan opener to their Now Here
Is Nowhere album).
Far more accessible than Alone... Lightning Blue Eyes is a
conventional pop song. It's focused, it's shorter, and there is an easily
discernable chorus. Yet, it doesn't quite sound like any pop song you've
heard before. It somehow feels both enormously retro and sparklingly new at
the same time. As usual with Secret Machines, it's driven by those
familiar unrelenting drums that pound their message home and a strong sense
of melody may well cause uncontrollable production of Serotonin. In
short then, this single shows a swing towards a brighter, more optimistic
sounding Secret Machines. You would be wise to catch them now, because
they won't stay secret for too much longer.