Every so often a murmur starts and then turns into a low rumble, eventually becoming a collective buzz of excitement when a band begins to make its mark in the music showplace called live gigs. This buzz usually begins with tastemakers and music journos looking out for something new and original, or at the very least an artist or band that smacks of originality, creativity and sincerity. machineri is one such band that has had this buzz a-going ever since their first gigs. Their stripped down bluesy rumble fronted by the sexy (and reportedly very moody) Sannie Fox, and accompanied by the disheveled appearance of Andre Geldenhuys captured the imaginations of many a rock ‘n roll chin-stroker in Cape Town. Attendance at their shows has grown as has their reputation culminating in this, their self-titled debut album. machineri – the album – consists of 11 tracks and I should imagine will hold little surprise to ardent followers of their gigs. Two things struck me about the album though; Sannie’s vocal timing tends to meander across music bars quite effortlessly, which can take some getting used to on the first few listens, and her vocal range is also quite limited which is a little unfortunate since this stripped down blues-rock (I’m thinking Jake White or Robert Plant who do it so well) really needs very strong and diverse singing to carry the songs. Nitpicking aside I really, really like machineri and have found myself intrigued by the album which simply gets better with each listen.
REVIEW: Dave Mac
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