A multi-dimensional masterpiece
In a world where Radiohead are everybody's favourite band and seen as the new Pink Floyd, the genre of progressive rock needs some sort of act to rival Thom Yorke and co., Memories of Machines seem to be exactly what is required. The project, brainchild of Tim Bowness (No-Man) and Nosound's Giancarlo Erra, is certainly one with the credentials and skill to craft a memorable suite of atmospheric experiments into the world of sound. 'New Memories of Machines' sits at the top of the album and is the encapsulation of what the band lay down here on this album. It is sonically diverse with string arrangements, dense guitar playing and a nakedness that strips music back to its foundation; an ethereal and beautiful soundboard is created.
'Change Me Once Again' is a track that jumps out at you from the first listen. It is, like the album's opener, drenched in effects-heavy guitar and a mellow piano line that serve as a perfect backdrop for Bowness's poetry, which is bathed in realism but somewhat contrastingly references the supernatural, the spacy and the psychedelic. A perfect advert for the multi-layered narratives and wealth of interpretation that this album possesses, dare I compare it to the many strands of Pink Floyd's opus "The Dark Side of The Moon". 'The schoolyard ghosts that haunt your dreams, hold you back and make you feel unclean' is the focus line of 'Schoolyard Ghosts' as the notion that what you experience in childhood and early life controls your every move in later life. This image is a haunting and unflinching one, that doesn't shy away from truth and is a perfect study of the human condition.
The above track also features some truly mesmerising instrumental contributions; guitars, saxophones and synthesisers. Sometimes it is hard to decipher what is making which sound but that merely adds to the sound collage that makes up the album, 'At The Centre of It All' and 'Something In Our Lives' are certainly some of the most prominent songs in which instrumental sounds blur to create a progressive masterwork. The best track on the album 'Lost and Found in the Digital World' is also guilty of this indulgence with a magnificent saxophone piece creating an ambient portrait of being lost in the digital music. This is the track where Bowness channels Pink Floyd's David Gilmour as he slowly speaks his way through the track, eerily breathing concise poetry in tune with the beauty of the music.
Overall, the music that has been created here is certainly a huge achievement in the world of progressive rock. Pink Floyd, King Crimson and Bowie's Berlin Trilogy are all reference points here that when combined with the individualism and creativity of Bowness and Erra, make beautiful and hauntingly majestic music. The perfect representation of progressive rock in the 21st century.