Anyone who has followed my writing for a while will know that I have made a point of keeping up with what Anna-Lynne has been up for a number of years now, ever since I discovered the wondrous Trespassers William album Different Stars. I have to report that this, by far and away, is the best release I've ever heard from her. As I've said before, she has one of those voices. The kind that you could die happy listening to, the kind that you'd thank for telling you you needed a tooth extraction because the news would be delivered so lyrically. Here, with Robert Gomez, she has struck the perfect collaborative note. Indie yet immediate, pop. yet dark enough to appear dangerous, retro and vintage, yet incredibly insistent and vital, as the press release attests, every track here could be the opening track, or the first single. This album will deservedly sit atop many end of year best of lists, so completely does it tower over any "opposition" which it may face.
Beginning with the Midlake-like Can't Imagine (hear it below) the album proceeds serenely through ten perfectly formed paeans of poeticism and indie beauty. The temptation to describe the magisterial magnificence of each and every song is immense, but just writing words upon words would not be enough. There are inflections of creativity in the mixing and arrangements here which bely the fact that this was a collaboration between two artists who barely knew each other when they began. Both have their chance to shine, vocally, with Williams' best moment on the organ-infused title track, while Gomez features prominently on Cherry Blossom. Best, though, is where the two magical voices intertwine together, as heard most clearly on Sudden Bright, with it's lilting acoustic riffs and persistent synth flourishes, and the slow build of Hold the Water's woodwind and percussion.
Throughout the interplay between the acoustic and bass guitars is wonderful, as arpeggiating figures of acoustic underpin most songs, weaving in and out of the mix, carried along on beds of probing bass. The attention to detail here is staggering. Every note, every flourish, feels just right, like it had to be just where it is, at just that moment
Previously I cited Midlake as a potential influence influence, and it does seem to me as if the shadow of that brilliant band is cast long over this album. Rhythm section sounds are pleasingly similar, and the almost playful musicality which is at the record's core as a counterpoint to the minor key chord progressions which pulse throughout seems to take the pastoral folk template of an album like The Trials of Van Occupanther, and improve on it ten-fold. Machine is a clearly distilled alt-folk masterpiece, a combining of powerful creative forces and visions which has resulted in the best thing released by either artist in any of their previous incarnations and iterations. A clear must buy and album of the year shoe-in.
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