The Secret Machines

Imagine the worst thing you’ve ever said to a loved one. Now recall the instant you realize you can’t take it back. Your stomach drops; your mouth tastes metallic. What is done can’t be undone. A short time later you’re defiant—feeling that you don’t need anyone and will die alone. That naïve, insolent, singular moment is thoroughly explored and set to crystalline music on Ten Silver Drops, the new album from the propulsive trio Secret Machines. It’s no surprise that the theme of isolation dominates the New York City-based Secret Machines’ second album. By the time they began working on the songs in January 2005, the band members—bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Brandon Curtis, his brother guitarist/vocalist Ben Curtis, and drummer Josh Garza—had been touring for more than 18 months straight in support of their 2004 debut album Now Here Is Nowhere with only a couple days off at a time. “We experienced a deconstruction of our personal lives,” says Brandon. “Coming home to a familiar setting and being alien to it created a sense of isolation from the people we’re close to. There were all these invisible barriers that were tough to reach through. So we ende... more...