|
| |
|
: : Carptree - Man Made Machine
: : |
|
Band/Artist
Carptree
Title:
Man Made Machine
Released
2005
Label
InsideOut
|
 |
1. Titans
Crash Aggressively to Keep an Even Score
2. Sunshine Waters
3. The Weakening Sound
4. Tilting the Scales
5. The Man You Just Became
6. Man Made Machine
7. Burn to Something New
8. In the Centre of Empty Space
9. The Recipe
10. This is Home |
: : The Players : :
Niclas Flinck Lead Vocals | Carl Westholm Piano, Synths, Vocoder,
Theremin
Introducing the No Future Orchestra: Ulf Edelonn All Guitars and Bass
tracks 6, 8, 10 | Jejo Perkovic Drums | Stefan Fanden Bass 1, 2, 4, 5,
Baritone Guitar 8 | Jan Hellman Bass 7, Electric Upright Bass 3 | Jonas
Waldefeldt Tambourine and percussion 1, 2, 4, 7 Backing vocals 1,
4 | Oivin Tronstad Backing Vocals 2, 8, 10 | Cia Backman Backing Vocals
1, 2, 4, 5, 7 | Also Appearing: Trollhattans Chamber Choir 3 |
|
: : Man Made Machine : :
As can be somewhat defined by the title this is a CD about a man made
machine--a robot, if you will--but at the same time I sense it is also
about the machine man has become.
Quite expected from the current center of what I see true growth in the
field of progressive rock music, Sweden, Norway, and the other
Scandinavian countries.
It seems to me that these wonderful people who spend a good bit of their
time in the dark (the dark being the lack of sunlight) where they have
an almost godlike perception into the world of man made machines as well
as man as machines. By this I mean an ability to more properly perceive
our imperfections in what we have done and what we continue to do to our
world.
All that said, this is a fantastic CD full of choral arrangements,
orchestral and symphonic music with a mix of screaming guitars, pounding
rhythms, and ethereal vocals. Songs that start softly but pulls the skin
back to reveal the mechanical parts within us all.
This is a very good CD, probably their best to date and one that sees
Carptree taking a giant step forward in both songwriting and musical
production.
As I alluded to in the beginning, this is a CD about both the “man made
machine” coming to a state of sentient awareness and at the same time
the maker having a level of cosmic realization. In the title song
“Titians Clash Aggressively…” you get the idea that here we have both
the machine and maker fleeing the expectations of mankind, society, God
and the universe. Neither understanding the illogical apparatus, the
device for true existence and the impossibility of it all.
There are totally tons of great
prog rock flourishes throughout this CD. Musically it tickles all my
fancies and is one of those CD’s that with each listen you hear more of
the layers, understand more of the story, feel more of the machine and
the man’s pain and struggle. This is some thought provoking and
wonderful music.
Each song characterizes the path on which the machine/man walks and how
each offers resistance or acceptance to the path along the journey. As
the title song “Man Made Machine” so insightfully defines “Man can make
machine, machine can make machine, but only man can make machine of
man”. Pretty close to the truth wouldn’t you say? I think the final
track, “This is Home” pretty much sums up the idea with home being the
fiction of science and naivety.
A CD with some level of darkness, a CD with excellent music, with
demanding lyrics, with constant changes where the listener is moved from
melancholy to excitement from pain to elation from noticeably
indifferent to a great power of mental association to the bond between
man as machine, machine as man.
Rating: 9 of 10
Reviewed By: Stephen Ellis
: : Visit the Artist’s Website : :
: : Discography : :
Carptree - 2001
Superhero - 2003
Man Made Machine - 2005 |
|
|
 |
|
