And NOW what are you listening to?

Fun Machine - Sonnenhuhn

New Jersey based band that seem to not take life too seriously, or at least with much humour. This is also evident in their music, but listen carefully to realize how much effort, work and emotion has been put into it.

Crazy to a certain extent, Fun Machine “produces” music which is, well… fun!
Diverse in their output, this band plays dynamic and upbeat music, quite uplifting in its mood, filled with intricacies, small quirkiness and with changes as the songs go on.
There is a sense of humour in their music, as well as a driving force that keeps the music’s fast pace and changes as the tracks move on. In the noisy fast parts I started thinking of The Cardiacs; not to say they have the same sound (though it may serve as a minor reference) but in the spirit of the music, in its intensity. I was also reminded of Make A Rising and their special brand of avant-rock mingled with pop elements and Shining’s and The Mars Volta’s super intense and noisy music.

Fun Machine’s music is accessible and catchy. It sounds familiar and yet new and refreshing. It is well played, cleverly composed and a delight to listen to. It is the little intricacies in the songs that add a special flavour to them, make them even more appealing than their basic ideas. Also, the effective interplay of guitar and keyboards, the effects that each one does, provides a wide range of sounds and evoke many different emotions – from aggressive to nostalgic, from sensual to appeasing to sleepy. The sound is very coherent and tight; the complex parts are meticulously done and are a delight to listen to. They do not, however, only focus on making complex and intricate music, but on beautiful and attractive and memorable melodies. Their music writing is very successful in this sense. This is what caught me from first listen, despite the complexity of the songs and the lengths of some. The magic is achieved by efficiently combining those two attributes in their music.

A highly enjoyable album, refreshing and familiar at the same time (at least to me); Recommended, particularly if you like any of the band’s mentioned above and also if you like quirky and hyper active complex rock.

Listen to them here: http://www.myspace.com/funmachine

NaturalScience wrote: Bern wrote: NaturalScience wrote: ^^ Good call, was actually intending to play that one today myself. Right now, some Hiromi Uehara: And what do you think about it? Love it, love it, love it.  Can't thank you enough for introducing me to this.  Right now "Time Control" is my favorite from her, but I love this record "Spiral", I find it relaxing.

E-Dub wrote: NaturalScience wrote: E-Dub wrote: This is still one of my favorite Yes discs. Pat. Probably second behind Close To The Edge. E I can't choose between CTTE, Tales, and Relayer; all three of them are tied at the top for me.  A lot of their other albums from that era aren't really far behind either, but I'm a fanboy. I've noticed that. Whenever I post a Yes disc I can be assured that you'll give me a thumbs up. Always welcomed, of course. Do you like Drama? I would say very underrated, but I've noticed a lot of posts in support of it. Personally, I love it. E

It's very solid - I used to enjoy it more, but somehow over time it's lost a bit of its appeal, but still very good, particularly the first and last tracks.  Actually, "Machine Messiah" still sounds pretty fresh to me, if you told someone the track was from a modern symph or neo-prog outfit no one would bat an eye.

Bern wrote: NaturalScience wrote: ^^ Good call, was actually intending to play that one today myself. Right now, some Hiromi Uehara: And what do you think about it?

Love it, love it, love it.  Can't thank you enough for introducing me to this. 

Right now "Time Control" is my favorite from her, but I love this record "Spiral", I find it relaxing.

"Summer Shudder". Decemberunderground.

I love the part about 6 1/2 minutes into "Sound Chaser" where it almost takes on a Zeppelin quality. Not sure which is my favorite tune off Relayer. Probably "Gates", but they're all good.

E