Not bad at all. This CD EP contains the band's self-titled 7" plus four new tracks, and the style is basically a screamo/indie kind of thing, but rather than taking an overly frantic and caustic direction, the playing is in fact much tighter and more methodical. The riffs are both melodic and at times acerbic, jumping from layered dual guitar runs with biting distortion to interesting melodic chords and heavier rhythms or jangly clean guitars, while the vocals are somewhat plain and soft midrange singing that provides an interesting contrast to the music. "Oh - Snap/Martyr Monday" gets a little heavier and more intricate with its riffing, bringing in some fierce screaming vocals at points, and makes for my favorite track of the disc; while "Don't Flatter Yourself, I Just Write Songs" is shorter and brings in more melody, plus some spoken vocals for added variety. "This Song is About Arms" kicks up the volume and energy massively at times, with sick screams and some straight dual guitar harmonies that come as a surprise. Closer "I Truly Love You But I Cannot Sing..." has some chunkier picking patterns and more rhythmic intensity, remaining instrumental for its duration, which is odd as it's the longest piece - but it's also a true standout. The recording is really nice for this style and sounds consistent across the board, so I'd guess everything was recorded in the same session. The rhythm section sounds natural and packs a punch, the guitars are clear without sacrificing their dirty bite, and the vocals are expertly mixed - especially in "Fast Times at Right Now", where the vocals pan around and sink deep in against the instruments. It's not a polished sound of course, but it is a bit clearer and more rounded out than many. The layout is printed entirely on matte paper with simple high contrast imagery and tiny text, using few colors to keep things as minimal as possible. The arrangement is quite atypical, with the tracklist on the front cover and the lyrics on the back, etc., but everything definitely works. The lyrics are personal and whatnot, but for once I actually enjoy the bitter sarcasm they've got going on: "I truly love you but I cannot sing, and yes I could scream your name as loud as I've wanted, as loud as I should, but my band is far too small for anyone to hear it anyway." The CD-Rom portion of the disc contains several live performance videos shot at a few different shows. The footage is pretty consistent in audio/video quality, with slightly muffled sound and fuzzy images, but it's not so bad, I've certainly seen worse. It's funny, I'm usually not that into this style, but several bands of this nature have won me over in the last month or two. This is pretty damn good, and I'd like to hear a full-length from these guys for sure.
[The Perpetual Motion Machine]
Running time - 17:46, Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: Oh - Snap/Martyr Monday, This Song is About Arms, I Truly Love You But I Cannot Sing...]
The Perpetual Motion Machine - http://www.theperpetualmotionmachine.com
