Extropy -- The Machineries

Extropy’s liner notes hardly reveal the name of this album, let alone anything else to do with the mysterious group. The cover art is blisteringly artistic, a piece of art that could have stood up to the scrutiny that LP covers received. Yet it too reveals nothing about this group. A quick search online sheds light on relatively nothing, besides the random review here and there. No information, except that everyone who touches this album falls freakishly in love with it. The Machineries is Extropy’s second release, after Lethe was released back in 2004. The album strikes a very intriguing and appealing middle ground between rock, goth, industrial, and electronic vibes (like if Radiohead, VNV Nation, and Lacuna Coil all were flushed down the toilet, genetically fused in the sewer pipes, and came out to wreak havoc in New York City). From the word go (or rather, word "Epilogue" as their opening track is ironically titled) Extropy seize your attention, and I sat on the edge of my seat waiting to discover if this reclusive group is yet another sad pompous punk group, or if there is perhaps something to their aggressive themes. My oh my, was I in for a pleasant shock.

Extropy deliver electronic grooves that remain on the fringe of rock (and perhaps pop, but that just sounds so wrong) in the same way that Radiohead does, but they also thrown in tastes of goth and industrial influences, together with a wonderful anti-establishment mood that is obviously required when you have a song titled "The Quiet Attraction of Suburbia." Sure enough, beyond the breath-taking instrumentals (again, like Thom Yorke producing Lacuna Coil) is a political message ("Every golden age / Shaped and nourished / By the long shadow of progress / And the illusion of change") delivered by soft-spoken and chilling lyrics that rely on their words, not their volume, to get the point across. The Machineries contains more than a few instrumental tracks, all of which craft exhilarating electronic landscapes—never letting go of those more punk attitudes. A very interesting blend of many influences, Extropy continues to make a fan out of everyone who takes a peak at what they have been up to.

(Published at MusicEmissions.com)