Secret Machines are an American alternative rock band, originally from Dallas , Texas , United States, before moving to New York City . The original lineup consisted of two brothers, Brandon (vocals, bass guitar and keyboards) and Benjamin Curtis (guitar and backing vocals), and Josh Garza (drums). Benjamin left the band in March 2007 to focus on his work with School of Seven Bells , and was replaced on guitar by Phil Karnats. The re-activated band is a two-piece, with the remaining members being Brandon Curtis and Josh Garza.
20-472: Before forming Secret Machines, the members played in various Dallas bands such as UFOFU , Captain Audio, Comet , When Babies Eat Pennies, and Tripping Daisy . Captain Audio was formed by Garza and vocalist/guitarist/chief songwriter Regina Chellew in the late Nineties as a two-piece noise duo. Brandon—and occasionally Ben—Curtis joined soon after as the original duo began to develop a more standard rock sound. In
40-644: A limited 500 copy vinyl release of August 21, 2020 via TSM Recordings. The band addressed the long period of inactivity and the rebirth of the band in press coverage of the release. A single, "Talos' Corpse", was released simultaneously. "Awake in the Brain Chamber" is performed by Brandon Curtis and Josh Garza, featuring musicians Benjamin Curtis, Chris Kyle, Brian Bisordi and Sarah Pedinotti (of Okkervil River and LipTalk). Songs were mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer and mastered by Joe Lambert. Original album artwork
60-739: A little over a year they had recorded and released the EP My Ears Are Ringing But My Heart's OK and the full-length Luxury Or Whether It Is Better To Be Loved Than Feared . Shortly after the release of Luxury the band went on extended hiatus and eventually disbanded when Garza and the Curtis brothers moved to New York, leaving Chellew in Dallas to form the band Chao and later join indie pop outfit The Happy Bullets . The band first recorded their EP September 000 in Chicago, six weeks after forming. Upon moving to New York
80-401: A new single "Like I Can" along with "A terrible light" was released digitally, and Brandon announced plans for a new Secret Machines album, to be titled The Moth, The Lizard and The Secret Machines . While no official announcement was made, the band was inactive since 2010. In 2016, Run Out Groove Records, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers, announced that fans had voted Now Here is Nowhere as
100-528: A way forward if the band continues to explore their rock cosmos". Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media rated this album a 6.8 out of 10, criticizing the music as "the modest charm of fan service, intended for an audience that’s actively rooting for Secret Machines to succeed". Editors of The Quietus chose this as Album of the Week, with Patrick Clarke writing that it "achieves something transcendent" and sums up his review by calling this "a comeback record that overcomes
120-684: The Austin City Limits Music Festival in Texas. On September 7, 2022, Emily Haines of Metric announced that Secret Machines will be supporting Metric on the U.S. leg of their Doomscroller tour. The band contributed three tracks to the soundtrack for the 2007 film Across the Universe : a duet of " I Am the Walrus " with Bono on lead vocals, and the instrumentals " Flying ", and " Blue Jay Way ". UFOFU UFOFU
140-538: The Secret Machines in 2000. Benjamin Curtis left the band in 2007 to form School of Seven Bells . Awake in the Brain Chamber Awake in the Brain Chamber is the fourth full-length studio album by American indie rock band Secret Machines , released by TSM Recordings on August 8, 2020. The album has received positive reviews from critics and is a comeback recording after
160-402: The space rock that they had been known for earlier, including " ambient music , psych-pop , and kinetic, '70s-style Krautrock ", ending that "it's a fitting aesthetic for a band that has returned to earth after a long journey through their inner emotional cosmos". In Glide Magazine , Shawn Donohue calls this "a comeback album that sounds right at home with their past releases while painting
180-439: The band further developed their sound and signed to Warner Brothers. In 2004, Secret Machines released their debut album, Now Here Is Nowhere . The song "Nowhere Again" was used in promotional spots during its launch and appeared in the 2006 video game Driver: Parallel Lines . Contemporary reviews for the album were favourable. The band's second EP, The Road Leads Where It's Led , was released on June 7, 2005. During this time,
200-488: The band had been dormant for several years and features some posthumous recordings from former frontman Benjamin Curtis . Awake in the Brain received positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic . It has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on six reviews. Editors at AllMusic rated this album 4.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Matt Collar writing that the band shows many influences beyond
220-558: The band opened for Interpol during their 2004 tour before supporting Oasis in Europe in 2005 and co-headlining a US tour with Kings of Leon . French director Charles De Meaux teamed up with the band for a film set in the Texas town of Marfa and included footage of the band recording new material and included an outdoor "concert" at night. The new "Marfa Song" was exclusively available in the film. In 2006, Ten Silver Drops , their second album, leaked onto file-sharing websites following
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#1732786761196240-514: The band, Secret Machines played two shows in New York, one at the Annex, and the other at the newly opened Highline Ballroom. At these shows, the band played mostly new material off of their next album. They included two new members: Blasco ( Interpol 's touring keyboardist) on guitar, keyboards, and bass, and ex- Tripping Daisy member Phil E. Karnats on guitar. Since these shows, Karnats has become
260-415: The new label's third project for vinyl re-issue. This marked the first release of the title in the U.S. on vinyl, limited to 1,625 copies. On September 10, 2018, the label announced that the band's album Ten Silver Drops had been voted by fans as the next ROG re-release and would include a six-song bonus disc containing B-sides and unreleased alternate versions of songs. Subsequently, Run Out Groove announced
280-467: The official guitarist of the band, replacing Ben. The band finished recording quickly during May 2007 and released a new, self-titled album in the United States on October 14, 2008, on their newly formed TSM recording and distributed by Worlds Fair Records. Karnats announced on his MySpace blog that he recorded guitar parts for the album and would continue to play live with the band. In 2010,
300-634: The other hand was our love for The Beatles ." They have toured with U2 , Foo Fighters , Spiritualized , Oasis , Interpol , M83 , Kings of Leon , among others. Secret Machines supported the British rock trio Muse at London's Earls Court in December 2004. They appeared at Lollapalooza 2006 in Chicago and the Carling Reading and Leeds Festivals in England in the same year, as well as
320-469: The release of a double live album culled from a show on January 18, 2006 at the London nightclub The Garage. In January 2018 Brandon published on his twitter account a video of himself and drummer Josh Garza in the studio recording drums, leading to speculation of a return to activity for the band. On June 26 the band announced the availability of Awake in the Brain Chamber , to be released digitally and in
340-746: The release of their lead single "Alone, Jealous and Stoned" in the UK . The album was critically-acclaimed by many publications. They embarked on a series of tours in support of the album, including opening for U2 for three dates in Mexico. Following the album's release, the band were interviewed for radio by David Bowie – a fan of the band. On March 3 2007, Benjamin Curtis announced his departure in order to focus full-time on his new band, School of Seven Bells . On December 29, 2013, Curtis died of lymphoma in New York City at age 35. After Ben's departure from
360-723: Was a rock band based in Dallas, Texas . The band consisted of Joseph Butcher , and brothers Brandon Curtis and Ben Curtis . It rose to local prominence in the mid-1990s through word of mouth and slots opening for other north Texas bands such as Hagfish and Tripping Daisy . While touring, the band opened for Local H , Smoking Popes , The Geraldine Fibbers and Spacehog . In 1997, they released their self-titled debut album on The Medicine Label . The band broke up in 1998. Butcher joined Ben Kweller 's band Radish , Benjamin Curtis joined Tripping Daisy , and Brandon Curtis joined Captain Audio . The Curtis brothers went on to form
380-527: Was announced that The Secret Machines would accompany Metric on the US leg of their Doomscroller tour with Phil Karnats re-joining on guitar for the tour. Secret Machines has been described as progressive rock with some krautrock influences. They describe themselves as space rock . Many have also cited Secret Machines as a style of shoegaze . The band described Ten Silver Drops as "being influenced by our love for Brian Eno and all things experimental, on
400-715: Was by Danny Scales. In promotional interviews the band indicated the shelved album from 2010, "the Moth, The Lizard and the Secret Machines" would be released. The Secret Machines released two companion EP's digitally and on cassette tape, Day 21 and dreaming of dreaming, in July 2022. Day 21 consisted of previously un-released material. Dreaming of Dreaming contains a re-mixed version of the 2008 EP as well as an alternate version recorded with Peter Mavrogeorgis on guitar and Jim Sclavunos contributing percussions. In September it
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