A Boy Waiting By The Phone: The Secret Machines

"I spent most of my time in basements. The suburbs offered nothing, and so I lived a predominantly subterranean life. At home, separated from my parents by door and stairs, I smoked hash, watched television, read, and masturbated. In other basements I smoked, watched television, and refined my style with girls." -David Bezmozgis, "Natasha"

It's funny we should find the Machines in idle this time around, after successfully blowing the kids away with each kick of Garza's drum on Now Here is Nowhere. They've reigned themselves in, all the way from Outer Space, TX to a basement in Garland, shades drawn in summertime. "Alone, Jealous and Stoned" is just that - 16 years old and shiftless: a boy with a smartness beyond usefulness and without trajectory, so that it curves back in on itself and leaves him in roughly the same place, on the same couch. It's the sound of inaction and overthinking, of waiting in the worst way. And it's remarkable, the way Benjamin Curtis is spaced (still) without being obtuse, staying on point and giving us something tangible. Sure, "First Wave Intact" perfectly soundtracks Star-Wars-iPod-Racing fantasies, but it's nice to have something more suited for the unthrilling loneliness of our everydaydreams.

The Secret Machines - Alone, Jealous and Stoned

Their latest, Ten Silver Drops was released today for download. If you're not down with the virus, wait until April 25th.

Visit the Secret Machines' homepage.

Enjoy.