Old Time Machine

Old Time Machine

Whitehorse, YT

(File Under: Music)

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“The narration of a not-so-simple country life”

 

Take this record and give it a second listen – it’s not what it seems. Initially, you feel the deadening grass and chill winters of Old Time Machine’s Canada. The multitasking duo is rustic, but they created an album that does not rest on the simplicity of country life’s first impressions.

What begins as Ryan McNally’s Lou Reed vocals sliding around opener “Sun Burns Out” travels into the soul of baritone territory on “Mountain Shack.” Strings waver between the leading, repetitive melodies of a banjo on “Pouring Rain” to the striking, rhythmic sixteenth notes of a mandolin on “Tearing Me Down.”

What appears to be a working man’s soundtrack on “Doin’ All I Can Do” evolves into the storytelling of heartache through novelistic imagery, colored by Kyle Cashen’s tone development – “Through The Window” details the betrayal of even the most saintly women in the album’s first mention of a lost love, even making a turn towards damnation, heightened by its religious, monk-like chanting.

Percussion will either subtly, sparingly chime in or take its giant stomps across compositions. Backing vocals heard on nearly every track change from apparent filler to haunting emphases on daunting themes. The beginning measures of Old Time Machine are not indicative of what this album brings; it isn’t until you’ve reached the end and begin again that you realize how the scenery has changed down the paths you’ve traveled.

Produced, Engineered & Mastered by Jordy Walker

 

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