No Frills Reviews

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The second album from Merseyside psych-pop eccentrics, The Dream Machine, continues to perfect the sound of last year’s excellent debut (no.9 in our best of 2023). Produced by James Skelly, there’s undoubted echoes of The Coral in the balance of freaky psych-rock tendencies with classic pop sensibilities.

Small Time Monsters is filled with dark Gothic imagery, but like the ragtag ghouls adorning the cover, the mask never quite convinces as beneath the darkness lies yearning tales of heartache and desire. There’s gems to be found throughout in the lyrics of Zak McDonnell as he elevates lovesick ballads to grandiose epics with a mix of the classical and the modern; where references to the poetry of T.S Eliot can sit alongside a WWE rivalry. And vocally, with his youthful baritone, he’s like a missing link somewhere between Lee Mavers and Scott Walker. Indeed, the ominous baroque pop of Tonight, I’ve Got Heaven In My Arms wouldn’t feel out of place on Scott 4.

There’s detours into fun genre experimentation, like the country-tinged jaunt of The Horse or the Western-Disco of Holding On. But what’s really apparent is that these boys know how to write a good pop song. The synth-rock banger, Frankenstein, and the dreamy jangle-pop throwback, Posters Of You, would surely be indie radio hits in any other era.

This is a band still finding their feet, yet they already feel like old masters. They’ve expertly walked the fine line so far, but there’s plenty of room for them to get sweeter or weirder yet.

Best Tunes: Frankenstein, Holding On, Posters Of You

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