Viva Machine - Viva Machine

Welsh band Viva Machine release their debut this Summer, and it looks like it could be one of this years’ hottest albums. The self titled record opens on the insanely catchy ‘Robot Bodyrox’; the intro is a little weak, but once it gets going it’s pretty darn special. Following track ‘Go Johnny Go Go Go Go’ has more of those impressive vocal harmonies and a driving rhythm. It’s not quite as strong as its predecessor, but it gets a few Hogwarts house points for effort.

‘Earthquakers and Loveshakers’ has the most infectious bouncy rhythm that demands to be danced to. Still with the same qualities heard so far - catchy tunes, bright melodies, great harmonies - it would appear that Viva Machine subscribe to the old adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. Well, it works!

All right, maybe we spoke too soon. ‘Oxygen’ is something a bit different; it’s still upbeat, it still has those great vocal harmonies, and yet it possesses a slightly kitsch 80s vibe. Nice. The opening bars of ‘Deathstar Trucker’ change the tone once more, finding themselves a little on the sinister side (at least it sounds like they’re going for ‘sinister’) before switching back to the same catchy vibes of the opening tracks.

There seems to be a bit of a theme going on here: just when you think it’s all the same they cleverly go and pooh-pooh the idea. ‘Supernova’ is jaunty, upbeat but doesn’t quite have the dance-ability of the rest of the album, whilst ‘A Futuristic Dracula’ is slower in tempo than the rest… until about one minute in and then we’re back to the angular, foot-tapping brilliance. And they teach you how to spell Dracula, bless ‘em! Nice to see a band who care about the education of their listeners.

Well, we fell in love with Viva Machine from the outset: absolutely glorious – truly a band worth keeping your eye on.