The Machine Room - Love From A Distance

Edinburgh five-piece The Machine Room describe themselves as ‘dream pop’, and that is indeed a perfect description for a debut EP that is full of blissed out beguiling melodies. The band seem incredibly self-assured for such a nascent group and they have immediately struck upon a coherent and cogent sound. ‘Love From A Distance’ is a collection of immaturely crafted understated pop.

There is a welcome lucidity to The Machine Room, a mix of the melancholic electronica of New Order at their most wistful and the pulsing electro guitar of Delphic. Opening track ‘Cost Of Progress’ immediately establishes that sound as it is driven along on a Peter Hook-esque bass while singer John Bryden’s lilting falsetto floats on top. There is a lissom charm present in all the four tracks here, perhaps best exemplified by the affecting electro balladry of ‘Your Head On The Floor Next Door’. Previous single ‘Camino De Soda’ is blessed with a lovely mellifluous melody and, more importantly, a great chorus while the shimmering guitars of the soaring ‘Picking Holes’ ends the EP on a suitably ambitious note.

There is much to savour in The Machine Room’s intricate and deft melodies, however you do feel that that melodic quality could be brought out even further with the benefit of bigger and bolder production that these songs certainly deserve. Nevertheless, ‘Love From A Distance’ is a very impressive opening statement from a group rich in promise.