Album: Now Here is Nowhere
Year: 2004
. . .
“First Wave Intact,” the song on Secret Machines debut album, 2004’s No Here Is Nowhere captures nearly everything you need to know about their ambition to somehow fuse Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Can.
The first thing you hear is Josh Garza’s massive massive drums, doing a beat that earns the comparison to John Bonham’s on “When The Levee Breaks“, and after an initial guitar chord, it’s just that big-ass beat for a bit, followed by some big-ass biting guitar chords from Benjamin Curtis, which then drop away so that keyboardist/bassist Brandon Curtis can sing the first verse.
The open way’s too dangerous
Listen close, they’re watching us
One more time you’re losing us
Hold still now they’re shooting us
First wave down
I wonder when they’re coming back
First wave down
And while it’s mostly just Garza’s drums and Brandon Curtis’s voice, the whole band comes crashing in on “first wave down” and it is just utterly massive. And after that “First Wave Intact” is a melange of swirling keyboards, gynormous guitars and the utterly relentless beat by Garza. My favorite part is Benajmin Curtis’s squealing guitar leads in the second verse, but it’s all pretty great, especially when you realize that it was only made by three guys with the instruments depicted on the album cover.
“First Wave Intact” is one of those songs where every single note, every single noise has a purpose and place — and when then sneak in a bridge seven minutes into the song, which then leads to an ending that just overflows out of your speakers, there’s no question that “First Wave Intact” is a great showcase for a band that for awhile, found a cool new direction for prog.
“First Wave Intact”
“First Wave Intact” Live at Reading, 2006
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