This Machine starts strong with the bass heavy, sing-along opener "Sad Vacation". The down-to-earth groovy bass line is a departure from the usual mostly guitar led tracks and it sounds refreshing for The Dandys. Pete's guitar work shines on this particular track, his sound having a broken feel created by a lot of reverse reverb and delay. Slowly growing, towards the end he takes off bowing the strings (as seen in the track's video) and looping his leads having a cool twisting sound. Second track, "The Autumn Carnival" is a great collaboration between the Warhols and former Bauhaus bass player David J. Haskins, that blends a really nice, more nostalgic melody with an upbeat rhythm. The buzzing guitar leads and the lovely chorus where, again, everyone joins in make this track awesome in its simplicity. This track in particular and the sparse, mandolin-led "Well They're Gone" give a more settled, mature feel of the band.

From here on, the album struggles to find its feet, leaning towards krautrock with "Enjoy Yourself", which is an interesting track, a lot more mechanical than what is found on the 2003 effort, Welcome To The Monkey House. Taylor-Taylor even adopts a fake German accent and a very impersonal tone, turning everything into a fun listen. "Alternative Power To The People" is a less interesting counterpart, having a punkier rhythm, getting very close to Green Day's synth heavy side project The Network. The vocals are processed and sound glitchy, making them unintelligible.

Diving further in the album, it becomes even harder to follow up, however, centerpiece "Rest Your Head" is another highlight, with lullaby-like guitars, atmospheric synths and reverbed choral vocals that merge together beautifully. Another standout is the album closer "Slide", one of DeBoer's tracks. This rather nostalgic number features less vocals and more instrumental parts where the band fuses effects soaked guitars with 80's like spacey synths creating a wall of sound that keeps still for two minutes before shutting off creating a really interesting, hypnotic ending. Again, it's something different from The Dandy Warhols, who have spent a vast majority of their career droning one rhythm with little changes, relying mostly on the catchiness of the overall result.

(Sputnikmusic)