The Secret Machines

One might expect that with the departure of lead guitarist and vocalist Benjamin Curtis, the Secret Machines would shift sound for their fourth album; unfortunately, the former Dallas trio has simply continued down the same bruising, heavy psychedelic track, but with far less convincing results. Ex-Tripping Daisy Phil Karnats fills in on guitar as Brandon Curtis assumes control, though only Josh Garza’s ferocious back beats offer any inspiration. All else rolls around the darker side of Pink Floyd’s orbit (opener “Atomic Heals”; “The Walls are Starting to Crack”), with touches of Bowie’s cosmic pull (“Have I Run Out”), but ultimately flounders under its own weight and gratuitous, ineffectual experimental digressions. Most egregious are the new wave-noodling of “Underneath the Concrete” and the 11-minute closer, “The Fire Is Waiting,” which launches with an epic barrage of sludgy riffs before treading through diluted, Roger Waters stoner waves.