Eureka Machines are keeping the serotonin cogs turning with their sixth studio album, ‘Everything’, and it’s everything a power pop record should be. Just as the Turing Test ascertains if technology can possess human cognition, Eureka Machines tests the human capacity to feel visceral emotion or whether you’ve left your soul out in the cold for too long.
Kicking off with the scuzzy pop-punk chords in the title single, there’s an instant affirmation that the Leeds-based outfit succeeded in their mission to flood the studio with the energy they project on the stage. Winding a few euphoria-doused James Dean Bradfield-esque riffs into the mix, the opening track reaches the epitome of affecting. When the vocals come in as a clean, cutting juxtaposition to the cultivated spirals of rhythmic distortion, you’ll be torn between being emotionally ruined by the lyrics and subjugating yourself to the pulsating augmentations of pretence-less power pop.
As the album progresses, it evidences singer-songwriter Chris Catalyst’s songwriting chops as he humbly demands emotional investment through the sheer authenticity of his charismatic candour. There are performers, and there are conduits of sonic expressionism and with the help of Wayne Insane (drums), Pete Human (bass, vox), and Davros (guitar, vox), he’s in the pantheon of the latter camp.
With poignant introspective outpours wrapping around poetic parables remaining a constant throughout the 12 singles, Eureka Machines only leans into stylistic departures from the preceding singles. After ‘Black and White’ nods to 90s Britpop, ‘Canaries in the Coalmine’ veers into a symbiosis of alt-rock and the working-class fire of Morrissey’s First of the Gang to Die and If I’m Gonna Fight Myself, I’ll Never Win’ teases its way into punk ‘n’ roll territory with Catalyst’s signature soaring with sticky-sweet sentimentality vocals tempering the frenetic percussion.
I was preparing myself for a stripped-back ballad-esque entry, and it finally arrived with ‘Home’, which gives full permission to lean into the lyricism, cradled by the artful motifs as they ascend around the intimate confessions. By this point, you’ll be wondering if Catalyst bought shares in Kleenex before dropping the album and if Trump funded the heavy emotive artillery.
‘They’re Coming To Get You’ is a full-on exhibition of how effortlessly synergised Eureka Machines have become since 2007. Instrumentally, the riff-heavy track proves that they could skate by on their technical precision alone and leave out all semblance of personality. The synthesis, which is just as harmonious as the layered vocals, sets the perfect tone for the concluding single, ‘Beautiful Day’, which ebbs away ennui. It’s a choral masterpiece which takes the record to consoling new heights.
In an era when becoming numb is a coping mechanism and dragging yourself through the darker days gets harder, albums like this transcend sound to build sanctuaries where it’s safe to resonate.
‘Everything’ was released on April 11th and is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify and Bandcamp, and can be purchased on vinyl and CD via the official merch store.
Review by Amelia Vandergast