Milwaukee-based Josh Evert is an artist who takes production to the next level. Experimental. Obsessive. Deeply curious about how sound behaves in the natural world. His upcoming album ‘Photogenic Memory’ comprises songs that were written over the course of a decade and across multiple continents. The songs have been reshaped and reframed with meticulous craftsmanship.
The first single from that LP is ‘The Sound of Machines’.
The song opens with a strange, muffled rustling sound – like a bear tumbling downstairs inside a cardboard box (ok – what do YOU think it sounds like?!) – but then the song explodes into life with a glitchy, squelchy, alien riff.
The energy of the song is intense – and it rarely lets up – with wide-panned, tactile percussive sounds that made me feel like I was being attacked by a swarm of angry insects.
Josh’s vocals have a matter-of-fact tone but deliver the ever-so-catchy hook perfectly.
“And I hope I don’t run out of steam
Yeah but what are the chances of me
Sticking around for as long as you need”
The song’s sound is so effervescent; energy radiates from it like a solar flare. The drums are just bursts of static, with a lo-fi rawness.
It’s a wonderfully difficult song to categorise – it’s like post-rock glitch-pop mixed with Beatles-esque melodic urgency.
As we all know, a star that burns twice as bright lasts half as long, and well before the 3-minute mark is reached, the track winds down and fades away.
This might be the sound of machines, but with Josh pulling the levers, it’s anything but robotic. It’s a spellbinding whirlwind of unrestrained creativity.
Written by Grubby
