from the archive: 'machine sex' review

MACHINE SEX :: reviewed by Tim Joseph, Hull Daily Mail, 21/10/97


I don't know how many of you heard the Scott Walker album "Tilt" when it came out, but if you have, you'll know that there's a really really scary bit right in the middle of the second track. This CD is a bit like that, but for a full 45 minutes.

"Machine Sex" is probably a first for Hull in two ways: not only is it the first Industrial release from the city that I can think of, but also definitely the first to feature a "parental guidance" warning on the cover! If you listen to the lyrics you can see why, even if (as I suspect) the warning is a little tongue-in-cheek.
Easy listening it isn't, but it is challenging, and the pair have done well to get it together. If I have any criticism, it's that the vocals on almost every track give them a slightly samey feel; the almost-instrumental ''Belong'' came as some relief. The band are strong instrumentally, and I would have liked to have heard more of that featured.

Nevertheless, "Machine Sex" is a strong debut, perhaps nearer to Nine Inch Nails than anything, but far enough away to have created something very much of its own. Volume 2 should be a killer.