Machine is a Los Angeles based artist by the name of Madeline Mahrie, who creates a chanteuse blues, art pop style of music with the help of collaborator Peter Thomas. Together, the duo have put out their debut project, Crazy, a wonderful experience of an album.
Crazy is an album that bleeds colorful rock arrangements mixed with grandiose the powerful singing of Madeline Mahrie. Crazy begins with “Mad Tom of Bedlam”, a barebones, snappy, folk gospel track with intriguing storytelling. The first true song on the project, “Revolution Scare”, includes hoppy strings and impactful drums laced with a great chorus. The breakdown segment on the song achieves a big sound – vocals reminiscent of Joan Jett – and the track is followed by a couple of even heavier songs in “My Angel” and “Freedom”. Madeline and Peter supply some of the most memorable moments on the album on these tracks thanks to somber keys, and a Cher-like exhibition of vocals. One of the catchier track lies in “Lil’ Mr. Texas”, which is layered and filled with horns, strings, dums, keys, claps, and as always for the project, strong vocals. The closing track, “Slide Blue At End” starts as a poppy dance track with awesome vocals, and takes a winding road to conclude the project with a much more comatose ending.
Overall, Crazy blends a variety of alt-rock and art-pop influences to create a grand and emotional project. Influences such as Hot Apostles, Lady Gaga, and much more can be gathered from the energy and the presentation of the music. Crazy is at times truly crazy in terms of both production and vocal works, resulting in several memorable moments on the album. Crazy is a fantastic project and is also available via cassette tape on release.
