Go Machine

"It will be worth your time to help welcome Go Machine back to the Triangle from its most recent half-national run, which took the band from its current Chapel Hill hideout to its former Dallas epicenter by way of David Daniel's childhood haunts and treehouses deep down in Alabama. Expect the trio--rendering its highly accessible, hip-hop-to-post-rock experimentally eclectic pop--to be in high form on the heels of its first tour since Daniel Hart returned from a month of opening for David Bowie as The Polyphonic Spree's violinist. Locals Eyes to Space open, along with members of Maserati in the newfangled, up-from-Athens outfit, Who Is Myrtle Malloy?" - The Independent

"For the last two years Go Machine has been reaching out from the hills of the East Coast into the wide expanse of the US in search of making a name for themselves. This talented trio from North Carolina’s Chapel Hill has been termed “country-electro-rock fusion.” Which, once you’ve heard them, pretty much makes sense. Their unique style seems sporadic at times and a bit improvised but, as the melodies continue it becomes clear that much thought and coordination have been put into their songs. As Go Machine seems to be in a constant state of evolution and improvement their music documents their changes. The trio never fails to impress and awe as they transform and morph through folk inspired tunes into a raw a raucous indie band with the scratch and beat of turntables. Go Machine has much to offer to the soul seekers of music out their, and much can be learned from this all together genius composite of a band.

Baton Rouge will have its very own chance to take part in this lesson learning experience at Red Star, June 15th. So, if you don’t want to be left in the dark about the magical essence of good music you should find yourself there." - Jetbunny Magazine

"Go Machine from Chapel Hill melted all of our brains last year, came back and did it again. The three piece plays a mind-boggling blend of country and electronic music, with members constantly switching instruments. Alex Lazara mans a synthesizer, a drum machine, and a theremin, lanky Daniel Hart switches between guitar, violin, bass, and drums, and bald, bearded David Daniels starts out as the drummer and eventually switches over to guitar, bass, and keyboards. And they all sing. It’s a sonic kick to the head that leaves you dazzled and enchanted - three amazing musicians making music that manages to sound improvised while nailing tricky rhythm changes and mood swings with intense precision."
- Jersey Beat

"Go Machine Much as digital video is making real filmmakers out of amateurs, so the recent wave of home studio software is putting professional-sounding rock 'n' roll production into the hands of people willing to tinker with conventional formulas. Look to the, the debut EP from this North Carolina band, makes a good case for the trend. While their stitched-up indie-pop sometimes falls apart at the slightest tug, Go Machine work a lot of emotional range into a set of genre-slamming songs. Acoustic folk weaves through glitch-tronica, dotted with arena-rock punches and overlaid with strings that pulse slowly and quietly. It sounds at once familiar and odd--and deeply personal."

Noel Murray, Nashville Scene - Nashville Scene

Chapel Hill's Go Machine blend a variety of instruments in their music, including turntable samples, violin and theremin. Their style, featured on their first release look to the veers slightly to the left of a typical pop.

The band has been keeping a busy schedule and doesn't look to be slowing down. They've started work on their second full-length and member Daniel Hart recently returned from a stint on tour with the large ensemble Polyphonic Spree, which opened several dates for David Bowie. After a set of Triangle-area dates, the band is headed east for Wilmington's WE FEST, then off for a three week Southeastern tour in June, taking them through Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia and points nearby. You can keep up with their activities through the band's website: www.gomachinemusic.com"

Chris Toenes, the Independent Weekly
- The Independent Weekly

"Go Machine's Daniel Hart was originally among the score of musicians comprising Austin's [sic] symphonic pop legion Polyphonic Spree. His quartet (then a threesome) [sic] left Texas for Chapel Hill, but brought that same adventurous attitude with them. Their debut release, "Look To The," features gently pulsing tracks built on an exotic mix of loops, samples, violins, and Theremin, in addition to the standard guitar, keyboards, bass and drums. Their experimental pop sound covers a lot of territory with plenty of bleed and overlap, from parched country dirges to rumbling electro-pop, all infused with a majestic grace."

Chris Parker, the Herald Sun
- The Durham Herald Sun

"A Radiohead comparison means about as much as a Beatles comparison (i.e. not a lot), and as lazy as it is to issue one, I'm going to have to go ahead and liken GO MACHINE to the world's most critically acclaimed rock band. Now let's remember, a Radiohead comparison can embody one of a number of things, so don't put GO MACHINE in your little box just yet. It could signal a moody, studio programming happy modern rock band, it might mean we've got a bunch of Bends-era soaring Brit-rockers on our hands, and there's also a strong possibility we'd be talking about an intriguing electronic act. GO MACHINE is in fact none of those, though at their core they remain, like Radiohead, an experimental pop group. Sometimes one of GO MACHINE's merry-go-round of vocalists hits a Yorke-ian level of tortured crooning, and "Many Times" goes through the same soft-to-bellowing-to-waning journey as "Exit Music For a Film", but the similarities lie largely in the spirit and intent of the music, and perhaps a bit in the searching, personal lyrics.

Although Look to the packs a modest six songs, it's hard to imagine this Chapel Hill foursome putting out a better first album. Their alarming fusion of pop styles is stark and nearly shocking in their first song, "Great Northwest"; the opening uses a mildly mechanized beat, turntable scratching and samples to hide the hayseed guitar that's strumming away in the background. The guitar eventually catapults to the forefront of the soundscape, with a sharp fiddle joining the fray for a riotous sing-along brimming with more rustic Americana than a barnyard field full of rusted farm implements. When the disco drumming kicks in and a synthesized pulse bounces alongside the words, we're treated to a surreal but highly listenable moment of genre-defying genius.

As previously mentioned, "Many Times" sports a steady Radiohead sensibility, though GO MACHINE works through the song with their very own folky ethos. All in all, it's the album's most accessible song. "Doppleganger" follows with more daring ingenuity -- violin, drum machine, theremin and just the right touch of soul, like an eclectic rock song as seen through the eyes of Justin Timberlake or Michael Jackson. It also marks the only time that the country tint is absent, though there's still that aching, searching spirit to contend with. "Ghost in the Machine"'s lyrics are still concerned with filling voids and seeing things in a new way, with a bed of programmed noise and moody guitar plucking that excellently frames this troubled existence. As is often the case on Look to the, GO MACHINE moves their music in an ambitious, dreamy direction while expressing a grounded anxiety, a bit like Grandaddy without the technology-based themes. More expansive goodness abounds on "Red Balloon", where the disco percussion returns to usher in a funky, sample-ridden mid-song break, though the song's symphonic strings and ride-off-into-the-sunset hook are not to be missed either. "What Can You Do (But Keep Movin' On)" closes the disc with the choral bravado and world-weary exhortation of a good Negro spiritual.

With well-received discs by Radiohead, Grandaddy and Broken Social Scene already making this a great year for brave pop music, GO MACHINE's sad-eyed country-electro-rock fusion should not be overlooked. This is excellent stuff that doesn't deserve to be underground for much longer."

Phillip Buchan, www.splendidezine.com - Splendid E-Zine

"GO MACHINE is four people. GO MACHINE is an Army. Imagine how Radiohead might sound if they came out of North Carolina and had a violinist. I wasn't sure what to think when I started listening to track one. It starts off with slow dialog samples and scratching records while a down-home country guitar gets into a hillbilly groove. Vocals enter, and you realize that this is a straightforward country song. When the fiddle joins in, you prepare for lyrics about the Devil going down to Georgia. Then, at the three minute mark, the music switches seamlessly into a disco bassline and drumbeat ? but the vocals and that crazy fiddle are still in full-tilt country mode. I went from thinking that this was going to suck to thinking that this was pure genius in just a few minutes. GO MACHINE had to win me over, but once they did, I was sold.

This album is headphone candy. Apparently all four members are multi-instrumentalists with studio engineering experience. This doesn't sound like four guys recording on their own. It sounds like a thirty-member musical collective in a state-of-the-art studio, pissing away a huge record advance and loving it.

GO MACHINE are obviously influenced by a lot of different styles of music. It's impossible to describe them without hyphens. They've got that violin. They've got stuttering electronic beats. They've got a group sing-a-long. They sound like an indie-rock band, then they sound like an electronic band, then they sound like a country band... They even start singing in a different language in the middle of "Red Balloon," before switching back to English, and you hardly even notice - that's how smooth the transition is. The point here is that they bring all this crazy stuff to the table - stuff that shouldn't work, but somehow does - and still make it sound heartfelt.

This CD is over the 30 minute mark, which ought to classify it as an album. Then again, there's only six songs, which screams EP. I don't care what you want to call it. It's brilliant. Get this.

Jason Erb, www.leftoffthedial.com
- www.leftoffthedial.com

"Though they may not quite agree, the Triangle quartet of GO MACHINE sounds as much like legendary Vermont act Phish as any band trying to make it at the moment. Make no mistake though, the GO MACHINE - which includes Daniel Hart (of Polyphonic Spree notoriety)-- is no jam band. But the debut EP from these ex-Austin [sic] boys moves with the same Talking Heads-meets-White Album bounce and mystery as "Billy Breathes." Like Anastasio and Co., GO MACHINE is epically unafraid of sonic risk, implanting turntable, Theremin, and violin escapades among breaks running amuck within scattered, scat-riffed jive in two languages that break loose amidst refrains that are almost too memorable, leaving one ... absolutely breathless!"

Grayson Currin, The Independent Weekly - The Independent Weekly

"...Next up were GO MACHINE, one of those happy discoveries everyone looks forward to at W.E. Fest ? a Chapel Hill group who turn laptops, turntables, accordion, violin, a Theremin (!) and a few things I didn't recognize into a quirky yet danceable art-rock mishmash. They were so good that a lot of people skipped the next night's WE Fest to go see them again at another downtown club venue."
- Jersey Beat