Sentient Machine

Posted in Indie, Sentient Machine with tags CMJ, experimental, Indie, Rock, Sentient Machine on October 20, 2008 by Jillers

In a rare moment Saturday afternoon, I fell asleep around 2pm and slept all the way until 7pm, when someone called and woke me up, which means that I missed a show I promised I’d go to, and I feel really awful about it. So, let me tell you a bit about Sentient Machine.

I throw Sentient Machine into that group of music that I call “not my type, but you can tell are really good,” though I’ve realized that it’s unfair of me to classify any type of music like that. True, I may not go out of my way to listen to rock, heavy metal, or experimental music, but that doesn’t mean that when I hear it, I instantly hate it. Quite the contrary, I find when I listen to it, I don’t neccessarily hate it. In the case of Sentient Machine, whom I’ve only ever seen live, and never really listened to their tracks (until recenty), I often find myself at least tapping my foot in rhythm. I feel very sure that if I were too drink, I’d be full on dancing.

Their music lends itself well to a crowd that wants to have a good time moshing, and, again, fall into the category of “Better Live.” They know how to put on a show, and when they take solos (or give them to each other) it actually enhances the song, as opposed to some bands I’ve seen that take them in the wrong places and drag the song on longer than you really want any song to be.

Because I’m a jerk who missed their last show, I really want you all to go listen to their music. There isn’t a song of theirs up that I hate (though I love “Screamer”) — give them all a listen, go to their next show (whenever that is), and rock out.

Now, it falls on me to tell you about an exciting week coming up. Bands that I’ve reviewed, bands that I have plans to review, and bands I’ve never heard of, are all playing tons of shows for the CMJ Music Marathon (and Film Festival, but that would be for another blog, if I liked writing about moves, which I don’t).

I can’t even begin to name all of the artists playing this week, and where they’re all playing, because, quite frankly, it’s overwhelming. If I were more on top of things (and not notoriously poor, which is the real driving factor here), I’d register myself for a badge and go from venue to venue and see so many bands, I might collapse. If you have the money, today’s your last day to pre-register, or you can register on-site starting tomorrow (the 21st).

I’m excited about it, you should be too, unless you don’t live in NYC and can’t access this amazing event.

Editor’s Note: Sentient Machine lists several rock icons for their influences such as Faith No More, Type-o-Negative, David Bowie, and Alice In Chains. - www.gearsofrock.com