The Sun Machine

Formed in 2010, the Austin band The Sun Machine combine echoey vocals and psych’ed out keyboard and guitar jams – in the spirit of bands like 13th Floor Elevators (widely regarded as the first psychedelic band) – with the percussive diligence of bands like Thee Oh Sees, to create their reverb-heavy, acid dripping, rocking sound on tracks like “Sound of Descent” and the echo chamber-like 60s homage, “Life on Holiday,” complete with an odd sound clip of a trippy customer service call at the end.

The band’s self-bio goes even deeper into the psychological corridors of the surreal, stating: “…they (the members of the band) were then visited by a bright orbicular figure. The men then fell into a deep trance as the sphere gyrated and changed several iridescent colors. Time stopped, the air became opaque, and their skin evaporated and their collective consciousness was placed inside The Sun Machine.” What are these guys taking? Whatever it is, it’s working on Drag City, the band’s debut EP.

The Sun Machine has opened for bands like Golden Dawn Arkestra, Shilpa Ray, Levitation Room, The Rotten Mangos, Migrant Kids, The Rich Hands and list their major musical influences as 13th Floor Elevators, Thee Oh Sees, Mystic Braves, The Growlers, and Cosmonauts. The latest album, Drag City, dropped in March. - Indie Rock Cafe