Perth’s Electric State have been playing live shows over the past few years to great responses, appearing in the wonderfully pre-pandemic days of 2019 before we all found out a lot about what is wrong with the world today. Fortunately that premise for an album seems to have either been fueled by what was to come in 2020 or at least enhanced by it.
Opening track ‘Get in You’ is what Green Machine and Electric State is all about for me – a heady balance of restraint and power that has an almost Mother Love Bone like drive. There’s pent up fury in those words but never any lack of hope and that’s what makes this band and album so special. They sonically hit the right notes, play beautifully as a team but also have a wonderful observant lyricist in Rob Viney.
Unlike some of their hard rocking ilk though a sense of humour and a desire to entertain is essential to the overall mix and many of the songs on the album have choruses that beg for audience participation that hark back to the call and response of Gospel and Blues that 70’s bands like Slade harnessed so well. Here is a band playing music that has a distinct flavour of Seattle and particularly Soundgarden (never a grunge band for me) or Massachusetts’ Killswitch Engage who had that distinct fuzzy guitar tone added to their mix to great effect.
‘Riot’ that follows that opener brings the unmistakable groove that threads through this collection. It’s the circular riff, groove and sirens of ‘Government’ (as well as the STP megaphone named ‘Janice’) though that make you think of the wonderful first few albums of the legendary Warrior Soul.
‘Lesson’ is more angry, more tribal and more aggressive; whilst ‘Light It Up’ bubbles briefly before it gets on the big fat groove. It and that opener to me are sister songs – great slabs of rock and roll that could move anyone. Conversely ‘FMH’ has the sort of robustness and intent of a brooding ‘Badmotorfinger’ progeny.
Throughout the album lyrically Viney is on fire with ‘Mirror’ ‘Mirror’ – a story that contemplates resilience and getting the job done even when it’s far easier to sit on the couch and procrastinate; and the big single ‘Fed by the Algorithm’ that dissects all the ills of today’s world – you feel like at heart both songs come from the same place, and as two of the very best on the album it’s a startling late burst that just elevates the album over all from great, to minor classic.
The album ends rather strongly too with the wonderful ‘Run’ having an almost Cult-like edge, before ‘We’re Just Blood’ adds more groove and bounce and an unhinged energy to the mix, and closer ‘Tomorrow’s Sun kicks open the exit and threatens to not stop running till we’re all bouncing off the walls at the live show.
As to what the title ‘Green Machine’ means I’ll leave that up to you. For Kyuss the green was the almighty dollar and we were all part of the machine, for some on the East Coast it might be the Canberra Raiders, Electric State’s drum kit also bears that name. At the end of the day in the West we’re all part of the great capitalist machine that grinds us down and spits us out, but the again my Dad’s lawnmower also has that stenciled on the side… What I do know is that like the Kyuss record of the same name there’s something wonderful about this album. Check it out for yourself and support the band in buying a physical copy.
9/10