Review Summary: Hendrix is very much alive...
Dutch heavy psych jammers The Machine make a dense run on their aptly-titled third album, Drie. Coming fresh off the heels of 2009's Solar Corona, Drie continues the lengthy jam nature of the previous record. The album goes about as far as you possibly can on an album and still stay on a single disc, clocking in at a whopping 79:23. It is jam packed with packed jams. The Rotterdam power trio make their winding way through cuts ranging from the straightforward to the ultra-extended, giving the album a varied feel despite not changing much tonally throughout. The vibe is live, the flow is easy and the groove is distinctly European.
The record is absolutely stunning. If features some of the absolute best guitar riffing of this decade. As much as I love Colour Haze, these guys might actually top them. Drie starts out with the upbeat Pyro, quickly establishing what these guys came to do (Jam Out!). The album then flows into the one-two knockout of Sunbow and Medulla. Both songs feature extremely addictive Hendrix like guitar jams. The groove is unbelievable. You would think Jimi himself was on guitar. Aurora serves as a nice mellow interlude, invoking some nice acoustic type riffing. From there, the record begins to get a bit more experimental. Tsiolkovsky's Budget is the beginning of a set of very lengthy songs (Paradox aside). Tsiolkovsky's Budget and First Unique Prime feature lengthy experimental jams. Jam No. Psi closes off the album and is perhaps the most epic number on the entire record. The wah wah is strong and the vibes are consistently chill.
They're asking a lot of their audience on Drie, and for that, it might be best to take the record on in varying sessions, or at least halves, splitting around Tsiolkovsky's Budget one way or the other. In any case, Drie's payoff is worth the attention it requires. It's tonal presence and European psychedelic feel make a persuasive case for the strength of that scene at this time, and if Eering, van Heemst and Boogaard are any indication of what the next generation of psychedelic stoner rockers have to offer, it's an offer I'll gladly take. The mood is light and the lyrics spaced, both without being foolish, and there's an element of worship to their jamming that justifies making the trip with them.
