Review Summary: With their debut record, The Answering Machine have no reason to be sorry.
The Answering Machine were an indie rock band from Manchester, Great Britain. They existed for six years between 2005 and 2011. The group was signed to independent British label Heist or Hit Records, and released two records under that distributor.
Another City, Another Sorry was the band's debut album, released in 2009. Despite having the song from the album, “It's Over! It's Over! It's Over!”, featured in the video game
FIFA 10, the album was not a critical or commercial hit. It is, however, a wonderful, hidden English gem.
The Answering Machine possessed a pleasant sound. They mixed a traditional, fast paced indie rock sound with a significant Brit-pop influence. This is evident on
Another City, Another Sorry. The album's guitar work is full of energetic and infectious riffs. The bass playing, which is clearly audible, adds some appreciated groove to the mix. The drums are a solid addition as well, boasting some nice chops and licks.
Another City, Another Sorry was recorded and engineered by British producer Dave Eringa. As a result, the album's sound is somewhat brash, but has a nice semi-lo-fi tone. Eringa's mix is wonderful, and he must be commended for his superb treatment of the band's rhythm section and guitars, which sound great. While the production values on
Another City, Another Sorry are not immense, the record's rawness works well with the band's style.
The best part of
Another City, Another Sorry is how catchy every single one of its tunes are. From the bombastic opener “Another City, Another Sorry”, to the epic ballad in “Cliffer”, and the disco-infused grooves in “Emergency”, all the hooks on
Another City, Another Sorry are memorable. I can remember having nearly all of the record's songs stuck in my head, at one point, while listening to this record. Fascinatingly, I found that
Another City, Another Sorry is as enjoyable as it is because of its instrumental work, not its vocals. Its bass and drum grooves, alongside the deliberately dancy guitar work, make the songs on
Another City, Another Sorry a delight to listen to.
The Answering Machine's vocals are one of the record's more average aspects. Singer and guitarist Martin Colclough carries vocal duties throughout the majority of the release. And he is not bad by any respect. His voice is marked by a strong English accent and a comfortable range, and overall, it is alright. Colclough's performances certainly add little to the record's excellent instrumentation, and back-up vocalist Melissa Evans does nothing to infuse dynamics into the band's sound. Still, The Answering Machine found ways to make their vocals infectious, just like their guitar work. Tracks like “It's Over! It's Over! It's Over!” and “Lightbulbs” demonstrate that
Another City, Another Sorry has some wonderful vocal harmonies. The dual-vocals on “You Should Have Called” are a standout, too.
There is little variety on the album as well. Nearly all of the eleven tracks on
Another City, Another Sorry sound extremely similar. These songs are all designed to be Brit-pop-inspired indie rock anthems, and they fill that purpose well, at the cost of branching out musically or sonically. The only real break in sound
Another City, Another Sorry has is “The Information”, an out of place acoustic and electronic track that fails to add anything to the record's package.
But, the absence of change in
Another City, Another Sorry is fine, because its songs are infinitely energetic. “Obviously Cold” is relentless with its bombardment of choruses and fast licks. “Oklahoma” does everything it can to get into your head. “Oh, Christina” dances around and flies off of walls at the same time. It is interesting because the final songs on
Another City, Another Sorry end the record with the same brimming electricity that it starts off with. This album is ultra-enthusiastic, and the resulting product is simply a great deal of fun.
In all,
Another City, Another Sorry is certainly not the most unique indie rock album to emerge from the United Kingdom. The album's seemingly endless pool of energy is nothing short of refreshing, though. With their debut release, The Answering Machine set out to create a tireless set of eleven songs. The band succeeded in doing this admirably.
Another City, Another Sorry makes no attempt to reinvent the indie rock wheel, but adds a great release to its canon nonetheless.
