Man & Machine - Earthman 10" EP

 Friends of the Fish 94

 

When I first heard "Earthman", the beautiful and hypnotic opener of this EP I fell in love and knew I had to get it. It somehow reminded me of Steven Wilson in his dreamy, semi-acoustic Porcupine Tree mode, even the vocals. Man & Machine is a solo project of Tom Roche from Airdie in Scotland. He started already 15 years ago to record his tunes with the help of producer Stuart MacLeod, but apparenly this limited edition (300 copies) 10" vinyl EP is his first release.

So, the opener is perhaps my favourite, a really great track with wonderful vibes. "Sleepyhead" is a more acoustic number, rather melancholic and peaceful. Loving the soft vocals, again. "Otherwordly" is another pretty acoustic track with some electronics, but this time instrumental. "Lost at Sea" is another winner, melancholic and beautiful stuff. At first think of "Solitude" by Black Sabbath but with a few more chords and modern sound. I like when the drums join in after two minutes and the song starts to evolve more. Very nice! The shortest piece on the EP is the two-minute "Safespace" that starts with some organ sounds and vocals and then we get some acoustic & backwards electric guitars etc. The EP ends with another version of the opener, "Earthman (Lost In Space)" and it's really a more spaced out, instrumental mix that I also enjoy a lot. I recommend that you buy this 10" as soon as possible, since when the big audience hears this everyone will want to have it!

 

www.fruitsdemerrecords.com/earthman.html 

manmachine3.bandcamp.com/album/earthman-ep