released By : Self Released
Genre : Modern Alt. Rock
Link : http://www.modernecho.com
Tracklist:
01. The Chosen
02. Twentieth Lung
03. Hold On
04. Finding A Way
05. Light Your Eyes
06. Vigil
07. Sleepwalker
08. Here We Stand
09. Distill
10. Spirit In The Machine
11. Flatlined
12. When I Was Young
For such a newly formed band, MODERN ECHO certainly show a level of maturity that a lot of other acts can only wish to achieve. This Milwaukee based four-piece play a brand of modern alternative rock that shows influence from bands like 10 YEARS, BREAKING BENJAMIN and TRAPT, but they also add a slight progressive touch more akin to bands like A PERFECT CIRCLE and THEBUTTERFLY EFFECT. This genre has been done to death over the last half-decade or so, but SPIRIT IN THE MACHINE shows us just how potent and relevant this style of music can be when done right.
The production feels a little off in spots I must say, it’s not too thin or too muddy, both of which are common complaints for albums in this genre, and I can’t quite put my finger on it but there’s just sections here and there that don’t sound quite as aurally pleasing as they probably could have been. The guitars aren’t the problem as they really do have the wall of sound thing going on nicely and also seem to have a good grip on how to successfully incorporate pinch harmonics; maybe it’s the effects on the drums here and there that I just can’t warm to. That’s not a dig on the actual drumming though; each member of MODERN ECHO seems quite capable that’s for sure. I really enjoyed the vocal approach here though as there is a lot of modern alternative rock bands with boring dime-a-dozen vocalists but this guy sounds great.
I can picture a couple of these tunes spinning on FM radio stations and college radio around the globe with HOLD ON being the most obvious of the lot. LIGHT YOUR EYES, SLEEPWALKER and HERE WE STAND are also very high quality tunes that should gain a wider recognition. I was pretty impressed by the high quality of the songwriting overall on SPIRIT IN THE MACHINE, and even though the modern alt. rock genre may have seemingly run its course I’m sure MODERN ECHO have a bright future ahead of them and I am personally happy to recommend the album to anybody that enjoys the sort of music released by bands like TRAPT, THE BULLERFLY EFFECT and BREAKING BENJAMIN.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 7/10
About Author
