Local Record Review: 'La Machine Magique' by Magic Machines

​Magic Machines
La Machine Magique
Electricolor

Irvine has had a number of one-person electronic acts emerge quietly over time--Phthalocyanine remains a favorite from the late '90s-- so Magic Machines follows in a tradition to an extent. His focus is very much more on the populist front, though, so little surprise his latest EP La Machine Magique itself offers, well, little surprise. Expectations aren't upended at all on this four song release, where lodestones like Daft Punk, Justice and the Chemical Brothers reign supreme.
That said, it's also effective in that same vein, right from the start with "Sticky," starting with a stuttering electroriff that's go-for-the-throat stuff, the kind of dance-music-that-rocks which holds sway still in plenty of corners in the same way that pop chart denizens like Lady Gaga have effectly repurposed trance for the charts. It feels perfectly suited for everything from a Coachella side party to a night out at Sutra to who knows what else.

"Wonderland" and "Never Ending" work in similar veins -- the former throwing in a bit of filterdisco effects while at it -- but the slight ringer in the mix is "Call Me." Beginning with a little easy swing and a hint of early '80s Eurodisco/motorik crunch -- not to mention a pristene synth line -- it's a sharp number that, again, doesn't press boundaries but recapitulates them in attractive fashion.