Atomic Time Machine-
Same Damn Chords
Big Rapids born and bred Atomic Time Machine has been trying to etch its presence in the music community at large with their debut album “Same Damn Chords.” Playing a mix of punk-pop and stoner-esque riffs, you’d never know you were listening to a bunch of babies who have yet to even graduate high school. Their album reminds me of the grunge age of the mid-nineties and bands like “The Lemonheads.” Songs like “Politics” and the title track “Same Damn Chords” were well done, well composed, and had some substance. It is, however, offset by other tracks such as “Clockman” that were almost downright annoying. There was such a difference in lyrical style between some songs I can only conclude that they’re trying to find themselves as artists, which is exactly what you like to see in a young band. The main and only complaint I had overall was something the band couldn’t even control. Whoever mixed and mastered the album should strike a line through “audio technician” on their resume. It was horrid. The vocals were far too loud and the rest of the band sounded like a muddled mess in the background, the drums at some points were barely audible. I would highly recommend buying this album if for nothing else to get the band finances to make another album with a real recording studio. They have talent, they have potential, but they’re being weighed down by a bad recording. I’m truly looking forward to what becomes of this band, and hope that like wine, with age, Atomic Time Machine only gets better.