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Jul 24, 2020 By Christopher Roberts Secret Machines

Secret Machines (Brandon Curtis and Josh Garza) are releasing their first new album in 12 years, Awake in the Brain Chamber, on August 21 via TSM Recordings. Now they have shared another song from it, “Everything Starts,” which features guitar work by the late Benjamin Curtis (a former founding member of the band). Listen below.

Brandon Curtis had this to say about “Everything Starts” in a press release: “Some place in the back of my mind I guess I was hoping I could write a Fleetwood Mac song. But It kept coming out all weird. I read a quote from Wayne Coyne, something like ‘If you are writing a song and you immediately like it, it’s probably no good. But when it sounds weird or if you just don’t know about it, that ’s the good stuff.’ Well, for some insane reason that has stuck with me. So I called my brother to see if he could play something that Lindsey Buckingham would play and he came back with what we have here. Sort of saved it from my own worst inclinations, or at least that’s my opinion.”

Josh Garza had this to say: “Awake in the Brain Chamber is as much about new beginnings as it is about honoring and appreciating the past. When I close my eyes and listen to ‘Everything Starts’ I see three guys in a room playing music. I see Ben, Brandon and me… we’re all playing our instruments, we’re all smiling and it’s probably a bit too loud. For a brief and infinite five minutes, I’m taken to a sonic landscape that is special and unique, with a sound that only Benjamin can deliver. I’m glad we’ve been given this chance to honor his legacy in this way, and to fold this final collaboration into a new chapter for Secret Machines.”

Previously Secret Machines shared the album’s first single, “Talos’ Corpse.”

The band’s last album was Secret Machines, which was their third and released in 2008. That was the first album without Benjamin Curtis, who left the band to focus on his other project School of Seven Bells, leaving his brother Brandon Curtis and Josh Garza to continue on with the project. Alas Benjamin Curtis passed away in 2013 because of T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma cancer, at the young age of 35. Brandon Curtis says his late brother’s sonic fingerprints are all over Awake in the Brain Chamber.

“I began writing these songs at a time I remember feeling alone and lost, and I think the songs have that in their DNA,” said Brandon in a previous press release. “I started sharing early versions with Benjamin who gave me notes as well as encouragement. I am sure that without his influence this album would never have seen the light of day.”

Brandon continued: “While reworking the tracks, Josh and I were careful to retain whatever influence Benjamin had as a sort of living tribute to him. I know that Josh and I both feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity to work with him again, albeit posthumously. I know we are both very proud to present this as the first Secret Machines music in over a decade.”

Secret Machines’ core lineup is Brandon Curtis and Josh Garza. The album also features Benjamin Curtis, Chris Kyle, Brian Bisordi, and Sarah Pedinotti. Claudius Mittendorfer mixed the album and Joe Lambert mastered it.

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