Vain Machine - Push

It was when Beau Baker answered an ad posted by Omar Quinones to assist in remixing a single for Omar's project ROOM 1202 that the two founding members of Vain Machine first met. Though ROOM 1202 ended in 2007, the two musicians kept in close contact with one another, and after working with others, they began to format Vain Machine both musically and thematically.

And, it was just last year that the duo made VM official, self-releasing a number of tracks that led to them playing shows in November 2013, including the 24th anniversary of local goth-industrial store Ipso Facto and the Los Angeles Synthpop Society with Savi0r. Not only that, but they have also opened for De/Vision. And, all this has led them to getting signed to AnalogueTrash where they have released a single, Push, from their upcoming album. However, the single also comes attached with three remixes from various artists.

And, with Push, a certain old school sound emerges from the song. A driving bassline takes the main course of the song, though the synth work present allows a decent depth to emerge from the track. Though a sort of gritty sound comes along with the song, it sounds like it's meant to be there rather than not. It works extremely well, and the vocals are passionate with just a slight digital touch to them. They come off a bit familiar to other acts, and with that said, they aren't the most unique in the world. But they serve well.

The David Burdick (Memory Machine, David Burdick) remix of the song keeps the main bass drive of the original without changing it up much. A few additional synths are added along with a slight echo effect added onto the vocals. Though not really all too different, the slight differences made it a new experience, but not one I would go through again.

Electrorock punk outfit Slave Unit offered a pretty decent twist on the song, adding in guitar work that definitely reminisced more modern punk music. Electronics come and go, but they aren't the main attraction as the drums and more rock oriented sounds take the real action. Good job, even if it sounds a bit standard for a punk rock song.

Lastly, Mykyl Pagan (The Deity) gladly answered the original song's calling with a darker version of the track. Again, the main bassline stays, but the additional electronics and moodier elements crafted an unusual take on the song. The vocals don't quite fit in right, but the music is swell on its own.

I'd say that I was impressed by this single itself, but I wouldn't go above and beyond to say that I was too thrilled by the remixes. Vain Machine will hit home with EBM enthusiasts for the most part, and I think with higher production quality, they'd be able to push out cleaner sounding songs that will really crack out winning songs. Nov 10 2014