Jump to ContentJump to Footer

Ike Yard - Sacred Machine

Review

Sacred Machine by Ike Yard

Post punk art wreckers reform once again with impressive results

Ike Yard are a New York based art band who were active for a short period in the early eighties. Their brand of experimental, forward-thinking music was influenced by the UK post-punk dub of PiL, the Neue Deutsche Welle of D.A.F. and the krautrock experimentation of Can. They reformed in 2007 and went on to release an EP (Öst) and album (Nord) which attracted support from the likes of Regis, Tropic of Cancer and Powell in the form of three remix EPs. Sacred Machine is their first new material in seven years and picks up where they left off.

A perfect sequence of five tracks begins with the dirty and reverberating guitars of Night Klub, a ramshackle buzz of Sonic Youth pervades and a spoken word refrain of “Night After Night” (a reference to their own track from 1980) forms the main hook. Sacred Machine is a subtle monster, echoey lyrics reminiscent of Suicide merge with Ambient vibes; washed out static and faded white noise all add a serious heft to proceedings. At eight minutes, it floats by effortlessly, easing gently into the glorious Tear Drop, a collaboration with Tropic Of Cancer, where lead singer Camella Lobo’s dulcet tones cut through the fuggy mood, adding an effective new dynamic to the Ike Yard sound — there’s even a chorus you can sing along to! Following the natural arc back down, the closing tracks return to the rambling chords, with Spit sporting a Mark E. Smith vocal-style snippet while Slaves Of Janet expands further the spaced-out Ambient vibe, with the help of Erica Belle on vocals.

  • Rating: 9/10
  • Listens: 17
  • Highlight: Tear Drop
  • Label: Noiztank
  • Release date: 16th October 2017

If you only listen to one track

Tear Drop

Label

Noiztank

top

1484

Join 1484 daily RSS readers

What is RSS?

Follow me on Twitter 645 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong... or something

Music reviews on Techno, Electro, Ambient and Pop.

How to get your music reviewed

Check my Bandcamp profile to see what music I'm buying

discusster's collection

Automatic updates via Twitter

Follow The Letter

Finger on the Pulse

Follow our massive list of artists, labels, clubs and music-related bods on Twitter

Find me elsewhere: