Snow Machine

Snow Machine | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 8, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Daemon Records
• ASIN: B0007KTBF8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #355,615 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shovel it up, April 30, 2005

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Snow Machine (Audio CD)

Katherine McElroy is one of those good singers who remains under the radar, after stints in bands like 1945 and Three Finger Cowboy. Now she has a new band, with most instruments and songs played by herself. And a new album: Snow Machine's self-titled debut.

Don't expect Pixie-ish rock, though. This time, McElroy goes for a softer, poppier sound. It starts off with a peppy pop tune, with McElroy's piano playing in the foreground. "The cityscape/Is a yellow haze/and it hasn't rained in days/the girl's coat/is on a chair/I might as well leave it there," she sings in a deceptively perky manner.

The piano pop sound continues throughout the album, but we also get some more rockin' guitar numbers, which cascade and spill all over "Camellights." But be forewarned: the music is an oxymoron. The melodies are perky, pretty and cute, while the lyrics are surprisingly dark and even depressing at times. "Your eyes are tired/you're not the boy I knew/Birmingham is slowly killing you..."

McElroy doesn't play all the instruments herself... just most of them. She's the heart of it, with her piano, drums, bass, guitar, mandolin and "tinkly things," to quote the official band bio. Okay, whatever those are. The result is crisp, cold, sweet, mildly catchy piano pop that fits in well with McElroy's sweet, birdlike vocals -- which, despite being a fan of 1945, I hadn't been able to hear at their best before.

But Snow Machine has a small web of musicians from other not-as-well-known-as-they-deserve bands: Hunter Manasco, 1945's vocalist and McElroy's bandmate, also chips in with some guitarwork; there's guitarist Lester Nuby III from Verbena, and another former bandmate, Craig Ceravolo, who plays bass. They add a feeling of musical diversity to these quirky little tunes.

Snow Machine's self-titled debut is an assured little album, from assorted veteran musicians who know exactly how it should sound. Clear, sweet piano-pop with a dark edge, this is a good listening.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars McElroy at her best, November 10, 2005

By 

IndigoKare "indigokare" (San Francisco-area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Snow Machine (Audio CD)

This is Three Finger Cowboy and Nineteen Forty-Five's Katherine McElroy's latest project. It's really Mclroy at her best. Unlike her role as a bandmember in Nineteen Forty-Five, McElroy is front and center of Snow Machine. She did all of the writing, lead vocals, and played most of the instruments.

Her lyrics, while somewhat depressing, are insightful. Some of the songs are about the love/hate relationship she has for her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. Others are about past relationships. The music is poppy enough to draw you in, but sophisticated enough that it's not futile.

Joining McElroy are some of Birmingham's finest. Her husband/Nineteen Forty-Five frontman, Hunter Manasco plays some really rad guitar here. And Les Nuby, from Verbena, joins her in the studio for a few tracks.

It's a shame that someone as talented as McElroy doesn't have more national exposure. Hopefully the Snow Machine word will spread.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something New, September 17, 2005

By 

Joseph Kent "zereph" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Snow Machine (Audio CD)

I'm finding more and more bands that are really solid and have so far gained little exposure. This is one of them. And this album is very good. What's interesting is that there is a lot that is unique here, and yet the songs themselves are strongly pop-based. Listening to them is very similar to Stars, where the songs are very catchy, but there's a lot more when you scratch underneath the surface. Indie-pop based, that will probably appeal to the Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, Jon Brion, KCRW crowd. But, it's a good crowd to appeal to. Highly recommended.