(Photo courtesy of Last.fm user jakeemccoy)
Aside from having a particularly great band name, Machine Language was a short-lived (ended around 2010, maybe?) but important punk/hardcore band in the New Hampshire scene. The vocalist, Ryan (who now plays guitar and sings for Pleasure Gap), had a desperate yet powerful presence behind a microphone and used his time in the band to deliver misanthropic pessimism in soul-crushing waves. Meanwhile, the instrumentation is frantic, dark, and apocalyptic -- something that pissed-off New Hampshire bands are all too comfortable expressing (the end portion of "We Make Evil People," posted below, is a particularly strong example of this).
Members were also fairly involved with the local scene, playing in numerous other bands such as Armor For The Broken and Jive, and were known to eschew the typical "pay-to-play" norm that was unfortunately such a standard practice around New Hampshire a few years ago. Ryan also handled the band's graphic design work and aesthetic, creating the artwork for Still Living as a project in an art class we took back in the day.
Despite being the band's only completed output, Still Living plays out as a fully-realized and accomplished album, cementing the band as one of New Hampshire's hidden gems. Highly recommended.
DISCOGRAPHY
Still Living | Download
Demo 2010 (Raise That Flag You Bastard!) | Stream
OTHER LINKS
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