Jesse James Allen – In The Company Of Machines – Album Review

Award-winning composer, electronic sound designer, and experiential media artist Jesse James Allen returns with In the Company of Machines – his third full-length release, and another immersive collection of musical world-building via new age-leaning, gorgeously layered synths. Is In the Company of Machines on par with his previously released, highly acclaimed, space-age-celebrating epics Cassini: A Musical Tribute and Stories from Our Sol? Let’s hit the highlights…

Wait. How does the artist describe his latest work?

Per Jesse, he “decided to structure the entire album around a Progressive New Age style. [It’s] derived from the origins of mid-70’s electronic music with some more modern variances that border on cinematic soundtrack styles.”

Oh, and with a list of influences including Rick Wakeman, Vangelis, and Rush, I’m preparing myself for something aurally encompassing and melodically spectacular.

And now, those highlights (or, “what we’re totally digging”).

In the Company of Machines opens with the title track, which begins with shining synths and an eroding, filter-warped bass note. And a phrase comparable to John Carpenter’s Escape from New York theme becomes the foundation upon which other glacial synths and percussive effects take shape. It continues unabated, until fading to lesser accompaniment and a distance-measuring reverb.

“Chaberier” begins with dramatic, rich and buzzing synths before a gentle piano gracefully enters the room. But don’t worry – the synth’s more aggressive nature is never diluted; in fact, the gentle piano, although enjoying its more conventional, temperate dalliances, strives to match the buzzing synth’s agitation with harder, symbiotic strikes. “Chaberier” is an absolute stunner.

“The Celestial” kicks off with dance-driving percussion and wet, electronic sparkles.The filtering bass line hits, and sitar-ish notes ring and bend above. As the song progresses, big, ringing synth chords land, and breathy, bendy notes lead the melody. And when the song ends, it’s a final, air-stuffed chord fading to an understood infinity.

“Through the Valley of Ice and Fire” presents moments of multi-layered greatness with lavish synths and mechanical choruses. And I hear those states of matter, their particular textures, in representative synth sounds – the glistening, bouncy reflectiveness of ice and the rolling growl of fire. It’s not simply a song – it’s a story of creation. Of destruction. Of natural earthly elements in conflict with those made from men.

“Dawnbreaker” features a bending machine hum with glistening, responsive synths. And when this monstrous, melodic mechanism halts, electronic percussion and light-giving synth-pads assertively paint to life a more attention-grabbing ambience.

“Nightfall in Formentera,” featuring nationally renowned flamenco guitarist Don Soledad, begins with distorted, otherworldly chimes. And with hints of acoustic guitar, Don Soledad’s adroit picking takes the spotlight; it’s the righteousness of human expression becoming discernible over wonderfully spacious but still mechanical gongs. The playing here is immense, tastefully integrated, and I can see why Allen opted to recruit the soaring Soledad.

The album closes with “Fata Morgana” which features solemn, mournful piano; it’s perhaps a calm recovery from the previous machine’s disruptive arrival. But artifacts of the mechanical return; the machine modulates, spins, and buzzes; it emits a synth-shriek to announce its threatening local hovering. And when the effects pass, quickly rolled arpeggios lead to a final chord of spacious elegance. This, folks, is a masterpiece.

But is it good?

“Good” isn’t adequate – the word we’re looking for is “epic.” The synths are big, boisterous, fat, rich, and tastefully mutated. And when fragility is necessary throughout the march of gorgeous but over-performing machines, light synths, pianos, and other organic-sounding pads grant an abundance of ear-calming comfort. Jesse James Allen’s In the Company of Machines successfully sculpts another world in perfect, predominantly futuristic sounds, and makes sure to infuse it with the elegance of a sparkling human heart. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, and hitting all major streaming platforms on July 4th.

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BELOW: Listen to Jesse James Allen and check him out on Bandcamp, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Please support Jesse James Allen by visiting him online and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing his music. And, as always, thank you for supporting real music.