Gramma Vedetta
The Hum of the Machine

Listening to the hum of the machine doesn’t sound that interesting, does it? But that is what Gramma Vedetta call their new effort, their second album. It looks interesting with a futuristic style, and I read that sci-fi stuff is an inspiration for the band so that style of cover shouldn’t be surprising. This feeling of science-fiction is strengthened when reading the titles of the songs as well with robots, starlight portal shows, and other things in that style. I like that sort of thing, but do I like this album?

Stoner rock is the style, a bit towards the progressive edge and you can hear obvious inspirations from bands like Pink Floyd, as well as Black Sabbath. But also newer band within the same musical frame, it is a bit nostalgic, but also relatively fresh at times. The production is decent, there is good variation, the vocalist is good, and I would say that it is a very solid production overall. The playing time of 48 minutes seems sensible as well, not too long.

I do like this album; it is much more than a humming machine. I especially like Starlight Portal Show, a great song with vibes of something from the past, that melody is very familiar. So, while it may be a highlight of the album it is also putting the finger on the weakness of the machine, the nostalgia takes the upper hand and the more interesting fresher ideas must stand back – I think it should have been the other way round, then Starlight Portal Show probably wouldn’t have been the sole highlight of a good but slightly generic stoner rocker.

The Hum of the Machine is worth checking out, I think it has some great moments and the band shows great potential. This might not be an album for any history books, but I would not be surprised if we get to hear something magnificent from Gramma Vedetta in the future as they have that potential. They just need to let go of the past and look more towards the future – perhaps let the hum of the machine lead them to something really exciting.

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