Tuesday 21/03/06 Secret Machines @ Solus, Cardiff

When most people think about progressive-rock, they conjure up ideas of Rick Wakeman being surrounded by an unnecessary amount of keyboards whilst wearing a ridiculous cape. Nowadays the former Yes man is more famous for being in Countdown's dictionary corner so it's up to a new generation of brooders to set the neo-psychedelic scene. Texas trio Secret Machines are in an enviable position to do this. Moving on from the wide open spaces of their debut, Secret Machines have added much brevity and melody to their latest album ‘Ten Silver Drops’ with one eye clearly on the charts. The band shuffled onto the stage to the sound of cavernous beats and opened with the billowing seven minute epic ‘Alone, Jealous And Stoned’. Brandon Curtis' whirring guitar hooks spiralled into glorious repetition whilst drummer Josh Garza seemingly dealt his kit some hefty blows.

After such a thrilling introduction, the set went backwards and instead of building on the intense atmosphere Secret Machines kept the tunes running for what felt like an age. ‘Daddy's In The Doldrums’ thinned out to a lengthy ten-minutes plus and songs found themselves falling into one singular groove. Curtis dragged the performance from its heels and struck out with the straight-up indie-rock of ‘Lightening Blues Eyes.’ It harnessed one of the few moments the audience had to move and drove one fan into hysterics as he bounced around the first few rows unable to contain his obvious delight.

The conclusion of the set saw a rapid decline in pace and the tepid ‘1,000 Seconds’ took the shine off some previously pulsating tunes. Secret Machines have clearly evolved from their debut release but the live atmosphere was for the most part gloomy. When the band nail an expansive tune it sounds imbued with emotional vigour. When they get it wrong it sounds sustained and unwelcome. A frustrating prospect that could easily be so musically bold.