Scott's Song by Song #86: Enigmatic Sound Machines - Divided by One
Welcome to issue #86 of Scott’s Song by Song (#scottssongbysong). For more information about this series, click here:
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Enigmatic Sound Machines (ESM) are a collaboration between Jeremie Arrobas (a founding member of Men Without Hats) and Thomas Szirmay (a prog musicologist, researcher, producer, arranger, actor, vocalist and writer). They are based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This is their fourth album since their 2023 debut. According to the information I have received, ESM: “is a retro-futuristic project, the brainchild of two childhood friends with a common love for music, philosophy, and the arts.” Today I’ll be reviewing their 4th album “Divided by One”.
Over the years, they have expanded to become a 4-piece band. The line-up for this album is as follows.
- Jeremie Arrobas/ lead vocals, synth guitars, keyboards, sound machines
- Thomas Szirmay /enigmatic voice and sound machines
- Alain Bellaiche/ guitars . backing vocals
- Hansford Rowe / bass and backing vocals
Guest artists :
- Steve Bonino/guitars (1,6)
- Roland Buhlmann/ guitars (7)
- Anna Arrobas / backing vocals (1,3,4,7)
- Laura Piazzai/ lead vocals (8)
- Quinn Bachand / violin (8)
This album was provided by Anne-Claire Rallo of Bad Dog Promotions. As always, I receive no further compensation, and I call it like I hear it. As per my usual method, this is a cold listen.
Let’s listen and find out what all of that means!!
Track 1 - Divided by One (6:16)
After a few sound effects, a steady drumbeat begins, soon joined by some cool fretless bass work. They lock into a groove, and the guitar plays power chords (Steve Bonino?). Jeramie joins with lead vocals soon after. There is a slight Pink Floyd feel in some ways. The tempo is moderate and the bass part gives it a slightly funky feel. I believe Thomas’ “Enigmatic Voice” is in the choruses. I love the overall soundscape. The production is clean and clear. At around 4:30, there are words spoken in what I believe is French. There are some really unique and cool sounds as they begin to bring the song to a close. I really liked that! There are some really different, unique tones, yet it is still accessible to most listeners. And if offering the listener something unique and different isn’t progressive, I don’t know what is!
Track 2 - Chaos Dreaming (9:33)
A spooky keyboard sound opens this one. At around 1:20, the rhythm section enters and creates a simple groove. The keyboards and guitar are now playing a melodic motif. About a minute later, the rhythm section temporarily drops out, and they begin a new theme. The vocals come in with the “enigmatic voice”. After the 5-minute mark, we get an instrumental break. A reggae groove eventually emerges; I like it. Hansford Rowe has a nice bass tone on this. The vocals return afterwards. The chorus has a catchy hook on the title phrase. The effects that they use are captivating. Cool track, with a potentially ear-worm chorus.
Track 3 - Siren Song (5:07)
The opening sound effects do indeed invoke the siren’s song. The vocals enter and lead the instruments in with a slow groove. This one is a little bit “doom-y”. I like the vocal sound with lots of reverb and echoes. The contrast between the heavy doom-laden verses and the somewhat lighter choruses is nice. Good track, very engaging.
Track 4 - Pool of Mirrors (5:54)
Electric piano with a vibrating tone starts this one out. This one is a little bit lighter at a moderate tempo. The music sort of floats. This is not too far removed from something that 21 Pilots might do (and I am very much on the record that I believe that 21 Pilots are a modern art-rock band). There is even something of a rap at around 3:30. The rhythm section drops out around 4:30 and there is a quieter section. Eventually, the instruments drop off one by one, leaving the main keyboard riff and an acoustic guitar lead. The bass takes over from the guitar, then some wordless vocals bring the song to a close.
Track 5 - Heaven’s Rain (7:18)
This one starts gently with sustained keyboard sounds, electric piano and acoustic guitar. Big tom-tom sounds punctuate the sound before and during the vocals. The “enigmatic voice” is very much in use here. There are some BIG accents just prior to the 2:30 mark. A cool groove keeps the track moving. I like the bass lines on this album. In fact, after 4:30, the bass is featured. I like this instrumental section. It is symphonic much like early King Crimson on “Epitaph”. I believe I hear a mellotron. I truly appreciate the fact that even though this is an electronic music project by nature, there are still great dynamic shifts and some real guitars and basses in use. It brings in the human factor. Good track.
Track 6 - Screaming Sound Machines (4:57)
This begins with an orchestral fade in, then a beat emerges. This has a great groove. The lead vocals are in a low register. I like the feel of this one. At 2:25, there is a bit of a “breakdown” segment with a cool analog synth tone. There is a nice, but brief, guitar solo at around 3:30, presumably from Steve Bonino. This is a pretty cool track. I like the false ending before the final chord.
Track 7 - Heavy Water (7:34)
A quiet riff over a synth bed starts things off here. Some dissonant piano and sound effects join in. This one is feeling like a slow burn. More sounds enter as we go along. At around the 2-minute mark, the rhythm section makes a beat, and the vocals are downright creepy sounding. I like the refrain of the title with the lead vocals singing other words. Things get quiet for a moment in the middle of the song. The music gets big and powerful at around the 5-minute point. While the drum programming isn’t bad, I’d love to hear this with a live drummer, as it’s a little stiff sounding sometimes. The rest of the sounds are much more fluid (no pun intended).
Track 8 - Inviolate Fields (9:51)
The electric piano is the primary sound initially, but the soundscape grows. Guest vocalist Laura Piazzai’s voice adds a new dimension to the sound. I already am familiar with her from her work on the Massimo Pieretti album I have reviewed on this blog (see the labels menu); she’s wonderful. There is an awesome fretless bass feature at around the 3-minute mark. Quinn Blanchard’s violin is kind of spooky in the way that Jimmy Page’s bowed guitar is on Led Zeppelin’s “In the Evening”; cool! There is a vibraphone tone that is sort of dominating the sound at around 5 minutes, that buries Laura’s vocals in the mix, I wish she was brought out more. She comes out more as the song progresses. The overall feel is pretty laid-back on this longest track. I like the triangles or whatever the percussion sounds they are using are at around 8:30. The track just sort of winds down at the end. Piazzai’s voice is the stand-out feature of this track.
Track 9 - Are Friends Electric? (5:17)
This is a cover of a Gary Numan song. A cool bass riff is the motif on this one. This one is moderately fast. The vocal melody is kind of catchy. There is a low-register spoken word section in the middle with a cool rhythmic backdrop. This one has a bit of an 80s new-wave vibe. There is another spoken-word section with about one minute remaining. They ride the riff out to the song’s conclusion.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:
Electronic music isn’t my biggest area of expertise, but I generally liked this album. The biggest drawback is the drum machine in my opinion. Hansford Rowe’s bass playing is so strong and provides a real human element to the sound, but sometimes the drum machine fills were so stiff and mechanical that they didn’t quite mesh. I understand that they are coming from a point of view of being “sound machines”, so maybe that is what they are going for. From my perspective, however, adding a live drummer would improve their overall sound and be less distracting than the stiff drum machine is to me. There was a lot that I DO like about this album. There are some great riffs and soundscapes and musical concepts here. The vocal sounds, even the processed ones, are very engaging and interesting. Rowe’s bass work is a real standout for me. Alain Bellaiche seems to be a good guitarist when he gets the spotlight. This album is really about the electronic sounds that the founding pair of Jeremie Arrobas and Thomas Szirmay bring to the table, however, and in that aspect, they have succeeded. The guest musicians, particularly Steve Bonino, Laura Piazzai, and Quinn Blanchard add a lot to the album. I’ll give this an overall score of 4 out of 5 stars (80%), but fans of electronic music stylings will probably like it even more.
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Prog On!
Scott
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LINKS FOR LISTENING/PURCHASING:
There is a video for “Are Friends Electric?” here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqOim9NlVEQ
Also “Siren Song”:
And the title track:
It can be purchased on Bandcamp:
https://enigmaticsoundmachines.bandcamp.com/
And on their label, Prog Rock Essentials website:
https://essentials.progrock.com/product/enigmatic-sound-machines/
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