February 3, 2010
Filed under Misc, Music
BT - These Hopeful Machines
Written by Mark | Contact this author
I was 17 years old when I stumbled across my first BT cd “Movement in Still Life.” The album was unlike anything I’d heard and quickly drew me into the world of electronic music. In this world I’ve been frequently let down by many artists who have just seemed to grow stale over years. However, BT is an artist that never disappoints, there is always something fresh and unique about every album. His latest album These Hopeful Machines not only continues this trend, but easily contains some of his greatest work to date.In an act of breaking away from the chaos of everyday life, I set aside 2 hours to take a long walk under the stars while I took in this amazing album. One hour and 52 minutes later most of my body was numb from the cold, but my heart was warm, and I was filled with a sense of peace and hope that can at times be hard to grasp in this hectic world of ours.
I will say that this is by far BT’s most touching album to date, a few of these tracks went straight to my heart, even as far as inducing tears, something NO form of media has had the ability to due to me prior to this album. Most notably is the song “Every Other Way”, which has to be the most beautiful song I’ve heard. “Forget Me” Also tugged at my heart strings near the end when BT’s five year-old daughter Kaia sings the chorus. Having recently found out that I’ll be a fathering my first child this summer, this touched me in a special way.
The first track on this album “Suddenly” practically ripped the ears clean off my head with its awesome rock-electronica style which progressed into a the hard hitting dance number “The emergency” that is so catchy that I’ll likely be rocking clubs for years to come. “Every Other Way” practically ripped my heart to shreds in a good way. “The Light in Things” Took my somber and introspective mood and slowly flipped it right back around,“The Rose of Jericho” got my heart dancing again and by the end of the final and very epic modern rock track “Forget Me” I found myself touched and inspired.
The second CD starts with bang as BT and Kirsty Hawkshaw team up again to bring us “A Million Stars”, This song is bound to be another hit on the dance floor. “Love Can Kill You”, the second track brings us back into the world of Modern Rock, Which then transitions into “Always” featuring Rob Dickinson, A track reminiscent of the good music from the 80’s (think U2) with BT’s own masterful touch. “Le nocturne de lumiere” is full of the awesome beats and glitchy goodness that we became familiar with during BT’s experimental album “This Binary Universe.” BT and Rob then come back together again for “The Unbreakable”, Which builds us up before being torn back down by a slightly touched up acoustic version of “The Ghost in You” by The Psychedelic Furs.
These Hopeful Machines can best be described as an ecosystem of sound, the meticulous detail given to each track turns them into what feels like an environment of living, breathing organisms. From the complex driving beat, to the simplistic glitch; We are allowed to walk along side them as they live, as they struggle, as they evolve, as they hope, and as they die.
Far ahead of his time, Brian Transeau continues to be a pioneer in the industry, and is changing how many of us see music in general. I hope that one day, he’ll find his place in the books of musical history alongside other groundbreaking composers.
Due to BT’s insanely varied talents, These Hopeful Machines has a little bit of something for everybody, and I highly recommend checking this album out regardless of your musical preference as few albums haven’t even begun to accomplish what you’ll hear here. Check out the album preview below:
Fans of BT should be sure to follow him on Twitter. He is an extremely active, hilarious, and inspiring individual that loves reaching out to his fans.
Careful there, Mark. Your ovaries are showing.
On a related note, BT’s really never done anything for me. Granted, I love good trance music, but BT is more like a trance version of Bjork; definitely an acquired taste and not for everyone, but with hordes of ravenous fans.
You’ve got to be kidding me Joe. You ought to listen before making such an asinine statement. This album is a magical music experience and I am so grateful to be around to experience it. Thank you BT. Don’t ever change.
Hey, when i find something this fantastic, you better believe i’m going to rave about it until i’m blue in the face.. no need to insult me over it Joe. i find most trance to be too repetitive and boring, there are 10,000 trance artists out there that all sound the same to me after awhile, major kudos to BT for creating something unique and awesome.
I hail from the collective of solid BT fans, and I’m deeply ashamed to say that I’ve found the album mostly disappointing.
Maybe it was that my musical taste has changed over time (but I doubt it, as I still love Mvmt in Still Life and even Emotional Technology, along with moments in This Binary Universe), or maybe it’s the hype I felt surrounding the album release, but I can’t help but feel that BT has created an album full of beautiful sounds that amount to a grand statement of…well, pop.
It’s not ALL bad, there are some redeeming moments (Rose of Jericho is one), but I can’t help but wonder where the edgier side of his music went and why it has been replaced with glossy rock fit for radio and layers of trance cheese.
The only thing driving me more crazy than the lack of thrills in the beats and melodies is the lyrics and vocalists - “today is the day that I love you” sounds like something out of a James Blunt track. A lot of the lyrics seem to be saying meaningful things that don’t make sense and yet in very generic ways. Even the line “simply being loved is more than enough” speaks to me more than “I don’t wanna be perfect anymore”.
The lyrics pick up with the introduction of Rob Dickinson but I can’t help wishing Tori or Sarah Mclachlan (or Guru or Mike Doughty from Soul Coughing, or SOMEONE) will come in and make it all OK. Even Kaia makes Christian Burns sound like a sellout.
I wanted to like this album so hard and maybe I’m setting my standards somewhere unattainable, but when you can hear how much depth he’s put into tweaking the quality of sound in the album, it almost makes the generic nature of the core of the tracks all the more disappointing.
Im loving this Album, Very well compiled!
@tim
your response is not uncommon,
i think it has to deal with the range of work BT happens to do, there is so much he’s done, so much he’s capable of, not every fan is going to be 100% satisfied with every work of his.
Personally, i found “Rose of Jericho” to be my least favorite on the album (that isn’t to say that i dont love the track, i do) and “Le nocturne de lumiere” seemed to have the most depth of the two non-vocal pieces on the album. But each to his own, ones own taste in music is a difficult thing to formulate in words.
With the theme of this album being “hope” taking the direction of “pop” just seems like the natural way to go. I thought some of the lyrics had depth, and some just had a really simple message(The emergency=simple, buts it’s catchy! perfect for clubs). I think it also makes BT more approachable by some new fans, who will undoubtedly look up his earlier work. This is good for BT!
His last album, This Binary Universe was brilliant! but so distinct and different that it did not draw much radio attention, and i do not think as many new fans were drawn in by that album, he was able to take what he learned from that album and apply it to many different areas in this new album, the result of which i felt was fantastic.
Oh, and i would love to see BT and Sarah Mclachlan collaborate again as well! some more work with Hybrid would also be fantastic (their new album gets released next month!). Also, MOAR KAIA! that was too cute!
@Mark Fair enough, I guess. Though I’d say This Binary Universe instilled more hope in me. You’re right though, personal taste.
I do still really dig the guy (it’s a bit hard not to like him, plus he does some very impressive s**t that’s for sure), and if he gets 10 new fans for every one who is a bit miffed at the album’s direction, then yeah it’s great for him. But I’m going to hold my breath until his next release and hope it comes up with some more of that breakbeat-gone-beautiful that him and Hybrid do so well.
BTW Rose of Jericho got my vote because it’s the only song with a proper drop! (though I reckon the breakdown in Suddenly is quality, despite Burns’ best efforts to kill it). Le Nocturne has a funky bass loop but is ultimately the kind of (albeit quality) minimal filler that I would expect to find the least interesting track on the album, not one of the better ones. Anyway, that’s just me.
Here’s hoping Hybrid can rectify this for me, Royksopp-style!
Yup. Ravenous. Hordes.
Oh, Mark, you do not know me well enough if you thought that was meant to be insulting. Before any of you go holier-than-thou on me, I was not in any way bashing your tastes in music. The ovaries comment was merely me referring to Mark’s review where he essentially has drawn a picture of himself fellating BT, and commenting on how that’s a very feminine thing to be doing.
To clarify:
C’mon, man. Grow a pair.
As far as the whole Bjork thing is concerned; guess what, folks, that’s an opinion that I’m entitled to. This is the Internet, where people may (or may not) have opinions directly in line with your own. When you attack someone’s opinion, calling it asinine, you come off like this:
Joe,
Feel free to write about something you love, and i’ll be happy to tell you how i disagree (if i do). This is (in my opinion of course) some of the best music i’ve ever heard, and i do consider calling me girl(and getting rather crude about it) for being passionate about something to be quite insulting. Disagree if you will, but keep your disparaging comments to yourself please. At least somebody still writes for this site..
Did I hear someone up in here likes cocks?
Only the big ones with lots of plumage..
That is a nice lookin’ cock.
Thanks, he’s Brazilian, ‘names “Chubbs”
The argument aforementioned above is rather entertaining. I will say nothing more about it. As for the actual album, it is simply a beautiful step in a new direction for bt and electronic music in general. Just as Emotional Technology was criticized for being too mainstream pop, Machines will cause a variety of reactions ranging from new fanaticism to utter disappointment. bt is a master of experimentation, and I commend him on his new release.