Review: Alunah - Strange Machine

Hailing straight out of Sabbath city in Birmingham, UK, Alunah first came to my attention in 2018 with a superb rendition of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” off of their excellent Amber & Gold EP. It marked the arrival of new vocalist Siân Greenaway. They followed it up with the excellent Violet Hour in 2019. The quartet will release their sixth LP, Strange Machine, on April 15 via Italian label Heavy Psych Sounds Records.

Things get going in style with the title track, a catchy, spacey song and Greenaway’s vocals are a thing of beauty here amid the percussion-driven, guitar-laden atmosphere. “Over the Hills” is a faster and solid track that gets you nodding your head. They slow it down a bit for “Fade into Fantasy” which showcases a different facet of the band with a very accessible song. Love this one! “Broken Stone” is a heavy, killer song infused with psychedelic vibes, and certainly a highlight of the album. The aptly-titled “Psychedelic Expressway” has a vintage psych sound full of infectious rhythms. A contender for my favorite song on this LP. “The Earth Spins” features guest guitars from Shane Wesley of Crowbar fame putting his spin on the trademark Alunah sound and a terrific song at that. It morphs into the short “Silver”, which proves that all that glitters isn’t always gold; a truly awesome song with very cool guitars. “Teaching Carnal Sins” is soulful and bluesy at times and yet another fantastic cut where Greenaway shows how much of a strong presence she has as a frontwoman. The Strange Machine winds down with what is in my opinion the best song on the album and one of Alunah’s all-time greatest with the groovy “Dead Woman Walking.” This one has it all from a sing-along chorus to the band sounding like a well-oiled machine.

Alunah delivers a phenomenal album that doesn’t have a single dud on it. By now they are masters of their craft and the songwriting on this LP has evolved and matured to elevate the band’s status and push them even farther in the stratosphere to reach the masses. Full of doom, heavy rock, psychedelia, hints of prog, and experimentation, Strange Machine is an album that will make the rounds on year-end lists, I’m sure. Pre-order your copy today, folks; this one deserves to be played loud!

Heavy Psych Sounds’ Bandcamp page for Strange Machine: https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/alunah-strange-machine

Alunah’s Bandcamp page: https://alunah.uk/music