SIMPLE MACHINES

Toronto's THE REBEL WHEEL has been around for quite some time now having formed in 1991 but still remains quite obscure in the world of progressive rock where it has been lurking for almost 30 years now. I'm personally not over familiar with this band myself since i discovered the excellent 2010 release "We Are In The Time Of Evil Clocks" which featured some excellent standard prog tunes plus the mind blowing 30 minute sprawler "The Discovery of Witchcraft" which featured some of the spookiest prog i could find during the 2014 timeline.

Seemingly fascinated with machinery and all things mechanical, this band which is currently the trio of Andrew Burns (bass, keyboards, vocals), David Campbell (guitars, keyboards, vocals) and Alex Wickham (drums, keyboards, vocals) and returns with another mix of "Red" era King Crimson prog which in this case offer a series of melodies and motifs inspired by the mechanical concept of SIMPLE MACHINES, the title of the band's sixth album. THE REBEL WHEEL is perhaps better known as one of those bands that contributed a few tracks to those "Decameron" various artists compilations.

SIMPLE MACHINES seems to focus on simpler more alt pop types of compositions that are somewhat funky, laced with proggy guitar riffs, beefy bass splendor and all vocal driven. I was expecting the rhythmic drives to actually be based on mechanical devices but this all seems like run of the mill generic prog that is pleasant to listen to but nothing that grabs me. I was wondering why this band never caught on because after all the one album i did check out was really well done and i was hoping this interesting idea would yield some really bizarre soundscapes but alas we have a prog band trying to be just prog enough to earn the crossover badge while really just performing some brand of alternative rock with a few experimental touches.

The only truly satisfying track is the closing "WheelSuiteWheel" which offers the usual funk-tinged rock shtick before erupting into a dark ambient fueled style of progressive electronic after the four minute mark and then changing things up a lot. At nearly 12 minutes of playing time THE REBEL WHEEL goes from the formulaic stylistic approach as the fist six tracks and then jumps into the souped up prog-fueled goods that i was hoping the entire album would be. Unfortunately SIMPLE MACHINES lives up to its title and is a bit too simple for my tastes as far as this style of prog is concerned. The pop hooks aren't developed enough and the concept is misleading since it doesn't really deliver what it insinuates. The final track is really good but too little too late for a satisfying album experience. Recommended for the final track and although the rest is tolerable, it's rather meh.

Since several years now THE REBEL WHEEL from Ontario remains a trio around key figure David Campbell (guitars). Andrew Burns (bass) and drummer Alex Wickham are on his side when it comes to the studio recordings. Important to know, all of them are also relying on the keyboard as well as vocal task. And they are clearly emphasizing that the album comes as a real team effort. Coincidence or intended, even band name and album title are correlating in some way. Simple machines are practically inconceivable without wheels, or what? They just mustn't become rebellious :-) The song titles are making the main concept clear in any case. And so the album is based on motifs inspired by the mechanical concept of ... well, machines. The music on the other hand is far away from a motoric attitude in most cases.

Yeah, let's draw in some metaphors. 'From today, into tomorrow, keep on pulling ...', the opening song Pulley rocks straightaway, just a superb entry. 'Falsities and foolery would lead the free world to its knees ...' - Hammer processes and pounds a string of associations, the beat turns out to hammer indeed. Furthermore my current favourite Screw impertinently grooves along. 'Could not have foreseen, flicked the switch ... ' - Jekyll and Hyde, they are intensively flipping the switch from spacy trip to heavy rock behaviour. And then the closing extended WheelSuiteWheel yet showcases some industrial flair in between. Surely the most ambitious album excerpt, brimful of turns and changes. THE REBEL WHEEL music is partially close to the likes of Zip Tang, Godsticks, The Bardic Depths. A worthwhile challenge, the concept is successfully set into motion.