Over time, a general image has started to form of who exactly this diverse producer is. EARMILK has worked with Madeaux several times in the past and is proud to say his album is finally composed for a proper review. There is little actually known about him that you can access online, which is presumably for the better. His complete work has been anticipated as he has released each song through different outlets. Now a full picture can be formed, as there is a clear flow from one song to the next.
To begin his glorious eigh- track LP, Madeaux commences the list with an absolutely energetic single titled, "Chakra". Firing off big bass left and right, this original song has clear and evident Glitch Mob influences. The scratchy synths and bursting drums dominate your attention until Fifi Rong, with a dream like voice, creates a barrier before Madeaux's style returns.
The second track on the album delivers nearly as much force as the first, yet with much more suave. Madeaux leaves lyrics out of the soundscape on "Young Sinner" and subsidies the space with a rolling beat that has a rapid tempo.
The next track is another collaboration with beautiful vocalist Molly Williams; these two combined is quite a powerful match. "Proxxxy" is much more aggressive than their previous EP, The Way, yet Molly's voice still leaves a beautiful tone.
"Revisionist" is one of the most interesting tracks on the entire LP partly because it follows no specific past work of Madeaux. The song bounces back and forth between a fast paced jungle composition and the main melody.
"Epinephrine" was the first single off Love The Machine and EARMILK had the opportunity to premiere this first taste of Madeaux's album to the online world. The track acted as a preview to what was to come and thus is complex in design and very tense. R&B vocalist Gallant is featured on the track, bringing in a completely new vibe on the album from a male singer.
"Glittering" sounds just as the track title would make you imagine a glittering song would sound. The vibrant melody comes off with a sparkling array of musical colours. A piano leads the listener right into the main treat of the track where heavy synths and a complex structure give way to distorted vocals.
The second last song on Love The Machine is on a rather sobering note, titled "Body Collision". Lyrics from Shelley Harland make the song seem almost dream wave, yet Madeaux's signature synths take over and deliver an interesting finish. The track takes a turn from the sorrow and becomes almost experiment, but no where close to the aggressive start this album begun on.
To conclude the entire album, Madeaux closes with "Love The Machine". Call the song tropical, call it jungle, whatever you might decide is far from reality as this short song follows no real order. The track seems almost as a buffer to showcase Madeaux's ability in experimenting with new music and not fully as a complete song for the album.
After my first complete listen to Love The Machine, there is still times when I go back and appreciate it as if it was my first time hearing a new track. Partly because of the complexity and range of production in this entire work. Madeaux is a talented musician, there is no doubt about that. Most of the musicians that I or any other writer feature in the album review section are talented musicians. We choose to review them because of our general interest in their genre of music. Yet, what pushes an artist's album over an eight goes beyond just the music we like.
Part of being a critic is realizing the bigger picture behind a musician's work and this is something Madeaux certainly had in mind this whole time. As EARMILK was the first to premiere a track of this album, I knew of his plans long before this entire album was realized. Madeaux approached several blogs and offered different tracks accordingly to the audience of each blog that he felt was best fitting. There was a clear intent of how to promote his album and he executed each step (or song) with perfect timing. The well thought out promotion, an array of sound, and intended flow from one track to the next is why Madeaux's album deserves a nine out of ten. The entire album can be downloaded for free from Madeaux's Facebook.
