Search - Terami Hirsch :: A Broke Machine

Spellbinding Brilliance

S. Kumar | Delhi, India | 06/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Terami Hirsch's fourth studio album, A Broke Machine(ABM), is an incredible statement of unfaltering dedication to her music. Released 3 years after her previous offering, Entropy 29, ABM explores new avenues and genres while still remaining very decisively "Terami". The opening song "Back to the Start" begins with a melody and drums that set up the feel of the album, but it's the very first line that Terami sings that hints at a promise of what lies in wait in the album vocally. Yes, any person who has heard her previously, fan or otherwise, will immediately recognize a change in her voice. One can hear a new confidence in her range, a better control of the endearing edge we remember from songs like Little Light and Stained. Terami credits this to professional voice lessons, as a listener and fan I credit it to her dedication to create great music. Lyrically, the song defines the album with "If there is a new world, I want to set sail", a veritable mission statement. What follows on the rest of the album is a full delivery on every promise set forth in this opening song.



ABM features some of the most energetic and aggressive songs Terami has ever written in the form of "Help Me", "What I Didn't See", "Battle for Infinite Time" and "Wasteland". These songs drip with an energy and aura that immediately sets them apart from her previous work, and at the same time from other artists to whom she is often compared. Her voice tops off the powerful melodies and mesmerizing percussions beautifully. The album also holds songs like "Fable Moon", "Diagram of Love", the title song and "A Hundred Flowers" which move to a slower beat, while still maintaining the quirkiness of Terami's arrangements of keyboards and drums. "Fable Moon" in particular becomes a highlight of the album by virtue of the mellifluous melody, jazz like bass and soaring vocals. This song is possibly the farthest from anything Terami has done so far, and yet it fits in perfectly with this new vision that is the album. Immediately following is "Chains of Andromeda", closer to the more eccentric side of Terami. It's clear to see that ABM is a genre-bending package of songs from Terami that serve to remove any sense of comparison and similarities to other piano-playing songstresses, giving us something that carves out a piece of musical heaven that is all her own.



The songs I haven't mentioned so far ("The Collector", "Better Times" and "I Am Going to Sleep") are no less than the others, ABM is really one of those rare albums I can listen to from beginning to end without thinking any less of any song in between. In the end, that is what ABM is, an unwavering stream of spellbinding brilliance and I really can't write enough about the immense love I feel for it. This is easily Terami Hirsch's best album yet and I can recommend it to anyone with good taste in music, not just fans of female singer/songwriters or piano-playing women."

Amazing piano playing, even more amazing creative arrangemen

C. Glenn | here, now | 11/24/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was searching for new things to listen to on last.fm, and noodled around looking for things similar to Tori Amos, Kate Bush, Suzanne Vega. After a few hours of the usual "meh", it played "Help Me" by Terami Hirsch (from "A Broke Machine"), which blew me away. I listened to samples of those albums available as MP3s on Amazon ("A Broke Machine" and "Entropy 29"). It didn't take long to convince me to buy both, and to add the others (not available as MP3s) to my wish list.



If you like wildly creative arrangements, fantastic piano playing, and the occasional vocal that strays dangerously near the edge of control, you'll LOVE these albums!



In my opinion, this album is worth 10 times what amazon is collecting.



My only possible complaint is that of a writer and part-time grammarian: She probably meant "broken". But, hey, it's art. And it's GREAT art."

A unique album

wintered | Lisbon, Portugal | 07/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A Broke Machine is a beautifully layered album that revolves around love, heartbreak and loss and the ways we find to deal with it. We can either take it positively (Back To The Start), ask for help (Help Me), analyze it (Diagram of Love), refuse to let go (The Collector), wonder what makes us go on despite everything (Better Times), realize we'll always keep our heads above the water no matter what (Wasteland) or hope for the future (A Hundred Flowers). Either way, you will not be the same after listening to this unique album."