So immediately reminiscent of the British rock of the early 90s and late 80s, I was instantly drawn into the raw emotion and expressive lyricism that’s palpable all over Given Up. Joe and Sam began God from the Machine as a writing outlet for their previous bands, which soon became their main focus. The band has spent the last few years writing, recording, and producing the material that would become God From The Machine. There’s a whininess to the vocals, a larger than life scale to the arrangement that lends the entire record to feel like something that could blow out a stadium. The guitar definitely feels like the guiding piece though, adding so much melodic depth that speaks as much emotion to the listener as the vocals do.
With a B side included on the record as well in the form of ‘I Wish’, you can tell their influence is from another era. It allows listeners insight into songs that would have otherwise gone unreleased, and I Wish might just be more appealing to me than its parent track. Definitely worth a listen to any Britpop fans.