Drug Machine is one of countless side projects from Cosmotropia de Xam. Originally created in 2012 as a faux-Japanese neo-industrial/cyberpunk take on witch house, DM quickly became one of my favourite projects of his. I was pleasantly surprised to see a notification in my mailbox that a new EP had been released under this banner, 11 years after his last album. It's worth appreciating that de Xam is trying to do something new here, taking the Machine into acid territories of dance music, with the help of his latest muse, Violette de Lestrange, on vocals. However, the songs sound quite flat - the bass in particular feels deflated and not loud enough. My favourite cut, "Mon Corps Ton Paradis", takes me back to 2010 and the Hype Williams reign with its wonky synth, but is slightly let down by the lifeless drums. I think the idea to push the boundaries was great, but the final product is lacking the soul of 90s rave.
Buy the EP here and stream it down below.