Dan and John Kahuna, the brothers that make up the latest electronic breakthrough, want to tease you.
They want to make you wait more than is considered interminably long for the breakdown of a beat – the kind you can usually anticipate with most electro tracks – the kind that you anticipate with a deep breath and an almost-tapping foot until the bass drops.

But Dan and John give you a warm spring day instead. Light guitars, fuzzy synths, and a slow U2-like-build up a la Streets That Have No Name-with seductive male whispers start off the Machine Says Yes.

Until "Glitterball," that is, when you get MJ Thriller-meets-Daft Punk-meets Royksopp-meets Dimitri from Paris. In my opinion, it doesn’t get much better than that. The anticipated moment that all electro heads love to wait on is most consistent throughout the entire album, and it’s especially sweet because of the misleading introduction.

Female vocals make an appearance on the self-titled track, where heavy synths easily compliment drums typically associated with hard house. And it’s sexy, for shit’s sake! Well, enough so that I could suggest taking my cardio strip tease class to the next level.

Now, I said you can dance to this, but that doesn’t mean that any of the sounds are typical. In fact, most of it sounds pretty original-bordering-on-new to me. Even though the album maintains the typical electronica "no pause between tracks" mantra – Machine Says Yes shows a new side to things b/c the following tracks are by no means similar to the previous ones, at least on the first few listens.

"Bleep Freak" is probably the hottest track – showcasing a female enjoying herself more than most women do on spa day with a hot masseuse. That’s a hella pleasure.
Yes, I’ve said it.

"Hayling" is clearly a track influenced by Massive Attack – but slightly more upbeat than the typical downtrodden musings of MA. And you’re brought right back up again with "Mindset to Cycle" – full of funky rhythm and syncopated beats that work with the typical techno/trance buildup sans unbearable repetition.

If I were forced to bring in an 80s group comparison, it would be the Pet Shop Boys…but ONLY on "Microcuts," where the vocals and synth climb ladders of old school sounds with only the lightest touch of clapping. "North Pole Transmission" is the typified "necessary" track – downtempo with female vocals and uber-atmospheric sounds. It’s done well, with a 3 minute buildup that slowly moves into trip-hop.

Not bad for a coupla guys jaded and somewhat embittered (at least that’s what all the reviews make it seem like) with the electro/dance scene.

Yasmin Tabi