At first, the very idea of The Nice Machine’s Earthquake Drill seems like something that most people wouldn’t be into: an instrumental band that, according to their bio “promises music to make you laugh and bob your head at the same time”.  Something about that screams excursions to white boy funk-land by the way of prog-ville and maybe even a few stops at the math rock rest area.

But instead, Earthquake Drill is a fun and energetic blast of Beefheart-lite funk, They Might Be Giants-smart assery and even some of Fugazi’s rhythmic muscle thrown in.  The songs are quick, memorable and never self indulgent.

In a time when the notion of an instrumental rock band implies music wankery and nothing resembling a coherent melody, The Nice Machine are delivering something for the people. It’s not perfect, but it works.

The Nice Machine on the web