Secret Machines

The exit of member Ben Curtis hasn't had a glaring effect on the Secret Machines' retro-futuristic prog-pop, but with his departure may have gone an essential filter. Secret Machines has so much ear candy, it can get overwhelming. With guitar distortion ominously fizzing over seizures of planetary squeals, "Have I Run Out," "The Walls Are Starting to Crack" and the 11-minute "The Fire is Waiting" will leave space rock fans giddy, but exhausted. As cool as their Bowie/Numan/Floyd hodgepodge can be, sometimes it's best in a condensed package ("Atomic Heels," "Underneath the Concrete").