''Broken Machine'' is the second studio album by English rock band

Nothing but Thieves Nothing but Thieves are an English Rock music, rock band, formed in 2012 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Conor Mason, guitarist Joe Langridge-Brown, guitarist and keyboardist Dominic Craik, bassist Philip Bla ...

. It was released on 8 September 2017 under

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

and

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

and produced by

Mike Crossey Mike Crossey (born 1979) is a Northern Irish record producer, songwriter, and mixing engineer. He produced the debut single by Arctic Monkeys, collaborating with them over two albums. He is known for his ongoing relationship with The 1975, in a ...

Critical reception

Upon release, ''Broken Machine'' received generally positive reviews from critics, with several comments on the development of the band's style. Roisin Oconnor of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' described the album as being among 'the best rock albums of the year'. She wrote that it 'showcases the band's consciousness' both on their own development and on the global events taking place around the world. '' Varsity''s Sarah Taylor awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, writing that there had been notable anticipation leading up to the album's release and that it ' idnot disappoint'. Taylor also praised the album for 'pushing more boundaries than the last', highlighting the variety in their music and lyricism as an example of them further defining their style. Linda Köke of ''Genre Is Dead!'' gave similar praise, writing that the band had showcased their ability to 'follow in the footsteps of rock giants' with their latest album. Köke praises the album's energy while Taylor praises the album's experimental nature, though Köke provides a slightly contrary opinion, describing the tenth track "Hell, Yeah" as being an 'almost mandatory late-album ballad'. Köke does however go on to award the album 4.5 out of 5 stars. Luke Nuttall of ''The Soundboard'' builds on the more critical thoughts of Köke by describing the album as having only 'fragments' of the strongest elements from its predecessor, with most of the 'heavy lifting' being done by the vocals of Conor Mason. Nuttall echoes criticism of final tracks "Hell, Yeah" and "Afterlife", going as far as to argue that the tracks are only 'tolerable' because of the band's capabilities. Nuttall also criticised the production quality on the album, describing it as seeming more 'lax' compared to their debut. He provides a contrasting opinion to that of Taylor and Köke, stating that the band's attempt to experiment with their sound as 'falling flat'. In closing however, Nuttall does describe the album as having 'some nice ideas that are definitely eligible to carry on into the future'.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the deluxe album notes.

Personnel

Credits adapted from deluxe album's liner notes.

Nothing but Thieves

* Conor Mason – vocals * Joe Langridge-Brown – guitar, percussion * Dominic Craik – guitar, percussion, as well as piano on "Particles" (piano version) * Phil Blake – bass * James Price – drums

Additional personnel

* Mike Crossey –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

, mixing,

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

* Dominic Craik – programming, mixing on "Sorry" (acoustic) and "Particles" (piano version) * Jonathan Gilmore – engineering, programming * Joseph Rodgers – engineering on "Sorry" (acoustic) and "Particles" (piano version) * Robin Schmidt – mastering

Charts and certifications

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nothing But Thieves 2017 albums Nothing but Thieves albums Albums produced by Mike Crossey