''The Mechanical Forces of Love'' is the fourth album by American rock band

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

, released on July 15, 2003 by

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

. This album marked the band's return, after eight years of hiatus, in the form of a duo of

Brad Laner Brad Laner (born November 6, 1966, in Los Angeles, California) is an American musician and record producer best known for his work with the shoegaze band Medicine (band), Medicine, which he founded and led. Prior to Medicine, he was involved i ...

and

Shannon Lee Shannon Emery Lee Keasler (born April 19, 1969) is an American actress, businesswoman, singer, and martial artist. She is the only living child of actor and martial artist Bruce Lee and retired martial arts teacher Linda Lee Cadwell, and is t ...

Background

The album was Medicine's first record in eight years, and their first album since the group's split. The album also marks the group's re-introduction of a female vocalist: singer and actress

, daughter of karate actor

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

. ''The Mechanical Forces of Love'' is Lee's first appearance with the group; previously, vocals were provided by Beth Thompson.

Style

The album's genre has been classified as

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...

indie electronic Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

, and

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

. Laner described the album's style as "Glitchy Beach Boys harmonies." The album was perceived by some as a departure from the group's previous shoegazing sound, but others felt that the album was a "synergy" of Medicine's earlier style with that of Laner's side-project, Electric Company. An album review by ''Uncut'' described the album's style as a "collision of Beach Boys/West Coast harmonies with beats’n’glitches electronica and mangled sci-fi noise." The album's themes are love and sex. Opening track "As You Do" was described as "shambolic electro-funk" by Maya Singer (writing for ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

''), while ''Pitchfork'' deemed the song "psychedelic short-circuit funk" and likened its style to

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, was an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development ...

. Tim Sendra, writing for AllMusic, described Lee's vocals on the song as "almost funky." Many of the album's songs were (uncharacteristically for the band) guitar-less, with "Good for Me" and "Whiz" being singled out as two of the only songs to feature the instrument prominently. ''Pitchfork'' posited that the album, despite its techno influence, should be considered "a psychedelic record at heart." AllMusic compared the album's overall style to

Garbage Garbage, trash (American English), rubbish (British English), or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or ...

. Both AllMusic and ''Uncut'' likened the vocal harmonies to those of the

Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...

Release

The album was released on July 15, 2003. Some editions were released on the record label Wall of Sound, while others were released by Astralwerks. The single "I Smile to My Eyes" was included on the compilation accompanying the August 2003 issue of ''CMJ New Music Monthly''. To promote the album, it was given to non-commercial modern rock radio stations, with the focus tracks singled out as "I Smile to My Eyes," "As You Do," "Astral Gravy," and "Wet on Wet."

Critical reception

Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from critics, holding a score of 70/100 on review aggregate site Album of the Year. In a review for Pitchfork, critic Nitsuh Abebe commended the album's "gorgeous movements," singling out "As You Do" as a "wow-inducing rush" and concluding that "For some it might burn off quickly, but for just as many it'll sit just fine."

Track listing

Personnel

;Medicine *

– vocals,

instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...

, production,

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, mixing *

– vocals ;Production and additional personnel *Jonathan de Villiers – photography *Matt Devine – additional vocals *

Kid606 Miguel Trost De Pedro (born July 27, 1979), better known by his stage name Kid606, is an electronic musician who was raised in San Diego and later moved to San Francisco. He is most closely associated with the Glitch (music), glitch, Intelligent ...

–

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

*Josh Laner – drums *

Joey Waronker Jon Joseph Waronker (born May 20, 1969) is an American drummer and music producer. He has performed with acts including Beck, R.E.M., Oasis and Roger Waters, and is a member of the experimental rock bands Atoms for Peace and Ultraísta. Back ...

– drums

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mechanical Forces of Love 2003 albums Medicine (band) albums Wall of Sound (record label) albums