There’s something compellingly intimate about Any Minute Now, the debut album from Manchester’s These Dead Machines. The solo project of Dan—an artist clearly wrestling with both personal and universal emotions—delivers a collection of tracks. It’s not perfect, but it’s personal, and sometimes that’s enough to cut through the noise.
From the opening notes of Subatomic Heart, there’s a weight to the guitar work, a melancholic pull that draws you into Dan’s headspace. The vocals, however, occasionally feel like they’re struggling to rise above the mix, leaving a slightly muffled impression. A stronger vocal presence would’ve amplified the emotional punch that’s clearly intended here.
Phantoms and Hello World showcase a bit more experimentation, with electronic touches woven into the alt-rock fabric. The subtle layers in Hello World are a highlight, adding depth without overpowering the core sound. It’s in these moments that the album feels most innovative, merging its indie rock roots with a modern edge. However, Phantoms stumbles slightly in pacing, dragging in parts where it should build momentum.
Then comes So Skyward, a track that feels like a crowd-pleaser. There’s a soaring quality to the chorus, almost anthemic, that captures the resilience Dan speaks of in the album’s themes. This is These Dead Machines at its best.
The album takes a softer turn with Heartstrings and Illuminate, two tracks that lean into vulnerability. Heartstrings in particular is beautifully stripped back, allowing the lyrics to take center stage. But here again, the production holds things back slightly.
As the album heads into its closing stretch, Recovery and Lucky . Recovery has an almost cinematic quality, building layer upon layer, It’s a track that embodies the resilience Dan set out to capture and feels like the emotional cornerstone of the record. Meanwhile, Lucky plays with tempo and dynamics in a way that keeps you hooked, showcasing a more playful side to the songwriting.
Long Shadows closes the album on a somber, reflective bass number note. It’s a fitting end, though it feels like it’s holding back slightly, as if there’s an emotional outburst that never fully arrives. That restraint might frustrate some listeners, but it also leaves a sense of lingering anticipation—an effective, if slightly unsatisfying, conclusion.
For a debut album, Any Minute Now is a solid effort. It’s deeply personal, and you can feel the care that went into every track. That said, there are moments where the production doesn’t quite do the songs justice, and some tracks feel like they could’ve been pushed further in either ambition or refinement. These Dead Machines has laid a promising foundation here.
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