Secret Machines

Brothers Curtis (Ben and Brandon) and John Garza used to play Trees all the time, till they pulled up their own roots and hightailed it for NYC some years back and ultimately found elsewhere what Dallas never provided--love, respect, a label deal, some money and pretty much everything else. So now they return conquering heroes and prodigal sons, with a scrapbook of import-mag raves and Entertainment Weekly-Rolling Stone-Spinyear-end-best blessings and Dave Letterman-Jimmy Kimmel-Carson Daly appearances and other coveted kudos. Seems not so long ago Brandon and Ben were giving locals the UFOFU and Garza was streaking like a Comet across local stages. Seems not so long ago thosebands were the promising ones, this closeto attaining what never came their way. Now it's no matter: Now Here Is Nowhere, the Machines' 2004 full-length debut, delivers that promise by the eardrum-full, giving prog-rock a good name and art-rock a headache and pop-rock a heartache by producing thunderous, wondrous music that sounds proverbial but never gets old. If you can't say you saw them when, at least hear the Machines now.