While New Wave peaked in the ’80s, its synth-based sounds continually reappeared in different formations in the following decades: even Nine Inch Nails and the Industrial movement were an after-effect of bands like Depeche Mode and Tears for Fears. For producer/musician Evan Frankfort of The Spiritual Machines, that sound has always surrounded his creative being.
In 1999, computer science pioneer Ray Kurzweil published “The Age of Spiritual Machines,” positing that the supercomputers being developed at that time would eventually develop souls and the impact that would have on the future.
A quarter century later, as we begin to comprehend the nature of A.I, borne of the legacy of
Kurzweil’s predictions, The Spiritual Machines, have embraced that narrative as a throughline for their new album, Lockhearted.
“The concept of backing up your brain into a hard drive and living in the cloud forever is not
something that anybody really debates,” Frankfort asserts, mentioning the futurist and
transhumanist figure as a major influence on his work. “They just debate on when it’s going to
happen.”
Drawing deeply from the rich ore of New Wave Lockhearted builds on Frankfort’s sizable legacy in record production, film/TV scoring, and electronic and experimental sound design. Frankfort has turned in outstanding work with Liz Phair, Pete Yorn, Plain White T’s, the Wallflowers, Warren Zevon, and many other industry greats.
“I’m not necessarily paying tribute — but it’s in the fabric, right?” Frankfort says of his heroes —
including Peter Gabriel, Echo and The Bunnymen, Ultravox, and the Smiths. “I took 30 years to
actually embrace that sound in the context of making a record.
Glide is premiering the infectious “I’ll Die Laughing” off Lockhearted, which earns the strongest original New-Wave track since the last Future Islands release. With syncopated rhythms and luminescent vocals, The Spiritual Machines present lush sounds with a nostalgically aware mission.
