1. Geek Love
2. Flower Horse
3. The Fuck Machine

All songs written by Steve Eagles.

Though it has three tracks on it, the song I really want to talk about here is Geek Love; one of the most astounding pieces of music to emerge from the UK during that strange and exciting period of time when shoegaze was meeting acid house and albums like Loveless and Nowhere were slowly coming to the fore. Sadly, Bang Bang Machine never did achieve the same level of notoriety or critical acclaim of peers like My Bloody Valentine and Ride, which is a real shame, as they obviously had something very special going for them. That said; they did impress John Peel, who played many of their early singles and even placed Geek Love at the top of his Festive 50 in 1992. As a result, the song has remained something of a cult curio; hyped up as some sort of dark epic that once heard is never forgotten… a description that isn’t too far removed from the truth, in terms of my own personal experiences.

I can’t really put into words what it is that makes Geek Love so enchanting. On the surface, it’s a b‑list shoegazer track with an added dance beat. And if you’re ever unfortunate enough to hear the song cut down for the three minute single edit — and accompanied by a cheesy video with swirling camera angles, gaudy colours, and the lead singer wearing what looks like an Emu costume (with a heart painted on her forehead) — you’d be likely to step over it completely; aghast at the idea that such a lightweight song could ever be appreciated by so many seemingly discerning listeners. Try and track down the full nine and a half minute version though, and seriously; it has this extraordinary way of creeping up on you in a way you’d never expect.

In its undiluted form the song is a complete epic; building on a seriously hypnotic drum loop that is backed by layers and layers of echoing distortion, with lyrics that twist and turn on the most beguiling of vocals. Lead singer Elizabeth Freeth is like the missing link between Elizabeth Fraser and Dolores O’Riordan, with definite shades of Björk circa The Sugarcubes’ debut Life’s Too Good creeping in for good measure. The lyrics are cryptic and vague, but she instils them with so much implied meaning; from the delicate way that she phrases certain syllables, to the way the words are stretched beyond their usual sound to create new and even more intoxicating textures!! Surprisingly, there is only really one verse worth of lyrics on this track; odd for a song that pushes the ten-minute mark; but Freeth repeats certain lines and words, creating these towering mantras from a vague ode to unrequited love, in a manner not too dissimilar to how Van Morrison delivered his classic, lengthy ballad, Madame George; with the words tumbling over one another and repeating, as a backing of beautiful music blurs itself to dust.

Waltz around her, waltz around her
Crystal mystery; my dreamlets
Midnight Gardener and the rose garden
Designer children, Papas roses

Janice, Maple, Clifford, Fist
Apple and Leona, the Lizard Girl
To love, but never to be in love
Never to be in love

To love, but never to be in love
Never to be in love
To be in love
Love

The song has a definite progressive ark, beginning slowly with eastern influences creeping into the keyboard pattern like some kind of early 90’s take on The End; whilst a swirl of guitar effects swell beneath the lullaby vocals; all building to a mini crescendo in the first few minutes before the first words have even been spoken. At this point it’s perhaps worth explaining the ideas behind the song; as both the title and many of the lyrical references are inspired by the 1989 Katherine Dunn novel of the same name. The book tells the story of a travelling circus run by Aloysius Binewski and his wife, Crystal Lil, who attempt to overcome their crippling financial problems by breeding their very own family of freaks.

By using various drugs and radioactive material to alter the genes of their children, Aloysius believes that their circus will become a major money maker once the public get a taste for his monstrous children; which include Arturo (“Arty”), a boy with flippers for hands and feet; Electra (“Elly”) and Iphigenia (“Iphy”) the Siamese Twins; Olympia (“Oly”) the hunchback albino dwarf; and Fortunato (“Chick”), the normal looking telekinetic baby of the family — as well as a number of stillborns kept preserved in a collection of jars. The way that the story is ultimately presented is through Oly’s recollections in the form of a novel written for her adult daughter Miranda, so right away, we’re dealing with the ideas of creation, deformity, isolation, alienation, drugs, deception, hallucinations, understanding and, above all else, the need for and experience of love. All of these factors are reflected (if not stated) in the vocal intonations of Freeth and through the staggering way that the music builds and builds to that long, instrumental coda.

On top of the references to Dunn’s titular novel, the song also references Todd Browning’s classic 1932 film Freaks; the controversial story of circus dwarf duped by a beautiful trapeze artist and her strongman boyfriend, both of whom meet a sticky end as the freaks of the title extract their bloody revenge. There’s something very moving about the use of these samples. Again, it’s hard to pin down; the samples erupting from the swell of instrumentation that breaks following that lulled opening section. It gives the song a definite sense of drama, or indeed, melodrama; brining out the sadness and the melancholy of the music as Freeth repeats the phrase “never to be in love” until the words blend with the music. That whole closing section is really the most jaw-dropping piece of music I’ve ever heard, and I don’t necessarily mean on a technical level, just the sound of it. The emotion that the last five or six minutes of this song creates is immense; with Lamp’s drums positioned high in the mix building a ferocious groove that locks with Stan Lee’s bass, and the lead guitar of songwriter Steve Eagles layered to infinity; creating all sorts of bizarre, beguiling and exotic textures as Freeth riffs on the notion of love.

It is here where the power of Geek Love becomes clear. The emotional impact of this song in its full, nine minute, thirty-seven second entirety, is overwhelming. The drones moan over the classic shoegaze shimmer; vocals making you want to cry as the rhythm section makes you want to dance!! And, as soon as it’s over, you’ll want to go right back to the start and listen again; relishing every moment, from the distorted circular drumbeat that opens the song, right the way though to that literal storm in heaven that greets the closing section; with Freeth’s beautiful voice, both innocent and sinister in equal measures, filled with compassion as she repeats those lines “to be, to be, to be, to be, be in love”.

The other two songs on The Geek EP are both fine, continuing the shoegazer meets acid house swirl of instrumentation; though neither can come close to those transcendent nine and a half minutes that eclipse during our exposure to the mighty Geek Love. As John Peel once said at the time; “even if they never made another record, they’ll have achieved more than most of us do in our entire lives”. He was spot on. It’s such a shame that Bang Bang Machine dissolved some years later, having suffered problems with their record label and a sense of apathy from the record buying public, who were far too busy buying (What’s the Story) Morning Glory and Parklife to have any time for a great album like Eternal Happiness, or songs like Breathless and Geek Love. If the same band were to release this EP today, in 2007, it would no doubt be greeted by swathes of positive praise; as rags like Q and the NME quickly spunked off all over their skinny jeans and matching cravats, inventing catch-all tags like “nu-rave” or “acid rock” as the nation yawns in unison.

Perhaps it’s better this way. Immediate hype doesn’t necessarily equate lasting influence. I mean, will people still be clinging to vivid memories of Atlantis to Interzone in fifteen years time? Probably not. But Geek Love is the kind of song that will always be there; working its influence on listeners with the right frame of mind; appearing to them from online blogs or message boards when they least expect it, and then BAM!!, entrancing them with it’s intoxicated melodies, hypnotic production, swooning vocals and ethereal intent.