“When I Started the Band” is the musical equivalent of trying to remember a dream while dancing in your socks on a slippery kitchen floor—part introspective spiral, part gleeful chaos. This latest single from The Weather Machine doesn’t just flirt with contrast; it thrives on it. You’ve got melodic charm brushing up against wonky structures, a jazzy shimmer wrapped around existential lyrics, and a clarinet that’s somehow both grounding and unhinged. And it works. Damn, it works.
There’s no hiding the DNA of this track—Madison Cunningham’s “All I’ve Ever Known” and Radiohead’s “15 Step” were clearly passed around in the studio like sacred texts. But instead of mimicking, The Weather Machine warp those references into something all their own. The groove is slippery, syncopated, almost cocky—but it’s offset by lyrics that feel like the quiet morning after an identity crisis. The drums are rich, alive, and the clarinet? It’s the cherry on top, injecting just enough off-kilter energy to keep things weird in the best way. At its heart, this is a poem with a pulse—a little jazzy, a little haunted, and totally captivating.
What really clinched it for me, though, was how immediate it feels. You could play this at a low-key dinner party or on a long walk and it fits both moods perfectly. That’s no accident. Slater Smith writes like someone sketching out truth on napkins, then daring a band to make it swing. And they do—hard. “When I Started the Band” is the third track off their upcoming record “Love & Science Fiction”, and if the rest sounds even half as good as this, we’re in for something special.
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Speaking of the band: they’re a small miracle. Originally from Portland and now split between there and New Zealand, The Weather Machine operate more like a creative relay team than a traditional group. Smith is the anchoring voice, with two parallel lineups on each side of the Pacific. But instead of diluting their sound, it adds depth—each track feels like it’s lived in multiple cities, breathed multiple lives. That contrast they’re so fond of? It’s baked into everything they do.
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