Review & Full Album Premiere: Stone Machine Electric, Faces
Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on September 24th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Stone Machine Electric release their new album, Faces, this Friday, Sept. 26, through Argonauta Records. It is either the fifth or sixth full-length from the Hurst, Texas, veteran weirdos, depending on how you want to count 2014’s Garage Tape (review here), and it follows behind 2020’s The Inexplicable Vibrations of Frequencies Within the Cosmic Netherworld (review here) and the longest break between releases of the band’s career. Some of that time owes to the times, obviously, but the former duo of William “Dub” Irvin and Mark Kitchens became a trio, welcoming Erick Paxecko on bass. It’s not the first time since their outset that Irvin (guitar, vocals) and Kitchens (drums, vocals and tape manipulation; also of the experimentalist solo outfit Slow Draw) have branched out the configuration of the band, but there’s little arguing with the results across the six songs and 40 minutes of Faces. Nobody else takes jam-based material quite where Stone Machine Electric do, and Faces will be immediately recognizable to those familiar with their prior work.
That said, from the meditative vibe set by the keyboard/effects and vocals of Om-meets-Sabbath-meets-a-sludgy-end opener “Just Another Wizard” (you know, like Helmet and House of Pain’s “Just Another Victim” with its third eye open) and the encroaching march of “Walls of Hate,” which follows, through the six-minute finale “The Alp” (yes, singular), there are moments where the most surprising aspect of Faces is how straightforward it is. Even “Manic,” which is the longest inclusion at 9:27 and departs before it’s halfway through to a sprawling three-piece jam, returns to the structure from whence it came to bookend. That’s not to say there isn’t quirk to the craft or that the overarching impression of individuality has lessened, just that as “Chroma” takes Led Zeppelin through the wormhole and “Price of it All” pairs funky start-stops with grittier-delivered vocals, it wouldn’t be the first time Stone Machine Electric have fostered some commonality with their fellow Texans Wo Fat, whose Kent Stump is a frequent collaborator. Just by way of context, The Inexplicable Frequencies… was three songs and
45 minutes. That should be a stark enough difference to clue you in to an intentional change in methodology.
And it is easy to see the intent behind the change. I’m not sure everything can be boiled down to the advent of Paxecko in the group, but I’d suspect not, and no, these aren’t the first straight-ahead songs Stone Machine Electric have written, but they feel focused in a new way and while I don’t have the math to back this up, Faces certainly feels like the most vocally-centered the they have ever been. Considering their history of instrumentalism and general malleability of modus, maybe that’s not saying a ton, but even setting “Just Another Wizard” and the easy-riding swagger of “Price of it All” next to each other demonstrates a range being employed in the songs. So not only is Faces the most refined Stone Machine Electric have sounded to-date, but it keeps the unpredictability of their past work intact — not to mention being something of an unanticipated turn in itself. That you don’t know what’s coming next has been among the band’s strengths for the last 16 years. Somewhat ironically, aside from the participation of Irvin and Kitchens, it is their most reliable aspect.
Given that, I won’t hazard a prediction about where Faces might lead them. Instead, after five years, I’ll just say I’m glad the new album exists in the now. The doomjazz elements may have been put on a relative back-burner — either permanently or not, who knows — but there continues to be no mistaking Stone Machine Electric. The key difference is one of writing, of perhaps taking the parts of jams and assembling them so they function more as traditional songs, but in doing so, Faces feels no less adventurous than anything Stone Machine Electric have done in the past, and they approach their task with characteristic boldness, oddball angling, and depth of arrangement and tone. Their frequencies, their vibe, their affect, whatever you want to call it, remains almost entirely their own.
Please enjoy:
Stone Machine Electric, Faces album premiere
Texas-based power trio Stone Machine Electric are back with Faces, their most immersive and mind-bending album to date, set for release on September 26, 2025 via Argonauta Records.
Formed in 2009 by Mark Kitchens and William “Dub” Irvin, and joined by bassist Erick Paxecko in 2023, the band has spent over a decade crafting sonic landscapes rooted in stoner rock, doom, space and experimental vibes, building a loyal cult following in the US underground. Their previous releases, include the sprawling The Inexplicable Vibrations of Frequencies Within the Cosmic Netherworld and the live album Vivere.
Faces captures the full evolution of Stone Machine Electric’s sound: six tracks of introspective heaviness, slow grooves and expansive atmosphere. It’s the sound of a band tapping into the void and bringing back something real, raw and hypnotic.
Tracklist – Faces
1. Just Another Wizard – 07:53
2. Walls of Hate – 06:32
3. Chroma – 05:24
4. Manic – 09:26
5. Price of It All – 04:51
6. The Alp – 06:25
“Faces” will be released on September 26, 2025 on CD, digital and limited edition colored deluxe vinyl (300 copies only) via Argonauta Records.
Stone Machine Electric:
Mark Kitchens: Drums, HC-TT, and Vocals
William “Dub” Irvin: Guitar and Vocals
Erick Paxecko: Bass
Stone Machine Electric, “Chroma” official video
Stone Machine Electric website
Stone Machine Electric on Bandcamp
Stone Machine Electric on Instagram
Stone Machine Electric on Facebook
