The Difference Engine

I hope you pagans enjoyed your vernal equinox last night. And the super-moon the night before it. And now you’re all eagerly anticipating some climate change. It’s still March, so cool it. Maybe things will be better for you on Thursday (if it doesn’t snow). At least we can guarantee a hot show at PA’s Lounge in Somerville, when Hoof joins all-star Madame Psychosis and today’s super-duper featured band: The Difference Engine. Adjust your knobs and faders and lean back and enjoy the electric show.

The Difference Engine weaves an electro-magic field of sound in “You Have To Stay,” and it is a blanket that they waste no time in throwing down on the ground for a nice synthesized picnic. This track maintains a fair amount of musical mysticism, all the while doing so over an honest and upright beat. Despite the solidity of the beat, the chord progression passes by as if in a waking dream; just slipping airily out of frame at the last moment.

It is this strongly constructed chord progression that lets everything else in the track breath its own weird atmosphere. While the title seems to implore that you stay, the track makes it it plain that this isn’t a request - it is a statement. The magical textures of this track all but demand you listen in; you listen closer because you are compelled to do so by the odd magnetism of the weaving trail of the chord progression.

Some of the sounds in this track float by like technicolor fish in a weird sea, and the rest of them waver in the underwater breeze like ribbony plants expressing the invisible tides of their environment. The entire system created in “You Have To Stay” is just that - an ecosystem unto itself. The beauty of the situation is how this system reveals itself to us without slapping us in the face - it subtly surrounds us until we find ourselves in the thick of it. - Boston Band Crush

" With the rallying cry from The Bespectacled Wren, I dont have to fucking impress you, The Difference Engine makes it clear that the band and creator/ composer/ performer Chris Brown are making music for one, not the masses or people filled with expectation. Instead, we are treated to a sonic exploration not unlike the one Trent Reznor made with Pretty Hate Machine, full of angst, self-expression and lots of interesting sounds. While certainly not as heavy as anything NIN has ever done, the feel and emotion are very much the same. The influences reach a little deeper. Theres a lot of Joy Division/ New Order, Tones on Tail, Kraftwerk, and Depeche Mode in this to give the deep angst a little fashion sense. This is an EP that gets more interesting with repeated listening." - Joel Simches, The Noise

"It's hard for any band to name drop Skinny Puppy to me since I have a Skinny Puppy tattoo, I'm such a devoted little fan boy. But the Difference Engine (comprised of multi-instrumentalist Chris Brown) does that and keeps it true to their great name with interesting electronic rock. Haunting melodies with crushing rhythms give it an edgy and different vibe. Lots of synthetics that are distorted to the max showcase his diverse influences." - J-Sin, Smother.net