While their peers in the early-’00s Brooklyn scene were mostly focused on reviving NYC’s scrappy post-punk movement of the late ’70s and early ’80s, brothers Brandon and Benjamin Curtis along with drummer Josh Garza had their sights set much higher—quite literally. The trio was more interested in exploring the revival of space rock, as groups like Spiritualized and Mercury Rev had been continually redefining the genre every couple of years dating back to the early ’90s. Reprise Records took note of what their band Secret Machines was doing following the release of their 2002 EP September 000 and quickly signed them for a pair of albums beginning with 2004’s space odyssey Now Here Is Nowhere, in which they applied whirring guitar, spare drumming, and harmonic vocals to prog structures, krautrock concepts, and unpredictable song lengths.
Like their compositions, the band’s trajectory was far from linear—after those Reprise releases, Benjamin Curtis dropped out of the band to focus on his dream-pop project with then-partner Alejandra Deheza, School of Seven Bells, before passing away in 2013 from T-cell lymphoma. After one more album in 2008, Secret Machines was put to rest before seeing a revival in 2020, when their fourth album Awake in the Brain Chamber gave way to a slew of additional recordings—old and new—taking the form of three EPs and another full-length.
With the project back in high gear again, Curtis and Garza are mostly looking toward the future. Yet with the 20th anniversary of their debut album arriving over the weekend we asked them to take a look back at that monumental release to celebrate its legacy. Below you can find their track-by-track breakdown of Now Here Is Nowhere in which they recount their memories surrounding (or confess their inability to recollect) each track. Find their words below.
1. “First Wave Intact”
Brandon: We wrote the majority of this album while the three of us lived together in a loft space in Bushwick. We had our instruments set up at one end of the place next to a frosted glass window that had one pane that opened, providing the only ventilation. We would play at such a quiet volume that I remember being surprised playing this song live for the first time. The initial hit of the snare followed by the bass and guitar collided in such a wonderful cacophony. I remember feeling so into the groove of the song that I barely wanted to sing! So the sparse lyrics are there just enough to not get in the way of the vibe.
Josh: Brandon and I originally had opposite ideas for the drumbeat. Brandon wanted the beat with the snare on the one and I wanted the kick on the one. We ended up using both. The beat flips over in the middle somewhere, and we were always happy how it didn’t throw the vibe off. I’ll always remember that conversation in the Bushwick loft. It was this short discussion during a chips and salsa break.
2. “Sad and Lonely”
Brandon: I was really into the T. Rex album The Slider. I remember feeling like his glam-blues riffs spoke to me, and I wanted to try and live in that world even if only for a few moments. I totally leaned into the Marc Bolan silliness with the lyrics, as well. I feel like the words didn’t exactly need to make sense, because the slippery groove of the song was doing the heavy lifting.
Josh: I love this drumbeat. I was trying to channel The Slider, but it didn’t quite work. So I modified the beat a bit and I ended up with something even better.
3. “The Leaves Are Gone”
Brandon: We moved to NYC together from Dallas in the fall of 2000. I remember one of the first winters there was a blizzard. I went to Central Park and walked through the drifts and watched the trees weighted down with the wet snow. It was so very cold. The sharp wind seemed to reinforce the separation between the few people that were in the park that day. The bass figure sort of came into my head and played on repeat the rest of the afternoon.
4. “Nowhere Again”
Brandon: When we signed to Warner and sent over the demos for the album, our A&R person said the classic cliché: “I don’t hear a single.” I remember being so irritated that I wrote the lyrics and structure that night. It was based on the main groove of what would end up being the last song on the album. I guess he was right, because this song ended up being the one that got the most attention! We probably should’ve listened to him more.
Josh: I remember we wrote this after we’d started the recording session. We basically modified Now Here Is Nowhere and shortened it a bit. Then we added Trail of Dead–influenced cymbal hits for good measure. I think this was inspired by our A&R guy, who wanted to know if we could write a shorter song. Ha!
5. “The Road Leads Where It’s Led”
Brandon: Benjamin used to be so good at making these guitar loops that sounded like synth arpeggios. He would spend hours in front of his amp making these incredible, improbably non-guitar-like sounds. Looking back, I used to take his effortless creativity for granted. I’d give anything to have a chance to hear more of those guitar compositions! This is one that made it onto this record. I feel like he would just get something going and Josh and I would try and figure out something underneath that could hold up.
Josh: This song is so fun to play. I think the intro part was super long, and we ended up just doing a shorter fade-in. We’d always do long intro grooves just to make sure we were locked in during recording. Those were the fun parts of recording this album.
6. “Pharaoh’s Daughter”
Brandon: Here’s another masterful guitar loop! Man, he was so good at those. I remember wanting to try and bring some Pink Floyd–style vocals into this track. It was such a fun song to play live, because Benjamin and I could really blend our voices in a really nice way.
7. “You Are Chains”
Brandon: This song started for me as a set of lyrics. I can recall walking to work one morning and some part of the song came to mind. I was so excited by the idea that instead of going home after my shift was done I walked for, like, three or four more hours while I sort of meditated on confinement and freedom.
8. “Light’s On”
Brandon: This song is still a mystery to me. For whatever reason, I don’t have any real memory of the formation of this song. I remember being pretty excited about the filter sweeps on the keyboard parts!
Josh: Man, I don’t remember this song at all—I don’t remember writing it, practicing it, working on it, or recording it. And I’m quite certain we never played it live. Could be cool to do a new reinterpretation of it, just to reconnect with it somehow…?
9. “Now Here Is Nowhere”
Brandon: This one really was the starting point for the album, for me. I remember when we would be rehearsing this one in our apartment and we’d play this for what felt like forever. Like, this one could easily go an hour or more. We didn’t have any money, and not a lot else we would rather be doing anyway. So this could easily be the entirety of our evenings.
Josh: This was one of the first songs we recorded for the album. I remember being excited about the vibe we’d captured. Then the A&R guy showed up to the studio and we played it for him—he turned around after that first listen and I remember he had this confused look on his face. That’s when we knew we were definitely onto something special.
