Popular Mechanics is the debut album by Piano Magic

Piano Magic

Piano Magic is a musical collective formed in the summer of 1996 by Glen Johnson, Dominic Chennell, and Dick Rance in London, England. Their sound has been described as ambient pop, post-rock, indietronica, coldwave, dark wave and ghostrock...

, originally released in 1997 on i/Che records.

It was recorded at home in North London on 4 and 8 track c46 cassette machines by founding members Glen Johnson and Dominic Chennell with contributions from passing friends. At the time, Johnson and Chennell claimed the album to be influenced by the early music of Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...

 and Brothers Quay

Brothers Quay

Stephen and Timothy Quay are American identical twin brothers better known as the Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers. They are influential stop-motion animators...

 animation films.

It includes the a-sides from Piano Magic's first two single releases, Wrong French and Wintersport featuring the third founding member Dick Rance.

Track listing

1. Metal Coffee 1:30
2. Wintersport, Cross Country 8:34
3. Everything Works Beautifully 2:27
4. (0:53) 0:53
5. Amongst Russian Lathes & Metal Curls 4:10
6. Birth of an Object 2:16
7. Revolving Moth Cage 4:07
8. To Be Swished / Dream of the UPS Driver 9:02
9. Freckled Robot 3:28
10. Soft Magnets 5:01
11. Wrong French 2:17
12. You've Lost Your Footing in This World 4:33

Lineup

Glen Johnson - Sounds

Dominic Chennell - Sounds

Martin Cooper - Sounds

David Griffiths - Sounds

Dick Rance - Sounds

Paul Tornbohm - Sounds

Hazel Burfitt - Vocals

Rachel Leigh - Vocals