''Bad Machines'' is the fourth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

singer Shane Nicholson, released by

Liberation Music Liberation Music is an Australian record company and label, started in 1999 by Michael Gudinski and Warren Costello, based in Melbourne. Its stated aim is to find, nurture and then to develop new talent for a world market while remaining inde ...

in Australia in March 2011. The album peaked at number 29 on the ARIA Charts, becoming Nicholson's first solo album to peak in the top 50. The album spawned the APRA Award winning song "Famous Last Words", which won Best Country Work at the

APRA Music Awards of 2012 The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2012 (generally known as APRA Awards) are a series of related awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards of 2012 was the 30 ...

. The inspiration for the album's title came after Nicholson read '' Midnight Express'' by Billy Hayes and William Hoffer, in which a criminal is likened to a "bad machine". Nicholson said this made him ponder "Are we made a certain way in the beginning or is it conditioning? Are we controlled by an Almighty engineer?". At the

ARIA Music Awards of 2011 The 25th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) were a series of award ceremonies which included the 2011 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fi ...

, the album was nominated for

ARIA Award for Best Country Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Country Album, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indus ...

, but lost out to his wife

Kasey Chambers Kasey Chambers (born 4 June 1976) is an Australian country singer-songwriter and musician born in Mount Gambier. She is the daughter of fellow musicians, Diane and Bill Chambers, and the younger sister of musician and producer, Nash Chambers. ...

' '' Little Bird'', an album he produced. At the

Country Music Awards of Australia The Country Music Awards of Australia also known as the Golden Guitar Awards (originally named Australasian Country Music Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales ...

in January 2012, the album was nominated for Album of the Year.

Reception

Graham Reid from Elsewhere NZ said the album "covers a lot of territory" and described "Famous Last Words" as "a snappy country-rocker", "The Broken Things" as "a gentle, simple declaration of love", "Fish and Whistle" as "a light gospel-country feel" and "Money for Jam" as "a brooding, almost monotone rocker".

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2011 albums Shane Nicholson (singer) albums Albums produced by Shane Nicholson (singer) Liberation Records albums