Alternative rock quartet the Beta Machine was formed by two storied session musicians best known as the rhythm section of a Perfect Circle. Their 2019 debut album Intruder has an epic, retro-futuristic sound, variously recalling Sparta, the Mars Volta, and Black Box Recorder. The Beta Machine was formed in L.A. in 2014 by bassist/vocalist Matt McJunkins and drummer Jeff Friedl, who had played separately in a host of bands including Filter, Devo, Thirty Seconds to Mars, and Eagles of Death Metal, but were best known for their work together as the rhythm section of a Perfect Circle and its associated bands Puscifer and Ashes Divide. Consistently working together, the pair became good friends and decided to form a band using material that they had each collected over the years. Recruiting vocalist Claire Acey of Nightmare & the Cat, guitarist Nicholas Perez, and guitarist/keyboardist Tommy Dill, they set out their stall with the track "Pictures," which had a faintly gothic electro-rock sound. They self-released their crowd-funded debut EP, All This Time, in 2017, and supported a Perfect Circle on tour, McJunkins and Friedl playing in both sets every night. By this point, Dill had left, and Perez had taken over keyboard duties. Signing to the Universal-distributed T-Boy Records, they issued their debut full-length album Intruder in 2019. Its unusual combination of influences, from new wave and synth pop to modern alternative and progressive rock, resulted in a unique synth-heavy sound. ~ John D. Buchanan