Ears Wide Open: Able Machines

Kevin Bronson on October 19th, 2022

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Able Machines — the collaborative efforts singer-songwriter and actress Tay Côlieé and veteran multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Linus Dotson — trade in alternately sleek and bristling synth-pop.

Côlieé, 24, had released a smattering of songs in between various film and TV roles when she was a teenager. In 2019, while shopping for a piece of musical equipment on Craigslist, she met Dotson, 49. Born James Kevin Dotson and widely known as Linus of Hollywood, he’s had a wide-ranging career in rock (he originally came to L.A. as frontman of the major-label act Size 14), pop (his Linus of Hollywood solo albums sip from the cup of classic pop stylists such as Burt Bacharach) and as a writing, playing and production collaborator. His resumé includes the likes of Bowling for Soup, Margo Guryan, the Dollyrots, All-Star Weekend, Kim Fox, the Charlatans’ Tim Burgess (20 years ago, seems like yesterday), Palmdale (a duo with Letters to Cleo’s Kay Hanley), Pint Size, Jeff Whalen, Punch Punch Kick and many more.

Three years ago, the duo wrote and released their first single, “Secrets and Lies,” and Able Mchines were born, joining the legions of dancy, dark duos and solo artists who, quick with the pop hook and nimble with the chorus, bare their emotions in sultry and vaguely conspiratorial pouts. Last year brought the release of a full-length, “Pathological,” highlighted by the single “Narcissist.”

Earlier this year, the duo released an electro cover of the Pixies “Where Is My Mind?” — likable enough except that it’s, well, you know, the Pixies. And this week came the first new original since they released the full-length. “Digital Precision,” which arrived as their other singles have with a slick, self-produced music video, likens the whole looking-for-love thing to playing a video game. “Technical predation,” Côlieé calls it, and amid the caffeinated synths, her aim is true. Just in time for her to move on.

||| Watch: The video for “Digital Precision”