I have to tell you, when I first hit play on “I Wish Humans Were Made In A Factory…” by Zachary Mason, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The title alone promises a joke, a question, or maybe something weird, and the song totally leans into all of that in the best possible way.
It opens with this guitar tone that’s gritty but warm, like someone plugging in an old amp in a sleepy garage, and the drums drop in at just the right moment to pull you into a slightly offbeat rock groove. The rhythm locks you in, not too fast, not too slow, so by the time his vocals appear, you’re already halfway into the mood. His voice is expressive, a little raw, carrying this half-smirk energy, so that when the lyrics suggest, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that humans might work better if manufactured, you’re both amused and nudged to think.
What caught me was how clever the song is without feeling overthought. The chorus, where he repeats “I wish humans were made in a factory”, lands with this kind of playful defiance, like he’s poking fun at the messiness of being human but not rejecting it. The verses wander through observations about conflict, relationships, flaws, little snapshots of human weirdness that most of us pause over in everyday life. He doesn’t lecture, he just gestures, holds up a mirror, and says, “Is this better or worse”.
There are moments where guitars shift gear, little texture changes, layering that keeps things from getting stale. There’s a bit of grunge nostalgia in there, a dash of indie-rock attitude, but filtered through Mason’s own voice and sense of humor. And the bass work by John Thomasson adds a grounding force, giving depth when you might otherwise float off in the concept. The production doesn’t try to mask character, you hear the edges, and that’s kind of what makes it real. It’s entertaining, smart, and strangely comforting, like someone made a fragile sketch of humanity and framed it in noise and melody.
If you dig clever rock with personality, give this a spin. And while you’re at it, follow Zachary Mason on social media and Spotify to stay updated on new releases.
