Send "Engineers " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Adequacy |
 It’s safe to say that the United Kingdom has generated its share of influential, unique and superb artists over the last fifty years. It has essentially led the advancement of popular music since the beginning of the sixties, and great artists are still crossing the Atlantic to reach American audiences. With their second LP, Three Fact Fader, Engineers fit on the list. There is definitely a large audience for their smooth, emotive and groove oriented sound.Engineers have the most expansive list of influences I’ve ever seen. Included are sixties pop acts The Beach Boys, The Turtles, and The Zombies, as well as more obscure artists like Amon Düül II, Brian Eno, Sonic Cathedral, and Kate Bush. There is definitely an emphasis of the warm harmonies of the first group, mixed well more spacey psychedelic atmospheres and a touch of synthesized accents reminiscent of Radiohead. They blend it together well. A synthesized loop opens “Clean Coloured Wire,” a laid back psychedelic trip with wavy guitar lines and a mellow, dreamy melody. The track has a nice amount of stuff going on without seeming too complex or loud; it’s symphonic without any symphony. The music never really changes, but it’s interesting enough not to need to. It’s more of an instrumental opening with a coating of a voice than an actual song (which is fine)....full text |
| Drownedinsound |
| Having broken through to the periphery of mainstream success thanks to the tried and tested 'word of mouth' method - not to mention a series of storming live shows - 2005's self-titled debut release should have been the catalyst for greater things as far as Engineers were concerned. Sadly, and as so often has been the case in recent times, record company politics (the label, Echo, eventually going bust) and the perceived changing tastes of their customer demographics meant that the band and any subsequent releases found themselves on an enforced hiatus lasting four years. For many lesser outfits, that would have been the straw that broke the camel's back; the precursor to collectively announce "enough is enough" and head back to the drawing board to re-evaluate and map out new careers. Not so Engineers though; (re)borne of the belief that this batch of singers were too good to remain locked in the vaults and away from the public domain, and buoyed by a somewhat loyal fanbase, not to mention friends in more influential circles, the arduous task of revisiting songs mostly recorded between three and four years ago began in earnest, the first steps towards Three Fact Fader finally in place. It's certainly been a long haul for the band, from the initial sessions recorded with M83 and Maps cohort Ken Thomas between the leafy glades of rural Surrey and Monmouthshire, to the revamped versions that sit proudly amidst this fine collection. Perhaps the most ironic - if incongruous - facet is that four years ago, Engineers were seen to a large degree as revivalists, albeit pretty astute ones, of an era long past its creative zenith, whereas today, in a climate of echo, reverb, looped dialogue and distortion, their philosophy for sound and vision fits perfectly....full text |
| Musicomh |
| It's been a long hard road for the Engineers, but five years after their Folly debut was so well received, it's heartening to see them overcoming record company troubles to return with Three Fact Fader. This being the Engineers they do so with minimum fuss, as for them it's all about the music. Even the press release doubts their existence as a band, describing them more suitably as constructors of sound. That they're coming back now seems all the more pertinent, given how much column inches and disc space is being given over to shoegaze and its ilk. This is, of course, much more than a retreading of old ground, and the trio deserve credit for fashioning an album long in the making to something so coherent. Much of the musical inspiration comes from a European tour four years ago, where the band found themselves listening to a lot of Neu!, Sonic Youth and Breeders. And for three self-confessed engineers this record is hardly the stuff of machines and processes, as singer Simon Phipps imbues his songs with plenty of emotion....full text |
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