Engineers - Three Fact Fader

CD: KSCOPE118
RELEASED: 2009
LABEL: KScope

Following the rapturous reception that greeted their mini-album Folly in 2004 and debut Engineers the following year, it?s taken them a long time to build the epic that is Three Fact Fader. After initial recording sessions with producer Ken Thomas, Engineers became unwitting victims of record company restructuring and the album was left in limbo, unfinished until the band reconvened earlier this year, largely motivated by public support. It?s not just lyrically that Engineers have a deep emotional resonance; the music itself has an overwhelming sense of purity and beauty that you can completely immerse yourself in. There were clearly no such constraints on Engineers? creativity while they were making Three Fact Fader, which takes the influences of the debut and expands on them, resulting in a much bigger, bolder record. So, while "Brighter As We Fall" does indeed sound like Slowdive, it?s Slowdive as reimagined by Phil Spector. However, perhaps the biggest development is in the use of rhythm. Both "Sometimes I Realise" and "Hang Your Head" have a pounding, dancefloor-friendly quality, while both the title track and opener "Clean Coloured Wire" combine woozy, My Bloody Valentine-style melodies with a sense of propulsion purloined from krautrock. During their four year hiatus they?ve clearly busied themselves with mastering every single aspect of their craft leading to the production of a work with instant appeal that actually reveals more and gets better with repeated visits.

Influences / Similar Artists:
Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Catherine Wheel, Spiritualized, Doves

Beoordeel