Engineers - Three Fact Fader (Kscope)

As Blur and - may Allah rest his strange little soul - Michael Jackson have proved, comebacks can be big, spectacular, life-affirming moments capable of recapturing the imagination of a global audience. At the other end of the spectrum, the return of lightweight no-hopers such as Shed Seven and East 17 only serve to justify the original root of their demise.

So, Engineers. You might be forgiven for muttering "who?" into an empty half pint of warm union piss in response to that question, so for those who don't know, those who wrote them off long ago and those who couldn't give a monkeys either way, here's an overview. The group released their self-titled debut in 2005, left Echo soon after due to record label restructuring and have played just one live show in the past two years.

So where does that leave Engineers? Surprisingly, it leaves them on top of their game, especially when you consider that Three Fact Fader is the first tangible piece of work they've produced since Prince Harry dressed up as a Nazi.

But Engineers have done more than simply resurface in the right place at the right time; more than guitar drenched reverb, better than drawn out distortion and far more credible sounding than erstwhile 'dream-pop', Engineers have, for want of a better word, engineered a thirteen track album of sonically euphoric sedation.

Orbiting a sample of Harmonia's 'Watussi', a cushion of Kraut-rock influenced calm descends on 'Clean Coloured Wire' providing instant elevation of the consciousness. This occurs just before the urgent intricacies of 'Sometimes I Realise', whose brooding melodic forethrought redresses the balance powerfully, as well as 'International Dirge', at times reminiscent of 'Ride presents linear guitar set against subtle dance beats'.

Not a band to rest on their laurels (and why would they after a four-year hiatus?) 'Helped By Science' feat. the Knife Edge String Quartet and 'Brighter As We Fall' demonstrate an unparalleled confidence for transforming the potentially lethargic into celestial respect. This culminates with the metronomic time lapse qualities of 'Crawl From The Wreckage'.

With defined purpose, the Knife Edge String Quartet reappear to add refined elegance to 'Emergency Room' and gravitas to 'Fear Is Gone', before the ambitious and successful sign off of 'What Pushed Us Together'. Whatever that might have been, it obviously worked. Engineers are more together now than ever before.

Rating: 5/5

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Artist: The Engineers Title: Three Fact Fader Released: 13/10/2009 Buy Now \| View Details	Artist: The Engineers Title: Engineers Released: 21/06/2005 Buy Now \| View Details

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Published: 14/07/2009 at 16:48
Author: Huw Jones
Links: Permanent Link