Track Listing

1. Clean Coloured Wire
2. Sometimes I Realise
3. International Dirge
4. Helped By Science
5. Brighter As We Fall
6. Hang Your Head
7. Crawl From The Wreckage
8. Three Fact Fader
9. Song For Andy
10. Emergency Room
11. The Fear Has Gone
12. Be What You Are
13. What Pushed Us Together

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5531 in Music
• Released on: 2009-07-06
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

CD Description
Engineers are back. Four years after the release of their landmark debut, the band return with their epic second album--Three Fact Fader. The 13-track album was produced by the band along with Ken Thomas (Sigur Rós, M83, Maps) over a period of two years, with the final tracks being completed earlier this year. It comes packaged in stunning artwork by legendary music photographer Tom Sheehan.

Engineers are not like any other band. Onstage Simon Phipps is the singer, Dan Macbean is the guitarist, Mark Peters is the bassist and Sweeney is the drummer, but the real clue is in their name: they approach their music like engineers, carefully constructing wonderful walls of sound.

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 their epic second album, Three Fact Fader. After initial recording sessions, 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.

Customer Reviews

Dreams Are Made Of This
First off, Mr Sheehan's artwork is stunning !

The music which follows is no less so.

Engineers' new album 'Three Fact Fader' is an antidote to mediocrity.
A bright light in an occasionally very dark firmament.

Thirteen is not necessarily an unlucky number.
This wonderful collection stands as proof, if proof were needed,
that this country is, in so many ways, the glowing, molten core
of an ever-expanding musical universe.

Melodically uplifting; innovative and
mindfully knowing in the same breath.
Dense, anthemic, soundscapes.
Sometimes a little chilly; sometimes a warm blanket;
always consumately conceived and skillfully performed.

Mr Phipps has just the right voice for this material.
Undemonstrative, a little dreamy, a potent salve.

Mr Thomas's production captures the elusive character
of these compositions perfectly in magical technicolor.

The string quartet on 'Helped By Science', arranged by band
members Mr Peters and Mr Macbean is stunning. Their
instrumental virtuosity, assisted ably by percussionist
Mr Sweeney, forms the musical backbone of the project.

Everything seems to be in the right place, from the
incandescent opening of 'Clean Coloured Wire' to the
Spector-esque wall-of-sound ending provided by
'What Pushed Us Together'.
We are in the hands of masters of their craft.

In between, songs such as 'Crawl From The Wreckage' and
(particularly) the very beautiful 'Song For Andy' set this
terrific band far apart from many of their lacklustre peers.

Solid as a rock and bound for glory.

Very Highly Recommended.

If you like wistful...look no further
I love the music, ranging from a Pink Floydy sound to something that Tiesto might churn out. Electronica is the major feature, a few blasts of rockier guitar interspersed here and there, the word I would say sums it up is "wistful" (see above). However this is where the fifth star is lost as I was beginning to find the, yes, wistful vocals a bit boring by the end. Not as immediate as their previous album, this is still a decent enough purchase

Shoeglazed Expression
Here are three facts. Engineers really like shoe-gazing. Engineers really like Slowdive and Chapterhouse. If you like Engineers then you too will love Slowdive and Chapterhouse. I could talk about how Engineers have evolved on, this, album three with a light flourish of ambient post-rock. However, there would be little point, despite this truth, because, in reality, Three Fact Fader is an almost-verbatim retread of their catalogue to date. Ergo, it is earnest, competent, enjoyable even, but ultimately forgettable.

Familiarity breeds contempt. Engineers are jealousy-inspiringly consistent but their brand of dream-pop or nu-gaze here drags a little, as Three Fact Fader weighs in only a little beneath the hour mark. Nevertheless, pretty highlights like, well most of it, particularly `Brighter As We Fall', are worth a daydream or two. Shoegaze has always been guilty of esotericism, and Engineers carry that torch well. With them lighting the way so kindly, it may pay to look into their peers' catalogues before leaping in love.