Engineers - Three Fact Fader

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. Song For Andy could be one of those previously unreleased Dennis Wilson tracks that cropped up on the Pacific Ocean Blue reissue. The Fear Has Gone begins with ambient drones and neo-classical strings reminiscent of Austin, Texas minimalist duo Stars Of The Lid. The heavenly harmonies of Be What You Are would sit comfortably on David Crosby's solo debut If I Could Only Remember My Name. What Pushed Us Together has a similar sunshine psychedelia feel to Panda Bear's Person Pitch.

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.

Literally in the case of the latter, which is based around a sample from Harmonia's Watussi, which is so effectively employed that Michael Rother himself claims the song gives him goosebumps. So, thanks to one of the forefathers of German experimental music and the persuasive powers of the record buying public, Engineers
are once again hard at work, building their ever more impressive sonic architecture. "We felt a massive rush from knowing that Three Fact Fader would finally be presented as we wanted it to be," concludes Mark. "Now, playing live is top of the list of our priorities and we've started to get some new ideas together. Don't expect such a long gap between records next time..."
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