Superengine - ShadowsMeet

Mon 27th Aug, 2007 in Music Reviews

It’s been a long time coming but Perth band Superengine have finally released an album. They’ve spent the past the past five years building up their repertoire of songs and gigging around the hometown and, from listening to Shadows Meet, they’ve picked the perfect time to deliver an LP.

Though few tracks on the record stand out from the others, Shadows Meet is effective more for its consistency than anything else. Famed for being one of those bands who pack as many instruments and ideas into their songs, the arrangements on the songs here are fine-tuned to a level you only see when you’re looking at a group of musicians all at the top of their game.

Saying that, there are several moments that do stand out from the laid-back, loungey sounds that dominate most of the record. Lead-off single Intermittent Lies is the most distinct track, combining retro-pop Stratocaster sounds with harmonies that make for an engaging listen amid a backdrop of relatively passive, hotel lobby-type music. Following Intermittent Lies and The Arm That Never Bled and Lonely Path, two more tracks that come across more as songs than compositions. While the former is often dominated by brass sounds, the trumpet knows its place and carefully avoids any clashes with lead vocalist Renee Bingham. The same can be said of Lonely Path, which, in contrast to the album’s more meandering tracks, drops trumpet and trombone sounds selectively for dramatic effect, rather than using them to beef up their sound.

Curiously though, the most interesting parts of the record aren’t the neatly-packed pop songs. After entrenching a very recognisable sound over the first five tracks, the guitar sounds in 11-minute odyssey Moving and short-and-sweet Keep the Pace are surprising. Beginning with a sound not far removed from that of Eric Clapton, Moving builds up with carefully placed electronic sounds, the occasional burst of brass and casual vocals that add up to create something reminiscent of Stereolab or something on the latter half of AIR’s Moon Safari. And while Keep the Pace begins with a distant, lonely brass intro, the song really starts to move when the guitar references that constantly threatening buildup that Roger Waters used so liberally on Pink Floyd’s The Wall.

While the closing stages lean more towards the sounds used on the earlier tracks, it’s a welcome note for the band to sign off with, bringing the ear full circle, back to where it started out just over 50 minutes ago. While Shadows Meet is generally a passive record, it rarely tries to be anything else and, though one or two moments may make your ears prick up, this is an album that’s best saved for a lazy Sunday.