Engine7 - Me, But Perfect
[Herb Recordings]

Engine7’s last outing “Hope Street” took its subject matter from the infamous Glaswegian street of the same name. The accompanying press notes where keen to highlight the words ‘blood’ and ‘beggars’ in a bid to get the message of degradation across. Some four years later and with the release of his full length debut, “Me, But Perfect”, E7 brainchild Alan McNeill has taken his influences from factors closer to home.

“It’s a soundtrack to a day in the life of my one year old daughter, all the events and mood swings from waking up to going to sleep at night” he told Angry Ape in a recent interview. Given these sentiments much of this record takes the form of gorgeous, melodic lullabies; electronically-laced lullabies that is. Utilising strings, beats, guitar and treated vocals, Engine7’s latest record is choc full of irresistible and immaculately produced tracks.

“Sunrise, Catalonia (7:14 am) acts as an early, clementine wake up call. Soft, subdued vocals usher in a new day, as McNeill propels the piece with a series of whirs, clicks and minuscule beats and meditative, crystalline tones, like Sigur Ros if they ever went down a proper electronic route. The beautiful title track swiftly follows, winding a twilight melody like an intricate, antiqued toybox and wrapping itself around a sentimental orchestral backdrop and staggered beats.

It is not all resplendent, sun-kissed melodies though, much like the ever-changing moods of a newborn child, McNeill shifts focus on the record, injecting pace, while adding variety. Both “Nichts (2:46pm)” and “Obsessive Compulsive (9:12am)” are suitable examples of this. The former is clouded, abrasive and temperamental, while the latter eschews the comforting lullaby style in favour of a whirring collision of voices and tribalistic beats, reminding of Radiohead’s foray into experimental electronica.

“Tempertantrum (11:36am), at track number 5, is rightly the album centre-piece. Already described on these pages as ‘the aural equivalent of a firework display on the 4th of July’, this epic number adds vibrancy and urgency with its mushrooming clouds of melody and staccato beats. “Hive Mind (7:21 pm)”, with its vague hints of Kraftwerk and the ghostly orchestral-led “Path of Least Resistance (12:42pm), meanwhile, restore the melodic calm of the record, balancing out the edgier numbers while McNeill’s production ingenuity ensures everything blends seamlessly.

While in a live setting Engine7 swells to a six strong collective, on record it is a different matter. Very much a personal project, McNeill has issued a remarkably poignant statement. The title itself points to the fact that he regards his daughter as a perfect version of himself. The birth of his child has changed McNeill, gone is the desolation, to be replaced by hope, love and sanguinity and this is reflected on “Me, But Perfect”. While this is a largely electronic-based record, rivers of emotion are literally bursting from the nuts and bolts of McNeill’s machines.

Me, But Perfect Tracklisting:

1. Sunrise, Catalonia (7:14am)
2. Me, But Perfect (7:48pm) (download free MP3)
3. Obsessive / Compulsive (9:12am)
4. Glitches (10:08am)
5. Tempertantrum (11:36am)
6. Path Of Least Resistance (12:42pm)
7. Nichts (2:46pm)
8. A Conversation (4:21pm)
9. The Air Sings (7:08pm)
10. Hive Mind (7:21pm)
11. Goodnight, I Love You (8.07pm)