Engine Down

Same as it ever was

‘The most prominent of bands succeed because they defy convention. But they do so in moderation. Without the need to push the envelope or to focus on vanguard sounds, these well-respected bands use the tools at their disposal to create an entirely new sound out of a preexisting style.

Engine Down is one of these bands. When attempting to place the band in a certain category, none seem accurate enough to describe what they do. They are the odd pegs out.

Founded in Harrison, Virginia nearly a decade ago out of the ashes of Sleepytime Trio, The Weak Link Breaks and Bughummer, the band uses a novel approach to songwriting that incorporates any number of non-traditional instruments to fine-tune their sound. Over the course of three full-length albums and a handful of seven-inchers, their sound is more than demure. It is sublime.

The same is certain to be true when their much-anticipated fourth offering reaches completion. At this point, that may still be a long ways off, and Engine Down bassist Jason Wood, formerly of The Weak Link Breaks, has no intention of letting the cat out of the bag.

“We just listened to the rough mixes of the album,” he said. “We’re making our notes and sending them back to Brian McTernan (producer and engineer for the likes of Thrice, Hot Water Music, Cave In) so we can pick an order in which we feel happy with everything.”

His fear is that whatever he says now will be inaccurate by the time the record comes out. So much can change over a short period of time.

Now out of the studio, the band has shopped the record around to labels but has no idea who will end up putting it out.

“Technically, we’re still doing one more tour on our last record (‘Demure’),” Wood said. “It puts us in a weird spot because we have all of these new songs but nobody has heard any of them yet. We’re really excited about the upcoming album but can do little about it.”

As a compromise, they have agreed to sample three of their new songs throughout the course of this tour. The downside is that nobody will be singing along. Then again, mp3s leak so quickly that the band may find themselves in shock at how many people know the words. But that is unlikely.

While the crowd will probably remain quiet through these new tunes, that silence will most likely be pregnant. Rather than being bored to death, chances are this will be a good opportunity for audiences to absorb the new step in their evolution.

Part of that development comes along with a new-found sense of commitment to the band. Lead singer Keely Davis and drummer Jonathan Fuller felt it necessary to leave their other musical venture, Denali, behind. The fact that this project was fronted by Keely’s sister, Maura, made the decision even more difficult.

“I just don’t think that people realize how hard it is to be in two bands that have two albums come out around the same time,” said Wood. “Keely and Jonathan would get home from an Engine Down tour and head right back out on the road with Denali. It was really draining for them.”

Keely and Maura have close-knit ties and are sad to be apart from each other, but this is being viewed as an opportunity for each of the two bands. It has freed both of them up to tour at the same time in different locations, as they are doing right now.

Whether or not this will mean more tour dates or not for Engine Down is uncertain – but each show is guaranteed a higher level of energy than it might have had a year or two ago.

The shared dates between brother and sister’s ventures may now be kept to a minimum, which can only mean half as many depressing and ambiguous lyrics per show but twice as many downtrodden shows to go to.

“Each time we go out by ourselves, the tours seem to get a little bit better,” said Wood. “You grow with each step you take and we’re at the point where we’ve got all the bases covered and learned from the mistakes we made in the past.”