Bio
Engine Kid was one of the many indie bands of the mid-'90s that emulated post-rock/noise rock pioneers Slint. But unlike most of those who swam in the Louisville band's wake, Engine Kid weren't mere imitators. Formed in the early '90s in Seattle, WA, the band originally consisted of bassist Brian Kraft, drummer Chris Vandebrooke, and guitarist/vocalist Greg Anderson. Vandebrooke would eventually vacate the drum stool and was replaced by Jade Devitt. The group made their recorded debut with a 1992 single on Battery, Novocaine. In 1993, after signing with local independent C/Z, they released the Astronaut EP and the Steve Albini-recorded Bear Catching Fish LP. A number of compilation appearances -- including a version of "Breakdown" on You Got Lucky: A Tribute to Tom Petty -- preceded their second and final LP, 1994's Angel Wings (Revelation). The band's last recording proved to be a 1995 single for Troubleman Unlimited. After disbanding, Devitt moved on to Lucky Me, Kraft joined the Bali Girls, and Anderson played with Thor's Hammer, Burning Witch, and Goatsnake.
Interviews and Reviews
ENGINE KID
Astronaut EP (C/Z) 1993
Bear Catching Fish (C/Z) 1993
Angel Wings (Revelation) 1995
ICEBURN/ENGINE KID
Iceburn/Engine Kid EP (Revelation) 1994
A lot of bands heard Slint's Spiderland, saw the light and decided to make the same kind of music, but few were as shameless about it as Seattle's Engine Kid. The five-song debut EP by the trio of Greg Anderson (vocals, guitars), Brian Kraft (bass) and Chris Vandebrooke (drums) pays homage to Slint to the point of claim-jumping. There's that very quiet - VERY LOUD - very quiet/weird time signatures dynamic (all over); there's the inaudible-story-with-instrumental-accompaniment thing ("Furnace"); there's a Neil Young cover, just like Slint used to do live (Engine Kid's choice is "The Needle and the Damage Done"); there's something very much like the riff from "Nosferatu Man" (in "Astronaut"). It's all perfectly competent, but the hidden noise piece at the end (yes, another one of those) is the only thing that Slint hadn't already done better.
Matters improve a bit on Bear Catching Fish (recorded in "the basement of some guy's brick house" in Chicago - wonder whose?), which reprises "Treasure Chest" from the EP. They've still got the same slow tempos and dramatic volume shifts, but their relationship with Slint has been transformed to influence rather than impersonation. Unfortunately, they don't have much else: the only song that's especially notable is an improbable cover of John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High."
The band then replaced Vandebrooke with Jade Devitt, toured a lot and got a hell of a lot better. Instead of the big shifts in dynamics, Angel Wings delivers a titanic, punishing wall-of-oomph. Possibly as a result of contact with labelmates Iceburn, a Salt Lake City group fusing jazz, classical and punk, Engine Kid also seems to have discovered jazz: one track is called "Herbie Hancock," and the album ends with a twelve-minute-plus cover of John Coltrane's "Ol?," abetted by a couple of members of Silkworm on horns. And they've learned they can play fast - the album's high point is a pummeling 78-second instrumental, "Nailgun." Following even more roadwork and a couple of compilation tracks, Engine Kid split up.
TROUSERPRESS.COM, review by Douglas Wolk
