Demure

Demure Artist: Engine Down
Label: Lovitt Records
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 711574452828
EAN: 0711574452828
ASIN: B000063S57


Release Date: 2002-04-01

Demure


Related Categories:

General General
Categories | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Indie Rock Indie Rock
Categories | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop Rock Pop Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Rock Rock
Categories | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Tracks:

  1. Songbird
  2. Pantomime
  3. Far From Now
  4. Detour
  5. Taken In
  6. Demure
  7. Overrated
  8. Second of February
  9. Closed Call
  10. Relief Sketch

Similar Items:

  1. To Bury Within the Sound
  2. Under The Pretense of Present Tense
  3. Enginedown
  4. The Instinct
  5. Lottery

Album Description

After growing steadily behind two critically embraced and well-received albums, Engine Down present Demure, a full-length that will surprise their most ardent fans yet remain inviting and accessible to those unfamiliar with their efforts to date. Demure captures an intriguing level of introspection only subtly hinted at in previous work, and the underlying pattern throughout the album is efficiency. The group's approach towards their third full-length is that of repetitious, droning guitars complemented by simplistic syncopation. The soaring, reedy vocals of Keeley Davis stand monolithic and solitary, anchors for many songs on Demure. For Engine Down to wrench such complex passion out of a self-imposed limited sonic palette is truly an accomplishment. <P>However, to dismiss Demure as a somber, sullen, or understated work would be an injustice. The group's most recent metamorphosis removes the volatile flare of earlier incarnations, and the energy once used to produce the bright flash of earlier albums now is harnessed for an urgency underlying each part of the album. This makes Demure more than a mere collection of ten songs. Engine Down smartly dares the listener to find the complexities mired within the full-length by defacing many of the expected guides of dynamic contrast or bombastic yells typically used to convey earnestness or passion. <P>The beauty of this third full-length is its deceptive plainness, allowing for different interpretations upon the first or the tenth listen. Casual and knowledgeable listeners alike will find the steady rhythmic blink and contemplative drive alluring. Demure is a hypnotic, gorgeously crafted venture created by four individuals who realize that sometimes the best way to showcase talent is to subdue it.

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars Boring.......2005-03-19

Demure by Engine Down is a record that seems soooo bored with itself. For music that people call "post hardcore", it seems performed in a limp-wristed fashion (unlike Cursive or At The Drive In). But if you like typical "indie rock" that is too in love with its angular haircuts to play sonically arresting music, this is for you.

5 out of 5 stars superb.......2004-12-18

This album is great just like the prior two...want good music? Buy this album and the prior two. Extremely chill and melodic in a very simple sense. They don't do to much, they don't do to little...it's a perfect blend with the vocals coasting across the as if the music were a sheet of ice...

5 out of 5 stars A GREAT ALBUM!.......2004-08-12

There's not a great deal that needs to be said 'bout "Demure" except that it's a great album. Coming across a lil' like Sunnyday Real Estate, it's not very heavy (in a distorted kinda way), but the song structure & dynamics are incredible. I'm surprised this band isn't a lot bigger, but then again, know-one ever said the nice guys were gonna finish first.

5 out of 5 stars Underated........Way Underated...........2003-05-03

These guys are awesome their style is unlike anything I've heard. I can tell some influences but the guitar and vocals are some of the best yet. I don't skip any tracks... it's just awesome I really wish they came with Cursive in Utah but oh well. I truly think this is their best yet, they have matured so much espicially the vocals. Please Buy This CD It's Beautiful!

4 out of 5 stars ........2002-12-21

Engine Down are a sort of indie rock anomaly. The band started off sounding quite different than their current sound, rising out of the ashes of Virginia's highly underappreciated Sleepytime Trio. Their early style was one that passerby would consider "screamo" - that is, the band was screamy and emotional. The vocals were akin to Florida's I Hate Myself and Twelve Hour Turn, among others, but the music, while spazzy at times, definitely allowed listeners to catch a glimpse into the band's future. While most bands of this style seemed to more or less just tell their bassist and drummer to play as fast and chaotic as possible, Engine Down's rhythms pulsated with the flow of the song, never getting too ahead of itself. Frontman Keeley Davis even let his vocals come out normally on a few early songs, though on most songs he was relegated to screaming duty.

So the band put out one 7" and their debut full length, "Under The Pretense of Present Tense," and life seemed good. They were getting a ton of buzz from the hipper-than-thou crew in everyone's scene, it seemed. But the band wasn't content with their sound. So the evolution began with their second LP, "To Bury Within The Sound." Their new sound was one more rhythmically dense, and Keeley finally dropped the screaming act altogether, as his voice soared over the beautifully layered instruments beneath him. For the second album in a row, though, the music suffered at the recording itself. The bass seemed completely lost on this album, and, while the vocals were cleaner than on the first album, they still needed work.

So this brings us to "Demure," Engine Down's latest effort. Right from the start the album cures the recording problem - everything on here sounds crisp, clear, and as defined as ever. The music has become more subdued, but at the same time it has taken on a new life. At times the drums and bass sound almost tribal, and you can't help but get caught up in the pulsating rhythms of songs like "Pantomime" and "Second Of February." Davis' vocals have matured significantly, as evident on tracks like "Detour" and the pounding "Taken In." The penultimate track, "Closed Call," is a beautiful ballad featuring Keeley dueting with his sister Maura. The track could have been on Denali's CD, as it has a very similar sound [Denali is Keeley's side project, Maura is the singer].

Music Album:

  1. Cosmic Jokers ~ Cosmic Jokers
  2. Camel ~ Camel
  3. Crisis? What Crisis? ~ Supertramp
  4. Beat the Drum ~ Pallas
  5. Little Kix ~ Mansun
  6. Hits of 1993 ~ Various Artists
  7. What Goes Around ~ Celtus
  8. The Roots Of Rock: 80's New Wave ~ Various Artists
  9. Fin ~ Crispy Ambulance
  10. The Gurus Are Hear! ~ The Gurus

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Sudden Burst of Energy ~ Earl Klugh

Dream Come True ~ Earl Klugh

Going to Meet the Man ~ Metta Quintet

Matrix ~ Dizzy Gillepsie

Don't Stop It ~ Klaus Ignatzek

Bouderbala ~ Nass Marrakech

Villa Lobos Ciranda E Cirandinhas ~ Roberto Szidon

Uno in Piu' ~ 883

Desde Mi Cama Con Amor ~ Lolita De La Colina

Charming ~ Stardust Revue