Engines Made from Soup (EMFS) comprises Gareth Cross (vocals), Gareth Evans (keyboards), and Steve Spencer (guitars). The band formed at school and performed around the North of England during university, recording tracks for their “Better EP” and a compilation by Merseyside promoters Big Nose and Potato Man in the mid 1990s. From the 1970s to the 1990s the band included Andrew Laidlaw on bass guitar and backing vocals; Philip Jones on keyboards; and Jane Carter on the saxophone and the role of lead guitarist was played by being Lee Corless and Valerie Dutton at various stages of each iteration before Steve joined the fray.
But then life took them all down separate paths, as life does.
Fast forward to 2017 and the guys, nearing or in retirement, decided to get the band back together. That wasn’t going to be easy as they were located across the length and breadth of the UK. But to kickstart the enterprise, they made their back catalogue available on the Soundcloud platform and then went about recording what was to become their comeback collection, “Again”.
When Will It Begin (Again)? What is old is new again. That punchy bass. But this time, it’s Stephen Patrick Morrissey on vocals! Only less morose and more tuneful.
All of My Time– more bright and chirpy 80s/90s-crossover keyboard-driven Smiths-oriented pop; this one about making sure she’s not going anywhere.
Money– not the Flying Lizards, not Pink Floyd, not the Beatles, but a Whitlams/Gigantic 1990s mash-up on piano with vocals in the background.
You’ve Done It– more of a ballad than Money in an REM style circa-“Automatic“.
No Way (Am I Taking This)– back to the pop with Sly Stone/James Brown/Prince funk-Strat quacking away throughout.
Mess– Numan/Electric Army/Buggleseque keys with added heavy-guitar. The lyric, “so we’ll just turn off the sound” was a prelude, for me, to and instant cut to the next song. It only worked the last time.
Vacate– I couldn’t put my finger on this one. I think they’ve used vacate as a verb as in, We’re gonna vacate (by going on holiday). It started as a party song (they had recorded the sound of a crowd at one of their gigs, or at their local) to create a live vibe for a synth-bass-driven 8-bar pop track.
Betterman– Not Pearl Jam but an acoustic track along the same lines as Green Day‘s Good Riddance, made famous by the last Seinfeld episode; but in 3/4 or 6/8 to make it more folkish. The difference here is a keyboard instead of strings, and vocal harmonies.
Put Your Head In My Hat– Not Marvin Gaye, Paul Young, or Boyzone, but a real foot-a-tappin’, head-a-noddin’, Grundy-and-Weatherbee finger-a-pointin’, Strat-aquackin’ dancer to bring the mood back up for the last act of the record. If this doesn’t move you, maybe the last one brought you down a little too far. Is this a euphemism, perhaps, for putting your shoes under my bed?!
Mine– the band’s tilt at today’s r’n’b trends at the opener, but it turns into another rocker like Hat or Vacate with a vocal and instrumental style reminiscent of Men Without Hats/Crash Test Dummies.
A Point Insane– a ballad to close.
At the time of writing this review, which began with a random tweet in January 2021, the band had announced commencement on a new record, and the release of the first single “Ceremony” which was scheduled at the time for April 2021 that featured weeping angels on the cover.* Until then, get into “Again”, and their back-catalogue.
From the 1970s to the 2020s, EMFS are a re-emerging force in music for the 21st century. It wouldn’t be hard for them to reproduce any of these tracks in a live setting as either the the whole band, a duo, or either of them solo. If you see the name on a billboard, get tickets! EMFS are as at-home in their own era as they are on today’s stages. Get into them any way you can!
Links-
* interview on OR: https://originalrock.net/2021/03/21/engines-made-from-soupinterview/
* Better and NBPM recordings review on OR:
https://originalrock.net/2021/04/02/engines-made-from-soup-1990s-compendium/
* Again: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/enginesmadefromsoup/again
* YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6eyUgG5kJ5JAClEkG_Ebkg
* Soundcloud page: https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/AoWR6EEZB3FefJv8A
* Ceremony single page
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/enginesmadefromsoup/ceremony-2
* not really Weeping Angels, but Watching Forever statues from Wrest Park in Bedfordshire (see the band’s Facepage for more info).