Album Review: Indifferent Engine – Speculative Fiction (Church Road Records)

Cambridge, UK based post-hardcore quintet, Indifferent Engine will release their full-length debut album ‘Speculative Fiction’ on May 30th, 2025, via Church Road Records.

For ease, let’s call Indifferent Engine ‘post-hardcore’, but be warned, it’s far from the simplest of summations as what this band creates is far more experimental. It’s an experience like no other, truly dynamic, and at times utterly beautiful, while at others, absurdly abrasive. Throughout the album you’ll experience the divine, but you’ll also hear the sound of a band unhinged.

In fact, you can get both sides of Indifferent Engine with just the first two tracks. The Waiter, dreamy and melodic, its pretty and dramatic atmosphere proving to be quite captivating. Whereas Crashing into a Hillside in The Dead of Night is more chaotic, Indifferent Engine breaking free of some of their more melodic inhibitions, while still having moments of emphatic prettiness. Both are supremely detailed, challenge, and captivate in different ways.

That is just the start, of course, and this is an album that has so much more to offer. Indifferent Engine showing off more of their influences (At the Drive-In, Touche Amore, Coilguns) with the focused mania of Lifetime Achievement Award, the methodical force that Pylon Cult unleashes, and the heightened drama and overt weirdness of Bitcrush. Each is so challenging that patience is a must, but it does pay off that investment with unique track after unique track.

 

 

Speaking of which, Wormholes is the shortest track on the album, and with it comes deep atmosphere. The word that comes to mind is ‘haunting’. Whereas Modern ups the energy, gets more rhythmic, but still manages to have layers of chaotic noise alongside deep melody. It’s one of the more epic efforts, which means the following Crescents has even more impact with its discordant style. As exciting and interesting as it is off-putting and irksome. The distorted groove, the barked vocals, the powerful riff, it’s a noisy approach that greets, but what truly makes this track special is how it develops. It, like so much of what came before and what comes after, is brilliantly mad.

Verdigris, Primrose & Acetate, and The Captain. Each filled with powerful feeling, approached from unique angles, and focused on leaving the listener with much to think about. This is the apex of Indifferent Engine’s unique sound, love it or hate it, it will leave an impression none the less.

Indifferent Engine – Speculative Fiction Track Listing:

1. The Waiter
2. Crashing into a Hillside in The Dead of Night
3. Lifetime Achievement Award
4. Pylon Cult
5. Bitcrush
6. Wormholes
7. Modern
8. Crescents
9. Verdigris
10. Primrose & Acetate
11. The Captain

Links

Bandcamp | Website | Instagram