Sincere Engineer - ‘Cheap Grills’ review
Sincere Engineer
It's late September, and I’ve found my album of the year in Sincere Engineer's Cheap Grills. The band's third album, on the legendary Hopeless Records, finds frontwoman Deanna Belos' songwriting on top form.
I've been a fan of Sincere Engineer since the Spotify algorithm threw "Ceramic Tile" my way many moons ago. There was something about the band's blend of emotional punk and Belos' self-deprecating lyrics that struck a chord with me. In fact, one of the first things we did after starting The Scene was reach out to the band (but that's a story for another time). Back to what I'm meant to be writing: a review of Cheap Grills. Simply put, I love it. Grab a corn dog, and let me tell you why.
From opener "Anemia" to closer "Blind Robin", Cheap Grills is 40 minutes of everything Sincere Engineer does best: self-introspective lyrics that hit deep, tunes that make you want to sing at the top of your lungs and dance around, and plenty of humour in between. Many of the tracks on the album combine all of the above, and when I spoke to Belos, she said about the album, “I think it's gonna be everybody's new favourite”. After listening to Cheap Grills on repeat for the last month, it'd have to agree.
Pairing two of the biggest pre-release singles, "Anemia" and "California King", back to back at the start of the album is a bold move that pays off for the band. It kicks off the album on the front foot with two songs that showcase Sincere Engineer's melodic punk at its finest. As soon as the drums kick in on "Anemia", you know you're in for a treat. The lyrics will speak to anyone with social anxiety, who has ever felt awkward in social situations or simply struggled to find the right words to say. "California King", the single the band used to announce the album earlier this summer, is an anthemic love/hate story for their hometown of Chicago, setting the tone for an album that is littered with references to the city. Starting with two absolute bangers like this sets the mood perfectly for the rest of the album, and makes you want to listen to it over, over, over, and over again.
Throughout the record, there seem to be themes of memories of home and old photos. Tracks like "Old Coat Pocket" and "A Touch of Hell" touch on this. In fact, the album artwork is a photo of Belos' own father grilling a steak that she found while clearing out the family basement and garage. "Old Coat Pocket" is about being consumed by the past, while "A Touch of Hell" is about how the places we grew up in reflect us, how they never leave us but at the same time feel foreign when we return. Musically, both of these songs are among the best on the album (but to be fair, all the tracks are bangers). "A Touch of Hell" is the kind of song you crank up to max and scream your head off to, while "Old Coat Pocket" might have my favourite chorus on the whole album.
Talking about favourites the pairing of "Inside My Head" and "Library of Broken Bindings" is my favourite on the whole album. Both of these songs are reflections on Belos's mental health. "Inside My Head" is an honest reflection on depression and how people try to tell us it's just inside our heads. "Library of Broken Bindings", originally debuted as a standalone track last April, touches on the loneliness of the life of a musician on the road and the struggles that come with finding one's place in the world.
"Code Orange" will resonate with anyone who has experienced the isolated feeling of a hospital waiting room. That sense of suffocating waiting is combined with Belos' own personal experience of working on the other side and the burnout of the overworked staff. Lyrics in "Code Orange" capture the essence of this feeling perfectly. She sings about the "revolving door" of patients and staff, the "3rd degree burns" in her eyes, and the "sometimes" feeling of being "on fire." The track perfectly captures that limbo of the wait in a system crumbling at corners, meanwhile it will also strike a chord with anyone who has suffered burnout or who has simply cared too much about things at work that and the end of the day don’t really matter.
The closing track, "Blind Robin", is named after the bar in Chicago where Belos was when the Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series, thus breaking the 'Curse of the Billy Goat'. In a break from the rest of the album's energetic slog, this delicate punk ballad is an acoustic ballad about hope and love, using the Cubs' historic win as a metaphor for her own relationship and beating the odds.
Sincere Engineer has built a loyal fanbase through honest, emotional punk songwriting and her self-deprecating sense of humour. Cheap Grills is a 40-minute slice of everything that makes them one of my favourite bands. Its blend of honest introspective songwriting, emotional punk hooks, and a sprinkling of dry wit make it a success. It's hard for me to see how any other release this year could knock it off the top spot in my album of the year list. Cheap Grills is the perfect Sincere Engineer album and, for me, my album of the year. A must-listen for anyone who enjoys emotive punk or appreciates good music in general.
Cheap Grills from Sincere Engineer is out now via Hopeless Records and available on streaming platforms. Catch their upcoming US headline tour.