"Without being pressured to be a steamroller at all times, these engines can guide the machine with surprising finesse, and the compositions, contributed by all four, embrace that freedom with abandon."
-Shaun Brady, Philadelphia City Paper
"Ken Vandermark has done wonders for the Chicago avant-jazz scene, but his isn’t the only name to watch within that community. The new self-titled disc by the Engines—a leaderless band made up of four frequent Vandermark collaborators—is a great place to get acquainted with some of the Midwest city’s other heavies."
-TimeOut NY
"These engines can go from zero to 60 in a heartbeat and stop on a dime, but it's when set on cruise control — guiding the listener with subtlety and finesse rather than steamroller force — that the ride is most enjoyable."
-The Columbia Free-Times
"The front line taps into the deep grooves carved out by the rhythm section, which frequently bumps into the blues without exactly embracing it. Rempis and Bishop unfurl plenty of muscular, searching solos, but my favorite parts are when the two get tangled in each other’s lines: you can hear the years of experience at work in the way they support and challenge each other without getting in each other’s way."
-Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader
"Perhaps it is because these four have played together so often and write for each other’s strengths that the tunes, varied as they are texturally and dynamically, seem of a piece, a real band playing band music rather than the Bishop/Rempis/McBride/Daisy 4."
-All About Jazz
"One of the top ten records of 2007"
- Matt Lurie, TimeOut Chicago