13 Engines was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band active in the 1990s.

Formed in 1985 as The Ikons, the band consisted of four York University

York University

York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....

 students—vocalist John Critchley, guitarist Mike Robbins, bassist Jim Hughes and drummer Grant Ethier. They released a self-titled independent cassette in 1986 before changing their name to 13 Engines. This name was a reference to the automobile industry in Windsor, Ontario

Windsor, Ontario

Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...

 and Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

, which were the first two markets to embrace the band.

They released two independent albums, Before Our Time in 1987 and Byram Lake Blues in 1989, before signing to SBK Records

SBK Records

SBK Records was a record label of the EMI Group that was founded in 1988.Stephen Swid, Martin Bandier, and Charles Koppelman formed the production company SBK in 1989 after they purchased the music publishing division of CBS Records in 1986....

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and EMI

EMI

The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

 in Canada.

Their major label debut, 1991's A Blur to Me Now, gave the band airplay for the singles "King of Saturday Night" and "Big Surprise". However, SBK dropped them soon afterward.

1993's Perpetual Motion Machine, produced by Critchley, was the band's breakthrough in Canada, spawning the hit singles "More", "Bred in the Bone" and "Smoke & Ashes", and led to a spot on The Tragically Hip

The Tragically Hip

The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as The Hip, is a Canadian rock band from Kingston, Ontario, consisting of Gordon Downie , Paul Langlois , Rob Baker , Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay . Since their formation in 1983 they have released 12 studio albums, two live albums, and 46 singles...

's Another Roadside Attraction

Another Roadside Attraction (festival)

Another Roadside Attraction is a now-defunct travelling music-and-arts summer festival developed by The Tragically Hip, the first of which took place in 1993. It promoted little-known bands and traveled all across Canada...

 tour.

They followed up with Conquistador in 1995, which gave them another hit with "Beneath My Hand". While the album is generally hailed as 13 Engines' finest work, it did not do well commercially and two members subsequently left the band. John Critchley briefly attempted to carry on under the 13 Engines name, but retired the band before releasing another album.

Following the breakup of 13 Engines, Critchley continued as a solo artist and recorded an album with ex-13 Engines guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

 Scott Stevenson entitled Crooked Mile in 2000. He currently focuses his attention to producing and engineering at Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

's Green Door Studios, which he owns. He also scores film and television projects.

Discography

• (1987) Before Our Time

• (1989) Byram Lake Blues

• (1991) A Blur to Me Now

1. Big Surprise
2. Suffocate
3. King of Saturday Night
4. Another Toss of the Coin
5. You're Nothing If You're Not Strong
6. Abandoned
7. Hurry
8. Clear
9. Gathered Safely In
10. Rolling Home Again
11. Elephant Song
12. Throttle Open Wide
13. Night of the Shooting Star

• (1993) Perpetual Motion Machine

1. Bred in the Bone
2. Saviour
3. More
4. Unconscience
5. the Golden Age
6. Smoke and Ashes
7. What If We Don't Get What We Want?
8. Unbound
9. Perpetual Motion Machine
10. Moment of Clarity
11. Dirty Little Rat
12. The Estrangement
13. Going Under
14. Lift You Up

• (1995) Conquistador

1. Beneath My Hand
2. Reptile Boy
3. Menefreghista
4. Slow
5. Naked
6. Vermilion
7. Tailpipe Blues
8. Satellite
9. Bird Of Prey
10. Cootie Girl
11. Zone
12. Even the Sailors
13. The Listener