Perpetual Motion Machine (album)

The album was produced by frontman John Critchley, with help from Glen Robinson.[5] It was recorded at Le Studio, in Morin-Heights, Quebec.[6] Compared to sessions for their previous albums, the band spent a longer period of time in the studio, exploring overdubbing and trying different mixes.[5] The cellist Anne Bourne contributed to the album.[7]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
Calgary Herald	B[9]
The State	[10]

Trouser Press wrote that "the unpretentiously arty album lacked only a marketing gimmick (or a transcendent single, although 'Smoke & Ashes' comes mighty close) to get 13 Engines onto the alt-hit parade."[11] Billboard also praised "Smoke & Ashes", calling it "the perfect two-minute rock song."[12] The Philadelphia Inquirer called the album "much-improved," writing that 13 Engines displayed a "willingness to adapt elements of grunge to their songwriting."[13] The State considered the album "a 14-track trip through the subtlety and simplicity that was once rock 'n' roll."[10]

The Washington Post deemed the album "unadorned folk-rock that suggests, without slavishly imitating, Neil Young and Crazy Horse."[14] The Calgary Herald thought that "ambiguous lyrics are delivered in a Morrison monotone style and then sung in wavering half-whispers, buoyed by guitars that slide from grungy psychedelia to hard-rock backbeats."[9] The Edmonton Journal chose Perpetual Motion Machine as the fourth best Canadian album of 1993, describing it as "energetic, original guitar rock with sneaky hooks and sometimes confusing lyrics."[15]

AllMusic called Perpetual Motion Machine "a record that, while perhaps a bit cleaner sonically than their debut, finds the band still creating a glorious racket."[8]