| Encendedor | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | the Dambuilders |
| Cover: | The Dambuilders - Encendedor.png |
| Released: | 1994 |
| Genre: | Rock |
| Length: | 39:14 |
| Label: | East West |
| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | Islington Porn Tapes |
| Prev Year: | 1993 |
| Next Title: | Ruby Red |
| Next Year: | 1995 |
Encendedor is an album by the American band the Dambuilders, released in 1994.[1] [2] Its title comes from the Spanish word for cigarette lighter.[3] The band supported the album with a North American tour and an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.[4] [5] "Smell" was released as a single, with the narrative of the accompanying music video based on the Chappaquiddick incident.[6] Another single, "Shrine", was a modest Modern Rock chart success.[7] The album was nominated for a Boston Music Award for "Debut Album of the Year".[8]
The album was produced by the Dambuilders' guitarist, Eric Masunaga, with assistance from the rest of the band.[9] All four members contributed to the songwriting, although most of the tracks are rerecorded versions of older songs.[10] [11] Joan Wasser's violin served as the rhythm guitar on some tracks; on others it was processed or run through effects.[12] Some songs touch on the band's roots in Hawaii: "Slo-Mo Kikaida" refers to the 1970s adaptation of Kikaider; "Kill Haole Day" is about the practice of hazing Caucasian students at the end of the Hawaiian school year. "Shrine" is about a man who pines for a woman who loves L7.[13] "Idaho" and "Delaware" were among the 20 songs the band had written about states in the US.[14]
The Washington Post noted that the Dambuilders "don't have a groove to hold their fragmentary compositions together; the album provides gusts of appealing songcraft, but is frequently becalmed between them."[15] The Record said that on half the album "the jagged-edge arrangements and surprising violin flourishes come off as unsuccessful attempts to divert attention from David Derby's dry vocals and the Dambuilders' lacklustre songwriting."[16] Rolling Stone stated that "the quartet creates a clash of melodic bass, edgy violin, dashing guitar and shifting drums that suggests a more rustic version of the Pixies."[17]
The Wisconsin State Journal called the album "a pulsating, often dazzling concoction, its songs both urgent and accessible."[18] Robert Christgau praised "Idaho" and "Copsucker". Spin said that "Wasser's wailing, symphonic swaths are all over... She's painterly and prickly".[19] The Daily Press included Encendedor on its list of the best albums of 1994, calling the Dambuilders "the new rock band of the year."[20] The Boston Herald considered Encendedor to be the second best "local" rock album of the year.[21]