Magnolia Electric Co. – Sojourner (really, everything Jason has done is mastered nicely, including the last couple Songs:Ohia records, much of it with Steve Albini at the controls, like Nashville Moon in this box, mastered at Abbey Road by Nick Webb, and sounds so great. For people that can never stop the musical adventure, that almost naive sense of discovery that still drives us to seek out and listen to the music new artists are making, in a way it is really disheartening to hear new music recorded so well, so lovingly, because it reinforces the feeling that we have lost so much in recent times. But at least there is still a lot of very good music that is recorded and mastered very well out there to find.)
Life Without Buildings – Live at the Annandale Hotel (love it, even though I've heard most of the songs before in their studio versions, but it's all live music from the early 00's by a band that gave up after their debut - Sue Tompkins is charming talking to the audience before each song on this one, guitar work by Robert Johnson is excellent, and it sounds great too, really have to crank it up, modern classic with a mix of VU and Feelies)
Howe Gelb – 'Sno Angel Like You (lush and fun if you like that Howe wit and charm and don't mind his singing "limitations" (kind of like Lou Reed), recorded with gospel choir backing, nice modern sounding production which means too loud, but still nice)
Wayne Robbins & the Hellsayers – The Lonesome Sea (nice and dynamic HDCD debut along the lines of the Built To Spill take on Neil Young, sometimes the little studios and bands don't feel the pressure to compete with all of the terrible sounding pop music these days, that has all of the life squeezed from it, and you get an honest music recording, new one out soon, All You Need To Sleep)
Electrelane – The Power Out / Axes / No Shouts No Calls (Steve Albini recording/Steve Rooke mastering, quiet and dynamic, latest recorded by Bill Skibbe at the Keyclub, the guy who put together Albini's studio, and just as good. Axes is the least accessible, and some of it just doesn't quite work for me, but it was recorded live in the studio, and the sound is sensational. Very sad they called it quits.)
Moonbabies – The Orange Billboard (Nice CD with lots of Beatles and Yo La Tengo and hints of ELO and My Bloody Valentine and much more. Some very novel production too, kind of like what Jim O'Rourke did with the Aluminum Group or some of those other modern Chicago pop bands that attended the school of Burt Bacharach (Stereolab, High Llamas, Edith Frost, etc). This Swedish duo are real studio wizards from the sound of it, and maintaining good fidelity at the same time with some nice low bass and overall warm sound.)
Black Mountain (Kind of a mix of Led Zeppelin and Exile era Stones with some Lou Reed and the VU thrown in, meaning it's got a dirty, bluesy, foggy sound, but recorded and mastered pretty nicely for a modern rock release. Just on a tiny Indiana indie label named Jagjaguwar, and recorded at the Argyle Hotel and at the Hive by Colin Stewart and the band. Mastered by Doug Van Sloun. No idea who any of these people or places are, but I can tell you that it's got a refreshing sound to it. Not highly compressed and with some nice dynamics. Not perfect by any stretch, but the cymbals at least sound like shimmering metal instead of the splashes of white noise you hear on most modern rock CDs due to all the heavy compression. No boomy bass either. Sounds kind of like a vintage recording. New one isn't quite as good, but still much better than the norm.)
Over The Rhine – Ohio (Beautiful 2-disc set, one of the best of 2003. Karin Bergquist has such a wonderfully expressive voice and you won't find music and lyrics much more compelling than this. Think maybe something along the lines of Fleetwood Mac meets Gram Parsons [or maybe Whiskeytown covering Gram Parsons like on that "mastered too loud but great anyway" tribute Emmylou Harris put togther in '99]. The lush sound is a little reminiscent of the Cowboy Junkies or Blue Rodeo, or a bit like a modern day Tusk. Nicely recorded by Paul Mahern at Echo Park in Bloomington, Indiana on 2" analog tape. Even available in a gatefold vinyl set too.)
Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man – Out of Season (some of the same scratchy effects as on the Portishead records, but nice recording)
Wilco – A Ghost Is Born (bit too much bass, but very nice and dynamic)
Nina Nastasia – The Blackened Air (another Albini girl, work of love, the debut Dogs even sounds better, but all of her records, including the latest with Jim White sound great)
Califone – Roomsound (Brian Deck and the Chicago sound, love it, some of Deck's later work with bands like Iron and Wine and Josh Ritter is still great from a production side, but too loud ... this one is nearly perfect)
The Notwist – Neon Golden (Mastered by Steve Rooke at Abbey Road – still one of the good guys, Albini uses him too)
Gillian Welch – Time (the Revelator) (Not really quite what I call country, more folk-rock, but recorded simply, live in the studio with just a couple of Neumann mikes, Gillian and David, banjo and vintage acoustic guitars, and a lot of good music. Has become kind of an audiophile classic.)
Sixteen Horsepower – Folklore (very lush, a bit loud, but still wraps around you nicely with a tangible image, Ferbrache does some nice recording up in Elktooth)
Sue Garner & Rick Brown – Still (Very diverse and eclectic mix of trip hop, indie pop/rock, avant-folk, Tortoise-like loopy electro-organica, and maybe even a couple nods to the Fall. Another nice uncompressed HDCD recorded in their basement studio)
Arto Lindsay – Mundo Civilizado / Noon Chill / Prize (very interesting and playfully experimental, bossa-nova music, somewhat reminiscent of Beck's exploration on the Mutations album. Think maybe Caetano Veloso with some drum 'n' bass rhythms added and played by a very tight jazz band.)
