So why the hell hasn't this blog been updated?
I'll tell you why... Recording... Along with finishing up our commitments to a slew of shows over the past 3 months. But here we are now, on the other end of things, with no shows scheduled for the moment.
Initially, we planned to stop doing shows after finishing off in January of this year, in order to concentrate on recording the new Hutson album. That lasted till about March, when we had ended up with another 4 shows scheduled till the end of June.
Luckily, we've gotten all the guitar parts recorded in between gigs and practices... (Which is a somewhat tedious process... Especially when there's 14 guitar-based songs to work on....)...
Currently, we have all the main guitar tracks and overdubs completed for the 14 songs we chose for the upcoming album. From this point, we start heavy work on the keyboard parts. This includes synth parts, piano, organ.... The last 2 weeks of July will be spent on drum tracks and bass tracks, so that by the beginning of August, I'll be recording vocals for the songs, followed by backing vocals, etc...
As far as the timeline, I think we're only about a month behind my projected date for recording vocal tracks... Which really isn't too bad, as far as DIY recording goes. Technically, since we started recording this album in February of this year, we're not doing bad at all - as far as progress.
So when do we expect to take the album in for mixing? Well, I would estimate it to be in early September or so... But, (as with everything else), the timeframe is subject to change.
That's the status of the record at this point.
Now, for the other part of this update: About the songs on the album.
I'm not going to spend any time to discuss the lyrical content, or any aspects of that - Because, (like I've said before...), there's no way to talk about your lyrics without sounding pretentious and/or mildly retarded. Suffice to say, the lyric-writing has been approached in the same way it's always been for me. So, if you liked the Reland EP, then you'll like the LP as well, in that regard.
As for the types of songs we've been working on... For those of you who've made it out to any of our shows since March, you'll have already heard the songs "Static" and "Ready To Run".... These may or may not make the final cut on the album, but they are 2 of the 14 songs we've been recording in our sessions.
Other songs that we have been recording include the two-part "Blacklight Serenade"; a song, (tentatively titled "Demo Song #16"), that has a "Marquee Moon"-era Television feel to it, (in my opinion).... A couple of songs that have our alt-country leanings, (i.e. "Porch Swing")...
About half the songs were pretty well organized prior to starting recording, but the other half have been in-studio creations... More of a "make the song here, and figure out how to play it live later"-type ethic... This is pretty evident on the songs "Broken Record" and "No One's Home" - specifically the dappling of Neu's motorik beat demonstrated in the latter song.
At numerous points during the process I've jokingly referred to this LP as "our Pink Floyd album." This isn't to say that we've gone prog-rock, or are trying to make some epic, pretentious statement on things... We just plan to make this album a bit more of a headphones record... Something you can listen to and be surprised aurally, and not just musically.
I'm not going to spoil all the surprises that will come to light when the record's done, but suffice to say that there will be some new things we're trying with these songs, and, (in the most cliche sense), this album truly does feel like a natural progression from where the EP left off. Most of all, this is going to be a rock album.
So, that's a quick snapshot on where we're at now. We'll let you know where we are at the end of August...
Honestly, I can't figure out this band. I bought their first album, and enjoyed it. But didn't really feel interested in buying their follow-up, Favourite Worst Nightmare. I had pretty much written them off as a one-trick pony.
And then, (for some reason), I happened to pick-up their second album, and was totally blown away. Then, Humbug came out, and I approached it with the same unwarranted trepidation. I'd read that Josh Homme had helped in producing it so I thought, "What the hell?" and bought a copy.
Again.... Blown away......
And then, (after having not learned my lesson the first couple of times), Suck It And See came out, and I again didn't rush out and buy it.
Luckily.... I was in a Target on my lunch break and happened to spy a copy and purchased it.
And yes... Again, I'm completely blown away by this band. At this point, I can honestly say this band can pretty much do no wrong by me....
So, here is my pick for one of the best cuts off the album, "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair." The song is great, and if it didn't already sound like an early 90's Britpop song, the pseudo-psychedelic music video certainly makes it's case.
One can only wish that Oasis had been making music this good over the past decade or so....
I'll tell you why... Recording... Along with finishing up our commitments to a slew of shows over the past 3 months. But here we are now, on the other end of things, with no shows scheduled for the moment.
Initially, we planned to stop doing shows after finishing off in January of this year, in order to concentrate on recording the new Hutson album. That lasted till about March, when we had ended up with another 4 shows scheduled till the end of June.
Luckily, we've gotten all the guitar parts recorded in between gigs and practices... (Which is a somewhat tedious process... Especially when there's 14 guitar-based songs to work on....)...
Currently, we have all the main guitar tracks and overdubs completed for the 14 songs we chose for the upcoming album. From this point, we start heavy work on the keyboard parts. This includes synth parts, piano, organ.... The last 2 weeks of July will be spent on drum tracks and bass tracks, so that by the beginning of August, I'll be recording vocals for the songs, followed by backing vocals, etc...
As far as the timeline, I think we're only about a month behind my projected date for recording vocal tracks... Which really isn't too bad, as far as DIY recording goes. Technically, since we started recording this album in February of this year, we're not doing bad at all - as far as progress.
So when do we expect to take the album in for mixing? Well, I would estimate it to be in early September or so... But, (as with everything else), the timeframe is subject to change.
That's the status of the record at this point.
Now, for the other part of this update: About the songs on the album.
I'm not going to spend any time to discuss the lyrical content, or any aspects of that - Because, (like I've said before...), there's no way to talk about your lyrics without sounding pretentious and/or mildly retarded. Suffice to say, the lyric-writing has been approached in the same way it's always been for me. So, if you liked the Reland EP, then you'll like the LP as well, in that regard.
As for the types of songs we've been working on... For those of you who've made it out to any of our shows since March, you'll have already heard the songs "Static" and "Ready To Run".... These may or may not make the final cut on the album, but they are 2 of the 14 songs we've been recording in our sessions.
Other songs that we have been recording include the two-part "Blacklight Serenade"; a song, (tentatively titled "Demo Song #16"), that has a "Marquee Moon"-era Television feel to it, (in my opinion).... A couple of songs that have our alt-country leanings, (i.e. "Porch Swing")...
About half the songs were pretty well organized prior to starting recording, but the other half have been in-studio creations... More of a "make the song here, and figure out how to play it live later"-type ethic... This is pretty evident on the songs "Broken Record" and "No One's Home" - specifically the dappling of Neu's motorik beat demonstrated in the latter song.
At numerous points during the process I've jokingly referred to this LP as "our Pink Floyd album." This isn't to say that we've gone prog-rock, or are trying to make some epic, pretentious statement on things... We just plan to make this album a bit more of a headphones record... Something you can listen to and be surprised aurally, and not just musically.
I'm not going to spoil all the surprises that will come to light when the record's done, but suffice to say that there will be some new things we're trying with these songs, and, (in the most cliche sense), this album truly does feel like a natural progression from where the EP left off. Most of all, this is going to be a rock album.
So, that's a quick snapshot on where we're at now. We'll let you know where we are at the end of August...
Song Of The Week:
And then, (for some reason), I happened to pick-up their second album, and was totally blown away. Then, Humbug came out, and I approached it with the same unwarranted trepidation. I'd read that Josh Homme had helped in producing it so I thought, "What the hell?" and bought a copy.
Again.... Blown away......
And then, (after having not learned my lesson the first couple of times), Suck It And See came out, and I again didn't rush out and buy it.
Luckily.... I was in a Target on my lunch break and happened to spy a copy and purchased it.
And yes... Again, I'm completely blown away by this band. At this point, I can honestly say this band can pretty much do no wrong by me....
So, here is my pick for one of the best cuts off the album, "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair." The song is great, and if it didn't already sound like an early 90's Britpop song, the pseudo-psychedelic music video certainly makes it's case.
One can only wish that Oasis had been making music this good over the past decade or so....
1 comment:
I guess when it comes to Arctic Monkeys albums, you have to have to suck it to see, eh?
Awful spin on that title--I know.
Thanks for the update on the album process--sounds like it could be a really good one--you've got me anticipating!
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