FLIN FLON: a-OK CD

As you may have read about in the J. Christian Quick interview elsewhere in this issue, this album was recorded at Stillness Sound Facility on a 16 track 1" recorder in the old house that is Stillness. In the interview, Christian mentions Mark Robinson's [guitar/vocal/producer] idea of recording dry/dead drums and super live bass guitar, which is sort of an opposite approach of most productions these days. Well, it works. The drums (by Matt Datesman) are very clear and defined-dry yet very crisp. The bass (Nattles) is incredibly big sounding and mid rangey like New Order used to be, but a lot fuller like being in front of a SVT amp at a show. Together these elements work really well, setting up a solid rhythm section for Mark to place his cool pop songs. I dig it, and it's given me some ideas about recording my own band next time. (Teen Beat, PO Box 3265, Arlington, VA 22203)