released December 2006 buy: The Harbours @ Fake Science

I was introduced to The Harbouors when James brought Miguel and Branden into the studio for a quickie live session for an upcoming Lab Report featuring the bands new album. I had not had a chance to listen to the album before the session so I had no idea what to expect. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. Blown away would be more like it. I think you can tell a lot about a band by how they handle a song in a limited or “unplugged” situation. Granted, there was electric guitar on the track but there was no bass or drums. The track they laid down was Second to the Last Time - which is included as an exclusive bonus track on the Fake Science release. The session was about as smooth as can be. They performed like the professionals they are and a great time was had by all.

After the session I immediately added the album to my iPod and started listening to it pretty much non stop for several weeks. It’s now on regular rotation for when we have people over to the house. What really strikes me about this album is that these are well crafted songs. As cliche as this may sound, their style is reminiscent of The Beatles or Squeeze and even Radio Head. There is a dynamic and flowing element to the songs that I really like. (more…)

	released December 2006 buy: The Great Auk @ Fake Science

My opportunity to work with The Great Auk came about through a mutual friend and Fake Science artist Chris Campbell of Subimage. Chris had Carrie work on one of his tracks and he wanted to return the favor by booking time in the studio with me to record a song or two. I knew after the first session that I wanted to do a complete release with them. The whole project spanned more than half a year due to challenging schedules for all of us but we kept at it long enough to get 7 songs.

The instrumentation was fairly straight forward. Bernie played electric guitar and Carrie played violin and some acoustic guitar. Both sang vocals. The general routine consisted first getting the backing guitar track followed by by violin and vocal overdubs. Often the initial guitar track needed a vocal reference to get the pacing right so we would set up mic for Carrie to sing a scratch vocal. (more…)

	released December 2006 buy: The Great Auk @ Fake Science

As the title of this release implies, Paradox is a contrast in the light and dark aspects of human relationships. Lyrically, Paradox is full of the imagery that we all experience in both the struggle and accomplishment that comes with the territory. Musically, Carrie Bradley and Bernie Jungle have crafted a rich blend of vocal harmony mixed with guitar and violin that perfectly invoke the feel and message of the songs.

In the song Heave, Carrie takes us on a trip down a long dusty highway in 3 acts. It’s the classic journey of finding ones self. There is an amazing tension that is created by the violin between acts. The opening line sets the stage.

the curtain rises
one a sleeping face
on a pair of closed eyes
shut as if by weight
on a baby doll
and all it takes
is a lifting up to wake

(more…)