Thought Sausage

This album dropped earlier this week and I've had it playing in the car and in the hotel here ever since I got back from the meet, and I let it go all day at the office Thursday and parts of Friday.

Let me just say this, Wade has a great ear for lush mixes. This album sounds huge when the song calls for it, and really sparse when necessary. In parts I think the vocals seem too far out front, but then it just 'works'.

Having got that out of the way, onto the content of the album itself. I'll be honest, I wasn't really into Metropolitan. Sounded too, I dunno stock? I guess it wasn't that I wasn't a fan, it was more that I didn't hear anything that really blew me away. This album definitely isn't like that. There's some great songs here. Basically it's still that down-tempo female vox formula, however, this time the arrangements are way more interesting, the lyrics have a little more weight and the instrumentation really steps up. Chris Randall plays a pretty cool free form-ish Rhodes solo on The War is Over. It's like having the Green Mill on your ipod.

The drum work here is really cool too. They got an actual real live drummer for parts which really brightens up the sound, but he doesn't overpower anything.

Downsides? Well if this sort of music isn't your cup of tea, it probably won't "convert" you. Atomica certainly preaches to the choir in that regard. The lyrics have a lot more weight as I mentioned but they are still in that maudlin 'fall in and out of love' vein, and it's nowhere near the league of Jason Isbell's stuff (but then again who is). But that's sort of par for the course with this sort of thing.

All in all, this album is oozing with vibe and that's a very good thing. Certainly "night time music". If I were to compare it to that Moby album I just got, this would be a much heavier/deeper/better laid out album. Not even close. Wade is just a far more advanced arranger than Moby is. The sounds on this thing are great. Lots of pads that swell in cool/interesting ways.

It's available for download over at Positron Records. They've gone entirely digital now so this, the Gravity single and that last Micronaut album are digital only (get an mp3 player already if you haven't!).