Well we’re over a month into the new year of our lord 2024, and the making of our Exhaust album is still underway. The good news is that we released a single from it in January. We’re making yet another trip back into the studio next week to record vocals, along with our new singer Renee.
So what’s been happening in between? A whole lot of reimagining and mixing. More than any other record we’ve done, these songs as they were initially conceived turned out to be jumping off points for entirely new creations. They’ve been forums to try different arrangements, new mixing techniques and various (and sometimes ridiculous) musical ideas.
We’ve mostly been trying to make the songs more tuneful. Tracks that started off heavy and shoegaze-y have become jangly; choruses that were previously loud and bruising have become more delicate. There’s a lot of arpeggiated guitars, a lot of layers of backing vocals, fake strings, mellotrons, glockenspiels, xylophones, electric pianos, and so on.
Have we (ok, I) lost the plot at times? Have I teetered on the edge of insanity? Have I lost some of my hearing and developed a case of tinnitus as a result of spending days, months, years in headphones listening to my own music? The answer to all of these questions, I’m afraid, is yes.
– Chris
THE RIGHTOVERS 