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Title: Sophisticated rock-pop production turn for Bay Area quartet
Review: Recording in their brand new self-built studio, this Bay Area quartet (reduced to a trio with Melody Baldwin's post-recording departure) has shifted from their country-roots base to a more produced pop sound. Their latest collection is substantially lusher than earlier releases, crossing guitar-rock with sunshine harmony vocals and the studio craft of classic '60s West Coast pop. Engineered by the band's drummer, Peter Craft, the sound is both spacious and intimate; the vocals settle comfortably into instrumental passages that fill out songs of disintegrating relationships, spiritual quandaries, and meditative circumstance. The lack of a clock ticking away precious studio time clearly freed the band to explore creative new directions in writing, playing and producing, resulting in a sophisticated leap forward. [2006 hyperbolium dot com]
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