Just got my first "lo-fi" album: Arrgh, my ears, they burn!!

[chadbang]

Okay, it's a cool album "Bee Thousand" by Guided by Voices. The band is excellent, very talented. Sort of remind me a bit of Oasis. And I like the fractured structuring of the songs....but.... LO-FI! Youch! I've spent the last 7 (or is it eight) years on Head-fi pursing the perfect portable rigs and today --- smashed, obliterated, destroyed! Lo-fi! I never have purchased an album in this genre before. Heard of it, of course, but never experienced it. I used to do a lot of home taping, so I know the sound. And this album has "the basement tapes" sound in spades. Yeah, it does sort of add aestheically to the jagged puzzle of the album, but I think I definitely could have appreciated the structure with a BETTER RECORDING. I just kept thinking, "that's a good song, I wonder what it would have sounded like if...." I suppose I shouldn't complain about one of the few decent albums I've discovered in awhile, but LO-FI.... eeeech!

 

[Luminette]

i'm off to check out some lo-fi stuff now!

 

[shallbehealed]

such as cinematic orchestra's ma fleur. this might be one of the best albums of the past year as far as i'm concerned.

 

[Telynau]

Most music other than folk, classical or jazz is so compressed and distorted it is even worse -- and it is recorded in the "best" studios in the US.

Some of those old "garage" recordings (Louie, Louie) sound pretty good by comparison. At least you can hear the cymbals instead of a distorted "shhhh, shhhh."

Regards, James

 

[Masonjar]

If you dig the alien wavelengths of Guided by Voices but would prefer a more "hi-fi" sound, check out DO THE COLLAPSE (produced by Ric Ocasek) or ISOLATION DRILLS. Of the two, I prefer ISOLATION DRILLS. Great bunch of songs, and it's probably their hardest rocking album (at least among the ones I've heard, they have a LOT of albums).

-Mason

 

[G-man]

would you call REM's latest album low fi. i like it, but to me it sounds really fuzzy, and not that good in terms of sq.

 

[Duggeh]

^ I'm a big REM fan and still haven't bought Accelerate because of its, as you put it, fuzzy sound. I might buy the LP if its much better.

 

[fatcat28037]

You should go their web site and tell them what you think about the album, great band, lousy recording.

The Official Guided By Voices Web Site

 

[jilgiljongiljing]

Accelerate sounds very very sub average. The only thing that can possibly make it worse is distortion and clipping. Everything is just mushed together, complete lack of dynamics and detail.