The Delgados: Hate

Dave Fridmann is mostly known for his work with Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev, but other projects he works on have similar traits. He mixed the new Delgados CD at Tarbox Road Studios (his second with them) and it shows he's unafraid of bombast and high dramatics, sections of songs drop down to one or two instruments under the voice and then bring in over-compressed drums as an orchestral move to swell the music up. There are strings and reeds all over the record, and they work well because the arrangements are so perfect. Tracking was done at Cava Sound Workshops, a former church in Glasgow, Scotland, by engineer/co-producer Tony Doogan (who has an impressive resume, look him up). You really have to hear this record to understand how it works, a real piece of art. (www.beggars.com)