Album Notes

"The Tyranny of the Smug" is our second full length album, and the first

record that we've been able to do start to finish (all except mastering)

completely ourselves, here at our studio, Cresthill. With our debut

album, "Paleofidelity", Scott Ferguson played drums for the record. This

time, our live drummer of 3 years, Gil Roy, (now official 3rd member) was

in the studio for 15 of 16 tracks. Throughout the writting and recording

of our debut, Jim and I were constantly on the search for a steady live

drummer that got what we were trying to do. It took 4 years of looking,

but we finally jammed with Gil (who Jim has played with years ago in Full

Circle), and things really clicked from the get-go. What began as primarily a recording act, now

became a fully realized live act. But even cooler than that was this new sensation that we

were getting, guided by a mutual gut feeling, and hitting that sweet spot in the groove.

We found a steadiness and got past our thinking, as much as we're able, and kept

throwing everything away that wasn't about what we were hearing.

An immediateness and intimacy soaked into the music.

Where "Paleofidelity" (our debut) had a lot of acid loops and drum

machines, "Tyranny..." is based centrally on the feel of a live rock trio,

with all the inherent humanity and imperfections perserved. Arrangements

were a three-way effort. The new songs ended up more rock than our first

effort. But our style and sound that makes comparisons to other bands

difficult or impossible for most of our reviewers, didn't change. In some

kind of clueless-musical rapture, we seem to have stumbled onto a style all

our own. That feels good. That feeling was the basis for this making

this album.

We again loaned from the talents of some of the same session players that

graciously contributed to our first record: John Peer on some very sexy

keyboards (a vintage Whurlitzer, an original Clavinet/Pianet, Hammond M3,

Nord lead, and a Sequential Circuits Pro-1, to name a few.....thanks for

the loaners John!), Adam Driscoll for his characteristic vocals and violin

playing (which he completed all inside an hour, and essentially in one

take), and our partner in a previously recorded and never-released project

(The Rain), Andrew White, who played acoustic guitar in a song he also

wrote, but was very much in Remedy's musical vein. Andy's sometimes-live

collaborator, Brendon Power (who once played with Sting's band, as the

legend goes), also lent his insane harmonica prowess to that same song, the

first on this record. Andy also sings the last track on this album on a

song he co-wrote with myself and Jim. That track also features our former

studio drummer from Paleofidelity, Scott Ferguson (who also mastered both

projects); a fitting cameo for a guy who helped make our first record come

to life.
Making this record has been a great joy for us all, at every step in the

process. We had the freedom to create an art that's of only three minds,

and completely sincere. We hope the fun we had in writing and recording

these songs, comes through to you.
Steve Harley