This is a remarkable album. Production is high quality with beautiful melodies, amazing textures and great voice and sound. I strongly recommend this disc to anyone
Jamez
Studio Z Productions
                            Read more...
                        

                            
     Words Can not express how I feel about this cd, it's amazingly creative, and very differnet than any thing that is out there, so diversified, and has something for everyone!  

	Bravo!!  GREAT feelings put into  words, you can not listen to the songs without being glued to your seat and wanting to hear the whole thing!  AMAZING!!!!!!
                            Read more...
                        

                            
As a big fan of all things electronic, musical, and especially electronically musical (the wonderful "electronica" genre), Mike's debut album is a real treat for me!

Lyricallly, Mike mixes humour with an emotion and a seriousness that gives many of his songs a genuine breath of real life experience.  His lyrics, in conjuction with his production, are conversational, poetic, and often slice through with conviction.  You know the characters in just about each of the songs.  Maybe a friend, family member, yourself, a memory or dream you recall.  The details and character development given in each song are universal yet will hit close to home when you really think about what is being told. 

"I have to sit."  Little quirky statements that interupt the flow of what you are expecting to hear next, like this one from "Plastic Chair", keep the songs interesting and fun while making strong lyrical statements.

The tracks are mixed wonderfully.  The production throughout includes nice musical complexities that draw the listener into the songs' stories and musical rides.  Tight vocal harmonies, moving chords, and a variety of instrumentation and arrangement elements give the  production an enjoyable "liquid" quality.  The songs flow.

My personal favorites:

"It Doesn't Make Sense". Beautiful.  This is what I mean by "liquid"!  Listen to the B3 organ, holding and modulating in and out on the same note, as the chord progression moves around it.  The intensity of this track is both increased and set back by the beautiful, perfectly placed bell chimes.  This is great, simple production.  Like on many of his tracks, Mike gives us a great "real" piano performance on this one.  But this performance is one of the most dramatic.

"Vault".  Very rhythmic and fun.  I love the sounds and production on this track.  A great pop spin on the trip-hop flare.  The bass line is cool and classy.

"Plastic Chair".  A ton of fun!  Infectious hook.  Be forewarned.

"Ferris Wheel."  Great scene and mood setter.

"Bruised".  Maybe the best track on the album, in my opinion of course.  Highly recommended - should receive some good attention by listeners.  Everything about this song and track are excellent.  The performance, the song structure, melody, production, arrangement, instrumentation, lyrics, what else?  That too.  It will sit in your head and dance around some too.

"Mike Schmid" is a fantastic debut effort by a very talented and gifted rising star.  Coming from someone critical who knows a thing or two about music (well, they say!), I must tell you that this is one of the best indie artist albums I've come across in quite a while.



                            Read more...
                        

                            
Only 13 bucks?  I would think you'd pay at least 3 bucks per star!
                            Read more...