Tuskar make an incredible amount of sound for just two people. I had the privilege of seeing them on tour every night when Leeched toured with them in early 2020 so I knew they would be A LOT of fun to work with in the studio.
Tom's Telecaster tuned to 'drop stupid' through his incredible Marshall JCM800 made up the bulk of his tone, and we chose a nice wide range of solid-state and fancy old valve amps to complement it. We needed to find the balance between HEFT and clarity, as the riffs range from ungodly drones to gorgeous noodling that no single amp could cover alone.
Not to be outdone, Tyler wanted to use a massive drumkit. Whilst I normally make a drummer earn the right to use more than one rack and one floor tom, I made an exception in this case and luckily he made that five (or six?) piece kit absolutely sing.
Speaking of singing, we dedicated a lot of time to vocal production. Not content with simply yelling over these fantastic songs, Tyler elevated them with melodies, chanting, throat singing and even an amateur dramatics performance from his bandmate.
I ended up mixing the record twice. Mainly because I'm an idiot, but also because "covid cancellations" afforded me a bunch more time to hone my craft, and with a bit of distance from the initial project I was able to be way more objective. The end result, following another top mastering effort from Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, is an album I am extremely proud to have played a part in.
Recorded and mixed by me at No Studio
Mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege
Artwork by Julia Cooper
Released by Church Road Records