THE WEATHER STATION - All Of It Was Mine

The latest issue of Uncut has a long article profiling Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, going into great depths detailing the recording process behind her new album The Harrow & The Harvest. Several paragraphs of the piece describe Welch and Rawlings' obsession with sound, particularly their efforts to recreate an exact replica of RCA Studio B, a studio in Nashville where they recorded 2001's Time (The Revelator), within their own Woodland Studios. The story mentions that though they took years to perfect their space, when they finally sat down to record, everything was done in one or two takes. It's a pretty standard article, the type you get after an acclaimed career spanning 15 years and half a dozen records. However, it illustrates that even with all their success, Welch and Rawling aren't satisfied to just go into any old studio with some hot-shot producer in hopes of cashing in on their names. For them, the end result, the sound of the record, how and with whom it was made (on their own turf, by themselves), is where they get their satisfaction.

At this point in her career, it's highly unlikely that any major music publication would write a four-page spread on Tamara Lindeman (a.k.a. The Weather Station), but that doesn't mean there isn't a story worth telling. All Of It Was Mine, her new album, seems to have been created under similar circumstances to those surrounding Gillian Welch's latest disc. When attempting to record a follow up to 2008's The Line, Tamara found herself bouncing between various studios around Toronto without being able to find her desired sound. It wasn't until an offer came from fellow folk singer Daniel Romano to come record at his studio in Welland that things started to fall into place. Originally envisioned as demos to be 'properly' recorded later, the final result is a raw and devastatingly honest record. Stripped down to only guitar, banjo, some drums and backing vocals (provided by Romano and Bruce Peninsula's Misha Bower), the record successfully showcases Tamara's understated vocals and descriptive lyrics. All in all, All Of It Was Mine is a stunning achievement.

(The Weather Station will be playing an in-store at the shop on Tue. Aug 30 at 7pm)