Olympia’s Outdoor Voices brought their casually heavy sounds indoors for a few hours yesterday here at Bellhead. After playing together for over a year, I was happy to record what will be their first release as a band.

Ben and Gordon’s guitar amps were set up on the far end of the room with AT4040s. I set Stephie up with a pair of Apex 210s as overheads, over the toms and equidistant from the snare. A 635 was in the center of the kit, and a Marshall guitar speaker served as a bass drum mic. Within a few hours, we had tracked the basics on six songs — really only possible with a band as well-practiced as they were!

It’s always satisfying when a session comes together as effortlessly as this one. I’m looking forward to the next time we meet to track vocals and overdubs.