Jonatha Brooke was new to me till I saw this album come up on the "Listening Now" thread a couple of times. I like this album a lot: I think Brooke's songwriting is more interesting than other, more popular 90s/00s indie singer-songwriters I could name, and I like the arrangements and the overall sound of this album (for which Bob Clearmountain probably plays a big part).
As for the mix: I'm just guessing that this was one of Clearmountain's early outings? Anyway, it's pretty uneven and not very adventurous. On most tracks, the action is across the fronts and center, and there's mainly reverb--and/or snare, cymbal, and electric guitar, doubled from the fronts at lower levels. Sometimes there's a harmony vocal line or a guitar fill so quick you barely notice it. A few songs--"How Deep Is Your Love" (not a Bee Gees cover), "Room In My Heart," and "New Dress"--have more aggressive mixes, though. And in some ways the most effective surround mix (even though it's immersive, not discrete) is on the closing waltz, "Lullaby"--just acoustic guitar and vocals, and the most beautiful song on the album.
Nice package, though: DVD-V (with low-budget videos for every song) on one side and DVD-A on the other, plus full credits and a "making of" video. 8 for content, 9 for sound, 6 for mix. I'm gonna weight that last rating and go with a 7 overall. Still an album well worth having. Maybe Clearmountain could revisit this with a 20th-anniversary Atmos mix for Apple Music?
