Tag: Constant Smiles

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Constant Smiles – the ever-shifting collective led by Ben Jones – has released their newest album Moonflowers. The album has received great press- 4.5 stars on Allmusic (“An album that feels like a secret worth sharing, Moonflowers is an elegant, empathetic balm for this time, and for all time”), a writeup on Brooklyn Vegan (thanks for the shoutout Bill!), and a feature on Line Of Best Fit. The group recorded the album with Philip Weinrobe, who also did preliminary mixing; Katie Von Scheicher mixed the song “Everything is Personal”; and I worked with Ben to see the album through to completion: contributing additional recording, resampling for interludes, mixing two songs (“Introduction” and “Allowed to Be”), additional mixing on the rest, and mastering the whole set at Studio Windows. It’s a beautiful record based around hushed acoustic guitar & vocals and tasteful bass & drums, with a lush backdrop of collaborators including Cassandra Jenkins, Shazad Ismaly, Fred Thomas, and many more. Moonflowers is out now (on LP + Digital, with an limited edition zine) via Felte.

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Constant Smiles – the indie-rock collective led by Ben Jones – returns with “Time Measured In Moonflowers”, featuring Cassandra Jenkins. Brooklyn Vegan, Gold Flake Paint, and Beats Per Minute all wrote extensively about the track, which is from the upcoming LP Moonflowers. The band tracked the album with Philip Weinrobe (Big Thief, Tomberlin) at his Sugar Mountain studios in Brooklyn, NY, with a wide range of collaborators (including Shahzad Izmaily, Fred Thomas, P.G. Six, Stephen R. Smith, and more) contributing overdubs. While much of the preliminary mixing was done with Phil, I worked with Ben to tie everything together: additional recording & editing, additional mixing (including mixing two songs from scratch), and mastering the whole record. The resulting album is a beautiful departure from the synth-heavy production of the previous Kenneth Anger (on which I also worked)- more slow-core and acoustic-forward – while retaining the sweeping melodies and experimental arrangements of the past work. Check out the video below for a taste! Moonflowers is out November 7 on Felte.

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Constant Smiles – the dream-pop collective led by Ben Jones – has released their latest LP Kenneth Anger. The album has received rave reviews from both Allmusic and Brooklyn Vegan, and Ben goes into some of the inspirations for the record with Brooklyn Vegan and Talkhouse. I mixed & mastered this record at Studio Windows, which was largely self-recorded and features a wide range of collaborators – Ryan Jewell on drums, Spike Currier on bass, and numerous others on synths, strings, and vocals. The LP is more synth-focused than its predecessor Paragons, but the songs remain equally earnest and catchy. Kenneth Anger is out now on Sacred Bones.

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Constant Smiles – the ever-evolving project led by singer-songwriter Ben Jones – has released “Gold Like Water”, the second single from their upcoming LP Kenneth Anger. The new single is a slow-groove ballad, featuring a duet with Taia and cello accompaniment by Nicky Wetherell, while retaining some of the electronic flourishes from lead single “In My Heart”. I edited, mixed & mastered the record with Ben last summer at Studio Windows, and am thrilled to be a part of the record release show at Union Pool. Kenneth Anger is out March 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

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Constant Smiles – the ever-changing project of singer-songwriter Ben Jones – is back with “In My Heart”, the first single of their upcoming LP Kenneth Anger. Shared by Brooklyn Vegan, Northern Transmissions, and others, the track came with tour date announcements (including the NYC record-release show at Union Pool, where I will be performing with the band) and a beautiful video by Samuel Jerome Mason. Ben recorded much of this record himself, with various contributions by a wide range of musicians (including Ryan Jewell on drums); I edited, mixed, and mastered the LP with Ben at Studio Windows last summer. The single (and album as a whole) features more prominent electronics in the sound, while retaining the intimacy and directness of Ben’s writing from previous records like 2021’s Paragons. Kenneth Anger is out March 3 via Sacred Bones Records.