My impression is that the volume of the album is on par with most these days. On the other hand, “Speak For Yourself” is quite conservative and sounds wonderful to my ears. So to my way of thinking, this is a step backwards.

It’s always nice to find a fellow practician of the 80/20 rule! I can appreciate some of the detail work on headphones, but it’s more something that I note with interest rather than connecting with musically.

* I came here searching for “imogen heap” “mastering”. I haven’t noticed the volume mismatching as much — then again, I have hyperacusis. But, the album is overall mastered relatively soft compared to other contemporary records I have. This surprised me, but if Immi consciously signed off on it, save for what Brian noted above, then that could be one step in the right direction vs. the Loudness Wars.

* As for the rest of her musical content, there’s a lot of beautiful melodies. Imogen is on-the-record about being meticulous re: her arrangements. But, I think that sometimes falls into the 80/20 (90/10) rule, time-wise. I read an Electronic Musician interview in which she sounded like she spent copious amounts of time doing, say, the beatboxing on Earth. Or crafting delays and removing sibilance MANUALLY instead of a warm reverb. But, I really can’t tell — and if subtlety’s the point, that’s the goal, but compared to something like BT’s audible stutter-edit production, I was expecting more ear candy.

* I like Thesis theme very much too.

* I’m familiar with Color Theory because of a Depeche Mode cover I heard awhile ago! Took awhile for that to surface but AHA! So, pleased to be here, and keep being creative!