Audio: Listen to this article.
In 2024 immersive audio continues to pour out of the record labels and independent artists at a very nice pace. I’ve been enjoying the roughly 25,000 immersive albums available on Apple Music and the growing number of high resolution TrueHD Dolby Atmos releases, both downloadable and on Blu-ray Disc.
I encourage all audiophiles to seek out some immersive audio demonstrations. Similar to two channel audio, neither all immersive material nor all immersive demos are created equal. Spend some time with it, get educated about it, and try to understand where it fits along side our beloved world of two channel audio. This isn’t an either / or, black / white, red team / blue team type of thing. It’s a terrific way to increase one’s enjoyment of our wonderful hobby.
Note: I’m working right now to design and install a 7.1.4 immersive audio system at a high end audio retail location in Los Angeles. I can’t wait for more people to experience what I listen to all day, every day.
Now that we are half way through 2024, it’s time to share some of my favorite immersive releases of the year. I’ve split them into two categories and ranked them within each category. Please enjoy responsibly, meaning as loud as possible but no louder :~)
High Resolution TrueHD Dolby Atmos Releases
5. Yes - Fragile
I’ve never been fan of Yes. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get into the band’s music. This all changed with the release of the Steven Wilson Dolby Atmos mix of the album Fragile. Wow, this album is an experience and it sounds really good from an audiophile perspective. Listeners who enjoy mixes that make full use of every loudspeaker in one’s system should enjoy what Steven Wilson has created with this Atmos mix.
4. Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa
Don’t quote me on this, but I believe the first time I ever really listened to anything by the band Spoon was when I sampled the immersive release of its album Lucifer on the Sofa. I was instantly hooked.
The album was mixed for Atmos by Spoon dummer Jim Eno, who did a fantastic job. Every track was mixed so tastefully, enabling the immersive technology to serve the music in the best way possible.
I don’t know how many times I’ve cranked the track The Hardest Cut, but I’m willing to bet my neighbors might know.
Note: The online store Immersive Audio Album recently started offering Atmos downloads from the Beggars Group of labels, including Matador Records, the label on which Spoon released this album.
3. Berlin Philharmonic - Shostakovich Symphonies 8, 9, 10
The last few years I’ve become a Shostakovich fan who can’t get enough immersive releases of his symphonies. I’m not sophisticated enough to identify most of the nuances between conductors and musicians taking on these musical masterpieces, and perhaps that’s for the better. Right now I just enjoy all of them.
This release of Symphonies 8, 9, and 10 in Dolby Atmos is presented differently than the aforementioned albums from Yes and Spoon in that it’s more of a “realistic” approach to recreating what one would hear at the Berliner Philharmonie. There’s some wrap-around with the string section enveloping the listener and a nice amount of volume coming from most of the channels. Sonically the album is terrific, second only to albums from boutique labels such as TRPTK and 2L.
2. Bob Reynolds Group - Live in Munich
If one wants to let off some steam after a long day, and be transported to a jazz club for a concert, putting on the immersive mix of this album will do it. Everything from the musicianship and music, to the immersive mix and sound quality, is fabulous.
Right from the opening note, the listener is transported to the Unterfahrt Jazz Club in Munich, Germany. Bob Reynolds’ saxophone, Ruslan Sirota’s piano, Janek Gwizdala’s bass, Gene Coye’s drums, and even the crowd, sound wonderful.
I’ve been a fan of Bob Reynold’s work in Snarky Puppy, but had never heard of drummer Gene Coye until this release. All I can say is WOW! Tapping play on track two, Chrysalis, will make even the sleepiest listener sit up in his/her chair and take notice. Gene sounds so awesome on this track, and the entire album. Ii encourage everyone to put this track on and give the volume some love.
The immersive release of this album is pushing hard up against my number one selection for the first half of 2024. It’s just that good.
A big tip of the cap to the team who worked on this album, specifically engineer Kseniya Kawko who recorded and mixed it for immersive and stereo formats!
1. Pearl Jam - Dark Matter
My favorite band of all time. New music that hits like a ton of bricks. Mixed for immersive audio by two of the best guys in the business, Josh Evans and Nick Rives. Released in high resolution TrueHD Dolby Atmos. Of course this album is the leader in the clubhouse at this point.
The more I listen, the more I love Dark Matter.
My fill review can be found here.
Apple Music Dolby Digital+ Releases
5. The Flaming lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
My introduction to The Flaming Lips came in 1993 as a junior in high school, when the band released the single She Don’t Use Jelly. I thought the song was stupid, and I wrote the band off until roughly three weeks ago.
Thirty years after placing The Flaming Lips on my ignore list, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots was released in Atmos and I held my nose as I tapped play. As Jack Skellington said in Nightmare Before Christmas, I thought, “What’s this!”
The album is masterfully mixed for immersive audio and the music, although made long before we had speakers on the ceiling, was made for Dolby Atmos.
On the track Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1, the mix serves the music perfectly. Strange noises emanating from unorthodox places, just like one would imagine from a song with its title.
The music is more of an acquired taste, but I picked it up fairly fast because the immersive mix is so enjoyable. Every instrument and all the sounds have their own spaces, with nice separation, enabling the listener to understand what’s going on, on a pretty chaotic album.
4. Fink - Lowswing Sessions
I’m a big fan of Fink. His voice and delivery really do it for me. This single, The Lowswing Sessions, is a perfect example of great music, great musicianship, and immersive audio for quite small arrangements.
On this single, Fink covers Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun and David Bowie’s Modern Love, live in studio with an acoustic guitar. On first blush, one might think there’s no need for an immersive release for this type of music. However, after one listen, that type of thinking is put to rest.
Guy Sternberg mixed this album for Atmos terrifically. The listener is placed in the Lowswing studio with the artists. The reverb of the drum kit, behind the main listening position, enables listeners to experience what musicians and engineers hear all the time. It may seem pedestrian to them, but this is the stuff that makes us music junkies go crazy. It’s just fantastic.
Oh yeah, Fink’s versions of these tracks are absolutely stellar on their own, without immersive playback, but the immersion takes the listening experience to another planet.
3. Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland
I wrote about this album a few weeks ago. It captures another one of those great experiences in the recording studio, that us civilians never get to experience. Until now.
“I never listened to Voodoo Chile until the Atmos version was released. I’ve heard Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) numerous times and enjoy that song immensely. But, straight up 15 minutes of Voodoo Chile was never on my bingo card, until now. And, WOW!”
Here’s my full take on the album, scroll down near the bottom.
2. Wilco - Hot Sun Cool Shroud EP
An incredibly vanilla arrangement from a band I haven’t listened to in years. I remember trying to get into Yankee Hotel Foxtrot back int eh day, but never succeeded. When Hot Sun Cool Shroud came out in Atmos, I gave it a spin. I’m very glad I did.
In stereo, this is one of those albums that I’d find “pretty good” but likely let fall into the abyss of a zillion other albums available on streaming services that I’ll never listen to again. In Atmos, there’s really something to this release that I love.
Tracks one and two aren’t my cup of tea, but tracks three through six are right up my alley and are mixed very well. As soon as I heard Ice Cream, I was sucked in by the lyrics and by the immersive mix that envelopes the listener, in a way that shows what’s possible with Atmos and a basic acoustic arrangement.
Say You Love Me is another track that pulls at one’s heartstrings and is served very well by the enveloping immersive mix.
I really love this EP. It’s the perfect meld of music and technology serving it, as it should be in my opinion.
1. Loma - How Will I Live Without a Body
I’d never heard of the band Loma until this year. Now I’m a huge fan.
I saw that Steven Wilson mixed the album How Will I Live Without a Body for Dolby Atmos, so I thought I’d give it a listen. My love for the album, and interest int he band’s other work, was instantaneous.
I love everything about this album. The moody music, the immersive mix, and even the band’s willingness to listen to my pleas for a high resolution TrueHD Dolby Atmos release. Come on Sub Pop, even the band wants this :~)
How Will I Live Without a Body is an album that I play from start to finish, every time I listen to it. Once I start, I can’t stop. It’s that good. Listening to track two, Arrhythmia, I always turn up the volume a little too much, if that’s even a thing, because Dan Duszynski kick drum is both subtle and huge at the same time and I’m absolutely here for it.
Pink Sky is another track that has become a favorite, on an album with zero filler.
Steven Wilson mixed this album perfectly. The music is served by the envelopment, when appropriate, and a more front focus when needed. Given the gigantic artists Wilson works with, it’s great to see him working with Loma, a band on Sub Pop, who hasn’t had an album go Diamond (yet).
If 2024 ended today, I’d put this album in my top three overall, with Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter and Bob Reynolds Group’s Live in Munich.
Honorable Mention (in no specific order):
Jon Foreman - In Bloom
ANOHNI and the Johnsons - My Back was a Bridge for You to Cross
The National - The First Two Pages of Frankenstein
Berlin Philharmonic - Kirill Petrenko conducts Sergei Rachmaninoff
Eline Hensels - Nocturne, et Lumineux
About the author - https://audiophile.style/about
Author's Complete Audio System Details with Measurements - https://audiophile.style/system
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