Fun Trick Noisemaker by The Apples In Stereo

Fun Trick Noisemaker is the debut studio album from The Apples in Stereo, recorded in a house in Los Angeles, in Robert Schneider's (at the time) portable Pet Sounds Studio. The album is perhaps the most raw example of the Apples, with the rather lo-fi recording values being eclipsed somewhat by their later efforts. It is one of the band's most critically lauded albums. Though the album is an early effort in production by Schneider, he had previously had experience producing with The Apples in Stereo and his own solo project, Marbles. Learning to be a record producer since he was fifteen years old, his influence from producers such as Phil Spector and Brian Wilson led him to use the popular "Wall of Sound" production technique on Fun Trick Noisemaker. Several tracks (notably the opening song "Tidal Wave") have as many as ten guitars playing at any one time (usually eight rhythm guitars and two guitars used for solos). The Japanese version of Fun Trick Noisemaker contains the extra tracks "Shine (In Your Mind)" and "Thank You Very Much". These tracks can be found in mp3 format on the Elephant 6 website. They were later included on the 2008 b-sides and rarities compilation, Electronic Projects for Musicians.