The Seattle Weekly
Johnny Sangster serves the Artist and the Listener - by Hannah Levin.
However, the mood and tasks at hand in Chroma that night were an accurate (if somewhat atypical) study in what's made 41-year-old Seattle native Sangster an increasingly popular producer for a wide variety of musicians. He naturally relaxes artists, and he's not afraid of experimentation, welcoming everyone from back-to-the-garage punks like the Fucking Eagles and the Whore Moans to improv-oriented arts acts like Bird Show of North America or pop ingenues Smoosh with equally opened-minded ease. read more...

Shane Tutmarc - Shouting at a Silent Sky
(Inverness)

The Seattle Weekly
To properly record this batch of songs, he needed a group of soulful players. Fresh from his Southern junket, he called his Easy Street Records co-worker Mark Pickerel (one of Seattle's musical treasures), who in turn suggested local veteran Johnny Sangster as producer, who in turn suggested they recruit Sangster's brother Jim as bassist and Ty Bailie on piano.

Three Imaginary Girls
Editorial Picks of 2008
#4 - The Old Haunts - Poisonous Times
#11 (Tied) The Doll Test - Mosque Alarm Clock
#11 (Tied) Young Sportsmen - If You Want It

The Whoremoans - Hello from the Radio Wasteland
(Mt. Fuji/The Control Group)

Rolling Stone Magazine - Fricke's picks
It is hard to believe that no group copyrighted such a natural punk-band name before, but the Whore Moans, a four-piece from Seattle, have it now, and they don’t waste it on their second album, Hello From the Radio Wasteland! (Mt. Fuji). The precedence flies thick and fast in “Nerve Tonic!” and “White Noise Melody” — Eighties-hardcore stripped-throat vocals, the angular art-riff assault, with prominent treble-ized bass, of Mission of Burma. But the Steven Tyler-like jabber in “Wall of a Song” is an unexpected hoot, and for all of the end-of-days fury in “Fingers and Martyrs” and “Here Comes America” (the latter is not a pretty sight), the Whore Moans are steadfast believers in loud-fast salvation, or what they call in one power-chord catapult, “The Holy Fucking Moment.” This album has plenty.

The Biggest Letdown
Seriously folks, this album reminds me that bands still know how to rock. I mean, really rock. Think back to when you were a kid and you would sneak out to clubs past your bedtime just to see the older kids in high school playing like they didn't give a crap about anything in the world. This is that type of music! It's about you and what you're into. It's punk. It's rock. It's talent. It's loud. It's everything you're looking for right now. It's the Whore Moans. read more...

The Cute Lepers - Can't Stand Modern Music
Blackheart Records
2008 Independent Music Awards - Best Punk Album of the Year!
Steve E. Nix writes:
Wow, with judges consisting of Ice-T, Rick Springfield, Dez Cadena, Lisa Loeb, one of the Backstreet Boys, Zakk Wylde, Clint Black, Keith Urban, Steve Vai, Tom Jones, Buddy Guy, Peter Gabriel and Roger Daltry calling our album the best punk of 2008... maybe it actually is a crime that we sleep on the side of the road on tour and resort to stealing food. Or maybe it's exactly as it should be. Pretty cool though, I think?!---Steve e. check it out...

Crawdaddy
The Cute Lepers can’t stand modern music. That much is obvious, both from the title of their album and the sounds contained therein. Their pastiche of early punk and power pop almost sounds like a joke, but the energy and attitude they pump into their music is no laughing matter. The tracks may have a familiar ring, but they pack a punch that’s both bracing and a bit nostalgic, depending on the age of the listener. read more...

Andrea Wittgens - In The Skyline (Trapdoor Music)

Seattle Sound ****1/2
Strength can be commanding, but so can eloquence. Especially when a silver toungue rides a voice that flitters with the wonderful unpredictability of a butterfly and the laser precision of, well, a laser.

The Cops - Free Electricity
(Mt. Fuji - The Control Group)

Three Imaginary Girls
I’ve now listened to The Cops’ second album, Free Electricity, about 7 or 8 times straight through over the past 4 days and I am no closer to figuring it out as I was after the first spin. My enjoyment of the album is unwavering, yet I find myself asking if I love this record because it’s a great record, or do I love it because it pushes the right buttons in my psyche? Regardless, it’s not every day that you find a record that simply knocks you on your ass – but that’s exactly what happened to this powerpop-loving writer. read more...

Smoosh - She Like Electric
(Pattern 25)

Rolling Stone
The sisters' debut album, She Like Electric, has already won them opening slots for Cat Power, Sleater-Kinney, Jimmy Eat World, Death Cab for Cutie and even Pearl Jam... She Like Electric was recorded with Seattle producer Johnny Sangster (Mudhoney, the Posies, Murder City Devils) in just three days. Since its fall release, the sisters have been opening for indie royalty, and when they played a Halloween show in Los Angeles (dressed as Spiderman and "Batwoman") actor Tobey Maguire came backstage for an audience. "He'd heard of us and wanted to see us," Asya shrugs. read more...

The Old Haunts - Poisonous Times
(KillRockStars)

Pitchfork.com
Their most diverse release yet, Poisonous Times finds new directions to deploy the Old Haunts' brutally spare attack, highlighting their swampy existentialism on "Ruined View", their mellower side on "Sunshine", and the spacey guitars on "Sister City". There's a tension in these songs that strenuously conveys the paranoia and agitation in Extine's lyrics... full review

Ink19
Like all great garage rock albums, this trio bleeds on the record with spontaneity. What brings this band out of the garage and into the stage lights are the chances they take when they strip away the jagged edges and let their songs stand bare, as on "Hung Up on the Down Side" and "In Revolt."...full review

PerformerMag.com
While its sharp guitar lines and sneering melodies give the more upbeat numbers plenty of edge, Poisonous Times delivers its most poignant moments during the sparser tracks. And those moments, not surprisingly, highlight Exitine exclusively. The drug dirge “Hung Up on the Down Side” and its foil, the twinkling “Sunshine,” underline Extine’s capability to wield his guitar in disparate emotional directions. It’s his melodic playing and quivering voice that push the songs forward, and that’s basically true of the rest of the album as well. read more...

Carrie Akre - Last the Evening
(Loveless Records)

Seattle PI
Her studio musicians included Mark Pickerel, Jared Clifton, Danny Newcomb and local studio guru Johnny Sangster (who has worked on albums for Dept. of Energy, North Twin, Mudhoney and Lillydale, among many others) on guitar and bass.

"Johnny Sangster did most of the guitar. He's brilliant. He just blows my mind. At one point, I just didn't even show up at the studio. Steve would say, 'Do you want to be here?' And I'd be like, 'No, just call me later and tell me what he did,' " she said with a laugh. read more...

Steve Turner - And His Bad Ideas
(Roslyn Recordings/Houston Party)

PopMatters
Bad Ideas is a deeply satisfying record that puts Steve Turner in the small club of musicians who maintain artistic viability both in a band and solo. read more...

In Music We Trust
Simply put, if Searching For Melody surprised you, your jaw will drop when you hear And His Bad Ideas. I'll give it an A-. read more...

The Briefs - Sex Objects
(BYO Records)

Pop Matters
Yet they have never hit so close to the source as they have with their newest release, Sex Objects, out on BYO Records. This is because the band's power-punk simplicity is inflamed with a new spirit of righteousness that makes an unabashed parallel between protest cries of early British punk and today's close-to-boiling political climate. read more...

The Stranger
From "Halfsize Girl" through "Sally I Can't Go to the Beach," Sex Objects is a fast-paced, well-polished pop gem--and the Briefs' best album yet... read more...

Steve Turner - Searching For Melody
(Roslyn Recordings/Loose Music/Houston Party)

In Music We Trust
... what we really have here is a lyrically smart, rustic, home spun record of beauty and skill, a big leap away from Mudhoney, and a new direction that explores all of Turner's musical visions. I'll give it an A. read more...

Cosmik Debris
Retaining the help of musicians like co-producer Johnny Sangster (guitar, bass, percussion and keys), Stone Gossard (bass) and Dan Peters (drums), Turner's created a great album that's totally different from anything else he's ever done musically, but is equally engaging. read more...

Mudhoney - Since We've Become Translucent
(Sub Pop)

All Music Guide
Since We've Become Translucent isn't always the Mudhoney you remembered, but the album clearly carries the stamp of the band's personality, and shows the group can still rock out while pulling a few new tricks from its collective sleeve.. read more...

Model Rockets - Pilot Co. Suite
(Book Records)

Seattle Weekly
Among the members of Seattle's power pop mafia, the Model Rockets have long been regarded as a band blessed with an abundance of talent and cursed with an appalling lack of success. In truth, it's been a slightly tortured personal—and personnel—history that's kept the John Ramberg/Scott Sutherland-led outfit from bigger things. But last summer's terrific Tell the Kids the Cops Are Here (Not Lame Records) and the brand new Pilot County Suite (produced variously by Johnny Sangster, Kurt Bloch, and Scott McCaughey and released on the Bloch/McCaughey imprint, Book Records) may well signal a change in their fortunes. read more...

Sangster Meets Benson - Benson Meets Sangster
(Roam Records)

Ink 19
"Outside this mini-opera, there are other supreme highlights. For some reason or another, I can easily see Benson and Sangster recording this album while wearing Sgt. Pepper's jackets. From McCartney's unique sense of musical humor to Lennon's twisting chord structures (evident on "God is a Young Man"), this will appeal to many a Beatles fan... and Young Fresh Fellows fan... and Nevada Bachelors fan... hell, a fan of good music. I'm sure more than a few of those still exist." read more...

Also check out this amazing review from Alex Green!

Boss Martians - Makin' the Rounds
(Musick)

All Music Guide
Songs like "She Moves Me" and the Who-ish "Put Some Hurt on You," with their volcanic guitar/keyboard interaction, practically explode out of the speakers, partially due to Johnny Sangster's (Supersuckers, the Posies, Young Fresh Fellows) savvy production. read more...

Kent 3 - Spells
(Burn Burn Burn)

All Music Guide
Many would-be punkers of the '90s and beyond seem ill-versed in punk history, not realizing how varied their chosen genre's terrain can be. Not so for this band, who has created a high-energy and diverse punk-scape with Spells. This record is both arse-kicking and a lot of fun. read more...

Various Artists - Give the People What We Want
(Sub Pop/Burn Burn Burn)

All Music Guide
The Model Rockets ("Ring the Bells"), the Fallouts ("This Man He Weeps Tonight"), Love as Laughter ("Tin Soldier Man"), and the Congratulators ("Session Man") capture the aura of Swinging London. If the British Invasion mantra "God Save the Kinks" ever falters, this Sub-Pop collection will make it to heaven read more...

The Makers - Rock Star God
(Sub Pop)

Rolling Stone June 2000
**** (four out of five stars)
"On Rock Star God, the Makers strut their stuff like they rule right here, right now." read more...

Amazon.com
****1/2 (four and a half stars out of five)
"Driven by short attention spans and a clear desire to explore new territory, the Makers are constantly redefining and expanding their sound..." read more....

The Rocket
Cover article, May 2000
"Another key factor was the choice of producer Johnny Sangster who has worked in the past with more pop-oriented artists such as the Posies and Young Fresh Fellows. 'We decided we wanted someone we could bounce ideas off, to act as a filter and someone with more of a pop music ear.' Jaime Frost says."

Nevada Bachelors - Carrots and So On
(PopLlama)

The Rocket:
"...it doesn't matter if you have one of the worst album titles and cover sleeves of all time when the actual CD contains pop gems like the self-referential "Shake Yer Mop" (yeah, that "ooh!" song) and the crazy "Wild Boar Problem," which hops along at a frenetic pace like Squeeze did when they were a good band."

Ink 19
“Trademark of Quality” says the gold sticker covering up the original record label for Carrots and So On, and I couldn’t agree more." read more...