In the old days, unsigned bands had no choice but to be lo-fi. Recording music was an expensive and mysterious business. And it was a business, unless you had the wherewithal to splash out on a four-track cassette machine, with all the tape hiss and muddy track bouncedowns that implied. These days, we have come a full 180 degrees. The technology needed to make releasable quality recordings is ubiquitous. Lo-fi has now become a style choice. And thank goodness, because God knows, we need a constant intravenous antidote to the aural baby food that passes as the mainstream these days. This 180- degree shift also means that artists are, ironically, once again relying on studios to capture their insouciance. This is by no means a regression. Bands such as Faye who, on first listen, seem cavalie...