PhonoBrainer

I was in from the first note. Great song, clear as hell mix, inventive video. The aliens must have programmed my DNA to love this. Three thumbs up! It had everything I like about the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Primus, without the things I dislike about them. cheers, -Tom

I'm a sucker for an interesting historical nautical story song. I had to get past the modern synth hooks in a kind of shanty. But it's not really a shanty, more of a prog shanty! Mixwise, I'd vote for vocals up, and drums feel a bit boxy or thin, you could run the drums through some beefy processor with some iron in it? Something Germanium? What an inventive piece! I liked hos the story was spooled out, interspersed with instrumental-only interludes. Very cool. cheers, -Tom

Loved it, great voice and great song choice! I especially liked, from a mixing perspective, those super subtle strings that pad the background. Your voice is amazing. cheers, -Tom

before your troll vocal comes in, there is some mouth noise/inhale you could trim away. Just a little. I really liked this, very different. I found myself reaching for the volume to turn it down a bit, was it mixed pretty hot? Trolls never sounded so good! cheers, -Tom

Mixing at the console . . .

Would it be more convenient if your extended family all just moved in with you instead? Convenient for us, I mean . . . 😜 Best of luck down in the holler.

I wouldn't suggest re-singing it (that's an important dash there!) but maybe revisiting the processing, it feels like the transients are sharp and edgy in spots. You already have great emotion in your vocal . . . it could also be down to the original mic choice - what mic did you use? Some condensers can be brittle and spitty to begin with. Ribbon mics are a bit more pleasant to mix vocals from. Anyway, the song itself is worth it!

A bunch of unfinished songs, looking at you from your hard drive.

I had no idea the Swedes were capable of enough dastardly heinous crimes to warrant their own tv show, but if so this would be a perfect theme. Love the movement, great energy all along. I thought I heard a "pop" that could be edited out around :28 - :29? no crime though, it's on the beat. As is Inspector Jurganssen, keeping the Stockholm streets safe, or at least showing up pretty soon after someone is decapitated in an alley down by the waterfront, asking the tough questions. cheers, -Tom

What a lovely composition. For me the drums should definitely be a bit louder in the mix, not that they have to be there all the time or anything. Killer piano chimey yet substantial. Perfect tone for this! The vocal itself is wonderful considering the Melodyne, only in one spot I think did it go full-tilt Cher. I think the overcooking might be on a compressor setting somewhere? It is a lovely vocal with sublime lyrics and I think it could easily be dropped a full db throughout the entire song, just as an experiment, does the mix breathe more? Do the drums perk up? Is that "overcooking" solved? I dunno. The bgv's are in such good spots. Your piece is a complete study of the effective use of intervals. Loved it! cheers, -Tom

So can we sell our old useless DAW machines to the cryptominers? Will trade for Dogecoin.

I like the panning of the drums as well, but you might drop the volume of that hi hat on the right whenever you are singing? Your vocal,which could be a little louder and more forward anyway, is hiding a bit behind that hi hat. Listen to your vocal during the bridge, there's no open hi hat, it's much clearer I think. You took some nice risks that paid off. Reminded me a bit of some Blue Nile. Nice! cheers, - Tom

Dracus.

Was that Bob Dylan with the pickaxe at 2:20? Neat idea for a song and video, but for me the song didn't match the video material. I'd prefer the song on it's own but hey it's a preference. Quite an audacious task, coming up with a soundtrack for 20th century politics and such! still liked it. cheers, -Tom

You have a good one here! It's a composition and an arrangement that sounds like something that could endure. If it were my arrangement, I'd lose the drums and the flute. When the flute goes into its "auto tremolo" sustain, it blows up the organic nature of those sweet guitar chords. Some other lead instrument might be an interesting experiment? You know what you are doing . . . just my .02 and I think you definitely have something here to tinker and tighten. Very cool. cheers, -Tom

I'm in for the Roundwound Bass, and having partaken from the Orange Tree many times prior, I must say, best sale of any vendor outside of being free.

be safe, Larry - your electrons are not being wasted here. thanks!

Awesome voice and a worthy mix supporting her. Well done! The drums in particular sounded great. cheers, -Tom

just piling on the compliments - great vocal mixing ear candy, and when there's no ear candy, your voice still conveys everything super clearly. Love the bounce this song has. You might shorten your intro groove from what sounds like eight bars to four, just as an experiment? And/or maybe add a lead instrument playing a brief hook? Something in the first bit to pull us in a little harder might be an idea. cheers, looking forward to hearing more of your work! -Tom

Silky synthy and saucy. I dug the tremolo panning of what sounded like a rhodes piano? Thanks for interpreting the universe for us! cheers, -Tom

I guess I'm getting in at the end of the mix cycle - the bass guitar is perfect I think, just a good country solid down there. I agree, in the non vocal sections, punch the drums up, maybe add a bit more room to the drums? Your vocals are a crooner with gravitas who doesn't oversing. That's a winner. I like how the acoustic guitar fades in at that one part towards the end! I'd also agree with dropping the drums out completely, except for the chorus. And, since I'm throwing unasked-for ideas out there just for the heck of it, the twinkly synth arpeggio might be tried as a straight piano? The organ is such great glue, well done there. cheers, and thanks for this post, great listen! -Tom

I listened on decent headphones. Really liked the tune and the overall vibe, nailed it. The "ooooh ooooh oooohs" could maybe be a bit tighter in their timing in spots, but only if you want to obsess about it. Along that obsessive edge, you might actually reduce the volume of your lead vocal just a smidge. That would 1) bring up the "dead" spots other people have commented on, and 2)clean up a couple of mouth noises in the gaps. Again, none of that is a dealbreaker in what is a very catchy and memorable song. cheers, -Tom

Infectious vibe on this, super melody and you and your bgv's are delivering the goods as usual. The mix really needs work in some low eq spots, to be honest, the strummed acoustic guitar and snare are both pretty weighty, thick, and heavy down below 500hz. You'd brighten the whole thing up by doing some selective cuts down there to those two. Superior songwriting, your tunes just hit me right. Kind of like The Samples in the groove quality. You know, the band The Samples, not just . . . samples. cheers, -Tom

That is one killer laid back groove. The melody is quite catchy and the instruments are so solid. Bass and drums are well mixed, but so is everything else actually, so why single them out? The video was cool but I only got 780p out of it, is that just on my end? great choice for the vocal treatment as well. keep jammin', you set a high bar indeed! cheers, -Tom