PhonoBrainer

Super clear mix and vocal, I dig the groove. Professional! cheers, -Tom

Love the guitar work, the rhythm - vocals are great. I got a Van Morrison vibe. Keep it going! Maybe the bass could come up a bit, but it has a really organic tone. Love that, and the harmonica was sweet as well. You've been waiting for that train for ages now, maybe it's not coming? While you're waiting, maybe grab a weedwhacker and clean up those tracks? cheers, -Tom

I don't know about the mixing software you are into, but I listened on Audeze cans and thought maybe the bass guitar could come up a hair, and the keyboard stabs (prominent around :38 for example) might come down a bit? It's a helluva good song and mix, taking vocals into prog, really great! cheers, -Tom

This one really sucks you in. Maybe at the upper edge of the eq spectrum, things are getting a bit pokey/crisp? I can't really judge much above 13khz but I think there is some icepick potential you could check? If only visually on a parametric eq? I heard the space toad . . . Otherwise super crisp, clean, and separated, mix-wise. Well done! cheers, -Tom

Love the vibe, the tremolo moments, the nice drippy lead tone. I'd love to watch this in a live setting! cheers, -Tom

Love the song, the structure of the parts, the lyrics too! Your vocal has a very genuine quality to it. For me, the drums are letting the side down a bit. They are mixed well back yet they are quite busy. That's an odd combo that might be addressed. But here's what jumped out at me right away, listening to the first section around :30, you have your vocal, and a lot of other elements - buzzy power chord guitar, an arpeggiated guitar, a synth pad doing some little melodic noodles occasionally, and the drums buried far back, along with the bass. That's an awful lot of stuff right away all in competition, and kudos for making your vocal stick out amongst all of that!!! You might drop the big fuzzy distorted power chord guitar out of things completely? Just as a trial? That's a wall of distant fuzz that if removed could let the drums back in, and things might breathe a bit. Believe me I know it's hard to say goodbye to a beloved part, but my vote would be "less is more" in this case. This song comes across as a cool concept, especially with the nifty female vocal coming in - and the lyrics are really quite good, sung with feeling. Nice! cheers, -Tom

Cool tune, I like that dip down of the chords in the chorus, if that makes sense. I thought that was pretty inventive! I agree with Bapu on a different snare. There's something "high school gym" about the snare you have at present, where something less ringy and more woody might suit better. Hopefully, if you are using a drum sampler, that should be an easy experiment to see what other snares you might like. In the 2:21 section, you can hear the hi hat or ride part is perhaps flanging a bit too much, which might be creating a high-end smear which could also be making a mix problem. That by itself could be masking upper snare eq's or even your vocal. As for what could be added, everyone would have their opinion of course, but in your opening 8 bars with just the guitar as an intro, you could bring in a flute or harmonica, something in the upper range, maybe in bars 4-8, something working off the guitar line. I think subtle use of a flute-ish voice along the way in you song could be cool. Maybe an upper register flutey B3? Nice vocal, it does ring of Doobie Bros but I thought the song itself brought Bonnie Raitt to mind, of all things, so what do I know. Vocally you might double your track in the choruses? Or bring in Michael McDonald? nice work! cheers, -Tom

Thanks David, and yes I feel your age, and the occasion to calm oneself in this world of irritating uncertainties should not be passed by. The picture was kipped from the internet, it looks like an artist put some Norway fjords into a Photoshop fisheye lens thing. just a guess. Many thanks for listening . . .

Thanks y'all! Cleaned up the mix a little, and made a video - any comments are most welcome! If you can take your Youtube resolution up to 1440p, maybe let me know how crisp it looks? Experimenting . . . Would love any mix comments or anything else - thanks! cheers, -Tom

Hey Dave, cool tune, it's hard to do pop well these days and I think you are there, via the 1980's - very much dug it! If you are looking for a weak spot, maybe it's the initial intro vocal which is just single tracked and is a bit on the thin side. All other vocals have more treatment (sometimes doubled an octave lower) great techniques, and I love the mix choices all the way through. I don't think LANDR muffed it up too badly, you can tell it's a little louder and smooshed flatter that in could be in a few high-energy moments. hope you keep posting your tunes - very nice indeed! cheers, -Tom

Springsteen, Petty, Jackson Browne, that's a great lane to be in. I dug the lyrics and the song's backstory was well presented. I liked the bgv's which were supportive without being overpowering. A song in this lane absolutely benefits from the live feel, good job on that! cheers, -Tom

Crazy good prog. I'd boost the vocal just a hair, especially that "response" vocal part. Wow those piano runs at the end were killer! Video works a treat. Kudos to the bass player or programmer for keeping up with all of those changes - love it! The typical knock is that prog can get tedious but yours never, ever does. Really well done! cheers, -Tom

Very cool collab gents! I figured you guys would make a good team! I like the manic quality outside of the chorus, slightly Oingo Boingo! The chorus itself, for me, seems a bit of an emotional dip as it returns to the more conventional, more sedated rhythm. It's not bad or anything, and you might like that respite from the high energy parts. The theme I loved because wifey and I are starting to have that discussion of selling all of zee sheet and living Buddhist-style where your possessions are a bowl and some wi-fi. I'd put a vote in for either slightly increasing the volume of the lead vocal in the verses, or more likely dipping the volume of the fuzzed-out guitar a bit so the lead vocal can pop more. Just the verses, the chorus all rings true. great job both of y'all, and kudos to Lynn the Mix Whisperer!!! cheers, -Tom

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100%

This should help you with your Sweet Emotion(s) . . .

at least you didn't get "accidentally" hit in the yarbles by some kid swinging on a pinata.

100% liked it. Rockin the mic with the Murder Hornet funk. cheers, -Tom

You walk into a museum somewhere in Big Sky country, and this is background for an entire exhibit as you walk around. Let me know when you get that set up, I'll come check it out! Or maybe the Monterey Bay Aquarium? super peaceful piece! cheers, -Tom

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah. Really great, loved it. cheers, -Tom

Really loved the vocal editing - that's a beautiful clear vocal you have, and the supporting vocals are very cool adds. I also kind of thought it could use a chorus, or a b-part, just to throw another flavor in there. nice one, thanks! cheers, -Tom

and the song wasn't bad, either.

I thought the video was very watchable and I wonder where was that festival of lights? Those guitars and drums are very strong and the bass sat in the mix nicely. In the beginning I thought "this is going to be satanic" but by the end I realized it seemed Christian rock. So now I'm just confused good one, thanks! cheers, -Tom

I liked the octaves bouncing in the second half of the song. Those are some great synths for sure, well arranged. cheers, -Tom

I totally got the David Byrne effect from this, very nice vocals indeed! In your dead stop cutouts, you might leave an audio sample of just an empty room being recorded. It will give a sense of real air in the room during the dropouts. A whole song's worth of lyrics - only two notes in the melody. Fun! cheers, -Tom