PhonoBrainer

50? Welcome to the club! I can recommend several knee surgeons. For me, the chorus, the vocals are a little buried. Do you add a guitar layer in the chorus? it's the "don't wait around until you're old" section. The guitar work is really good and fits the song in the right spots. I listened on headphones. Possibly the bass could have a notch cut out in the upper mids? So the lower part of the vocal can poke its head out more? I dunno. Personal preference - on a groove jam like this, a fade-out ending is more satisfying that just . . . stopping. My .02 Zimbabwe Dollars. Very good, driving tune. Age appropriate to the max. cheers, -Tom

It's interesting. You don't often hear that combination of voices. The first 16 bars or whathaveyou are just the synth triplets? You might get us to the goods sooner. You've got the build-up covered in four bars. So what is going on while this music is playing? Video game maybe? That might be cool. Or is it the intro to a movie? I'm feeling kind of stupid, because I wanted to turn it up but the "Bandcamp" player? didn't have a volume control on it that I could see. Did you mix it softly? Is it big, loud, and epic on your end? Yeah I know I could have just turned up my system, but was curious as to how loud you mixed it originally. cheers, -Tom

To prove I listened, and read the lyrics sheet, second verse, "could" is sung "can" . . . Great song, a nice lilt all the way through. It's well mixed because I can hear the words clearly while the supporting instruments fill, dip, dive, enter, exit. Nicely conceived. It's a great listen. Between the couplet at the end, you can hear someone shifting in their chair, or rattling a paper, or? Actually, the whole thing has a pretty "recorded live" feel. So that might be okay! "...story impossibly true" / rattle creak / "A story impossibly true." I dunno, what do you make of it? Probably no big deal? It does add to the feel of the "room" which might be worth it. I've liked your other songs I've heard, you guys have a great presentation of harmonies and stripped-down arrangements. Lots of dynamics. Excellent! cheers, -Tom

Well I bet Van Halen could play reggae if they wanted to. I don't think they do, though. Plus they no longer exist as a band. So there's that. Cool tune.

I don't want to go off topic, but nice song, I dig the lyrics and the guitar arpegg riff. Maybe the kick drum is too big and crunchy in spots. Daryl's voice is killer. cheers, -Tom

First thing I did was turn it up Nice and loud! I don't usually do that. It was a great listen all the way through. Super musical, great ideas that lead somewhere. Nice changes of mood and voices. Lamb Lies Downesque. The bit around 1:30 got kind of bottom-heavy in the mix, that rhythm guitar is overpowering anything sparkly up top. For me, anyway. Drums hit all the spots very tastefully. Guitar solos and backing, just great! Oh, fantastic arrangement. The ending was super cool. This is one of your best I reckon . . . cheers, -Tom

I like it, had a Corrs vibe in spots, which I like. Some don't. But the lead synth gets out of hand (louder) in spots. 2:22, the violin. I found it worked a little better when you had slightly more openness in the mix. There's just a couple of "kitchen sink" spots that left me wondering. Perhaps I'm too old. That said, the complexity generally is quite admirable, and dare I say cohesive! Well done this! -Tom

Love it. Should be fun. Works best for me when it was more minimal, as opposed to the built-up sections. Still a toe tapper. cheers, -Tom

Yeah my first thought was "vocals please!" For your budget equipment, its really good. Mix is nice and clear on all the instruments. Nothing really masks anything else. As for choice of instruments, I liked everything except for that dipping and diving brassy lead synth patch. You know the one. That I didn't dig at all. What is Van Halen's "Jump" patch doing in this cool reggae song? To paraphrase The Dude . . . but, that's like, just my opinion, man. I think you have a good one here. cheers, -Tom

Mark Knopfler in style, what a great compliment that is! How about a combo of Paul Simon and Randy Newman on the vocals? But that's overcomparing. I liked the video and the choices you made there. Pretty mellow all the way through. The mix was bright but didn't think too much so. Don't need drum n bass for this one. Most everything about it is understated, which works. Your guitar fill work in the vocal gaps fits well. nice job! -Tom

Great tune. These ballad type deals are really where vocalists can show their chops. Such a slow pace, with no where to hide. You do a decent job of it, actually. Do you know of any killer vocalists who might like to dig into this excellent tune? I'd agree on the comments advising you to thicken. You have so many sustains in the vocal, you might shorten them? I dunno. Your vocal has a charm to it as it is. Kind of depends on what you want to do with this tune. The ending kind of bailed out on me. MAybe a fade out or something? No matter what, nice tune. cheers, -Tom

Mix is great for me. Creative arrangement, it held my interest. Guitar work is a stand out. Question, what kind of mic did the vocalist use? The pre-chorus sounds pretty good, the bigger chorus vocals come through nicely! but the verses sound a bit thin and it's not the vocals, which are quite good, I think it's the mic or the mix. Kind of muffled? Is the top-end eq'd away? Any way to push that vocal up or thicken just the top end? Might be worth a try, and again, just in the verses. super cool tune, dude. cheers, -Tom

Got any lyrics occasionally in the chorus? This is intensely creative. Love the video, and the editing. Maybe could use more that repeated shots in the second half chorus. That chorus/break with the guitar is genius. Really cool. I didn't mind the vocal distance/reverb but I thought the bass guit could come up a bit, and that snare/tambourine hit could get some treatment to make it sit better. I really liked the lyrics which didn't spell it out for you. cheers, -Tom

I didn't think the mix was too bad at all. For me, it is clear up top, and has enough "power" in the right places. But, this isn't my home-turf genre, so the true metalheads might see it differently. So, if you want, fight the power. Meanwhile, the video - that's a good effort there! Appreciate the live shots and stuff. The musicians seem to convey the message, although it's not super subtle. My observation for improvement? The lead singer needs a better camera to equal that of the other musician's. Looks like he's shot with the back-up camera on a Ford Explorer, but the rest of them look crisp, HD, with a green screen to boot. If you are going to all this trouble (and it does look good) get the lead singer something more than a webcam, if possible. Of all of your stuff that I've heard so far, I like this one the best I think. Nice job to all. -Tom

Ok, even this departure from your normal is good. A raw song and a good one. Mix-wise, I'd recommend vocal down, drums up as a start. Probably guitar down a bit, too. cheers, -Tom

I used to play her on a jazz radio show in the late 90's and it always killed. Her version of Autumn leaves, none better.

That's a beautiful tune, it meanders through maj/min and has that wonderful return out of the chorus. Nice voice she has for sure. Her pipes are amazing when it modulates up. Sheesh! loved it. I could hear this in a musical. -Tom

Two chords but it was absolutely fantastic all the way through. That is Houdini stuff. OK, the ending has two more chords. This grooves so hard and every element flows. Nothing gets boring because there is a change coming in 8 measures tops. Fantastic! Only critique is perhaps cut the intro some, get to that groove sooner? cheers, -Tom

yup. tone for days. I believe even I could learn how to play drums to this! -Tom

a pleasure to listen to. -Tom

Great country feel, with your great country vocal chops. Honestly there isn't much separating your tunes from the Nashville sound. Give this one to Porter Waggoner or such. Toby Keith even. But your vocal totally works. Mix-wise, it's pretty loud from the get-go. First thing, I turned the volume down. Distorted? Guitars? Violins? I dunno, you could back those out and go for traditional piano or something. Are you in love with that distorted lead? Does it fit the song? Just wondering. Cool job, bro, I like your stuff. -Tom

Love the wobbly detune thing this has. It's 1980, and its early Level 42! Or maybe Incognito. Really fun stuff. If you posted the chord changes, it would kind of ruin the listening experience! cheers, -Tom

Nice one here! Guitars are clean and crisp. Well played, too! I like the rhythm/chugged thing panned wide? Great. Play a verse. Listen at the same time for the snare and your vocal. Which is louder? For me, the snare. So as to experiment, bring the vocal up half a db, the snare down half a db. Might be interesting. Might also control the wacky bright hi hat, left side, 2:21 ish. That's a catchy number! cheers, -Tom

If you love something, release it, and if it comes back to you, and only three other people in the world hear it, then that's modern music for you.

I likes me a Daryl tune. If you have Kontakt, there's some nice pizzicato strings in 8dio's Adagietto. cheers, -Tom