Disclaimer: the following comment is not endorsed by Dan and/or the Record Time administration haha... but like Logan said on Facebook, "POST REVIEWS AND RESPOND TO REVIEWS!" My 2 cents is that this is an invaluable part of the process. We all deserve each other's praise. But on that note, I think we also all deserve each other's constructive criticism. That's really the more important part here in my opinion - to maturely and honestly suggest improvements for each other. Iron sharpens iron... and all that good stuff... (although that's been admittedly hard for me because this crop of music is so damn good!).
Audio Adrenaline - I'm Not the King: I'm really impressed with this tune. I love the vocal melodies and the lyrics. It's a well put-together, serious tune. My favorite part is the chorus hook - "I am not anything without the king of kings." Good choice going to the IV chord there... and those ascending / descending licks. Kinda wish I wrote that line and used it in a funk tune lol I think adding lots of vocal harmonies would have been good for this tune. Great work.
Brad Adams - Mr. Brew: I just read in Dan's review that Audio Adrenaline / Brad Adams / and T Clax are all the same person(s)? Nice... I wouldn't have noticed from how different the 3 tunes are. Anyways, fun tune man. Are all these horns real? They sound cool to me.
Daniel Clark - Songs Relevant to My Life at the Present Time: Really like "Until The Surface Fades." Cool herky jerky kinda rhythm. Great vocals and unique vibe... dig the harmonies. Maybe snare rim shots would have been cool in the bridge with the lowered intensity. "It's Mine"... more of the same goodness. Dig the drum movement. Third track... the wild card! I like all the production and madness. Also, great artwork - simple, but awesome.
David P Larsen - Faded Form: Cool, atmospheric stuff. I like the delivery of the spoken word stuff and the lyrics. Very nice backing vocals in "Precipice." I like how they subtly move in dynamics, and then you add those extra ones towards the end. I'm a sucker for harmonies. The 2nd tune started playing before I caught the title, and I thought hmm, delay and reverb on a trumpet... reminds me of... "Shades of Miles" indeed. Also, a BASS SOLO! Nice. The strange, abstract delivery of the spoken word stuff reminds me of Microsoft Sam, and also the song "Droides" from Record Time VII. I like the sung chorus in "Pure Emancipation." I think you could have hit those notes cleaner if you allowed yourself to sing it louder, more chest voice... belted it out a little more ya know. Great ending to the tune. Great work!
Eric Cripe - JabberJay: Cool concept, unique to Record Time. The rain
does put you in that gloomy Hunger Games mind-set. Maybe it coulda been buried
more in some places, but I think you automate it in and out most of the time,
which is great. Same thought as Logan that additional instrumentation would
really spruce up the tunes – and also harmonies! I think the concept and lyrics
are great and ambitious. Good work, look forward to hearing more.
Marta - Tucson: Really nice stuff! Very sweet, honest tunes. I like the chorus of
the 1st song. I like how the lyrics interact with the fact that you’re,
ya know… playing guitar haha Nice vocal overdubs! I think everything's panned pretty straight down the middle (or I'm going crazy). I'd suggest getting those overdubs out of the middle and EQing them differently so things occupy their own sonic space. Overall, really cool stuff. Some spit and polish to the production and it'd be even better. Also, great artwork!
Pigeon - Good Times, Hot Chicks, Limp Dicks: Nice atmospheric stuff. Dig the verb on the vocals in "Ghost Rider," just can't make out the lyrics too much. I coulda sworn you said "rusty trombone" in there at one point. If not, my sincerest apologies haha Nice harmonies at the end of the tune. Very cool stuff, overall. Nice melodies. Reminds me of the movie Garden State for some reason... sorta that melancholy vibe. Nice work.
Randy Stary - Child of the Night: Great tune! Great voice, very enjoyable. Love the call and response vocals. I could picture lots of harmonies and backing vocals. Nice job throwing reverb on the guitar and sending the signal 100% wet into the right channel... I recently started doin that trick myself. Seems like the attack on the reverb is slow though, causing it to act more like a delay... which I'm not sure you were goin for. Also, maybe roll the high end off of it so you just sense that it's there, but don't make it out distinctly. Love the lyric about 8 and infinity. Nice work!
T Clax - What the Heck Johnny: Great performance. Nice hook. Kudos on all the lyrics. I like the production of the vocal and all the ad libs. Cool effect treatment to the chorus vocal. Nicely done, not a lot else to say!
Cheers and congrats again to everyone!
-- Nick
had a trombone and alto sax on Mr. Brew that were real, the rest were programmed...thx for the reviews!
ReplyDeleteNick, thanks for the kind words! Believe it or not, I was screaming pretty damn loudly for that last chorus. I think my problem was trying to add too much chest "gruff" rather than just singing the line. It's at the absolute top of my range, and it sounds like an orca strangling a cow as a result! - David
ReplyDeletehaha I hear ya, David. When Joe and I write, we're always keeping an eye on where the vocal notes are falling, range-wise. This comes as a result of us painting ourselves into a corner once or twice and being forced to compromise... or transpose down and re-record (something we don't have the time for in 7 days!).
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Nick