This is the next track on my next album.
The production was pretty full on. This track isn’t “mixed” - this is all just where I ended up with my working mix at the point where I finished recording all the parts. There is quite a bit of work to do to finesse this into shape, but I think it is a good starting point for the mix.
Just thought I’d get some input as I carry on to the mix. Thanks!
O YES!!
Fab… rich, heart-catching with a heap of pluses… still busy but some gorgeous fab touches that I really enjoyed…
Input is yes more please!!
Great song and sounds…
Really nice groove! I like the way the acoustic guitars/ clean guitars, the bass and drums work together before the distorted guitars come in. The bass and drums sound really good! Just something really cool going on there. The whole song sounds really good.
As usual, you’ve got all sorts of great embellishments coming in and out of the mix throughout much of the song. Lots of colour! The instrumentation and arrangements keep me from ever getting bored and hold my interest.
This is sounding really good, especially considering that it’s just a rough mix. I’ve only listened to this twice but I want to come back to it another time to give it a more detailed listen. I’m not finding anything to criticize here.
Great job, Andrew!
ColdRoomStudio,
Thank you for the reviews! Now your song: the guitars definitely get more interesting when the drums kick in. The vocals are quite good; during the verse they kind of remind me of John Mellencamp (or whatever he calls himself nowadays). Mix sounds good to me, though if you can improve it, then all the better. In parts, this song reminds me of INXS, a possible influence for an Aussie? Like the tremolo effect guitar at the end. Sounds pretty professional to me! 
+1 on what the others said. You know ya done good when there aren’t any negatives. You must get your levels pretty close when playing to produce a track at this level without serious mixing.
I kept saying “what the” all the way thru with new elements added. My test is always if the song gets my attention the first ten seconds. Love the start and your vox rasp. Slighty Don Henley-ish.
My fav is at 1:52 It’s only a dream. Makes you want to float around the room so to speak. The vox timing is so good. I fail in that department. The 1:52 part could def be movie bound. Your stuff is simply off the charts. congrats again
Hey Andrew,
Another great song, congrats!
Not commenting on the mix since it hasn’t been finalised. Just a few things I would maybe work on before getting to the final mix:
Transitions
Some transitions in the vocals sound a bit rushed, or maybe edited. What I mean is that the last sound of the previous word has barely ended that the transient of the next one is already there, without you catching your breath. That kind of things doesn’t bother me in modern genres (pop, EDM) but in more acoustic music it feels a bit unnatural. Example:
00:28 “ever fading light and you’ve got to” the “and” comes in while the “light” isn’t really finished.
Actually I think that’s the only one I noticed like that.
Vocals
Some places in the lead vocal sound (to me) like they could use some tuning or re-recording (if you’re against tuning). It’s good enough by many standards but since the rest is better, I’d say that it currently is the weak link and improving the weak link is always the most efficient way to improve the overall result. Examples:
0:47 “coming” the second half is sharp
0:52 (higher harmony) “but you never were my friend” the “never” in particular, and overall the whole line is a bit sloppy
2:26 “you’re not the only one” (higher harmony)
2:31 “just don’t know” the notes sung by the lower harmony don’t sound right to me, especially that last G that sounds weird over the D major chord. The same line repeats with different lyrics later on.
2:45 “now it’s up to me”, on the second note of the “me” one of the voices has a flat B which clashes with the G7 chord played by the guitars
Snare
At 2:03 when the snare goes into a big band-like pattern, the whole arrangement quiets down but it sounds to me like the snare keeps the same velocity, resulting in an imbalance with the snare being a bit invasive on this section. I know this sounds like something to address in the mix but it’s not only the volume. The sound stays consistent with the previous, full velocity section while I was expecting it to quiet down while changing tone (like a good drummer would probably do by shifting his aim a little off axis from the center). I even wonder if cross stick rolls would work instead of hitting the head here on the first half of this section.
Additionally, I hear a slight timing issue on this section with kick and snare being very consistent while the other instruments sound like they’re slightly ahead of the beat, especially the strumming.
Lead guitars
At the end of the solo (3:05) the harmonies are a little too daring for me here, there are several notes which sound extraneous to the tonality; not in a great way.
Anyway, you know me by now, I have a tendency to be over-picky with some things so feel free to disregard whatever doesn’t make sense to you.
This is good material for a great mix, I think you’re gonna have some fun with this great outro and the fantastic stacked vocals!
I don’t mind the harmonies but the lick at 3:06 definitely sounds like the note choices are not working well within the key of the song. It makes it sound “off” and, …not sure if the is the correct word in this instance, but “discordant ” might be a term that could be used. It feels like the lead player mistakenly chose those notes. Some, or many of those notes may fit in that key, but there is at least a note or two that are making it sound bad. This is something that struck me yesterday when I listened to the song but I wanted to come back to double check it at another time. It can be easy to just brush over that part if you’re caught up in the cool groove and good vibe of the song but it is something I’d definitely correct.
I tend to agree with this. I felt there were some somewhat weak spots in the vocal at times. I think it was mostly…,or only in the verses. The chorus with the doubles and layered vocals seemed solid. So far when I’ve listened to this song I have only been focusing on general impressions, but the vocal and lead guitar break have both had me kind of feeling as though there’s something slightly amiss. Like Jean Marc said, the song and the rest of the music deserves a vocal that can match up to the same standard. Why cut corners at this stage of the game when you’re so close to having a great production? I can see/ hear the grandeur of it but I think you need a little fine tuning to get you over the finish line.
Sounding really good. I love the big drums, I hope that you can keep them that big. These are some tasty sounding acoustic recordings. I love the layering on the vocals, I do find that the timing being off right now makes some of the quick (wordy) lines to be a little muddled. Obviously part of it is your vocals are getting a little overpowered at times and as you mix they will become clearer. I am really looking forward to hearing the progress.
Lots of good stuff here @ColdRoomStudio , great work. I think its great that @Lophophora has taken the time to listen closely and make comments to this, he has some excellent ears and I would not have noticed the things he mentioned and so they don’t bother me but it is interesting to look at these things so thank you for that.
The guitar notes at 3:05 sound fine to me but that’s because I spend a lot of time listening to and playing harmonies that aren’t used so much in popular music and I’m not a good judge for that reason.
@Emma @Wicked @aaron_aardvark @feaker @Lophophora @redworks @ingolee
Thank you for all the comments and input - Much appreciated! I don’t have time to respond individually today, but it is all very helpful and insightful. Thank you once again.
What a great piece of music. Super composition, a lot going on and it’s very well put together. I am wondering if it simply isn’t almost too polished. There is something about how clean and perfect it sounds that almost takes the rock and roll out of it. My first thought is there too much compression? But I think more than anything it needs a “rock and roll” effect. I can’t put my finger on it other than to say it all sounds like is in a pristine clean room. It might be the result of you cleaning your desk off. 
Just thought I’d mention here that the updated, finished version of this mix is here, if you care to check it out (or not!)…