From Grey to Gandalf (The White Morph reviews)
Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 2:02 pm
Ma-ma-ma-magic.
Novum Stercore Non Vetus
https://songfight.net/forums/
Thx much! Hadn't listened to Royal Trux b4 but i'm listening to 'veterans of disorder' now & absolutely dig it & see what you mean, although of course the sound is very different with no guitars on mine vs. basically all guitars on theirs. Really appreciate esp the compliment on the vocals - I am much more secure as a songwriter than a performer so it's nice to hear what I'm going for is working.oratoricalorator wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 4:24 pm
lean to - i like the classic feel of this, the vocal feel really works for me. reminds me a bit of later Royal Trux… some really nice surprising piano chords. the whole thing feels very cohesive, energetic and earnest. you have a cool voice too
It's funny, I did so many fights without going straight for that "nu" tone...then kind of did it as a joke like 20 songs into a streak and have really just been rolling with it. Anyway, the screams were done in one take cause I just couldn't do very many of them. And I never actually got them to pitch (B5), I kept falling short at A5 or so. Pitch correction software and heavy compression is awesome.Here, Atticus wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:33 pmPhlebia: As a former teenager in the early 2000’s, I am always drawn to your penchant for incorporating that nu-metal sound into your tracks. As an obsessive and egocentric musician rediscovering his sea legs, I’m spending equal time listening to your track compared to mine this week. I think that’s the highest praise my subconscious can offer! I wish the vocals were a little higher, and the mix was a little less squashed under that distortion, but motherfucker this is such a banger. Sorry to fanboy again. Ungh, you can feel the drop A. Nothing but good decisions here. Hope the baby didn’t mind the screams at the end, they were worth it!
I'm glad you like the saxes, and I don't tire hearing it, so don't stop on my account. I should add that although I haven't posted reviews for a few weeks, this is the third week running that my review notes have approvingly referred to your "unhinged vocals," which I mean as deep compliment. On the reverb issue, this is a thing I struggle with. I tend to get freaked out by the distancing/echoing properties of reverb, and fall back on tape delay with zero feedback, and really short delay times. I think I need to experiment more with this aspect of my mixes outside of the time pressure of Song Fight due dates, because I always chicken out when the chips are down and the song is due.Here, Atticus wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:33 pmNight Sky: I am always thrilled to hear that sax. I know I say it every time and I probably won’t stop. I love the vibe and sound.
This feels taste-based, but I I want a little more reverb on the sax and vox. And to maybe drop them by just the smallest notch in the mix. Cool song as always, man.
Deal.mholland wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 10:54 pmI'm glad you like the saxes, and I don't tire hearing it, so don't stop on my account. I should add that although I haven't posted reviews for a few weeks, this is the third week running that my review notes have approvingly referred to your "unhinged vocals," which I mean as deep compliment. On the reverb issue, this is a thing I struggle with. I tend to get freaked out by the distancing/echoing properties of reverb, and fall back on tape delay with zero feedback, and really short delay times. I think I need to experiment more with this aspect of my mixes outside of the time pressure of Song Fight due dates, because I always chicken out when the chips are down and the song is due.
I'll do my best to actually post my reviews this week!
Thanks. I'm glad the falsetto was worth it because I strained my voice doing it, without warming up first, and I wasn't able to go back and tweak some of the verse vocals how I'd like.SamECircle wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 12:16 amSly Eli - Wow, I think this is just lovely. The chord progression is very sophisticated and really works with the mood you're evoking, and there is something wonderfully '90s about the falsetto overlays on the chorus & outro. And the lyrics do a good job toeing the line between ambiguity and obviousness. A strong start to the week - this one has my vote too.
oratoricalorator wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 4:24 pmsly eli - that minor chord the chorus is suprising! i feel like it really works the first half of the chorus, but perhaps on the repetition you could subvert the expectation again by making it major or going to a different chord. ii really like this one, the instrumentation so lush. sunny and sad at the same time…
Originally the song was in D major but it sounded too sweet and nice so I changed it to G major and tweaked the melody to be D mixolydian (at least I think that's what I did, I'm not strong on theory). I've never understood modes before so it was a bit of an experiment but I think it gave the song a bitter/sweet sound that I like. I tried out oratoricalorator's major chord on the repeat idea and it worked really well, especially when paired with a more optimistic lyrics. I think it works because it pushes the song back into D major (but I could be wrong).Here, Atticus wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:33 pmSly Eli: Hello again, active listening. This is really well constructed and thought out. Great chord movement and feel. Great mix. You’ve captured bittersweet-ness in music, and I love it. IDK if it’s cheating to reference another review, but I have to agree with oratoricalorator on the minor chord in the chorus. I think a minor/major play would have been really effective in either order. The horns are really nice in that last section. Great song and engaging listen!
Thanks, and thanks all for the reviews so far. I appreciate the composition tips -- it is a bit boring to be 3 identical verse/choruses and then its over. You are absolutely correct about the equipment being shit. This was a poorly-made DIY guitar that my father-in-law was given in lieu of payment for something. The mic is a shitty dynamic mic off craigslist. Drums are Casio "orchestra set" played by me who doesn't know much about drumming or heavy metal. It's then mixed in Reaper using ThinkPad speakers and the handful of Linux-compatible plugins I could find. Anyway, I figured it's better to try the optional challenge than to simply have references to heavy metals. As sleepysilverdoor said "I don't hate this, but I probably won't return to it." Then again, it's kind of cool too.jast wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 12:31 pm
Duncan Martin: Interesting palette of sounds. I'm liking what you're doing here but you're doing it a little long for my taste - to sustain something like this, change it up a little more over the course of the song. The biggest issue is the layering of vocals. I'm not sure whether it's due to filters you put on the vocal takes, or because your mic is a little on the cheap side, but the tracks sound a little horny/honky, and if you layer several of them that effect only gets stronger. You might be able to combat that by finding the frequency range that is doing it, and cutting it back a little on all of the layers.
Thanks so much! I really appreciate the review. Can I press you a bit for details on the bass being underpowered? I just got a new bass VST setup and was actually really worried it would be overpowering, but turned it up anyways since I've gotten the feedback a few times that I tend to have a weak bass section. Is it just not loud enough, or should I be eq'ing it differently? And is it too underpowered the whole time, or just in certain sections?jast wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 12:31 pmJP Nickolas: Nice opening! The guitars aren't all perfectly in tune but it's not too bad. The weakest part of this is the harmonizing vocals which have trouble staying on pitch and getting a solid attack on the notes (the two are often very related). Bass track feels slightly underpowered to me, and some of the rhythm guitar maybe a tiny bit too strong. I love the solo and the transition into the next section.
"Lean To: I’m on board for the whole piano part and it’s all I paid attention to on the first listen. It reminds me of a song by Crash Kings (“It’s only Wednesday” or “Mountain Man,” or maybe a little both).
Ok, my second listen and paying attention: I think the vocals need some of the reverb the piano is working with. They feel a little separated from the mix for that reason. I think there are some volume normalization issues in that they push a little too forward later in the song. Really cool tune, I really enjoyed it!
Lean To - Is that a VST or just a really old piano? It sounds like a really old piano but that can be spoofed. I like the chords on this one quite a bit. They’re really fun. I wish the rhythm did something more interesting than a 4/4 stomp with a few fills for a bit. And then at 1:58 you do and the rhythm just kind of falls apart with the drums getting out of time and the vocals rushing ahead and yeah, very sloppy sounding. Could have been performed better. Dug the keys. Didn’t hate it.
Lean To: Interesting! The detuned piano sound is great for this. I think the drums are a little too quiet in the mix compared to everything else. My main focus, however, is on the vocals. I have two comments on this. Firstly, some of the tracks sound a little sloppy. I recommend soloing each of them before you use a take for the final product. Each of them needs to sound "okay" on its own (and when playing it with the instrumental), that way you avoid the combo sounding a little off. Secondly, with vocal harmonies getting the balance between tracks right makes lot of difference in how well the result works. Normally if you have one lead melody, you'll want it to stick out a little more. Make it slightly louder, compress it a little less, and maybe compress the harmony lines slightly harder and put a bit of a low-pass filter on them so they fade into the background a little more. Also it's kind of hard to be perfectly consistent in your loudness, which is where compression can help and for some more drastic peaks (or valley), a bit of volume automation may be the best choice."
I may have mentioned a time or two that I'm a big foraging nut. I also enjoy taking pictures of mushrooms, many of which are posted here. https://mushroomobserver.org/observer/o ... user/10035jpnickolas wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:29 pmPhlebia
I really like the chords around the 1:05 mark. I really appreciate the dedication to the fungi - which I should expect from such a fun guy (☞゚ヮ゚)☞ ☜(゚ヮ゚☜). The heavy use of technical fungal terms is pretty awesome. I mean, you rhyme paranoid with amaloid, how can anyone not love it? That sound from that bass is so thick I could cut it with a knife! A lot of sound at 2:18 that maybe could be mixed better, but I have no idea how. I'm normally not a fan of the hard cut off as an outro, but it works really well here given the descent into noise at the end.
Re "heavy metal," there was no way I was going to produce a credible metal track, so I went with the bari for the metaphorical nod. I think you're right that doubled vocals or harmonies could have helped the chorus. On the guitar tone, for one thing I'm always very happy when anything about my guitars garners attention from any of the actual guitar players on here. Anyway, it was the neck pickup of my (import) Hamer (so whatever humbuckers Hamer was putting in its Chinese guitars in the early 2000s), tone on 7 or so. Effects were the "Endless Summer" preset in Logic, except that I turned off the virtual stomp box reverb and turned on the amp sim reverb. So basically some tremolo and a fair amount of reverb.jpnickolas wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:29 pmNight Sky
I really like the internal rhyming here! I think the sax counts as being made of heavy metals, so that's a technical check in the bonus challenge. As much as I love metal, having the last few songs be non-metal has been refreshing, and makes me more excited for the next ones coming up. I dig the tone on your background guitar. It gives me surfer vibes. What are you using for pickups and effects on it? It sounds like lipstick pickups with a juicy reverb, but it's far enough out of my wheelhouse that I don't really know. I think you could do something different with the vocals during the chorus (double them or harmonize?), since I feel like it's not quite hooking me like I'd hoped. Potentially just a stylistic difference, but I'm struggling to figure out why I'm not being drawn to the chorus as much as I'd like to be. Sax solos are hella tasteful, and well sprinkled into the song.
They *did* deliver sore throats indeed I drank over a gallon that day, else I still might be hoarsesleepysilverdoor wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 9:37 pmOkay, there we go that’s a powerful riff right at the beginning. This is definitely well thought out and well composed. And the vocals *sound* like they’d give you a sore throat. I hope you drank a bunch of water after this. Some of the riffs remind me pretty heavily of power rangers...which I never watched enough to recognize the music from. This makes me feel like I’m at Hot Topic in 2006 looking for a cool hip t-shirt which is a fine mental association to have with this music. Of course half of my entries sound like I’m at Hot Topic in 2002 looking for a cool hip t-shirt so that may influence the mutual enjoyment of each other’s tracks.
I think if I had more time, the static elements wouldn't be so...static. And ugh, I know this about my mixes. Idk why the high end over-bothers me in my music, it always happens and I need to remember to pay attention to it. My non-fight mixes find their home after a week or two and every listening environment that I can use. After writing and tracking instruments each fight, I usually only have a day or less to mix, and I find myself messing up on the things I thought I finally had figured out. Doing a SongFight each week is the best thing I've done for my skills; I'm less focused on making each song a perfect expression of myself, instead just making fun songs that sound good. Thanks so much!jast wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 12:31 pmIn one word: convincing! The vocals don't always quite flow, and more importantly it feels like you were afraid of high frequencies and cut them all away, leaving the mix a little flat. The static mix could use some tweaks, too - one of the riff guitars sticks out a little and the guitars overshadow the drums and vocals slightly. All that said, though, this is definitely one of the best in this fight.
Amen and Amen (though I think I could have a lot of fun concocting a showtune too )jpnickolas wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:29 pmMan, I wish every week could be metal week. This was so much fun! I think to be fair, we should have a "showtunes/musical number" optional challenge to make all us metal folks equally uncomfortable.
Oh man, the fake out at the beginning. I expected it to go directly from thin guitar to honkin' boy, but the clean chord really hit me good. I think you could have dropped the intro riff down an octave or two in the verses and really had something thumping, especially as the guitars came in right after the intro. Oh yeah, that's the whiny singing I live for. It reminds me of Belmont. I'm desperate to learn how to sing like this. You've got some guitar doodly doops around 1:30 that I would have turned up in the mix, but I'm also a bit obsessive with guitar so others may disagree. Damn good job on this one, I like it a lot.