Small fight = easy reviews. I tend to focus on production and performance over writing.
I'm Steel Learning: This is me. I got a pedal steel a couple months ago after wanting one for ~20 years, and this is my excuse to get some practice in. Obviously, tuning is a mess. In the higher register, I started experiencing major ear fatigue after hours of tracking (283 takes of pedal steel!) and losing my sense of pitch. Oops. As far as the song, this is intended to be superficially a standard classic country song, but the POV is really more of a deranged incel type. Fun!
Pigfarmer Jr: Great guitar sounds. Drums sound great, though I'm losing the kick almost entirely, and could use the snare and bass cutting through some more. Feels like some bussing might help with this if you're not already doing it - I like to do a drum bus, then send that drum bus plus everything besides vocals to a "band" bus. That band bus' compression can really help with some of these minor leveling issues, especially if you mix
into it, i.e. put your 1-2 bus compressors on there and have them active while you tweak the individual mix elements. Just thoughts to try out if you haven't before. Sounds like you're having a lot of fun, and that's fun as a listener.
Shambles Square: Performance note on the bass - try to be more precise with your transitions from note to note. Whether you're going for a legato feel or intending to leave a 16th rest, try to have your fretting hand be in position and ready to press the next note, so we're not hearing you set up for that movement. Occasionally, a big, exaggerated movement to the next note is a great effect, but at the moment it sounds like you're playing with one finger. Guitars and synths are fun. Keep that vocal pad extending through the pre-chorus, so it feels like we're building all the way up til we get to "tiny elevator." Love the verse vocal delivery - are you Rob Brydon? Would love to hear you use automation to ramp up a reverb and/or phaser or something on the outtro vocal lines - really have it descend into noisy madness at the end there. Very fun!
V4nnim3l: Earthbound. 7 is always fun, and it's not often you hear a swung 7. I suppose you're the only entrant to attempt the optional challenge of tuba bassline, such as this is. Obviously we could use some variation, and it could be backed off a bit. Some care with programming of all the VST elements would make this feel less stale; by the second verse, I feel like I've heard about all there is to hear. Vocal fx stack is cool, but on top of the very dry track, it feels like we're at a karaoke bar. Fun ideas here, would love to hear some more intention in creating a cohesive whole.
We are a small group, but we are mighty. Well done, folks!
