Members dcware Posted March 15, 2009 Members Share Posted March 15, 2009 Sound and Production quality aside, what do you think of this song? Close To Home Despite it selling reasonably well not one person (other than the dude who mixed it) has told us what they actually think of it musically. All comments, good or bad, are greatly appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6StringSling Posted March 15, 2009 Members Share Posted March 15, 2009 Musically? I listened to it up to the point of the first couple of lines of vocals and it was so boringly repetitive that I stopped. The riff on the intro is generic and uninspired and the trebly tremelo picking is just downright annoying. No one says that there has to be anything catchy about every song/tune, but there are times when repetition works and times when it doesn't; in this case I don't think it works at all. IMO, if you're writing a riff-based song, you need to mix in a some bits and pieces in between to repetitive riffs. Sometimes just a few lead-in/out notes and even a quick stop can make all the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted March 15, 2009 Members Share Posted March 15, 2009 Song was ok-Vocals are weak even for that genre IMO. The intro is too long and most of those drum roll fills are a mess. The drummer could benefit from listening to Stewart Copeland and learn how to do creative fill work instead of sounding like he's trying to shoehorn ten pounds of fill into a 5 pound sack. It's not bad, it's not good, it's not different really...maybe others more into the genre would like it, I suppose, but it didn't do anything for me on a strictly performance and technical level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcware Posted March 15, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 15, 2009 Thanks for the comments. The reason I asked was because we chose this as our lead single a good year ago, and it was recorded a good year before that even, so things have definitely changed dramatically in that time. It will certainly be interesting having this on the same album as the rest of the songs which are only just being recorded now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cooterbrown Posted March 16, 2009 Members Share Posted March 16, 2009 Needs: *Editing - cut the 8 and 16-bar interludes down to four.*More "beef" and attitude in the vocals. Double the lead vocal - that should help.*Slow down the tempo just a bit, because your drummer can't control his fills at that pace.*Get better guitar sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hegmatronicon Posted March 16, 2009 Members Share Posted March 16, 2009 Needs:*Editing - cut the 8 and 16-bar interludes down to four.*More "beef" and attitude in the vocals. Double the lead vocal - that should help.*Slow down the tempo just a bit, because your drummer can't control his fills at that pace.*Get better guitar sounds. ^ this. I'm not a huge fan of the guitar sounds. Sounds really "Cheap and nasty". If that's what you are going for - then ok. Agree with the drummer not being steady in his fills. You dont need to slow the tempo down...you just need to get the drummer to put in the work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fastplant Posted March 16, 2009 Members Share Posted March 16, 2009 I think this song could work with a lot of synth, aka Killers style. That LA sound is coming back and if this had more of an electronic edge, I could see it working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kramerguy Posted March 16, 2009 Members Share Posted March 16, 2009 I think the song aint really too bad. The intro is too long.The drum fills are awful. He's trying too hard to show off, and is just wrecking the beat.The vocals are weak, but not too bad, workableThe guitar line on the verse is obnoxious and doesn't fit (the tremolo thing), try reducing it's volume by 30% and jacking the mids and treble down 75% and it might work.Song is too long for the repetition it uses. Other than that, the arrangement seems wrong, parts that fit the song seem placed in spots that don't fit the moment. I'd re-arrange the whole thing. Maybe work better bridges and the intro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tumababa Posted March 20, 2009 Members Share Posted March 20, 2009 Really awful. That chord progression you're using is so cliched and over-used that I roll my eyes when I hear it. The guitar riff just makes it worse. It just shoves the obvious-ness of it down your throat. I don't want to comment on the singing/lyrics because I don't want to hurt your feelings. It's probably the best example of cookie-cutter rock and roll with no edge, excitement, vision, or soul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted March 20, 2009 Members Share Posted March 20, 2009 Really awful. That chord progression you're using is so cliched and over-used that I roll my eyes when I hear it. The guitar riff just makes it worse. It just shoves the obvious-ness of it down your throat. I don't want to comment on the singing/lyrics because I don't want to hurt your feelings. It's probably the best example of cookie-cutter rock and roll with no edge, excitement, vision, or soul. 105 posts in 8 years, and you felt it necessary to chime in with that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wades_keys Posted March 20, 2009 Members Share Posted March 20, 2009 105 posts in 8 years, and you felt it necessary to chime in with that? Back under the rock he goes, awaiting the next "cookie cutter rock" band asking for criticism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted March 20, 2009 Members Share Posted March 20, 2009 105 posts in 8 years, and you felt it necessary to chime in with that? Maybe he's been busy creating an opus that will be the anthem of a generation. Greatness takes time, after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bloolight Posted March 20, 2009 Members Share Posted March 20, 2009 Overall I like it, outside of a few issues with the drum fills and guitar tone. I wouldn't want the song slowed down because I like the ragged punk-vibe the tune has right now. I would, however, toss the fancy fills. It sounds a great deal like X, which is good for me because I like X. I would definitely cut out a good chunk of that intro...the riff isn't so wonderful that it can be repeated for that long without boring the listener. I would say that the vocals need to be hammed up...a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tumababa Posted March 22, 2009 Members Share Posted March 22, 2009 Seriously? He asked for honest criticism and I gave it. I'm only one person. My opinion doesn't mean {censored}. Lot's of people might love his music and pay lots of money to hear it. I don't post much, but I lurk a lot. I happened to listen to his music when I was bored at work and there were no customers in the store. And I'm posting now because I'll admit I'm a little petty and feel like I need to justify what I posted. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted March 22, 2009 Members Share Posted March 22, 2009 Overall I like it, outside of a few issues with the drum fills and guitar tone. I wouldn't want the song slowed down because I like the ragged punk-vibe the tune has right now. I would, however, toss the fancy fills. It sounds a great deal like X, which is good for me because I like X. I would definitely cut out a good chunk of that intro...the riff isn't so wonderful that it can be repeated for that long without boring the listener. I would say that the vocals need to be hammed up...a lot. Ditto on the long intro.... that puppy went on for like 25 seconds. That is too long... most people lose interest when a song drones on and nothing is happening Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ggm1960 Posted March 22, 2009 Members Share Posted March 22, 2009 The lyrics are mostly indecipherable, I get the feeling the singer is trying to make a statement but the rest of the band is sitting on his chest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted March 22, 2009 Members Share Posted March 22, 2009 Agree with the drummer not being steady in his fills. You dont need to slow the tempo down...you just need to get the drummer to put in the work.All I can think is POD when I hear the guitar. And vocals are very WEAK. No attitude or push to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chip39 Posted March 22, 2009 Members Share Posted March 22, 2009 too mean the advice is pretty dead on thoughi thought it was good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rlm297 Posted March 22, 2009 Members Share Posted March 22, 2009 Those vocals were f#cking awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcware Posted March 22, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 22, 2009 I definitely appreciate the advice, no matter how "mean" some of it may sound. This song was recorded over two years ago now (one of our very first), and I personally believe things have improved a lot since then. We'll see how the rest of the album turns out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DevilRaysFan Posted March 22, 2009 Members Share Posted March 22, 2009 Needs:*Editing - cut the 8 and 16-bar interludes down to four.*More "beef" and attitude in the vocals. Double the lead vocal - that should help.*Slow down the tempo just a bit, because your drummer can't control his fills at that pace.*Get better guitar sounds. Unfortunately, I agree with most of this (the only one I dont agree with is the guitar tones: I dont like them either but tone is a personal preference)....I noticed the drummer getting sloppy with the fills from the get-go. as far as the song itself, its pretty good...If slowed down a bit (about 130 BPM or so), record with a click, I can actually envison a techno-industrial remix of it that would kill in dance clubs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassred Posted March 23, 2009 Members Share Posted March 23, 2009 Keeps crashing my Mozilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lance_beckett Posted March 24, 2009 Members Share Posted March 24, 2009 Overall I liked it, some of the drum fills feel out of whack, but my biggest issue is that I'd like to hear beefier, more emotional vocals. The vocals just feel rather flat and week for a rather punk sounding song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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