Moderators Kindness Posted November 12, 2007 Author Moderators Share Posted November 12, 2007 You guys sound like a modern 60s "Flower Power" band -- thats awesome Kindness, IMHO, I think the harmonies are great but it sounds like the lead vocal goes flat in spots here and there and sometimes it warbles a bit at makes it not sit in the track -- usually on single word or a syllable at different places througout the songs...If it was me, I would microscope the lead vocal tracks more, even if you have to do one word punches ( better if its digital and you can isolate the area in the WAV and pitch correct by cents values) ..but the songs are great and I love the "Hey, were like a cross between The Hollies and something youve never heard before" original sound The creative force of the band definitely draws from Bob Dylan (in case the band name didn't give it a way) as well as the Beatles, Beach Boys, Lou Reed, etc. The lead guitar draws more from the indie bands of the 90's and later. I think it is a nice blend of styles.Pete has never been the strongest vocalist. It has never been an issue for us because he is a fantastic song writer and, more importantly for a band of friends, is an extremely cool and nice guy. I'll be playing bass with Pete as long as he is making music. However, you are right, if we want to make an album of music that we can be proud of for the rest of our lives, it is worth the time to get it dead on. Your comments are a good reminder that striving for a more refined sound is not a bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 82Daion Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 As a general thing, I really like the tunes, and you guys sound really tight as a band. I can't really add too much from a technical standpoint that hasn't been said, but I would probably have mixed the bass a little higher and made the overall texture of the recordings a little more immediate. However, that's a personal preference more than anything-for the most part, the recordings sound great as is. Since I don't know your singer, I don't know what his general personality is, but he could stand to be a little more aggressive-not to the point of straining, necessarily, but just enough to sell the songs a little more. That said, this is a very well-composed, thoughtful set of tunes, and I'd pay to see your band live. I dig it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members basste Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 Human beings:Pretty tight tune. Really like it. Remind me some U2 thing. Really like the singer. Perhaps just a little more durms and bass in the mix, and perhaps a sound much clearer in the crunchiness. Not easy to explain. Heart in mouth:Very pleasant. Guitar needs a more worked sound, perhaps with some delay and little phasing (more atmospheric sound IMHO) . A little U2-ness with a little Radiohead-ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sarabella Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 I need to chime in to say that I saw Kindness and the guys perform these songs live shortly before they recorded them, and while they sound good on tape, they are so much better live. These guys kick all kinds of ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Captain Fathead Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 I've listened to all of them, and I still want a disc. The arrangements are all superb. The only thing I couldn't really get into were the lyrics. They just seem to stumble at times. I'm really not sure how it could be improved, but they just don't seem to fit, Not in context, but just the way the flow with the song. I thought some of your stuff sounds similar to the band Enon. They rock. So do you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dragon9666 Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ModmanQ6 Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 Sounds great! Very listenable for a wide audience... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 2tall Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 Sounds great! I really like the echos on the vocals. The vocal harmonies are good too. There are some good opportunities in there for the bass line to develop some melody instead of sitting on one note. It's easy for me to sit here and critique your stuff, but since you asked.... Overall I say it sounds gret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Funkee1 Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 I'll throw it on the old iPod and PM ya! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted November 12, 2007 Author Moderators Share Posted November 12, 2007 As a general thing, I really like the tunes, and you guys sound really tight as a band. I can't really add too much from a technical standpoint that hasn't been said, but I would probably have mixed the bass a little higher and made the overall texture of the recordings a little more immediate. However, that's a personal preference more than anything-for the most part, the recordings sound great as is. Since I don't know your singer, I don't know what his general personality is, but he could stand to be a little more aggressive-not to the point of straining, necessarily, but just enough to sell the songs a little more. That said, this is a very well-composed, thoughtful set of tunes, and I'd pay to see your band live. I dig it. Thanks Chris. The first thing I noticed when I heard the mixes is that the overdubbed vocals lose all of the presence of the live vocals. They are more in key and smoother, which is helpful, but they are less immediate and raw. It's a trade off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted November 12, 2007 Author Moderators Share Posted November 12, 2007 Human beings:Pretty tight tune. Really like it. Remind me some U2 thing. Really like the singer. Perhaps just a little more durms and bass in the mix, and perhaps a sound much clearer in the crunchiness. Not easy to explain. Heart in mouth:Very pleasant. Guitar needs a more worked sound, perhaps with some delay and little phasing (more atmospheric sound IMHO) . A little U2-ness with a little Radiohead-ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted November 12, 2007 Author Moderators Share Posted November 12, 2007 I need to chime in to say that I saw Kindness and the guys perform these songs live shortly before they recorded them, and while they sound good on tape, they are so much better live. These guys kick all kinds of ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chunky-b Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 Hey Kindness... I like it. The lead singer reminds me of Tom Petty at times... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted November 12, 2007 Author Moderators Share Posted November 12, 2007 I've listened to all of them, and I still want a disc. The arrangements are all superb. The only thing I couldn't really get into were the lyrics. They just seem to stumble at times. I'm really not sure how it could be improved, but they just don't seem to fit, Not in context, but just the way the flow with the song.I thought some of your stuff sounds similar to the band Enon. They rock. So do you. Pete doesn't have the flow of an Eminem or Snoop Dogg. I have always found that his delivery emphasizes listening to the lyrics, which I personally find to be one of the real strengths of the band. Nearly everything this guy writes touches me in one way or another. Sometimes a little too deep. Thanks for the new band to check out. Enon sounds interesting from the samples I just listened to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted November 12, 2007 Author Moderators Share Posted November 12, 2007 I was sleeping at 8:30 this morning too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted November 12, 2007 Author Moderators Share Posted November 12, 2007 Sounds great! I really like the echos on the vocals. The vocal harmonies are good too. There are some good opportunities in there for the bass line to develop some melody instead of sitting on one note. It's easy for me to sit here and critique your stuff, but since you asked.... Overall I say it sounds gret. I agree that my lines could be a bit more melodic (or harmonic in this context) and in most of my bands they tend to be just that. For some reason, with the Free Wheels I really focus on driving dynamics. It seems a more natural fit with these songs. Or maybe I'm lazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members T. Alan Smith Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 I need to chime in to say that I saw Kindness and the guys perform these songs live shortly before they recorded them, and while they sound good on tape, they are so much better live. These guys kick all kinds of ass. So far, I've only heard the first in it's entirety, and I emailed my impressions to Kindness. The song I heard would translate much better live. The recording was well executed tho. But, what preamps did you use? They do sound prosumer. There's depth, and dimension to the tracks, missing from the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted November 12, 2007 Author Moderators Share Posted November 12, 2007 So far, I've only heard the first in it's entirety, and I emailed my impressions to Kindness. The song I heard would translate much better live. The recording was well executed tho. But, what preamps did you use? They do sound prosumer. There's depth, and dimension to the tracks, missing from the mix. The recording equipment on that particular track was extremely suspect and the guys running the gear are rank amateurs. The mixes were done by a real pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members T. Alan Smith Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 The recording equipment on that particular track was extremely suspect and the guys running the gear are rank amateurs. The mixes were done by a real pro.Well, like I said, well executed. You could just tell it's a small scale project. I'll have to give it another listen. I didn't notice anything bad about the actual tracking. I'd like to hear a different mix of it tho ...something with more space and excitement within the mix. The songs and arrangements certainly are good vehicles for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super Bass Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 OK, I finally got a chance to listen to the songs through my headphones. I'm impressed, I enjoyed them. I do agree that the first song needs the bass brought up in the mix but I think you know that already. Past lives - I think the bass needs to be a bit more defined in this song, it sounds pretty muddy and I don't really enjoy the way its panned very hard to the right. The song is really good though, I love the way it builds up. I guess it just needs to be more focused in its mixing. Heart in Mouth - I think the bass sounds a bit too loud in parts, the guitar needs to be stronger sounding where it builds up. I really like the momentum of the song though, it drives along really nice. Kind of erie, which is good, that works. Just Short of a Miracle - Probably my favourite of the songs. The guitar in the intro sounds a bit weird, other than that its a great song. It reminds me of the Oasis song "She's Electric" for some reason. Lit By Fire - Another great song, how do you do it?! The guitar on the right sounds a little thin in places, but thats about it. Life on Another Planet - really great song, nice buildup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rob Martinez Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 Ok, I think this is a cool tune. Suggestions: 1) That bass is good, all bassplayers want the bass louder, but I am listening to the song. 2) Guitar on the pre-chorus is COOL!!! Sounds like a voice! 3) At :58 sounds like there should be a BIG chorus a la "HUMAN BEINGS!" or "WE'RE ONLY HUMAN BEINGS!" ala Bono, as someone said above. That would be around 1:05. Don't wait too long to get to the chorus, Bono can cause he's famous, but if you listen to his songs, he even gets to it pretty fast "IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY!!!!" I think one of the classic errors in songwriting is thinking a song is complete when it really has no PAY off, no CHORUS. I know the song says HUMAN BEINGS, but is almost an afterthought when it should be the PAY OFF, the ORGASM!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slapthefunkyfour Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 I have to agree that these songs all kick ass. I don't have a clue about writing or recording, but my foot was tapping and my head was bobbing. I like it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted November 12, 2007 Author Moderators Share Posted November 12, 2007 OK, I finally got a chance to listen to the songs through my headphones. I'm impressed, I enjoyed them. I do agree that the first song needs the bass brought up in the mix but I think you know that already. Past lives - I think the bass needs to be a bit more defined in this song, it sounds pretty muddy and I don't really enjoy the way its panned very hard to the right. The song is really good though, I love the way it builds up. I guess it just needs to be more focused in its mixing. Heart in Mouth - I think the bass sounds a bit too loud in parts, the guitar needs to be stronger sounding where it builds up. I really like the momentum of the song though, it drives along really nice. Kind of erie, which is good, that works. Just Short of a Miracle - Probably my favourite of the songs. The guitar in the intro sounds a bit weird, other than that its a great song. It reminds me of the Oasis song "She's Electric" for some reason. Lit By Fire - Another great song, how do you do it?! The guitar on the right sounds a little thin in places, but thats about it. Life on Another Planet - really great song, nice buildup. Thanks man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super Bass Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 No problemo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jugghaid Posted November 12, 2007 Members Share Posted November 12, 2007 I dig it. It has some good soundtrack potential too..............You guys should shop to some indie filmmakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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