New song entitled "Listen Close"

So, i was unaware until today that you could put 6 songs on myspace, so i decided to add one more called "listen close". I have been told by a few of my friends that its a pretty good song. I felt like i was taking a step backwards though, going back to just vox and guitar, no effects and keeping it really simple, but i thought id see what you guys think. Its called 'listen close' and you can listen at

http://www.myspace.com/callingyou478 (its at the bottom)

http://www.soundclick.com/callingyou

Thanks for all the musical help on these forums, i don't have any new mixes online, but when i do release them i think all of the things you guys have told me made them sound 100% better, Thanks!

~jake

Step back? From what? Evolution doesn't necessarily means from no effect to a lot of effect or from guitar plus vox to a big arrangement. It's just about the song and how it is best presented and how it plays in your head. Was Wonderwall a step back for Oasis? I think not.

Now, I like this song, but you might achieve an even better result if you spend a day rehearsing the guitar arrangement. The performance is not convincing. And with only the guitar and your voice, everything can be heard clearly. There is nothing to hide minor errors. And even though errors makes the music more vibrant and live, they should be minimized. The errors I hear are "out-of-sync" errors. I know you have the ability to deliver a good performance on the guitar, as I have heard your other material, so there's nothing to it than to just get onboard and redo the guitar. Same sound though. Just more tight.

The vocal and the compression I believe I hear(?) I like a lot. Very nice.

I thought it was quite nice. Pleasant sounding and recorded well. I agree with macresto (above) there's a few minor awkward timing issues, but still a lovely little tune with a good tone and way more positives than negatives. I'd save those recording settings for future reference, because they are working well for you on this type of song.

i like you.

(sorry...it's in a totally hetero way. hehehe)

great death cab feel in there for me. there's really nothing else for me to say besides the other guys' comments. the guitar is weak. go fix it. the song deserves a better performance. it's rhythmically choppy and when you're writing songs that need the guitar strum pattern to change, you have to PEG the timekeeping.

+1. Great Death Cab For Cutie feeling, with a few minor timing issues. With only the guitar, you need to be very precise to convey the rhythmic ideas. This goes for the vocals as well (although it is hard to tell if these issues would be cleared up with a tighter guitar part).

But, overall, another excellent song.

Without first reading any of the other post replies, I was going to make a statement about the timing being a little off in the song. But seeing that the issue has already been addressed...no need to get into it. It's a very pretty song. I wonder, are you planning on adding a small string arrangement to it or just keeping it as is?

I'm guessing that slightly annoying vocal effect here and there is an autotuner kicking in, but I'm not that familiar with them.

Your songwriting skills are great! You're very talented. I was impressed by all of your songs.

I suggest you work on your instruments (voice and guitar) to bring them up to the level of your songwriting. With the voice, you need to work on your pitch issues, assuming my initial statement was correct. You need to rely less on the autotuner and more on your own pitch correctness. You sing well, otherwise, and I really like your voice. Work on your rhythm with the guitar.

For the first time, I've listened to two of your songs back to back. First Bright Lights and then this one. There is a certain rhythm that you use in a bunch of your songs and at certain moments in this song you seem to be tempted to use that rhythm on "Listen Close". The pulse fluctuates a little between the standard "Calling You" rhythm and a more suitable acoustic folk ballad arpeggio rhythm. I swear there are moments when I think drums might thunder in and sweep the whole thing into an uptempo number like some of your other songs.

With that in mind, I'd suggest that you refine your timing as others say but also take the opportunity to figure out definitively what the rhythm/pulse/feel is supposed to be at every given moment in the song. Think carefully about how you tend to strum guitar, what your natural inclinations are. Do you want that for this song? Perhaps this kind of soft acoustic number is a chance to be rhythmically different from some of your other songs. (What would it sound like if played with more of a waltz-like feel?) There's no right or wrong to this - you just have to make the decision which way you want to go.

Nice tune...I liked it and I liked Bright Lights too (no chorus pedal!).

I liked it! I agree with the timing of the guitar. I like your vocal and vocal sound a lot. This song reminded me of "hey There Delilah...". Good song!!! Re do the guitar, but don't over stiffen it. Keep it a little loose. I actually enjoy non-quantized music much more than the rigid type. It allows a little more flow and emotion. CHEERS!

this song sounds great. I think I will listen to some of your other stuff now too.

Guess you've heard enough guitar timing issue comments...I would redo that part if possible...The songwriting is very strong and it stands up nicely with just the guitar and vocals. I agree - write down those settings, they are sweet....