Oh yeah, hit me with that powerful, dry, in your face ... vocal entrance ... grab me, hook me, good job !
Pan the xylophone hard left, notice that will make it sound louder ... you will then need to reduce the volume also.
And continuing with a dynamic 'frontman vocal' from 00:13 to 00:35.
At 0:18, your vocal needs to remain strong, and this is a good level ...and you could accomplish a lot by EQ'ing the guitars here, and I wish I could talk 'Spot On EQ frequency' fluently and direct you there, but that's a language I'm trying to learn.
At 00:36, the mix begins to fail. At 00:39, the mix fails. Not the mastering, you wasted your money on mastering this mix.
This is the chorus we enter here, and generally speaking we should hear a lead vocal line, and maybe some backup vocals, even harmony vocals. Of course what we have here is 'lead rythm guitar'. Totally disrespectful mix for the lead vocal, and I'm assuming there is one here.
Listen to Oasis mixes, nuff' said ?
The lead vocal in the chorus is in the low tenor, upper baritone range, the exact same sonic frequency as the mids on the rythm electric guitar.
Look at the meters here, the vocal meter and the rythm guitar meter. Which one is peaking higher. If the meters are the same, which one in actuality is much, much more 'apparently' louder ?
<hint : the guitar>
Your lead vocalist in the chorus vocal must sit in the mix or slightly on top, not be squashed by it. Compress the hell out of the lead vocalist in the chorus and pump that tracks volume, then EQ the mids out of the rythm guitar, EQ some of the highs out also, this will give you a big, round ballsy full guitar, without the 'gnashing' that is stepping all over the vocal in the chorus. You can compress the rythm guitar also, and preserve some of the gnashing with good compression technique ... all is not lost ;-) , your participation on this board reviewing others, will save your sorry mix.
But you have a shitload of work to do on it.
So again, in the chorus you have me, nearly a veteran poster on the Mixing Clinic, with good headphones and keen listening skills, struggling mightily to understand the words in the chorus ... for your benefit don't you forget that. Remember, you could hear the vocal perfectly in your sleep ! with the dream fader on the vocal set to zero. You are intimate with the vocal and will play hell trying to mix it properly for any audience.
Now at ~1:04, that's a great breakdown technique, (and this is a killer tune dode), but it's a breakdown from instrumental to instrumental, not what you intended because the preceeding guitar buries the vocal in the chorus. The guitar in the chorus is not 'stepping' on the vocal, it is 'crushing' the vocal.
Your vocal, has touches of 'Coldplay' and of course Oasis as other board members have mentioned and ... other wildly successful mainstream British pop stars. Whoever is treating your vocal in this manner is a bloody fool. The lead vocalist is the star in the mix. Guitars, violins, pianos, drums are DIME A DOZEN, a lead vocal is GOLDEN and sells the band, otherwise it's just instrumental music, <in most cases>. In this genre you are strongly at vocal door #1, and may revolve into vocal door #2 at times.
And instrumental music is fine, as long as their is no 'songwritten vocal'.
I like what happens at ~01:10, that's a nice break to some 'sweetness' , but it's awkward, study up on 'cross-fading', and
volume envelopes. Need to work into it easier.
The vocal is fine here, this is the optimal level you want to shoot for, the guitar in left stereo is a little too loud, I would pan it out even further and reduce the volume substantially, it's an afterthought sort of thing, put some delay on it also.
01:38, vox mix is good.
This rythm guitar must be compressed. Again, at 01:51, there is a 'mumbling' lead, and no B.SABBATH are you ;-)
This was an 'instrumental chorus'.
I'm telling you, your vocal at 02:19 is THE SHIT, if you can mix to maintain your vocal as the 'frontman' you've got an ASS KICKING "MIX" and thus a great song.
I suggest you get some old fucker who doesn't smoke or drink or fuck around anymore to straighten your shit out ;-) .
At 03:00 ... aLeRt ALeRt !!! mix failure imminent ... <sirens>
The rythm guitar needs to be compressed, and the volume needs to come down by 6-8db in the chorus.
The outro is generally weak, cut it, ditch it, it is out of context for this tune.
You have great potential ;-) and I would spend the time listening again if you could remix, because I want to learn also.
If you don't remix and repost and draw my attention ... will I have benifited ?
If you don't review others work in the Clinic, will you benifit ?
Am I reviewing other's work at this very moment ?
Welcome to the board, and thanks for sharing.
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