Island Bay

Bulls Hit

Well-known member
I posted a version of this tune a couple of weeks ago that many of you were kind enough to listen to and comment on.

This is a reworked version with a vocal. The words were written by my mother in law, who passed away a few years ago. She liked to write poetry and the other day I was cleaning out my office at home and found a copy of one of her poems I'd cut from a local newspaper who had published it a couple of years before she died. I couldn't find a vocal melody for it so I ended up just reading it.

Island Bay was the suburb we used to live in - so called because it was a coastal suburb built around a bay that's got an island in the middle of it.

Anyway I'm interested in any feedback on how the words sit with the rest of the tune, or if they fit at all. Or anything else you care to comment on..


 
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I must say I like it a lot. Good goove, the guitars are downright nasty--in a good way! The vocals actually fit pretty well. In places they do sound like you have a melody going, particularly at one point early on where you move up to a higher chord and raise the pitch of your voice. You could do a bit more of that. Nice tribute to your MIL. Was she a fan of this kind of music?
 
You always have great guitar sounds. This isn't my favorite from you, but it's still good. The lead cleanish guitar part was a cool touch.

I'd say the low end is too rumbly. I mean it's REALLY rumbly.

Vocal clarity was good.
 
I think it kicks ass. I love the low gritty guitar sound and also the snare. It's a great groove. I like the lyric and the vocal delivery. The real clean high pitched sound you throw in there every once in a while is a really good contrast to the heavily distorted guitar.
I dig it. It works well. I need to incorporate more ideas like that in my recordings.
I like it a lot!
 
Yeah sorry </embarrassed>. After Trip's comments I went back and checked, realised I'd co#ked up the final. mix. Anyway right version is up now.

Robus - Heh I' doubt if she listened to much of this kind of thing. When I first played it to my wife she said 'God you're not going to do heavy metal on Mum's poetry are you?' . Thanks for the listen


TripleM - When you said Really rumbly it got me thinking, coz I had the same impression. Plus last time I was sure you'd said the low end was tight. Sure enough when I looked again I'd somehow managed to mix a version that included the previous mix. So much for quality control. Thanks for pointing out the bleedin obvious :)

jimistone - Hey thanks man. yeah I'm still coming to grips with the snare - I've had this Tama kit for about 6 months. It's got a real pop that cuts through but the ring is borderline annoying. Might be time for a new head. Cheers jimi
 
Interesting piece, almost has a slight Rage Against The Machine type feel. The mix sounds good, too. The vocals worked for me, fit the music perfectly, I think.
 
Heh I' doubt if she listened to much of this kind of thing. When I first played it to my wife she said 'God you're not going to do heavy metal on Mum's poetry are you?' . Thanks for the listen
- hilarious. i lol'd

i like this - i agree that the vocal delivery works over this rhythm. I wish I could hear some distorted vocals come in L or R once in awhile, like a particular phrase that gets repeated. a short one, just some change of flavor to the vocals by adding a panned line once in while. just an idea.

mix-wise, nothing much from me. had a Zombie meets Butthole Surfers feel to me. dirty, heavy, etc... guitars sound great, especially the squeaky, screaming guitar. nice ending. this was well produced.
 
oh yea, diggin that nasty bass sound....
it's got that tongue-chewing attitude...

good job getting the bass to be very clear, without mud.
kudos.

the vocal treatment is just right...
and is mixed clear enough to follow it easy enough.

i'm not hearing the 'low rumble', on my system,
but if you DO have too much low,
try high pass, hard Q right at 50 hz, and just roll that sh!t right off..
compensate around 100hz on the kick, and around 80hz on the bass,
and maybe look at dipping the master at 150hz

dig the break in the middle, reminds me of audioslave a bit...


cool idea of using 'mum's' poetry, but putting into a modern heavy rock context....
totally works.
 
JohnnyAmato - Thanks for the feedback Johnny. Appreciate the Rage comparison.

andrushkiwt - Heh yeah it's fair to say the missus doesn't really appreciate what I do in the studio. That's a good idea about the distorted vocal phrases. Thanks for the listen

GONZO-X - Good to hear the vocal seems to be sitting OK. I tried a few different delays, then just left them pretty dry. Thanks for the rumble fixing tips. Cheers for the comments

TripleM - I know it's all in a day's work for you Trip, but some of us really need your ears. Please keep listening :)

rayc - Good on you Ray. Thanks for checking it out
 
Wow, very dark imagery. Did she wear leather chaps and call herself 'The Lizard Mom?'
Sounds like you scored Big Black's drum machine on ebay. Sounds great, but the massive distorted bass makes it sort of small by comparison, and it's image sounds a little narrow..

I think the words really fit the sound, and the vocal clarity is great considering all the dark present tones they have to contend with.
 
Wow, very dark imagery. Did she wear leather chaps and call herself 'The Lizard Mom?'

haha no she was petite and very sweet. Not your typical MIL. Word are dark though, I really like it. I panned the drum overheads L & R, but yes everything else is down the middle. Where it belongs! :) The distorted bass is actually a guitar pitched down. Thanks for the listen
 
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