Rokket mentioned the 'phone effect'. I didn't hear it that way, but I think I know what gave him that impression: The bass range is solid. The drums are sounding OK, but not punching for some reason I can't figure out...simply to down on the level? Or it's a very old-school 70's funk kit, with a tight snare?? Then the guitars...lacking in lower mids...along with the vocals. It's like a 3db boost between 300/ 600 hz would put some lacking 'belly' and power into the mix. There's a hole where 'power' sits. Normally a vocal can fill that, if it's not rolled off severely; but your voice is clear, and tends to sound in the higher midrange....either naturally, or with EQ roll-off. There is little 'phatness' in the sounds of the finished productions.
I listened to four or five tunes.
I love the clarity of the recorded sounds. I love the careful guitar playing and the distorted sound you get. I like the throwback 70's 'funky chicken' era stain on the grooves. Nice mesh between parts. You're on the verge of great work.
But here's what I perceived as the weaknesses....in this and the other songs I listened to:
Melody: the vocal melodies are weak and uninventive.... Uninspired. And the melodic rhythms are slave to the guitar parts...it's like you're hearing the guitar parts as vocal melody.
Texture: the funk grooves are not contrasted with 'releases'...freewheeling bridges with flowing notes, chords and sustaining, connected, voice-led changes. A ride cymbal capping the wave...I don't remember hearing much or any that caught my attention. At some point the struttin' chicken has to take flight...to keep it interesting.
Themes: Not very often do two or more instruments play a supporting theme...maybe a four or eight-bar melodic support device. The majority of the groove figures have a two-bar turnaround. It's funk-spazz that keeps getting ready for a journey that doesn't materialize.
Harmony: Sometimes...in the later tunes I listened to, you got into some altered chords and other devices in the progressions. [the ballad, IIR] I can hear what you are aiming for, but the voices in the chords are disconnected in the flow from one change to another. Each voice in a series of harmonic changes has to flow from a note, and flow to a note, that connect them...like four mini-melodies. The top voice usually takes presidence...and the lower voices need to make 'singing' sense for the hearer to follow. Some of your progressions' voices drop off cliffs or vaporize mid-sentence. The progression ...even though it may be 'correct', is weak....moving only a little outside the box.... and not brave enough to go into battle. Sort of...
You probably know all this stuff...but maybe you need to be reminded..as I do...to apply it in constructing our own things. The universe changes when we hear and listen to what's inside, instead of listening passively through our ears to what's outside, right?
Suggestions for this piece:
Find the missing lower mids outside of the bass guit.
Future reference:
Try listening to your musical work...no vox, and hearing what melodic vocal lines your mind can contrive......music that weaves it's own strong path...rhythmically and melodically, independent and/or walking upon the supporting instrumental stuff. Words later. The melody gotta SING!
Listen to Sting, [one of your faves] Tower of Power, etc....specifically for how they use 'releases' to add contrast and texture and motion to a song.
Pay carefull attention to the chords used in jazzier progressions...make sure there's flow..and they make sense to the ear.
Attempt to discover thematic material on one instrument already recorded; build the next instrument's parts using some of that information....instruments playing together are powerful.....and power is something you need to get more of.
If you can generate compositional strengths like these, you got it all.
MHO/YMMV
