Still under construction song called "Joy". Feedback?

The seagull made me giggle. I think you have to draw the cry out as it is too short.
But the vocal, that is very nice. Nice beat and guitar, too. Nice rhythm / riff.
Still Under Construction needs one of those anti-verse 4 bar things (refrain?) just before the last chorus.

I actually picture a small group of young, perhaps homeless, people playing beside a LA beach
 
Last edited:
I liked it... made me want to build a campfire or go sailing. The seagull & ocean effects are cool.

I'd bring up the lead vocal and especially the intro harmonica. Handclaps are tough to mix. Maybe someone has a magic formula - I've never had much luck making them sound good. You might double them consistently through the song and move them more to the back - I think claps tend to sound better when there's at least 3 people clapping.
 
The song construction and instrumentation are basically fine.

The sound isn't. It sounds dull and lacking in sparkle. From my perspective, there are two main reasons:

1 the background see noises are too intrusive. They just create a blanket of white noise throughout the track which just sucks the detail out of it (like driving a car and listening to a song on the car stereo). If you must have the sea noises (and I'm not convinced they are necessary) have them at the start then fade them out, then fade them back in at the finish.

2 there is a boominess about the track on the Bb note. I don't know whether it is a characteristic of your guitar or the room in which you've recorded it. But the resonance of this note makes the track sound dull.

I think the percussion is interesting, and the claps are a good idea. However, others have mentioned the claps being a bit dominant. I tend to agree. I think do lots of doubling on the claps, add a bit of verb, then send them further back in the mix.

The vocal levels were inconsistent, particularly when the extra vocals joined in. Spend some time getting these under control so that they integrate better.

I don't know what else you have in mind for this track, but it would probably scrub up well with what you have so far. I suggest starting the mixing process with percussion (including claps). Get this happening strongly, cleanly and crisply. Then introduce the vocals. When the track sounds good with just vocals and percussion, bring in the guitars. Finally, if you feel you must, add the sea sounds.
contrnibute to ) listening to a song . . . I' getting a
 
@gecko zzed: Thanks for the critical opinion.. i have to add more vocals to it, and some lead guitars acoustic again. i'll follow the process you have mentioned for the mixing aft im done with the tracking..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top