wow what an undertaking! glad you stuck with it, and I think that’s a great attitude for trying something like this. sloppy as all hell? people love sloppy joes. aint nothing wrong with a sloppy joe. reminds of eating mardi gras beads covered in acid jelly and remembering i’m an old piano.

Alec this is awesome. Great chord choices. Such satisfying tensions and resolves in the melodies. Other than Carseat’s callout, I think you’ve got yourself something quite special here.

Love the darker timbre of this one. I think a word swap on “discretion”, when deliberate, would hit. A Fiona Apple move for sure.

Great harmonies, great guitar sounds. Is that a B bender or a whammy I hear?

Said it before and I’ll say it again—absolutely love your vocal harmony style. Excellent song concept, great work.

This is rad as hell. Great bass tone, great guitar additions throughout. This has so much character. I agree with Alex that it’s just the drums that could bring some more variety. Like maybe in the chorus it leaves the kit sound entirely and goes super electronic then returns to the kit sound in the post and verses. Cool frickin track.

Great tune, and the simplicity truly suits you well.

Your melodies are so great in this. I feel so motivated. I won’t forget what Clarence said.

I think you nailed this one. Simple and powerful. I like your guitar voicings.

Beautiful song. Nice harmonies. Love the guitar licks. You do know what a progression is….

I like that you decided to keep this recording super homey, I think it totally adds to your vibe. Metronome-wise, yeah, there were certainly some moments in the song that could’ve used a bit more consistency in the tempo. You seem like you’d be a, “stomp the feet,” kinda player and I dig that for you. I do a little dance when I fingerpick too, it’s just what happens. For the fingerpicking question you had, it sounds like you’re really plucking at the strings — creates a nice timbre, but oftentimes I find that I can stay more consistent with the tempo when I soften up.

Great vibe to this song. I might try recording the guitar separately from vocals – you write very involved guitar parts, so unless you have it fully committed to finger memory then it’s going to be very difficult to play and sing it together in time, and that will also give you a chance to fully focus on vocal delivery and finger picking timing on separate takes.

Love how your tracks are always so varied and creative and yet always so You. Very inspirational.

Really into the wobbly synth and the contrast of your clean vocals. I think you did a great job with the different melodies. The lyrics sound great, even if they are mostly jibberish. Might be cool to see this track bloom into a full band section and then drop back into this vibe at the end.

Very nice – takes me back to early 2010’s vibes. I think your lyrics, guitar playing and singing are quite effective. If I had to make a suggestion on your vocal delivery I would say to focus on consistent breath support – there were a few spots where I felt like your time was wavering because you were running out of breath. But in general, just keep playing and writing and singing 💪

I dig it! Your voice is quite lovely. I think your mix could benefit from a bit less low-mids in the guitar — when your voice gets more intense, having the brighter tone will help it rise with you. And if there’s aaaaany way you can quikly snatch a pick for those sections too, those chords could really ring.

I’m into the ambient sounds, I would maybe even lean into it more 👀

Sometimes you have to lose the things you have come to rely on in order to grow! Personally I really dig this song, and I think you did a great job of differentiating between different sections. Sure it’s a little bit loose time-wise, but you could even argue that it’s an intentional choice.

Oooh love your vocal quality on this one. Great little summer driving bop 🙂 similarly to @@nickI frequently don’t pick up lyrics until many listens in, but I do pay attention to how the words sound. I dig the little synthy melody too

I also found myself philosophizing on what defined a chord progression… If you repeat or extend parts of sections is that still the same progression? If you change the quality of the chord is that still the same progression? If you reharmonize with the bass, or sing something in a different scale?

Very lovely song, I think you nailed it on this one. Loved the octave vocals, minimal percussion. Felt like something I would like to listen to while driving into the sunset.

Really felt this one. I think the dry vocals contrasted really well with the round piano tone.

Oooooh love the crunch in the guitar and the punchy bass line. Really nice guitar arrangement in general, very tasteful. I think having a bit more variation in the drums would help keep the piece engaging through the end – as is, for me it’s fantastic up until about 2:30 and then the last portion could use some additional variation. Great job working within parameters!

Ehhh I think this is a pretty great example of adhering to the parameters. I love the progression, especially the resolve of that third chord. In regards to saying discretion too often, I don’t know what the answer is, but I wouldn’t ignore your compulsion to adjust it somehow, however creatively. Great melodies, well done!

I mean, hard to get away? We know you love your solo vacations. I’m also not an immediate (or ever) lyric recognizer. Still don’t know the words to many of my favorite songs. But there’s a lot of words and phrases for me to grab in to. Like 6 on a Saturday. 11 late. I really do like this one. This assignment was kind of made for you. I know singing and recording your vocals came a little later in the game for you, so it’s easy to just coat them with effects, which is something I still grapple with. But point is, you’ve developed a really great singing tone that is best served straight—more valuable than any silly-adjacent effects. And the full band sound on this is pretrt strong. Less is more may be a takeaway from this one. Nice work!

I think I have to start with a kudos shoutout to @@zoya for some sweet and savory and umami background vox. The melody throughout the chorus needs nothing else. What’s a chord progression? A progression of chords. Tweaks to the melody? Mayyybe just simplifying a few of the more wordy phrases “a little always falling to the ground” and things in that spot earlier… maybe I just want a little dynamic variety throughout those phrases to sink them into the groove a bit more. Nice work, you two.

Well well well, dry vocals suit you quite nicely. Piano is luscious. Love the little timing tweak to the melody the last time through. And hey, I can relate—I think from both perspectives. Nice song.

cool vibe right off the bat. Love a dirty dry bass led track. At first, I was like ok there are a thousand chords in this song, but reframing it as the bass as melody, I now see that it’s really just dancing around in between these two chords the whole time. There’s that sort of chorus/post chorus that just changes the time but keeps the chords in their original order which I think absolutely follows the rules. Super playful and a little grimy. Cool track. I definitely don’t think it gets boring.

Lol yes pretty close! Definitely no reverb. To echo Carseat, great Melodie’s and harmonies and always a strong strum pattern. Nice song!

Love your description. Heck, just trying to make some music. And lol, me listening thinking this about your father or something, and then the reveal. Happened to be watching The Dynasty documentary, and well, I can relate to the feeling. As for the melodies, you may have a better understanding than you think you do.

I think there’s one note in there that needs tweaking—in the lead line at :24, I don’t have a guitar on me, but I believe that note should be a half step in either direction. Give it a go and see how it feels.

Dude — your voice is crazy good. That rasp you have is mmmmm….

Fingerpicking is such a lil beast — I myself am working on that one too. I recommend playing a quick little chord/lick with the thought, “All the notes and fingers are equally important,” and grappling with that exercise for a bit, then go, “The bass notes needs to be louder than the high notes” then tinker, then after that, reverse (make the high strings louder), and just loop around those mentalities for a while. I’ve found it helps me get more comfortable with all of my fingers and notes interacting together and sticking to a click. But yea — it’s never perfect, and I think imperfections make it so tasteful (as long as it’s otherwise controlled).

And I agree — handicap is a great idea, but I also appreciate the built-in flexibility everyone gives everyone.

lol y’all cheated

Your tunes never fail to get me foot, tapping and grooving along with them. I love the bouncy, upbeat vibe, and the tune feels familiar after one listen. I love it. I don’t believe the mastering made it affect heavy. A great combination in the mix. I can’t say that I picked out the lyrics, but that’s typical for me. I hear the melody and get the vibe and it feels good. Love the acoustic drums in the intro, feels like an intimate coffee shop vibe. And your harmonist is spot on as usual. 🙂

This is so pleasant. Gives me Postal Service vibes. I’d be curious to hear what a big build throughout might sound like, kind of like Natural Anthem by aforementioned Postal Service. Or some complex drum loops that are distorted and filtered, but turned way low in the mix. Then again, this song doesn’t necessarily need any of that, as the simplicity and warm synth tones go a long way.

Ooooo this is such an interesting submission. I like its roughness… I see what you mean in your feedback remarks though, and I will say that I have also struggled with the balance of clean+rough in my mixes and production. For this tune, I found it hard to hear the downbeat of 1 given the unquantized guitar (especially with such an open rhythm) and vocal double, so in some way, giving the song a stronger wall to lean on would help it move along. That could be making the vocals super strong, adding a bass, adding some Radiohead-esque drums, etc. Almost like a spoken-word tune. I like it.

This is gorgeous! Will you tell us your secrets to that excellent piano tone? Your songs always sound super clean.

Thanks for the great prompt—this was super challenging, but definitely worth it.

I love that you chose to make a loop in 7 — it helps to diversify your vocal ideas so much. “Long legs and a daddy too” is SUCH a line. I think it’s one of those songs where its meaning determines its destination… so when you settle on one, you’ll probably get the other.

I dig the showtunes + mental space interaction, I always find these sorts of things so entertaining. I think some silly little hits would make the words spike out in a more intentional way and will create some more contrast. Like what if “Craigslist” had a massive BLONK on it.?. Also, I feel like silly lil piano trills will hit, just placed wisely.

Cute lil tune! I caught some of the words, but I wasn’t focusing too hard on them… if the meaning of it was, “life is hard but that’s okay,” then I think you’re right on the money with the vibes. The only mastering/mixing note I have is that your bass got really hot in the mix in some of the higher notes, so leveling those out will be nice.

I love your song Julia. Sad song for sure and it’s about our human condition. We’re all it together. Sometimes silence. I do have the belief that the darkness leads us to light.

That chorus melody is Butter. Love the country-folk twist. And I agree — the interpretation between the assignment and what the song wanted created such a happy lil tune.

Oooohh.. those harmonies come in so nicely. It’s stuck in my head. Anythiiiing anythiiiiiiing. We love a sad song. And yeah — I empathize with the context for it. Silence can suck.

I wish there were capos for my vocal chords

wow! based on your description I was bracing myself for a stadium lead that wasn’t going to fit. But that was a really satisfying solo. Nice classic rock tone, and great playing and phrasing etc! I don’t know why, but it reminds me of Dean Ween’s guitar playing (but then again almost literally every song, including this, somewhat reminds me of Ween songs). Love that the solo comes back in at the ends too, after a great delivery of “frieeeennnd.”

In fact, i think I definitely like the lead tone more than the intro tone. Wondering what it would sound like if you used the lead tone for the intro solo, just maybe with a little volume and tone rolled off.

This is a really cool song. Sounds like the real deal. It sounds like a song by a classic legendary artist from a later era in their career that I’m not familiar with. Like Bob Dylan in…. 2002, or David Bowie in…. 1997, or Bruce Springsteen in… 1999? They’re broken, or newly sober, or divorced, or with a new band, and theyre trying a new vocal style . Oddly specific, but it kind of gives me those vibes. Ha.

Curious about your order of operations with tracking. Drums first? Drums over a click? Guitar first?

I dig this…. feels I’m slow cooking some pulled pork at a bar while you’re in the corner singing and playing around… it’s giving Bob Dylan/Leonard Cohen/late David Bowie. My only constructive feedback is that I would love for the background to play with the solos and the lead a bit — countermelodies? quick little motif rabbitholes? Would be cute. I think that’ll also help tame your fear of having your solos sound too simple — it’s more of an enveloped environment.

That lead feels great to me, predictable, but in exactly the way I’d want it to be – we’ve got this killer classic-rock-esque-tune and then this killer solo comes in, tone, playing, melody, and all. Great job. Also, that falsetto vocal on “friend” into the lead again was such a nice moment.

Nice track, Rick! And kudos to you for fully recording the band parts. Excited for your transition from GarageBand to Logic. The ease of editing takes will leave a lot of room for whatever the heck else you want to do. Glad these assignments are prompting a deeper dive into the world of home recording.

Ooooo this is beautiful. Great submission. Pure song.

Love Darcy comment @@Carseat – It definitely makes me feel like i’m hanging in some Americana style bar just listening and drinking a beer. I think your vocal tone is really beautiful-broody-deep. I would embrace that- its great.

Felt like I went on the journey with you. I’m impressed that you improvised lyrics. You made a lovely tune. Guitar solo was tasty. Dig your vocal quality.

Love the stripped down sound. Feels early Neil Young. Like how you carry the words – not too long at all. It’s the tone of the song.

oh shit! @@agasthya so amazing to see this transform! love this original version too

What aboooouuuuuut….. guitar effects…??? o_0

I haven’t even started thinking about my song, but i really do already think this is the most quintessential ncbc prompt yet, and here is why:

It’s prescriptive, yet not narrow.

It’s highly accessible for all musicians at all levels.

It gets everyone out of their comfort zone, while not remotely asking them to do something that’s beyond their abilities.

It has the ability to generate both: songs that sound like an NCBC submission; or songs that sound like regular songs. Or both at once I guess, too!

It has some well-defined hard and fast rules, and while there is certainly plenty of room for interpretation or bending (as always!), the essence of the point of the prompt is abundantly clear and understandable.

If someone asks what NCBC is, I’d use this assignment as my example.

Such an Irish tune – I feel the river dance folks until 1:20 – then it goes to a contemporary rappy vibe. Love the vocal layers. The vocals, subtle and engaging play off the solid back beat. Can’t say I can pick out one lyric – but that’s the magic – it’s the entire experience and it’s seamless.

The vocals sound terrific. It’s inviting and draws me in. Like the incorporation of the synth 4:05 – subtle and cool. The stripped down vocal at 50 sec sound great. It’s an anthem.

wow – superb production. Love the intro – grabs me right away. Takes that gravity to allow the remainder to sink it. The first few notes let the rest in. The beat is beyond my capacity to create but love how it’s weaves around. love how the piano parts play off each other at 1:11

Love the stripped down recording. Read from your comments, it seems you’re feeling limited by recording tech, but I think it’s an honest take – picked notes and a clear smooth vocal. Love it.

Been listening to this a lot. It’s a great tune!

The breath at the beginning and the flute(?) sound is a great pairing. Defiantly picking up the improv vibe. Lot’s of unexpected turns. Liking the stripped down uke sounds paired with the mellotron. Spot on vocals as usual. Over all – unsettling – that’s a complement.

Great production. Feels round and full. Love the complimentary beats and strong bass line. The synth at 1:50 is very cool. The solo is unexpected and a great compliment to the solid rhythm.

Really liking the vocal – such an indie sound with layers. The build of the low frequencies fills the room at 2:00. Can’t say I pick up on the lyrics – not because they’re lost, it’s because they are stitched into the music so it’s one experience.

Loving the jam band groove – thinking The Big Woo. Such a cool snare – the whole kit sounds studio. Especially love the the funk Guitar at 1:42 (I think that’s the time left in the recording). Great mix – so subtle but impactful.

Had me at the first note. Love the air in the first verse. As I was listening, I was thinking ethereal – I listened first then read the note so you achieved it. That interesting scale, which is the reason for that unexpected but very cool note in the lead. Love the outro, and how it resolves to a full band from a very skeletal framework.

No reverb?

Let’s see how this goes 😎

Really digging the guitar instrumental sections and voicings! I think in terms of vocal phrasing, I always find it easier to improvise melodies first and then fit words to those melodies after, which gives me a chance to experiment and keep things fresh as the song evolves. Great job overall, looking forward to hearing your next submission

Agreed with Nick – nice to see this different face of your songwriting! Very engaging and I love hearing the character come through in the delivery of the lyrics. In terms of drums, you can always start by getting some drum loops to sketch out the feel you are going for, and then chop/paste as you see fit

Agreed to everyone’s comments. Love this slightly more comical side of your songwriting. Not over top, just hilarious and wonderful, not at the expense of the song’s quality. There are so many great parts to this—the comedy in the verses, the poppy repetitive sections in the chorus, the unique but relatable chord progression. I think yes, this is my favorite submission of yours so far. Others have certainly been great, though. Something about this is special. Give @@Ryan the stems and 20 minutes to make the drums. jk. you can do it, get to it!

Really enjoyed this one, Ryan. Arrangement-wise, there’s a few moments where you use those distant background vocals really effectively before that outro section – I wanted a few more moments of that; they felt really dreamy and in the space of the assignment in a really nice way (i’m thinking like 1:52 for example). I could take a chorus harmony, but don’t feel the need for it entirely.

I don’t know exactly what I wanted or where, but I wanted some ambient sounds in the space you’re creating with some movement/filter/swirl/something, essentially to contrast with the strong rhythmic feel of the 5 throughout the tune. Maybe its cause I wanted to feel sleep/dreams in the distance even more, but think it could add some depth.

This feels like such a pure acoustic piece/recording that I almost don’t want to comment on adding more instruments so that you don’t lose this quality.

However, there’s so many options with recording DAWs that I would just suggest using something that is readily available, learning it’s limitations concerning what you want to accomplish, and then researching which programs would be best suited for that. Personally I use Ableton and I love it, but I started on Audacity and then transitioned to Reason essentials (with a brief trial on ProTools) before landing where I am.

L O L. I love this madness, would love to know what you’re whispering on both sides of my ears 😆 I love the callback to the weird Irish ditty in the outro. Works for me! If anything I might make the intro just a hair shorter

I love this, from the first lyrics all the way through the end. Very relatable *social faux pas* dream ahaha. I think you did a great job with vocal processing and arrangements here, and your guitar/drums/bass are on point as usual. It was nice to hear some back and forth with whistling and guitar solo. Great job dude!

Agree with Julia — I think a string arrangement for the chorus would be really impactful. Love the spacey verby drop out. This track feels like it could belong in the Lost in Translation soundtrack. Very lovely, comforting song, and I appreciated reading about your process

This could go any number of ways with arrangement but also works quite nicely as a solo guitar/vocal piece. Nicely done!

Eerie and beautiful from the first note. Such a unique sound and approach. I’m always a fan of the flute mellotron. The raspy quality in your voice really did it for me. Great scary job 🫣

That change at 2:45! And 3:05! I think this shift is totally justified, doesn’t sound like your attention span did you dirty at all to me! This is an inappropriate comparison in many ways, but it reminds me of Stairway to Heaven in the way that it breaks off to a completely different song at some point. I honestly think it works.

Re: your questions — Title works. Slow part holds my attention, but I do think some rhythmic tightening would help. Because it’s patient and spacious, I don’t want anything disturbing the gentle force of that whole section. Mix I’d look to @@juliapiker or @@agasthya— their mixes are consistently quite good.

I love the production and musical decisions on this track, from the clean acoustic down to the ominously unsettling sub bass. Your voice sounds great, and the lyrics are potent and evocative. No notes from me, it all works for me!

Always such unique chord voicings from you, Brit! And I love this lyric sheet. Reads like a poem. The harmonic shift on “I did it in my dream” and the delivery of that line is awesome—there’s a unique gravity to that moment. Something like pride.

The length of the words didn’t bother me, but try shortening some up and see how you feel! I don’t think you need a bridge. The music break kind of serves as one. This feels more like a scored poem. A more harmonically colorful and melodic Patti Smith kind of thing. This is cool, man.

Fun fun fun!

There is a quality about this that feels like something is repeating- which speaks to the “recurrence” of a dream. Oh gosh I love the chord change at :47 “B Line”. I love the way you drop out at certain moments as well- it really highlights the dynamics in your arrangement and writing style. Really cool and beautiful.

Love your “looking for feedback on” comment. It made me laugh. Everything “works”- at least thats the way I think about it. Your kinda hitting the nail on the head of dream space- this certainly feels like a fucking crazy ass dream. :47 holy moly yes. You’ve been one of my favorites in regards to the insanity behind the pieces you put together and how the exist in this incredibly groovy and unique space.

It works for sure. I feel like Donald Glover would love this.

I hear an entire full throttle string arrangement here in the chorus. I really love when the bass comes in and we start to really hear where the track is about to lead. I think absolutely a harmony can be added to “I’m always on the line”. I do think On your side is a better title- because that actually is remarking on how you want to be in your relationship- regardless of where you are within yourself. I think that the meaning behind this track is really sitting with me in a special way. It’s so hard to balance being a good human to yourself and to your partner when you feel unwell- or when you body doesn’t give you the opportunity to. So I really appreciate that.

Man, this is an amazing vocal performance. Those little chromatic slides? Sheesh. And the tone from 1:47 to 1:54? You’ve achieved a Kid A sound without all the tech. You could’ve saved them thousands of dollars in studio time.

1:04 — arrangement award

I’m just in awe of your ability to find truly unique musical gestures. The off-kilter timing, the tone of the uke plus tone of your voice, the pale yellow ethereal stuff in the background. I agree with the call-out to tweak the mellotron sound, but only because you’d probably make something even cooler, not because it’s so trite. Great stuff here, mate.

I am definitely scared- feeling uneasy as your voice creeps in. I really like how loose this is. No grid baby we love that. It kind of reminds me a little bit of the quality in Cat Power Sea of Love.

My favorite part of this is the way you stay on certain notes for a little bit longer than you “should”. I think it adds to the eerieness. 1:46-1:54- that lengthier note ringing out vocally is so so good yeesh. I really love the chord progression- and the different variations it takes starting at 1:04 with the flute creeping back in.

Great one Nicky.

Dude i LOVE. The synth stuff going on here it is so cool. I think its really cool against the guitar. That sort of organic/non-organic space always tickles me. Intro feels like the beginning of a Black Mirror episode. I would actually strip some of the verb off your voice! I do wonder if it would be cool for “Gathering Up My time” segment being more of a drop out moment production moment-with maybe a doubled vocal dryer and more upfront. Its SUCH a cool chorus. I think the whistle is a really nice touch as well. An extra little spicy element.

Oh yeah. I fucking love this. Your voice feels really smooth and well mixed. I love that you doubled the guitar and I love how bright it feels- I would cut a teensy tiny bit of the high end so that it’s not competing with your voice.

Great production. I would keep an eye out for reverb giving way to a little bit of mud when everything comes into play together. I love the pause at 2:51 returning to the main melody.

Really great work

I love the recording of this—so crisp and clear, and I like how the reverb comes and goes! There’s some lush arranging as well, but it’s never overpowering—the guitar and vox are front and center the whole time. The vocals are very close mic’ed and compressed, so we’re hearing each breath pretty loudly—it’s an intimate effect, but I might cut out or tone down some of the breaths.

The sound of your guitar and vocals are SO nice on this. It’s super intimate in a really inviting way, though I agree with @@Benthat cutting back a little bit on the breaths might be nice. I wouldn’t want to lose the intimacy at all though. I think this mix really effectively keeps the arrangement an important part of the song, while keeping the vocals and guitar right front and forward, almost to the point of obfuscating the details of the background – the periphery of it all feels really dream-esque in that way that we have super clear images of parts of our dreams, while other bits fade into obscurity.

Couple other things I really liked: the way the background ambience slowly swells in, the quiet background vocal chords I’m hearing at moments like 2:15, the downward movement of the chords at around 1:50.

Immediately compelling—very strong overall, well done. Your voice sounds great, and I enjoy the production quality on it. The arrangement is also very well crafted. I’m curious about the really deep kind of rumbling that comes in around ~1:18. It adds a feeling, non-musically, but more in the way of a soundscape. For me, it becomes a little distracting in certain parts, so I’d maybe reel it back in the really melodic moments, and have it stick out more intentionally and briefly in other sections. Just a thought. Most of all, just glad to hear you again!

Wow, I love this submission. Great work.

Voice sounds SO good, Darcy! And the patience in how the song moves is outstanding. A thought: maybe in the later verses, that first chord could change half-way through? It’s so rad that it stays on that chord for so long as you currently have it, but breaking it later on could be a cool development device.

Mix sounds killer. I agree with the breath notes that @@Ben mentioned. Guitars, background vox, ethereal stuff all sounds awesome to me. Maybe a slight cut in the low-end on the ethereal stuff. But sounds great for the most part.

Shout out to the break at 2:44 and re-entranced at 2:50. So good. Has a little bit of a St. Deviation’s vibe to me (wink wink @nick).

Wooo Lydian mode! Song title not too pretentious but the name is missing a c actually (Schrödinger).

In terms of the song, the second part really starts hitting in very effectively – really love the guitar tone around 3:00 (and when the piano doubles it). I wasn’t losing attention in the slow bits, but think there is space in for something to help build tension/anticipation/yearning or something – and I think it’d help the moment that second section hits feel very satisfying.

Yeah i’m into this vibe. One of my favorite parts is the polyrhythmic clicky-clacky percussion part at 1:14. (castanets, maybe?)

Almost like some early U2 vibes in the outro (and i mean that in the best way possible, big early fan). And the heavy strumming electric guitar for the whole outro is the kind of track that’s most susceptible to rushing, but I think you did a great job either playing or editing it to align with drums—kudos!

Love the spaciousness of the intro and the slow evolution and build of the composition! The heavy parts really hit for me. Would love to see the lyrics. I think the vocals could be mixed a little lower, but overall great job with it

had a very enjoyable first listen to this in the car. just enjoyed another listen at the comp reading along. Maybe this is one of those “The Line (On Your Side)” eh? I wouldn’t vote for a harmony in the chorus, im happy with it nice and underdone. The only thing that I want is a bass line that doesn’t follow along too strictly to the kick drum. Feels a touch heavy handed outlining the five so straightly. I’m thinking Johnny Greenwood in, well most songs, but like the verse in 15 step—sparse, melodic, weaving in standout riffs here and there. And yeah, this is such an airy piece that I think it could leave a lot of space. v strong track. love it. 3:18 nice fill 😉

I love this—especially the unique timing of the chord changes. It almost feels like your instruments are in 6/8 and the drums are in 4/4, which is really cool. I hear you on the limitations of the software instruments—I don’t feel like the drum is exactly in the groove. I think a few early/unpredictable snare hits would align it (the drummer for The National does this really well). And I’d bring up the octave vocals in the mix at the end to separate the section out—I don’t think they need harmonies, but a little more presence.

Yo — I love that writing constraint of deleting the initial motif idea… Honestly might make for quite a writing assignment…

Love the space you created in this one. Made me feel like I was a little blade of hay swinging in some warm wind.

So many great vocalizations in this track. Little moments like at the end of “I’ll swallow it all”. This whole thing has a warm melancholy to it that is just lovely.

Love that everyone is encouraging you to jump into Logic. I couldn’t possibly recommend it more. Really opened up music-making for me. That being said, I think this exact recording, for this song, is perfect. So once you do make the plunge into multi-tracking, try not to lose the ability to bail on it or use it sparingly when it’s best for the song. Because this is special.

I’m certainly not an expert at recording and all that, but I find Logic pretty intuitive to use. I’ve messed around in a bunch of DAWs at this point, and Garageband is definitely a great place to just get started. I found ProTools harder than Logic, fwiw. As @@Carseatsaod. I don’t regret plunging into the rabbit hole, even though I still can’t really mix/produce/record full on tunes like some of the other folks here – even just a bit of comfort helped me make (still basic) but more complex tunes.

I really love the line “I wake up in the early night” in a song about dreams – feels kinda like waking up into a dream. This song feels evocative to me, but I’m not sure of what. Reading back to the lyrics while listening again, it gave me the feeling of trying to fill a hole inside myself with a person or a memory.

Don’t have much to say, but I really like this. Guitar sounds really good and the whole thing just feels comfortable/comforting/some other word I can’t quite place.

I could dig a fretless bass, but I wouldn’t want you to add too much to this. Just things to aid the current vibe.

Really liked the line “Wish I had a dollar | for every night of restless sleep.”

Alec this is dope as hell. Definitely top 3 AH NCBC subs for me. As mentioned by some others, this particular combination of synths and the acoustics sounds so good. It’s that sweet spot of being purposely juxtaposed but naturally fitted. Vocal phrasing is fantastic. Makes the song sound like it was always written.

Also shout out to the synth part in the chorus, don’t believe that’s been mentioned yet. That’s a super clever way to arrange that section. And I love the sound. Only thing I found myself wanting was a harmony in the chorus the whole time—or like, something that makes it even more heeeeeere’s the chorus! I guess I’m picturing a harmony because the current vocal is in the same register as the verse and so there isn’t a natural shelfing up into the chorus feeling. Maybe even doubling or tripling and effecting the current vocal would achieve what I’m looking for.

Really enjoyed the interplay between the hard-panned acoustics and the more-centered arpeggiator at the top and when it comes back. They create a really nice effect, particularly the way the constant movement of the arpeggiator makes the moments of pause in the acoustic guitar/bass in the verses feel even tighter.

That synth sound in the chorus is sooo dirrtyy, I love it. The drums throughout are really effective, but I really felt them in the chorus.

On first listen I would have called this an A+ submission and moved on, but for the sake of critique, and sort of in line with @@Ryan‘s comment, maybe slightly consolidating the piece, and adding some spacey sounds to tie the whole thing together. Super creative and immersive response to the parameters—well done! I mean come on, great shanty.

what fun. and really a great submission/song in general. It’s up for debate whether the priority of NCBC is following the parameters (at the risk of potential weirdification) or just using them to create a “good song”… but regardless, I think this is one of your “best songs”. A tempered amount of loony-ness, and lot of solid arrangement. “Make a bee-line” over that chord change is very dreamy (both dreamlike and just awesome). For feedback, I first listened to this in my car, and the hi-hats were just a little too loud and pointy. Performance is great, so just some real simple smoothing out in the mix would go a long way. It wasn’t as intense with my headphones, but I think would still benefit from a mix tweak. Curious how others heard it. Nice job!

This definitely has some emotional resonance, especially I wake up in the early night // I see you and I sigh. Also, your performance is strong. Those nice crisp vocal walkdowns on things like “s-i-igh” are wonderful.

Glad you’re committing to the assignments despite the recording setup, kudos to you. And hey, I know you, you’re a pretty smart guy. Wouldn’t be long before you had a useful understanding of the fundamentals in GarageBand. Do you have mac? While there are a lot of tools and options that you can eventually familiarize yourself with, those can wait! With a simple youtube tutorial on getting started, it’s pretty easy to get in there and utilize the basics. Good luck, cowboy!

hey nice! this is big step up in recording quality. Like @@Ben said, great annunciation. And sure, some fretless, some piano, some strings. Go crazy!

I don’t know if I’m scared, but I’m definitely unsettled. I never quite knew where this was headed or going – very dream-like and freaky.

Woahhh… this is such a cool lil guy. Huge fan of the chord schemes. You’re makin me want to experience something creepy enough to play this in the background…

Very cool—the off-kilter time signature keeps you uneasy the entire time. Perhaps due to the improvisation, but it feels like you’re exploring the song as you’re writing/recording it, as if the writer is getting lost at the same time as the listener. Gives me early Grizzly Bear vibes. If I have a critique, it might be that the mellotron is a little too on-the-nose and familiar—it’s almost become the de facto 70’s creepy garden party sound.

Yes I am

I know that whistle. Way to use it as a instrument layer that tows the line between pad and lead, but sits in the background. Usually whistles, like in my song this week, and in many of your tunes serve as melodic leads in place of vocals, not that there’s anything wrong with that. But this is a cool use of whistling.

This is a very you song. Except for that synth voice. That’s a new and welcome addition to your scape. I love when the band drops out and the bubbly synth can ring out alone. There’s some Hiatus Kaiyote Breathing Underwater happening here a little.

Great track dude. This song slots in well to your latest musical era (Would you say were all living in AH v4.0 these days? v3.0? v5.0? v3.1?).

Love the stereo panned acoustic guitars. Great thumping-bass-from-nearby-car in the intro. And always a sucker for that anticipated beat that the guitars happen on. Love the calmness/laziness that happens in this song – the “I’ll be fine” section is great because that synth tone is often used in some hard hitting rave music, but you have a chill, slow, gentle vocal performance over it, with minimal other instruments. Good work there.

Love this. Is there a way to thicken up the vocals a little? They seem a little small and narrow compared to the rest of the mix I think? A little rhythmic tweaking might be needed (listen to the guitars + bass + drums around 0:25 and you might hear a little bit of asynchronicity that takes me out of the vibe a little). Other than that, I have a feeling I might hear this track in a future album. Hopefully.

Well this is frickin neat. Really so cool. Masterful vocal phrasing. I feel like it’s heading in a sort of Phantogram-ish direction, which is working really, and is a bit uncommon for you? I’d love to hear it pushed even further in that direction—maybe some glitchy samples woven throughout? Maybe some more effects on the vocals? I have some other comment’s aligned with @@Ben ‘s thoughts, and will put them there. Incredible submission dude!

I’ve never flown in a dream – I’m jealous.

I tend to think about the length of time I give a word when singing in terms of whether I want it emphasized or to last or to be a word (or even just a sound) that that a listener latches on to. I think @@Carseat hits a really nice idea about adding little melodies to certain held out words so that they’re not just sitting in one place.

This definitely does the un-logic of dreams in a really fascinating way. The two parts feel so fully themselves and not really connected to the other part, at least not in the way you might expect it to (thinking of the shanty-sample, I guess).

“idk man, dreams” seems to really hit the nail on the head here.

The chord progression is just so catchy throughout this tune. And your vocal delivery is great too. Realllly loved those “I just want/need” pauses – didn’t expect the third one and it felt great.

The interweaving comes through, but I think interweaving is a bit subjective in the first place ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Great song!

This chord progression is TIGHT. It gives Pinegrove energy. PLEASE inform us when you add them drums n bass, need it in my life.

She makes it inside through a door that leads to nowhere

Carrying something I didn’t see with her before

A fur coat the size of something in the movies

I was scared that PETA’d show, toss blood into the fur

This ^^ verse is pretty close to perfection. Great performance, delivery, writing, sounds, etc. I agree, this song would be so great with some light but poppy indie rock drums and fuller rhythm section. That would allow it to have higher, more meaningful highs and lower, more meaningful lows.

I also really enjoy that minor chord that finds its way into the “that’s toni” verse.

This reminds me a little of something from Inside (Bo Burnham). Your voice and guitar playing is actually sort of similar! The whole song kind of sounds like one of his slightly less jokey, more songy songs from that album. Lighthearted, funny, and fun to play/listen to, but not a parody or joke.

This is so great.

A certified banger! This is so fun haha. The verse is so well-crafted and catchy. Also, the lyrics have me dying. I’m so stoked that you were able to take a bizarre dream and turn it into such a compelling story—the humor’s there, but so are the heavier things like doubt. Killer.

Love the arrangement, and the transitions work for me. You’re absolutely right that this is begging for drum and bass parts. I’d go out of my way to describe what I’m hearing, but, like, they’re already in there. Know what I mean? My only suggestion is to download Addictive Drums and then click and point your life away. You’ll be a pro in no time. Man is this thing gonna bang once it’s filled out even more.

She’s so cute! I want to listen to it blare from my speakers while snuggled in a blanket with some broccoli cheddar soup.

Love the space you gave the mix — the reverb you added in the beginning created such a nice little blanket for everything to sit on. I would have loved for the louder parts to have that same blanket, but I also appreciated that I could hear all that was going on. Again, nice job — love the ending too hahah!

Welcome and sorry for my late reply! I, too, am intimidated by the production chops on a lot of the folks in this group – but can guarantee there’s nothing bad that can happen. It’s just fun to share songs, whatever the form.

I second Alec’s bard/storyteller vibe – and to echo Ryan’s sentiment, one suggestion for lyric writing is exploring letting complete thoughts spill over onto multiple musical phrases – ideas starting in one line, yet resolving in another. Great song, welcome!

WHATTTT???!???!??!? HELLOOO???!?!??!? What just happened… am I on Earth anymore???? What is a human body; I am a head floating above my desk. That beat drop did it. I am gone.

What a lovely dark snare sound. How’d ya get it?

Love the subtle circus sounds here, as you mentioned. Organ, funky hi-hats, disco geet, some slippery guitar/bass underneath some whistling? Fun. The interweaving elements didn’t come through on first listen, but upon a few more spins, I hear how the hats are playing around with the snare and the geet. Works for me.

Dig that you wrote this while walking around. Made for a very catchy verse.

oh baby this is just a delight! agree that the drum sounds are just so cozy. love the processing on your vocal that compliments such a relaxed and easygoing delivery. Gimme those lil bass licks at the end of the tune in my dreams every night please.

Ouuuughhh. I love this. You dug into the dynamics at the perfect moments; I could so see you digging into it more and creating a deeper rift in some spots.

As for working in software, I started in Garageband and made my way over to Pro Tools — they’re both a little intimidating at first, but the more you create and mess around in them, the more comfy you get. Definitely don’t regret plunging into that rabbit hole!

YO. I love this. So wiggly. Recommend listening while doing the dishes.

trudie! 🙂

so glad to hear you. i think those additional parameters are 👌

many beautiful little vocal moves. also some beautiful big ones! those higher notes just sear through.. like a meteor, if i may. truly though, wonderful tone.

would love to read along if you would add the lyrics to the description. rock on, sister. oh wait also, that profile picture is just too much.

love that we have 2 fever dream songs.

This is great. I’m particularly a fan of the second part. Especially from 4:00 to the end! I’d looove to listen to a full length version of that section. Love the driving drums, the background vocals, the vocal melody, and your vocal tone. It’s got some 80s-90s Chris Isaak, Roxy Music, Brian Eno, Bryan Ferry, David Byrne, David Bowie stuff going on.

A tiny bit of minor rhythmic tweaking and scooting to line up the rhythm section instruments in that outro, and you’ve got an absolutely perfect section. What are you thoughts on giving that outro its own song? I’d listen to that song.

Nice work on this!

Love the exquisite lil finger picking groove and the dog, 10/10.

Nice work on this! I love that it ends with the flying. It’s a hopeful final line, but more importantly, it’s the best part of dreaming.

I assume you tracked guitar and voice at the same time? This is giving Mountain Goats or The Microphones (at least based on what I know of them).

I think your self-criticism is actually pretty spot on. See what it sounds like to keep certain words more snappy. That said, your delivery of “familyyyyy” is pretty great. Similarly, or alternatively, maybe try experimenting with the strumming patterns or the chord sustain. I can imagine the long words sounding pretty good over a simple single strum of a chord.

As for the bridge, it kind of sounds like you already do have one right? From around 0:57 – 1:17. It serves as a good separator of the two verses, but my advice would be to either shorten it by 50% or add vocals to it.

But ok, the real question here is: are we talking about prolonged low-gravity jumping flying, swimming thru the air flying, or superman flying?

Yo, is that a theremin?! This song is excellent—I really like the combination of acoustic and electric instruments—they’re really integrated and cohesive. I wouldn’t change a thing.

The only thing missing is a warm campfire. This is so soothing! You really annunciate well and I could make out every word—but if anything, you might consider smoothing your words out a bit. Phrases like “one stuck in your head” are punctuated a bit and go against the silky smoothness of the rest.

I could so hear that fretless bass. Almost like the saw in “In the Aeroplane…” by Neutral Milk Hotel. If you do it please let me know… I dig.

Hey! Nice to meet you. Love the foundation that this song has — the guitar licks are awesome and definitely add a lot to the energy here.

I definitely hear you on the vocal-word-length — it’s not a bad thing at all, I was actually thinking more that creating little vocal melodies during the held out notes would create a lovely Thom-Yorke-sorta-soaring vibe that would add a nice dimension to this.

And yea dreams are weird — lots of emotion-sorting happens for me too…. they’re so weird.

Catchy tune. I like “On your side” but both work. Always dig your songs.

LOVE the vocalization! Great melody. Like the bridge at 1:25. The tune is great stripped down, but if you thought you wanted more, I’m hearing angelic strings. Wonderful subject 🙂

I think this is rad as hell. Not sure whether this “works” is even related haha. The beginning is just pure children’s TV show chaos and the back half is like Kendrick and Tyler and you were like “let’s fuck this up”. I think the only thing that would make it work more (ok fine I see what you mean) is if you dirty up the back half. Some distortion on the drums, some even freakier moments in the vocal, etc. But yeah, this was Grade A fun for me.

i don’t know jack all about mixing, but i have to second the shoutout to “and i wonder who else noticed burning holes in the sky”, and it was a chef’s kiss for my ear to hear that first vocal cascade on sky. Really awesome moment, and a great question to pose. At 1:08-1:11 I hear that faint grumble in lead into the guitar solo, and I love that sound so much I almost want to hear it stretched out into a longer and bigger crescendo. Awesome atmosphere!

how to write about a dream without boring people…

wowza, really beautiful composition and lyricism. and thank you for that lil anecdote about how you (and mitski) approached this song with melody and lyrics first and then chords. i’m going to try that next time, i think that will help free up my melody writing.

i’ve really struggled to find cuts/edits here, but after like 5 listens i think the only thing that comes to mind is maybe find a way to end the piece after the (rightfully lauded in other comments) silver spoon & never blink again sections. I think you don’t need the chorus afterwards, that is such a special moment on its own.

“I can’t say when it’s happening, but once it does you swear you’ll never blink again”

Boom, mic drop. Such a powerful line to end the tune imo. Almost teasing the audience to stop this song, and look to the skies so you don’t miss the meteor shower.

awesome tune

felt like listening to an unreleased Creed song, in all of the best ways. epic guitar work. i can hear the drums and bass in my head, which is a testament to the structure of your piece, it evokes those missing pieces like phantom limbs.

just so much fun, i was smiling the whole time. that bass and guitar jam that kicked off right around 3:16 had me BOPPING, and then we get the creme de la creme of the piece with the baby interruption. Such a good moment, a happy little accident turned into a really poignant moment for me. I’m ready for the piece to take off, and boom — we are thrust back to earth, by that thing that grounds us the most, almost like when we travel to hotels and always at last come back (sometimes too soon). Awesome jam, and enforted 100% works for me.

i think the drums and vocals are mixed so nicely for that entire middle section of the song, definitely not too soft. your delivery of in the motel grime? scratches my brain in the perfect way. well done!

“sharing stares where sands sparely flick where hands barely tick tick tick tick tick” was such a pleasing collection of Mouth Sounds™ on the ear, very poetry poetic the way they stumble into each other. The ensuing music drop afterwards was a great pay-off after those lyrics almost dragged back on the beat. The tension and release. Great stuff, as always sir.

dreams I can muddle thru – two, not one, but TWO interweaving musical elements – that’s giving me nightmares.

really beautiful singing and melody writing. all the humming is absolutely luscious. “finale” is literally perfect.

to me, they all feel very naturally written. perhaps “don’t think there’s much to define” would be the least natural to me. kind of a separate comment, but in regards to them sounding naturally sung, i like to see how much i can getaway with by removing the sentence structure and letting the most meaningful words remain, like “motel check-in, backpack and mask” could get you to the same place with less clutter. especially when paired with other lyrics that allow for the full sentence structure like “managed to rally for the after-thing”. such a great line btw. as for the last line, i think im understanding it more, and i really like it, but it’s a little compressed at the moment. id experiment with hanging on that last chord for longer so you can sing all those words with more space in between. could help to emphasize the intention, too. just a thought. great recording, nora!

Jesus and the aliens.

Hey man, I love this. I think you’ve ordinary yourself once again. I seriously might have a new fav! Nice soloing over some very nice chords.

Here’s to ncbc work travels.

I feel like I have a similar chord in my song this week. Wondering if you know which!

More from me later when I’m on my desktop computer!

this is a delightful little tearjerker. “nothing hits, it never does” fav lyric, and very well sung. i also love how many of the phrases have a spoken rhythmic quality, but then “it won’t give up” has a little hop to it and jumps on the beat. i wouldnt mind repeating the last line once more at the end. in a larger arrangement i could imagine “so close, I can feel it now” kind of weaving throughout the song, but in this little package, saving it for the end ties up the composition very nicely. you’ve got a great voice! count me in as an avid observer of your songwriting journey.

“The Brimming Skies”

Well done with this. It so concise in multiple ways: 76 seconds long, 3 (?) tracks, 2-3 words per line, yet it makes me feel deeply connected to a chunk of space dust hurling through our atmosphere. In the pasy 48 hours, i’ve been thinking about a comment @@nick left on @@nurphgun‘s latest song about word economy and cutting out the extra unneeded words. and there are none of those here to cut out. This is really well done.

Could be cool with a simple shaker coming in on the “down below” line. And if it were ever to become a bigger or longer arrangement, i’d love to hear the guitar melody come back in at some point, and play over the lyrics.

So glad to have you! And dude, this is an excellent first submission. I think you did an incredible job following the parameters. one of my favorite cascading melodies of the bunch, so kudos to you for that! I think the melodies in general are strong, the lyrics are simple and straightforward with just the right amount of magic woven through them. All this needs to be is trimmed down. There is no lack of great stuff, just an eventual excess of OK stuff. For me, im completely hooked up until “oh forever a day” at 1:37, only because I want it to go back to the intro/verse melody at that point. If I were producing this song, at 1:37 I’d go right back to the beginning, run all the way through “Gotta breath give one take three” and then throw in a little trumpet outro and call it day. Print it. Done. Also “(don’t know how you’re under the sky whilst in a room but gonna roll with it haha)”… skylight maybe? Fine by me. Great job, dude.

I’m impressed by the precision of this one one take performance. I don’t think I have a least favorite part, but I found myself wanting a few more elements – I don’t think this song is necessarily calling for a giant arrangement, but a bit more to it would I think send it to a new level.

This is a really cool tune. I don’t have a ton to say that people haven’t already – the early Modest Mouse reference definitely resonates. I’m no master at mixing (or mastering, for that matter), but to my ears I think at points the arrangement feels a little cluttered in a way that makes me think some tweaks to the mix would be the solution.

This is really, really good. Super evocative. I love the group vocals. Wouldn’t want a singular voice. Makes me feel like its your own voice rattling around in your own head. Feels like it also intensifies the yearning I get from the lyrics. The ambience in the arrangement, also. So haunting.

“Fumigate, facetime masturbate | we’ve just watched the burnin of heaven’s gates | I hate so little, and none of you | I still love when your smell comes through” these lyrics are SO good. I feel like this is closer to a final product than you think.

That bass tone is so disgusting in the absolute best way. The mix of sounds and tones in this really unsettle me, but like, in a really good way.

Your guitar playing is killer as can be. I feel like I’ve gone to the bar down the road from a motel in the middle of a road trip, and I’m hearing someone play this live in a room filled with the smell of cheap beer. Love it.

I also struggle with recording percussion so I almost never do, so sadly can’t offer any advice there lol.

That chorus is SO tight. Melody, vocals, the whole thang.

I want just a bit more of that guitar throughout – I like the effect of it being hidden underneath, but I feel like its doing some really interesting movement and the playing sounds so nice, I just want to hear it a bit more!

I love the barren feeling of those opening lines, particularly: “Nothing hits | It never does | Oh earth“.

I don’t think you need another “So close, can feel it now”, but I’m often on the side of a song can be short as it wants, if it feels good that short. I think it could be nice longer too, but didn’t feel like it needed it to me. The repetition of “Oh Earth” really works for me throughout the song, as a side note.

Dan! Rough or not, you got the dang thing done! Well done! Psyched to have you here.

Evocative guitar playing and singing, as always with your songwriting. I think there’s a lot to work with here.

It’s interesting—with the guitar and vocal tones you went with, I think you might be chasing a phantom by worrying about “how to make things sound better in a DAW” just yet, because I think the tones are suggestive of a bigger arrangement. Big drums, eletric bass, more rhythm guitars, etc. I find that when I’m trying to improve elements via mix when the arrangement isn’t there yet, it can be fruitless. Did you play around with adding full band elements to this?

I’m pretty impressed that you added more parameters that made the process even harder – having to do it super fast? Not editing? And it still came out a tight, strong song. That second verse is great – a great use of the parameter of the meteor shower to very naturally mirror that pretty universal life experience of realizing there is no defined path ahead.

This slaps. I really love the happy sounding key, even despite it being about a drug deal gone wrong. Feels very cinematic to me.

In terms of your question, I dunno. I feel like I get stuck on pockets of progression sounds that I like, whether they’re major or minor, and I always have trouble getting out of them lol. Sometimes you like what you like, and there’s nothing wrong with that!

Sam, love that chord progression with the harmonizer pedal. Love the vocal melody on the “oos”. I hear some really nice harmonies you could build out with that also. Really curious to hear the full version of this when the tendonitis is feeling better!

All these lyrics feel fairly natural to me – the first verse in particular really captured me though. I’d say the least natural to me would be “Not one for presents or remembering dates | Don’t think there’s much to define“. When I read it, I like it, but listening it didn’t capture me quite the same.

This is such a nice song – I’d love to hear it with a bit more of an arrangement, though I get when the ‘bigger’ version just isn’t happening. Maybe some soft piano chords, gentle vocal harmony, something else? Sounds great as is too.

Your production is always so right on. Like just absolute bangers every time. Do you need to go anywhere from here? I feel like this is kinda tight as it is, 90 seconds of slap.

I really loved the live-ness of this take. The sound of the dog tail thumping and the collar rustle only added to the vibe for me. Felt really honest to me, in a way that really worked.

“but sure as the day pushes back the night | this evening the sky will churn” this is such a great lyric.

I second Ryan, not sure I needed the heavier section – I think the vibes you conjure up otherwise felt really good to me and didn’t feel like I was needing a departure yet.

I feel like I just took an absolute journey, I read your description as I listened, trying to keep up with the time marks and just had a blast. I think the precious object is exactly right – something so mundane, but meaningful, and something that feels like it captures a childlike innocence, which parallels the simplicity of CUSTODES’s mission, a simple return item to owner.

Also the sounds you created are absolute sick.

Absolutely loved the sound of the vocals in this straight from the get-go. Also the guitar solo is absolute killer, but those vocals underneath it at the top reallllllly worked for me.

In terms of your question, I don’t think I totally processed it as a song-within-a-song, but I loved the radio sweep for what its worth ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Guess in my mind it was more to me that a song about travel/road trip/driving wanted to make you feel like you were in the car alongside you also?

This took me by total surprise. Thom Yorke-esque vocals at the top didn’t have me expecting the, like, indie-electronica-8-bit-dance tune? I could see you pulling back on the vocal processing a bit at 1:17, but I think it worked for me overall.

Lyrics work for me. Lot of strength in their detail but concision.

Love the use of choral parts to flesh out the arrangement – really conjures a vibe for me. I’d be curious about leaning heavier into it; could see some like vocal cluster chords like a Grizzly Bear-Yellow House-esque thing.

There are definitely some McCartney-esque chords in here – made me want some like upbeat bass part moving around with the chords, maybe even with a tight lil’ drum track beneath it too. In general, about halfway through I thought it would be really satisfying for a full band to come in and start filling out the sound.

Love the cut out of that first chorus. This tune is just such a pleasant experience. The way the arrangement swells into fleshed out sections always feels so rewarding.

If I had to say anything, I feel like I need a little bit more growth towards the end in that last chorus – someone mentioned horns, I could even just see a larger vocal arrangement swelling up. Great tune!

As always, a total hit. Love the sound of those keys – so satisfying when that trashy bass comes in.

Also those ambient sounds are creepy af.

My approach to mixing is to find a vibe and lean into it. I think you’re doing that quite well here! I think you got some really nice guitar sounds, and your voice sounds great over the bed of texture you made. I love the outro rumbling. Would love to hear some more low end, maybe that just means recording a bass part. I feel like this would be a great song to do some late night driving to.

Dude! Gorgeous guitar parts! Reminds me of Strange Mangers, one of my favorite bands of all time. Though I love the fuzziness of the tone, I wouldn’t mind some clarity blended in to discern the parts more—I think they deserve it! Plus, one fuzzy and one clean often sounds gooooood IMO.

Regarding vocals, I think it’d be cool to let the lower voice be the lead and then choose your spots for the falsetto voice to join in and play the role of highlighting.

All the environmental/ambient sounds are awwwwesome, I’m super into this.

well “burning holes in the sky” is a great motif and phrase and i can’t believe i haven’t heard or thought about that before. well done. that’s really cool and inventive. and it flows so well.

the solo came in scorching.

incredible textures and sounds all over this thing. the repeating “And I wonder who else” is a great move. and *pat on the back* for trying this out even though it was strange. i also struggled with some of the things you mentioned. but you ended up with something special. i think your mix is really nice. totally works for me. the only thing would be avoiding the pops/clips in the vocals and guitars. feels like it could be as easy as tiny fades in and out from either side of the wav forms? unless it’s in the recording, in which case, just get those levels in place beforehand, or friggin get jonny to do it 🙂

I love this! The textures are awesome and the cascading held vocal line sounds so ethereal. Also the guitar tone for the soloy part is 🔥🔥🔥

Dream On, dreamers.

The precious object should be an Ibanez JEM77P. Otherwise—perfect.

This is incredible. The past 3 years I’ve had the same dream about 3 times a week and I cannot wait to write this song and explore this. Out of town this week but excited to hum some stuff while I’m gone and then get to work next week

“We die at least, and too soon” OOF, you should be proud of this for that line alone. Really beautiful!

DUDE. The story creation and composition here are sensational! Love it, I hope you one day get hired to score Love, Death, & Robots episodes.

The beginning section in 5 and the guitar techniques you employ during the section starting at 4:30 are fully rad. Amazing work!

This whole piece is just gravy atop the beautiful two-syllable rhyme within “Hannah’s anni-versary”. Little nuggets of beauty like that (including your great vocal delivery) make me happy. Lovely, evocative piece!!

Hell yeah, Ry! This feels at first tongue-in-cheek, but behind that is truly an all-around beautiful piece.

I love the little chromatic twiddles in the guitar interlude solo melody that give this a more Western feel.

I’m terms of arrangement, because I’m a silly, exuberant guitarist, I’d wonder about grabbing a slide and a delay pedal and using those to create the sound painting of the meteor shower happening. And I’m definitely feeling the entrance of a horn section towards the end that mirrors the choral vocal melody and gives a real powerful uplift at the end. Inspiring job!

This is beautiful!! I love the repetition of “Oh Earth”, which gives a more indirect sentiment of this meteorite yearning to each earth’s surface, compared to the more direct statements of this you have in your very efficient lyrics! But this feeling is so evocative to me, it reminds me of all of our own little worlds and all of our intense strivings. Really lovely piece.

I try to remind myself that song form can be whatever you want it to be–as you experiment more with standard forms, feel free to use them only as they serve the art. Creating something more free-form as a vessel for your poetry feels just as valid to me. Thanks for this!

This is heart-clenchingly, stomach-twistingly good. Wow! Also completely admire the efficiency of your lyrics here.

I like everything you’ve done with the vocals here, I think I’d personally want to think about adding some spots of vocal distortion in the interest of highlighting some angsty emotional moments above others, but just something to consider playing around with if that suits your taste as well. Again, stellar creation here!

This is such a cool sound you’ve created here. Totally agree with the artist comparisons already made by others.

My one area of constructive feedback is around vocal performance. Sometimes it felt like the articulation and timings could be approached more confidently. I noticed that the most confident your vocal performance sounds is around when you deliver the line “I rub my eyes, see the tiny little spots, like-ahh”. I’d encourage you to embrace and play around with your persona so your full vocal performance can feel more at home in the groove of the song. Feel free to bring the energy and (dare-I-say?) swagger in varied ways throughout the piece, you’ll have so much fun and will sound even more awesome! Excellent song!

There’s a remarkable pop sensibility here. I could easily see a song like this with a voice like yours winding up on some curated acoustic/chill indie pop playlists. I love it as is arrangement-wise, but are there any other directions you might take this to add depth beyond the guitar? Might be fun to play around building out a soundscape a bit more. Fantastic job!

immediately into this guitar composition. really well written and performed. especially the ending line but honestly all of it is great. i barely know what im talking about when it comes to mixing, but i would suggest youtubing about adding compression to vocals on whichever DAW you use and just copy them. i feel like the raw wav files you’ve recorded could be really strong with the right amount of mixing. nice job!

DAN great to finally hear your music! Great job, I think this song just needs a full band arrangement to bring out the sparkle.

Hey great voice! Post the lyrics!

0:35 “Aboooove it all (aboveitall)” = very nice

Without the background, I would not have had the faintest clue what the song was about, but that’s totally fine. You managed to make some really tricky words sound natural.

I see what @@Ryanmeans about the manic vocal at 1:17 but it is a really satisfying & kind of relieving fun moment, settles the tune into a solid Nick bop and gets us going on the dancefloor. But right, definitely worth asking, is that where we’re supposed to be? Or should we be calling an ambulance for this woman?!

I am also so down for the whole outro – just great layering of melodies & sounds leaving plenty of little pockets for individual phrases to shine – you always find a way to make repetitive sections like this feel super composed and intentional.

Funny, this song autoplayed and I assumed it was someone else until the “stiiiilllll–”

So fun to hear your take on this type of banger 4 on the floor.

I think i credit Thom Yorke with bridging the gap between these types of drum beats and me. In fact, the “Born in the U at the Lazy A/Falling skies in her eyes/Bloody stucco” part sounds very Yorkey. Then it doesnt anymore after 1;17

The vocals after the tick tick tick sound like they were a lot of fun to record. I also love when the full beat drops at 1;29.I thought we were at maximum, but we weren’t until then.

Oh this vocal is exactly what I want to hear. So so good. I love that we play with long legato melody alongside more repetitive vox. As always your brain is amazing and comes up with such interesting layers and melodic arrangements. Fuck yes fuck yes. hell yes to the drop out at :38- There is so much perfect movement here. OoOOOOOOOO baby 1:30 lets GOOOOOOOO. I like the juxtaposition of it being a Lazy A against this propulsive and magnetic synth arrangement. It works really well.

I love the lyrics. I have no notes there. You always manage to say so much with so little and i’ve always appreciated that.

@@peter can you filter out the submissions that make me cry?

jk please don’t. This is gorgeous, zero fluff, music puts my body right there, lyrics put my mind right there, well done.

I love the ‘rubbing your eyes and seeing the tiny spots’ like a meteor show, and the approach of asking the question “why would someone be inside for a meteor shower?” It’s a really cool take on a prompt that could have been an excuse to just write something ‘pretty.’

well done!

Love it- to get a full performance in one take – something I struggle with! I really like your voice and the raw poignancy suits the parameters well. Since I don’t regard myself as competent with form as some of the other folks around here, I’d suggest that the process of merely multi-tracking this would give it more dimension.

Friggin yes to starting with a chorus

Friggin yes to a lovely live arrangement that I’d love to play on someday

Friggin yes to SPACE imagery.

Friggin NO to the fact that we still haven’t watched Interstellar together. When that happens, let’s throw this puppy on while we’re cooking popcorn before the movie.

Congrats on another beaut!

Lovely. Like @@bogfoxmy favorite part is “light on a string/cow on the moon/your face lit up like all the silver in a spoon” – what a special line. I’m not envisioning tattoos though, more like a childrens’ bedtime book illustrated in really cozy, comforting pastels. On that note, this is so lovely, and I think tightening it up is actually a great idea, because I’m really feeling it more as a lullaby rather than a ballad. It’s comforting & sweet, but it also takes you on a journey and immerses you in somewhere that’s clearly not your bedroom, which is the best way to fall asleep. It reminds me of Goodnight Moon and Headspace’s “sleep stories”, and there is a nice dose of childlike wonder in there. Would you ever consider making a short version that’s only the second “if you’re crying tired” to the end? I think that would be such a sweet lullaby.

Calm, welcoming vibe to this song. Definitely works well as an advert for a motel as well as a track that occasionally graces the speakers of the motel bar. Really nicely done, you’re always great at setting a mood with your songs

The Light on a string / Cow on the moon / Your face lit up like all the silver in a spoon moment has been stuck in my head for days now. Good god i don’t have any tattoos and really didn’t plan on starting with sentimental cursive lyrics, but those lines make me want to throw that thought right in the garbage.

Hope this finds its way alongside a few other likeminded songs. I really love this side of you.

Oooh i like the string arrangement paired with with gritty synth.

Does it need to go anywhere from here? I guess if you wanted to extend the song I could see a new section come in with some different chords and new feel. But I can also see this as a fun little interlude between longer tracks on a record.

this slaps

This is a sleeper slapper. Was not expecting that haha! No notes from me, production is on point and I love the build and imagery.

WOW. This is a whole universe. Truly remarkable work

So light and fun, well done! Summer road trip vibes. Great lil guitar solo, and stellar instrumental parts all the way through. Great ending too 😉

I’m with Ryan – I find the lyrics to be more of a compliment to the music because there is so much to pay attention to there, so I find myself reading through them afterwards. That’s not a criticism though, because you write very thoughtfully and in your own voice. I can almost imagine you dropping in one of those lines into a conversation.

Love all of the inside friend references, I feel cool for catching them 😉

I can definitely hear the fleet foxes in a stairwell vibe — i’m getting some mix of tiger mountain peasant song and a low key father john misty track.

The lyrics all feel very personal and specific, and with loads of depth. Lines like “Maddie chimes in with “I can’t wait to see you girls” / And I know how much this is worth” carry a lot of meaning, even if the listener doesn’t know who you are referring to.

My one note is that I don’t love the word “thing” as a lyric. I acknowledge that it works well in context as an ambiguous “whatever” after party that you’re not thrilled to be at, but i don’t love how it feels aesthetically. Take it with a grain of salt.

As always, just freakin’ great to hear you sing. Some of my favorite moments: “managed to rally for the after-thing”, “finale”, “hey, helan gar”, “rememberin’ dates”. All the humming. Just great stuff.

Great feedback question. I agree with what others have said about economizing where needed, excising small words that add to syllable count. With a line that’s inherently complex, I think that’s especially important. Would “I hope they can feel it / and it’s something that’s mine” carry the same meaning for you? Conversely, there’s a line like “Nicole remembers it first” that doesn’t feel quite right in terms of its delivery. Maybe it’s delivery, maybe it’s the lyric. But it’s worth exploring.

Anyway, always love hearing your stuff. This one is particularly sweet.

The rabbit is back, munch munch. This mix is so luscious. Agreed with @@nick on the buttery toms. Wish I knew how to make things sound like that.

I wouldn’t mind waiting on that snare until 1:37. Would that work? Tough to say, but boy do I want to try.

lol the comment about cascading melodies sounding like Christmas is spot-on. I wanted to start my process by writing a cascade, but ran into the same problem you’re describing. Decided to focus on the song instead and write one later. I feel lucky that strategy worked. Curious whether you wrote yours first or in response to what you’d already laid down?

Fact is, this is effective. I feel like I’m dancing with my hands up. But I am sitting down and typing.

Re: your question about writing in a major key, I like @@nick‘s suggestions about purposely writing a not-sad (not “happy” but “not-sad”) tune with minor chords and some pep and see where that gets you. But also, most songs are in a major key so ~literally who cares~. You’ve written plenty of songs in a major key that don’t sound happy.

Sometimes they don’t come easy! I do think there’s a lot of strong material here, though. Others have weighed in on the lyrics pretty well, so I’ll stick to musical development — I think the major thing that I’m craving is some additional voices. Maybe some synths or some big drawn out guitar strums to juxtapose the jangly upbeat stuff. Could open things up vibe-wise and lead to other realizations, as well.

This track genuinely scares me.

Re: mix/master — I think my only observation here is the thinness of the e-kit. I think some more low end and low-mids would go a long way. Warm compression, warm saturation. Badabingbadaboom.

Yeah I love the main section of this! Could live in that space for a long time. Mellencamp meets Tom Waits. I was really digging the juxtaposition of the warm/summery instrumental and dark lyrics—not sure it needs to depart into the heavy section! And in regards to your note about vocal melodies that enhance rather than follow, I actually think you very much achieved that!

There’s something so confident about this song—it knows exactly what it is and what it needs to be. The lyrics made me think of Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City. And like a Wes Anderson scene, everything just clicks into place with this and feels ‘right.’ But also, there’s enough to keep you interested. The chord on “highway” at 1:37 is unexpected and makes you lean into it. And those accidentals in the solo—excellent.

fun. friggin fun. “Your face lit up like all the silver in a spoon.” get outta here, that’s great. the melody on “or you’re broken down” is written and sung deliciously. and yeah i dig the whole thing. only thoughts are around the … oh wait also that knock on the door is hilarious. ok where was i—thoughts about the solo section. for one, I think the first one shouldn’t lose so much momentum by removing the drum elements/volume. let’s keep this thing cookin! maybe ride? more tambo? i do like the idea of the second solo having the drums drop out, though. and then i’d like to hear a change in the section first heard at 2:07-2:13. first thought was doing something with the solo, but i may just want a little more tension or progression with the chords. it just seems to get the slightest bit flat there for me with the quick return to the root chord. ok, well done cowboy.

Nice melody at the end of that first phrase! Maybe more variation on the setup each time? I think this’ll be a good’n once you develop it! Thanks for sharing as always.

Well okay let’s rip mate.

Man do I love the melodies and rhythm on that second vocal. That feels like the emotional core of the song to me. That and the “krrrr-ET” hi-hat at the end of each phrase. The manic vocal at 1:17 actually feels out of place to me. With the story and the vibe. I think melodically it works—but could it be on another voice? A chopped acoustic guitar or something? I think it’s because I want something more organic-sounding, even if it is wonky.

Lyrics are awesome. Agreed with @@juliapiker that you have a real talent for powerful brevity. And I mean “Well outside / Her bailiwick / Sharing stares where / Sands sparely flick / Where hands barely tick” is just an absolute blast.

Sup Duce! Welcome!

This is very sunglasses-on-I’m-outta-here. Nice work. Love the slapback on the vocal and the rhythm track. I think your recording quality is just fine, though you could play around with getting a touch more low-end out of the rhythm guitars. One other thing to consider is choosing your spots for the lead guitar to come in and out. Right now, it’s clashing with the vocals in certain places. Getting a little more discerning about where to let it shine could make it all the more satisfying when it’s in.

great guitar playing! real nice rhythm track and the lead is nice and spicy. this is just one approach, but for something like this, you could try doing two takes of the rhythm guitar and panning each of them pretty hard left and right, allowing some space in the middle for vocals and lead. for percussion, not sure what software you’re using, but I love starting with a pre-recorded loop from the software, trying to record some percussion over that, and then removing or even keeping the loop in there. helps with getting a strong rhythmically legitimate take. but yeah, would love some big gritty kit sounds on this one. could definitely expand it. well done, john! (also love the idea of people thinking your son in the profile pic is the one singing.. old soul)

dude you should check out this band Elephantom. they have similar epic, long compositions that sort of blend prog with post rock with psychadelic rock with pop, even with elements of metal and fusion. lots of tight compositions that are complex yet deeply musical and tasteful, paired with heavily syncopated rhythms. scorching instrumentals, a patient long builds.

This is so great. Glad I carved out time for a full, hi-fi listen. Also, as always, great drum programming. Great composition and playing. We would’ve nerded out in highschool together i think.

I think my only suggestion would be to modify something about the 4:27ish part where the drums come in. the drums in that one section sound a little naked or something? thats the only time that i’m taken out of the world you’ve created. I dont know if that means change the composition of them, dirty them up a little with fx, add some bass or synth, lower their volume, or what. but as soon as the bass comes in they start sounding like they sit better, especially as you open up the hihats a little at around 5:12.

The line at 5:50 and 6;00 is so sick. and the epic kick drum in between those two moments. again, such great drum programming. This is a success. 8 and a half minutes of instrumental music, played by a super skilled multi-instrumentalist who loves intricate composition and rhythm and dynamics always has a risk of veering off the rails into Wank Town, but you’ve managed to steer clear. The composition is so patient and pretty and melodic and musical. I mean sure, sometimes you might drive the train right to the gates of Wank Town, just for like 5 seconds, just to shred a little bit and stick out your tongue at the Guitar Center guys who live there. But you never go in. Because legend has it, that once you go into the gates of Wank Town, you grow a soul patch and never leave. Because it’s probably fun.

There’s some Animals As Leaders business happening throughout the entire song.

Thanks for 8 minutes of entertainment that honestly brings me back to some of the stuff that really got me excited about music in my early days.

This one’s… a keeper.

This completely blew my mind. Not gonna lie, I read the description and saw the length of the track and was like “nah I ain’t got time for this” but I’m so glad I did. This was a journey and I’m glad I went on it. Reminds me of earlier Grizzly Bear songs actually—Daniel Rossen experimenting with unexpected guitar changes combined with Ed Droste’s soundscapes, and songs that take you on winding journeys.

I dig the structure of this one—cool chord changes and melody! I thinking bringing the rhythm guitar a little louder would help integrate the ingredients somewhat—when there’s kind of a key change at 0:39, we’re mostly hearing that change in the vocals, and if the guitar were a little louder it might lock that change in in with a little more oomph.

Dude—so, so fun haha.

“Robert Rioul” into “OOOwhoa” is such a fantastic section change—melodically, lyrically, harmonically. Super into it. I feel very strongly that there should be a crescendoing pad throughout that entire section. Something with a little movement to it that pushes us along to the next section. When you get to the reprise of that section around the 2:00 mark, I’m down for it to dry up as it does.

Git solo is sick. Git it, if you will.

Honestly, your lyrics are always a little hard for me to follow because the music that accompanies them is so interesting that I end up following that more. Your lyrics stick with me more on the 5th or 6th listen. So I guess what I’m saying is, I’ll get back to you.