Three tracks from an indie rock kinda band. Am I doing alright?

[i51423]

Here's a band that has been taking FOREVER to record. They come once a week because that's all they have time for with school and work (They go to school/work in the city 45 minutes away). They get horribly sidetracked everytime we get together. It wouldn't annoy me if I hadn't hooked them up and given them such a small fee.

But anyway.. these are the first three songs we've "finished". I'm sure they'll find something they want to redo on them. I did a quick "master" for them and all.. blah blah. Each song is mixed completely differently. I need to now make them sound like they belong on the same album.

Is everything sounding alright? Or am I missing something big?

The first song is an upbeat rock song.
The second song is a bit slower.
The third song is an acoustic song. There is quite a bit of fan noise in one of the mics. Everything was recorded live. I guess he was too close to the computer. They said they don't mind, though. They actually kinda like it. I don't know why.. meh.

But if you could.. any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[jomo1234]

Just curious....who is the band??

[rainsinvelvet]

I only had time to listen to "monsterland"
I thought it sounded cool. As good or better than a lot of released indie stuff I've heard before IMHO.

While listening on my little dell pooter speakers, I'de maybe suggest just a bit more kick maybe? More snap that is.. I wasn't sure if I could hear it.

Anyhow, thats just splitting hairs, I thought it sounded fine for the style your after thumbsup
ERic

[AlexLakis]

Listened to the first song. Sounds pretty good. There's a few tempo issues with the band, but what can ya do? The guitars sound a little overbearing to me at parts, like the pre-chorus. They definately drown out the vocals in the chorus. The vocals could come up a bit, and be a bit more intimate. They sound off centered in the verse, a little to the left...And maybe a bit to the right in the chorus?

[i51423]

Originally Posted by jomo1234

Just curious....who is the band??

The band is called Backseat Driver. http://www.myspace.com/backseatdriverpa

Originally Posted by AlexLakis

Listened to the first song. Sounds pretty good. There's a few tempo issues with the band, but what can ya do? The guitars sound a little overbearing to me at parts, like the pre-chorus. They definately drown out the vocals in the chorus. The vocals could come up a bit, and be a bit more intimate. They sound off centered in the verse, a little to the left...And maybe a bit to the right in the chorus?

I decided last night that I'm going to definitely turn the vocals up. They seemed content while we were mixing... but meh. The one guitarist also was not a fan of centered vocals. He wanted this song to have a "call and answer" kinda deal with the chorus and verse.

[simonv]

Sounds good!

How did you do the handclaps at the beginning of the 1st song? They have a nice tone.

If it were my band, I'd put those handclaps at other places too during the song, or remove them completely. They sound out of place since they only appear once at the beginning.

[i51423]

Originally Posted by simonv

Sounds good!

How did you do the handclaps at the beginning of the 1st song? They have a nice tone.

If it were my band, I'd put those handclaps at other places too during the song, or remove them completely. They sound out of place since they only appear once at the beginning.

The bassist one day decided to pick up random objects around the room and use them as percussion. That noise is actually an E.L. Fudge cookie tray thing. They added claps behind it later. They kept it because they though it was so ridiculous. There are also claps in the second chorus.

Thanks.

[dim light]

I like this... of course things can always improve but the mixes and time issues sounds nice and real to me... I think the vocals and guitar are a little 2D and L2:d or something - sounds pretty loud and flat - miss da dynamics and air.

Good work I like you!