PigLick on 11/12/2008 at 23:41

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Ok, this stuff isnt bad, in a very generic, cliched kinda way. First thing I must mention though, guitar tone is terrible, the first songs opening riff just made me want the rythm section to kick in to cover it up.
Also the drummer needs a bit of work, some quite obvious pushing of the beat, especially in the first song.
As to the songs themselves, only listened to em once but they are decent, nothing terribly riveting, very by the numbers rock. Except 'Comin down the line', I actually liked that a bit, definetly where the band seems to the most comfortable in that country/rock style, nice harmonies too, would totally expect to hear that on some country radio station.
So there you go, a quick review. In summary, the music is too predictable, you know exactly whats coming next. Unless thats what you wanted. Some nice playing though.

New Horizon on 12/12/2008 at 00:01

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Yeah, we never set out to change the face of music. We just aimed to have some fun making the music we enjoy.

We made the mistake of not recording to a click track, so the issues you mention with the beat were known but we couldn't afford to go back and lay down all the ghost tracks again unfortunately. I think the issues with the beat in some spots also has to do with one too many celebratory beer being consumed during the early recording sessions. ;) I can't function if I drink, so I abstained from that stuff during recording. haha

Considering how little it cost us to put together the full album (recording, mixing, mastering, art design and packaging), I think it turned out really well.

Thanks for the feedback.

Scots Taffer on 12/12/2008 at 00:29

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Yeah, I also wanted to echo the sentiment that this music would not be out of place on a radio station or in a jukebox in a bar which is a good achievement in itself.

Fingernail on 12/12/2008 at 13:11

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Yeah, it's a very familiar, comforting sound (although there was little rhythmic comfort to be found in the opening guitar riff to Rock n' Roll Ain't Pretty - not bad, exactly, just not consistently played). Nice harmonies. Your voice is efficient but not hugely distinctive. I won't dwell on the lyrics because I don't think they're the focus of your style. I think it all sounds like you know what you're going for, and to an appreciable extent (I won't repeat comments about the pushed tempos etc.), achieves its goal.

But it's not really my kind of music - I don't find it interesting enough, really. Not divergent enough from the norm. I don't mean I was looking for avant-garde styles, broken beats, or bizarre fusion elements, but originality and invention within the umbrella of the genre as opposed to relatively strict adherence. Echoing Scots and Piglick, it's largely as if I'd heard it before in various other songs. Like you said though, it's about your fun first.

Also: Coming down the line more like coming round the mountain!

New Horizon on 12/12/2008 at 16:32

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Thanks for the feedback Fingernail.



I find this comment funny because usually people are saying that my voice is distinctive because it doesn't sound like 90% of the Top 40 radio voices. lol Just goes to show that it depends what musical circles the listeners are privy to.



I would actually be quite interested in hearing thoughts on the lyrics. For me, writing the lyrics was a huge part of the process since the music on the other nine songs were written by the other guys, and it was up to me to write the lyrics. A lot of the songs on the album are thematically linked to events leading up to my joining the band.

The last time is a comment on my father's last days before he passed away. It's from a mixed perspective...both his and mine.

Rock and Roll Ain't Pretty is about the experiences of our lead guitarist in the music industry. He has 'lived the life' so I had to get into his head and try to work through his life internally.

The Morning After. That was our rhythm guitarist's experiences with rough parties. I observed people around me, internalized it, and then came up with a fictional account of some guy having some kind of awakening at this superficial party.

Shameless, pretty self explanatory. It's an apology song to someone I hurt badly.

Coming down the line. Complete nonsense. A recollection of the day the character in the song was born, as told to him by his parents. It was actually a song I wrote years ago for a fictional country character that I created. There are 8 more rough tracks on my hard drive that I wrote for that character. Someday I actually want to release the songs as that character. lol

I don't see myself as some exceptional lyricist, but I am happy with the words I've written. They're simple, honest, and that's all I ever wanted to be. I just write about things in a way that allow me to relate to them on a personal level. I have to feel what I'm singing, otherwise I might as well be reading the ingredients from a cook book. lol

For the fun of it, I'll post a link to the third song I wrote both music and lyrics for on the album.



Yeah, we're wishing the tempo shifts hadn't happened, but initially...I think we only set out to do a quick demo...but somewhere along the way we said...screw it, we're this far in...lets just do an album. The next album will be much better planned.



Yes, that's all understandable. The first batch of songs are more about playing together and getting to know how we fit with each other. The album is a time capsule of our efforts. We can already see a huge difference in our next batch of songs. They're tighter, and have more focus.