Here is the first Indie Artist Review. Freelance Lyrics will be accepting submissions at all times for the next Indie Artist Review. If you’ve got music you’d like reviewed and critiqued on our blog, e-mail ET@FreelanceLyrics.com .
DH – More Than Music (Download: More than Music )
Title Track – More Than Music
The Good:
The first track on the mixtape comes in with a bang. The beat is great, a nice modern pop/dance vibe with the synths and energetic drum pattern. The chorus comes in with great energy. The vocalist has a good vibe and the way the vocals are layered gives it a good amount of depth. The verses are fast, packed with a conscious vibe and a solid flow. Overall, this song has a great vibe.
The Bad:
The mixing on this is a bit off. Most likely this is simply the result of not having access to state of the art equipment and high end mixing engineers. One thing I will say, though, is that the verse vocals need turned up! It’s a bit hard to understand with as fast as it is, and with such an apparently conscious message, it would benefit from being easier to hear. The chorus sounds much better with the two vocals layered as opposed to the singer alone. One of the best pieces of advice I can give as far as polishing up a sung chorus is to LAYER! Layering will help smooth it out (if mixed properly) and hide vocal flaws. Make sure not to go overboard with effects or layering, though, because then your final product may sound a bit busy. I almost always record a sung vocal 2+ times, usually in different styles or octaves, and then layer them over each other. This will help you achieve a fuller sound with a less confident vocalist.
Overall:
This track has a GREAT energy. I definitely am digging the vibe on this, and with a bit of polishing it could be a fantastic track.
Track 5 – On and On
The Good:
This one starts out nicely. The melody of the piano is fantastic, the beat is great, and the vocals are fairly on point. This really feels more of a dance track, with the 4 on the floor bass pattern and the slightly electronic vocals. I think that this track captures a nice, positive vibe well. This time, when the rap verse comes in, it’s nicely mixed, sitting comfortably with the beat and not being over shadowed. This is another conscious type of song, with a positive message and a feel good vibe.
The Bad:
One thing I would pick out of this one is certain spots where the vocals become a bit jumbled, perhaps due to excessive reverb or delay or both. Sometimes, especially with the sung vocals, they get a bit overpowering and begin to overlap too much. This is another one that could benefit from more layering on the sung vocals to disguise the few weak spots in the recording. Another note: Don’t be afraid to PAN your background/delayed vocals! This will help spread things out a bit more and keep them from becoming too jumbled.
Overall:
Great intro, great beat, and again this song captures a really emotional, uplifting feeling. I think that this track does its job well, but still has a few flaws that can be fixed eventually with a bit more tweaking on the mixing/recording end.
Track 15 – Never Forget
The Good:
Again on his conscious vibe, DH delivers a good track here. Kind of a “here I come” track, this one moves along nicely with a good synth and piano presence complimenting the vocals. The delivery on the verses works well, moving quickly and presenting a strong feeling in its message. You can tell that this track comes from the heart.
The Bad:
Again just mixing issues, which will be present in almost any independent project. I think that the sung vocals on the hook need a bit more presence, but it does sound like they’ve been layered lightly so the hook is a bit smoother. The flow of the verses struggles a bit, mostly toward the end of the song.
Overall:
A good inspirational track with lots of emotion.
Summary:
Among its independent peers, this project shines. It has decent and consistent production, but a few mixing flaws. If you’re in to real music with a real message, DH delivers. He has something to say and does it in a way that is easy to listen to. There are a few tracks that really struggle, but mostly the flaws are things that could have easily been fixed with another recording session. Sometimes, independent projects suffer from such flaws either due to lack of funds or lack of effort. This project has a few great tracks that are almost perfect as is, and they just need a few mixing or vocal tweaks to really shine and reach their full potential. Overall, this project is good, but could be great with a few adjustments (such as making the main vocals louder, as the verses were fast and hard to understand on some tracks due to the levels.) I definitely suggest checking this project out.
