The Wonder Years Band • Page 50

Yeah the mix on that album is frustrating. Didn't love Patsy Cline until I saw it live at the Electric Factory, mainly because the album version has such a muddy chorus.

 

Patsy Cline is definitely much better live, but I still think it kills the vibe a little bit.

 

Palm Reader
You in January
Patsy Cline
Cigarettes & Saints

 

Alright here are my picks:

I Don't Like Who I Was Then
Stained Glass Ceilings
Cardinals
Cigarettes & Saints

And here's the mid-day count.

"Palm Reader" (10) vs "I Don't Like Who I Was Then" (23)
"You In January" (10) vs "Stained Glass Ceilings" (23)
"A Song For Patsy Cline" (9) vs "Cardinals" (24)
"The Bluest Things On Earth" (6) vs "Cigarettes & Saints" (27)

 

Is the main issue with the mix for people just vocal levels? I've never seen anyone speak technically about it so I'm curious what a general listener is looking for.

I don't disagree that it has issues, but I think I'm looking at it from a completely different angle.

 

For me personally, it's just the vocals seem a little low in the mix from about the 15 second to 30 second mark of Cardinals. I know that's not very technical at all haha. Cardinals is one of my favorite 2 or 3 songs on the album so it definitely doesn't detract much from the song in my opinion.

 

I don't necessarily have the most trained ear out there but I don't think and never thought that NCTH sounds much different from the other two Evetts-produced albums.

 

I don't Like who I was then
Stained Glass
Cardinals
Cigarettes and Saints

 

The vocals and the drums feel drowned out by the guitars on this record as opposed to Suburbia and TGG. It's not like the mix was bad, just not as great as I expected after TGG.

 

yeah, the main two examples to me are cardinals. vocals are very low in the mix, and its hard to hear what hes saying, and the drums and vocals seem overpowered by the guitars. the intro to i dont like who i was then sounds like it should kick a lot harder than it does once the drums come in, but it kind of just sounds like a ... thud.

 

"I Don't Like Who I Was Then"
"Stained Glass Ceilings"
"Cardinals"
"Cigarettes & Saints"

Weak match-ups this time. The four best songs on the album are matched up against each other.

 

i'm really in the minority this time 'round, seems like. no love for Palm Reader, huh?

 

Fair. I don't disagree.

To answer your previous question about how it ended up like that, we were done. Exhausted. We had a deadline to meet and no budget to hire someone else to fix it. Kinda just became an "is what it is" situation. But we also didn't want it to sound hyper modern like a lot of releases so it's not like it would've ended up like a Feldman release.

 

Would much rather it sound the way it does than have it have Feldman production haha

 

I appreciate the honesty and explanation. Still an amazing record and probably my favorite though it's hard to make that choice. I've heard the complaints before and honestly the vocals in Cardinals is the only thing that has ever bothered me consistently. The lyrics are so good I just want to turn them up!

Totally understand from an exhaustion of body and wallet standpoint as my old band put out an EP that had a lot of flaws in my eyes but we just had to live with it.

 

I remember seeing a post from Soupy around the time the album came out that said something similar in less words. The only reason I am harsh on it is because i felt like TGG really nailed that sound down, and i can understand wanting to go a little more raw. It worked well on songs like Cigarettes and Saints, but overall it just doesn't sound good to me, personally. always looking forward to what you guys do next.

 

Was probably obvious to everyone but here are the winners for this round.

I Don't Like Who I Was Then
Stained Glass Ceilings
Cardinals
Cigarettes & Saints

--------------

Which brings us to the semifinals of this Round. Voting will start now until 5PM EST Tommorow August 10th.

"I Don't Like Who I Was Then" vs "Stained Glass Ceilings"

"Cardinals" vs "Cigarettes & Saints"

 

Stained Glass Ceilings
Cigarettes & Saints

 

I Don't Like Who I Was Then
Cigarettes & Saints

 

Stained Glass Ceilings
Cardinals (gotta rep my tattoo)

 

IDLWIWT
Cigarettes and Saints

 

Stained Glass Ceilings
Cigarettes & Saints

 

Always appreciate the honesty, Nick.
I agree mostly with @Micah511. The parts that feel like they should kick a lot harder on the album just kind of leave you wanting more if that makes sense?
Glad you didn't go down the hyper modern route though. I'd rather it sound like this than some over-produced thing.
Y'all released one hell of an album. Can't wait until the acoustic EP drops and when we hear a new record eventually! Thanks for taking the time to chat with everyone on here.

 

I Don't Like Who I Was Then
Cigarettes & Saints

 

We also backed off on harmonies a bit from TGG. I always wished Suburbia had more so when TGG came around I went a little nuts with them. We ran out of time and had to rent out the second room at the studio and I engineered while Matt and I cranked out harmonies on everything over 3 or 4 days. Probably went overboard. whoops

Really excited for everyone to hear the acoustic stuff. I'm sure it won't be "reimagined" enough for some people, but we had some fun with it.