Getting me to listen to a whole album of white guy playing an guitar while talking about his life is about as hard as getting me to walk over hot coals. That being said I like your album and listened to it all the way through. It's not cliched in any of the regular annoying modern ways. The style is nothing but singer song writer, timeless and honest sounding. It's low-finess in now way detracts from the content, the content is strong enough on it's own to not want or need the polish. Sometimes the vocals drop a little flat, like in Kalamazoo. The chorus saves the song but the verse just kind of plods along. It's so hard to write good songs and you've got the knack. What do you want to do with your music? Keep recording alone? Get a band together? Any band with sense would realize that they are lucky to have someone who can knock out a good song. You have any significant influences?
Mind if I use this quote on the bandcamp page? I agree about the vocals, in Kalamazoo especially. That was a frustrating one to write because there are so many parts to the story that I wanted to tell. I gave up a lot of ideas to make it more concise and it wasn't really enough. I think a second verse melody would have helped out a lot in making it more interesting. I get the same feeling about "All The Things You'd Say" My most notable musical endeavor is as bassist in a band called The Blisters but I don't write songs for them. This was my first solo release so I haven't thought too far ahead, for now I'm working on another white guy with guitar album but I'm recording it for real. I may add bass and drums down the line but I'd record them myself. For this project, I drew a lot of inspiration from Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra. He has a side project called Right Away, Great Captain that I really admire.getting me to listen to a whole album of white guy playing a guitar while talking about his life is about as hard as getting me to walk over hot coals. That being said I like your album and listened to it all the way through.
...have you ever posted about being in The Blisters before? I'm a bit blown away by that and am enjoying this album a lot. Andy Hull rules and I definitely hear a bit of him in your music. These songs are super well written but there are points where I wish there was some sort of accompaniment or another guitar going on somewhere. Such as bass and/or drums. Love the crippling loneliness tag.
I have mentioned it a couple times I think, but probably just in conversations with tng. why, have you heard of us? Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it and I'm glad you can hear the Andy hull! My dream Is that somehow one of these songs will reach him and he'll love it so much that he'll offer to produce and finance my next record. In that case, there would definitely be bass, drums, strings, the works!
Dog. I'm halfway through Temporary, and like, I'm not even gonna try to judge or critique anything.. this is so awesome. Inspiring, no doubt. Care to share how you came about the artist name? My band has been struggling with finding a name. edit: I mean it about being inspiring, I'm just squeezing out my first songs and it's not flowing easily, I think it may be a bit more difficult with a band. Your simplicity in instrumentation but depth in sound and lyrics is a good reminder to not get lost in riffs and beats before I've got a foundation down. Keep it comin!
Thanks so much, Pablo. If any critiques do come up, let me know! It's all very raw and basic, the goal was just to exercise my ability to write songs without worrying about anything else. The first time i saw the term "beta male" was in a book i think by Christopher Moore, but i don't remember which one. I read it years ago and it's just something that stuck with me because i identify with it so much (never been the guy who's confident and not afraid to take charge and get shit done). It took a while to finally settle on Beta Males as the name - i have a note in my phone of dozens of band name ideas and for the longest time i couldn't decide. A friend told me it sounds too light hearted for my sad crybaby songs. Eventually, though, I decided i was okay with that because how often do you find a name that you really like and identify with? So regarding your band, try not to take things too seriously and don't let the name get in the way. Make sure the name can be understood easily over loud music in a crowded venue. This local band that i played with recently was called The Aunteaks (pronounced Antiques) and as clever as that is i think it's more confusing than anything else. Ultimately, if you come up with a name that means something to you, i'd say just go for it. Your fans will care way less about the name than you guys do.
Thanks, yeah the iPhone really surprised me when I started recording these. It starts to sound worse and worse the better the equipment you use to listen, but coming out of my iPhone speakers or my garbage earbuds i think it sounds pretty nice. Regarding post-production, no, all I did was boost the gain on all the songs by like 2db.
Nice work, my friend, it's definitely got something of a charm about it. Like cgod mentioned, the lo-fi quality works in this context, kind of like it worked for Nick Drake. It helps it sound honest, genuine, and intimate. Both the voice and guitar generally sound good throughout. One thing I will say though is that when it's this one guy and a guitar type deal, some more flair on the guitar can go a long way to keeping things spicy. Just something other than straightly played chords to add some more depth. I saw in your response to Pabs that this was more an exercise in songwriting than anything else, but it's an observation nonetheless.
Yes, haha, I wish I were a better guitar player! I took it up just to write songs so I never learned much outside of chords, but I know exactly what you mean. In "Temporary" the guitar plays a melody under the vocals during the verse and I think that adds some spice. But in most of the songs it's just strumming and singing. Arrangement is definitely a big part of songwriting, thank you for the observation, I will certainly be keeping this in mind as I continue writing. Having guitar flair is also good because it can inform the vocal melody, which is something I struggle with a lot.
I'll be taking the dog for a walk this afternoon, and I look forward to a nice listen. Congratulations Tory, I dig the cover photo too.Each of these songs was written and recorded in an evening using my mom's old Takamine, my iPhone's Voice Memo app, and my fragile heart.
-awesome.
You know how to write a song but honestly there's nothing really setting you apart from the other million white guys with an acoustic guitar. Other than the track "Temporary", your instrumentation is severely lacking. A little finger-picking here-and-there and some chord-zest would give the songs a lot more depth. Maybe layer on some melodic guitar in some places.
I take issue with the notion that doing something which has been done before is inherently bad. I also think you may be missing the point of the project, as tng said. But still I appreciate that you took the time to listen and give feedback. Maybe some of my other stuff would be more to your liking.
I disagree. To each their own I suppose.You know how to write a song
-Not with this part, this part you have spot on. your instrumentation is severely lacking.
-It's intentionally a guitar and a voice. He's sharing songs at their most basic. At which point, it's about structure, emotion and lyrical content -all three things I think he has in spades. Could he add instrumentation? Of course. There could be strings, horns, guitar picking galore, but that's a completely different project. It could be that he ends up going down that road with these songs and I'd gladly listen to that project too but there is virtue in how he's presented these tracks. As someone that often takes simple songs and adds too much to them, I respect his restraint and in his restraint, his courage to present these songs, bare and vulnerably. there's nothing really setting you apart from the other million white guys with an acoustic guitar
-Couldn't disagree more. I have heard a lot of the music you describe, enough to understand the disdain that the categorization holds. His lyrics are tight, he conveys them with a sincerity that most do not and the songs are well structured. Millions? Nope. Others? Sure, this isn't Dylan, but it's good, especially for a first effort. I'm impressed.
Okay, I've had a listen and I really, really enjoyed it! First of all, great songwriting! Secondly, you get a really great sound out of your guitar, especially given the lo-fi recording. Also, and I've mentioned this to you before, but I really enjoy your voice. It's incredibly earnest. In fact, it reminds me a lot of Ken Stringfellow, but even more "sincere" sounding. Point is, I believe you And that goes a long, long way with singer/songwriter material. You can't fake that. Well done my friend! I remain a fan.