The MacArthurs - "Empty Room with a Clock"

Hi,

Working on a full father/son “The MacArthurs” collab album to be released this winter and here is a near-final WIP mix of a song we recorded together called “Empty Room with a Clock”. The main song idea came from Connor (aka ‘the son’) and I (aka ‘the father’) tweaked the lyrics a bit and added a bridge. Drums, piano and some guitars by Connor. Vocals, lead guitars, bass by me and some Hammond and piano by my Elder Bros bandmate Dave Williams.

Empty Room with a Clock - WIP

Comments welcomed!

Recorded mixed and mastered with various versions of Ardour 8.

9 Likes

Well done Glen, nice song! Thank you.

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Very nice composition!
Although I recognize the sounds of Rods on the drums, I’m not sure if I hear Rods there. I also hear rim clicks in the vocal verses and it’s not clear to me how the drummer can change sticks so quickly.
EDIT:Or I think I hear it, but it can also have other causes, e.g. mixing. The rods can also sound quite harsh;)

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Hi, well done.

The only thing I would change is the bass during the verses, because the long notes are “hooting” too much over everything else there. Either turn down the bass during the verse or play around with an EQ to cut down the low mids a bit.
During the choruses the bass fits much better into the overall mix…

Regards.

2 Likes

Thanks all for the listens and comments!

@guth he actually played with sticks, in retrospect I’m not super thrilled with the snare sound we got that day and part of the ‘rods’ impression is the the snare sound is a bit weird and I worked with it quite a bit to get it where it is. Drums are a weird beast, we have a stationary studio Pearl kit we use and we usually mic them in the same way and I’m always intrigued with how the snare sound from the same kit can vary from recording to recording…

@slash Thanks, I’ll zero in on the bass when we do the final once-over mixes before it’s released…

Love the voice. Very emotional.

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Thanks, appreciated!

Well, as a start, thanks for sharing and « bravo »!!!
I gave a first quick listen to the song, and went back to it with headphones and more attention.
The song sounds good to me, but, coming from you, it is « normal ».
Coming to « deeper » feelings, according to me, the midrange are too busy, with piano, organ, guitar and even the bass who lies, somehow, in this area.
It starts with the intro, and when comes the lead vocal, as you are skilled, you manage to put it upfront, but everything gets very loud, and I, somehow, get lost, concerning the « true intention » of the song…
To be honest, I would say the piano, organ and guitar are almost fighting each other in the midrange, then the lead vocal wins, but it seems ( sorry sorry, just to my humble feel) as if the voice was winning a fight.
Where I think the voice could just lay down on a soft « bed » and maybe it is the « song » in itself which could gain in emotional motion ?
Just my two cents.
Olivier

Thanks @olivmusic

I appreciate your experienced ears and will take what you’ve said into consideration on the final mix. I have about half of the album sitting at 98% completed mixes and I had gotten so weary of hearing the songs I just stopped working on them until I had some time to clear my head, this is why I posted it here at this stage to get some unbiased comments so this is good feedback!

Great voice Glen, when i hear you sing i think of the Eagles in ‘Take it to the limit’. Lovely song, keep up the good work.
Thanks.

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Thanks very much! Appreciated!

Another one who liked the song. Everything seems very well arranged, mixed and mastered from here. Good decisions were made throughout the whole spectrum, very pleasant to listen. Thank you in advance.

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Thanks for the listen and encouraging words!