Rock/Metal/Stoner - New 4 Song EP - Blutfleck

[moliere]

http://blutfleck.bandcamp.com/

Free/Pay what you want

Female fronted Rock/Metal/Stoner Rock/what have you.

Reaper (and reaper/stillwell plugs mainly) from start to finish, everything recorded in various lounges on zero budget. I tracked and mixed, and my partner plays guitar.

https://www.facebook.com/blutfleck

[HugoRibeiroDotCom]

Very organic! I like it!

cheers

[suleiman]

Very nice ! Like the man said, quite organic in composition and production. Love the loose drum feel. Good performances all around .

[moliere]

Cheers guys!

[moliere]

Here's another EP that I've done for these girls/guy, 5 songs, this one is still all Reaper and mainly Stillwell/Schwa, but some of ToneBoosters stuff and Melda Productions plugins.

http://blutfleck.bandcamp.com/album/connect-your-hook

ps. There is probably some objectionable (to some people) lyrical content in these, so if you're easily offended, then I'd steer clear. I don't want another silly thread like the time I posted the video from one of my own bands.

[kindafishy]

Cool stuff. I started out writing notes on each song, but a pattern quickly developed where I was writing the same things for every tune, so I'll just leave some feedback based on the whole collection.

First off, there is some stuff I think is really good. The writing is heavy and edgy, which I really like. I also like how the musical melody is up front. These are not simple songs, I can hear how much thought has gone into them. That's really cool. Getting a bit of a Siouxsie and the Banshees feel, but with a much heavier edge - which is AWESOME. This is really cool and could really easily develop into a very distinctive signature. Actually, it seems that it already has since I made that association.

The following are my completely subjective thoughts and opinions based on trying to listen critically, and trying to give constructive feedback...

Songwriting and Performance

I have a problem with making out the lyrics most of the time. Now, I don't pay a lot of attention to lyrics in general, but I like to be able to make them out. Posting them along with the songs would be a good idea for people who really latch onto the words (there are many people who do).

Much of the music is a bit disorganized sounding (mostly Winter and Meat stuffed with Meat, but everything to an extent). Is the playing as tight as it could be? It sounds like the band could potentially really gel and groove with each other much more cohesively. All your parts sound quite cool when I focus on them individually, but they don't really come together as a musical entity that forces me to move and groove - I need that. I think this is the overall 'missing piece' for this band. While rehearsing, instead of focusing on what is being played, the band could try to just play while listening to the song and what others are doing. The players are sort of coming across as detached from each other right now.

The Production

There is something... I don't know... 'indistinct' about the finished product, and it doesn't have the huge impact that my brain it to have. To give the overall sound a simple description, I would say that there is a depth missing that I would really like to hear. The guitars are really competing with the vocals for the most part, and the majority of the time, the guitars seem to be winning. The bass is also indistinct and doesn't carry the low end like it could. It sounds like it is masked by the guitars as well. I think that additional attention given to the guitars and their role in these productions would do a world of good. Right now, they are dominating in terms of levels and frequency content.

It might sound like I'm being a bit overly critical, but honestly, I wouldn't leave feedback if I didn't dig it... and I do.

[moliere]

Thanks heaps for the in-depth thoughts/feedback on this. It's much appreciated.

I certainly agree with most of your thoughts on the mix/production personally.

ps. regarding lyrics, there is a lyric sheet with the download if I recall correctly (I didn't organise that).

[Swamp Ape]

I'm going to kind of disagree with kindafishy. I think the guitars and vocals are balanced well enough - this style lives and dies on the guitar sound, and it needs to be upfront. If anything, the spots where there are multiple vocals kind of drown the guitars out, at least to my ears. I think the bass could be a little heftier, and the guitars could actually use a little more high end to bring them forward without being louder. When I turn this down they disappear before the vocals. Also the snare doesn't quite stand out as much as it could, maybe.

I say all this as a frequent listener of stuff in this style, from the perspective of what is the norm for bands in this particular subgenre. My favorite band doing it right now is probably Witch Mountain, who seem to have the perfect blend of distinct, arresting female vocals and a super-tight, super-heavy band. This, in my opinion, is what bands like this should aspire to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4vaKsdvUsw

That said, I really like this band, and I love the live feel of the recordings. The singer is awesome. They might have benefited from another take or two on some songs, but a little looseness isn't necessarily a drawback when the songs are as good as these.

[moliere]

Cheers for the comments, and also for the link to Witch Mountain, not a band I'd heard before, they're pretty cool.

Blutfleck are certainly a fun live band, definitely worth checking out some photos on their facebook, they like to dress up :)