Still need some time to get into it, but I love that bass sound- real deep raw synth wave. Between that and the main drum pattern it reminds me a little of some Eno, or Aphex Twin; it's timbral rather than melodic. The guitar seems to be doing its own thing- nice guitar tone, BTW, ringing but not harsh at all. Production quality is nice and clean too- all those effects could have easily cluttered up the mix, but I can hear lots of detail.

The only negative thing that I could say would be about the drums...I'm not sure whether it's the sounds, the programming, or just the sheer number of percussive elements going on, but there's something about the drums that I'm having trouble with. Maybe that'll change after a few more listens, though. I know personally that drums are the trickiest parts to get right.

Are the vocals low in the mix on purpose, or are you just a little insecure about them?

hopelevre:

I think it's great.  Sure, it needs to be "polished up."  But it has really great potential.

I agree with James: the thing it most reminded me of was Eno's early work, on Here Come the Warm Jets and Another Green World.

I'm also not so sure you need question its "progginess": realized to its potential, I'm guessing the final product would definitely qualify.  After all, prog is not simply using non-standard time signatures - nor is that even an absolute requirement.  Rather, your approach is quite "proggy," as is the way you arrange the elements.

If you find your "voice" (i.e., "style") through this - i.e., "get" what type of "refinement" it needs - and are able to compose an album's worth of material with this "voice," I would definitely buy it...and probably give it a darn good review.

Keep up the good work!

Peace.

http://s34.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0LPT8YDKBRZ9O1213SPBART4UB - http://s34.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0LPT8YDKBRZ9O1213SPBART4U B    

try this link

Uggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

I've just swallowed a fly,sorry.

Hmm-interesting,in a wtf's going on kind of way.Not my cup of tea,but there is definitely a spark of something original. But not "musical" enough for my tastes.

Overall this track reminds me of Radiohead's work on "Kid A", but with almost Frank Zappa flavoured vocals - especially with the satirical edge to the lyrics. I think the vocal "positioning" in the mix is about right - similar to some of Thom Yorke's textural positioning rather than dominant vox. I think this approach works well.

I liked the tempo changes at first, but found the third iteration too predictable. I would have liked you to have used the material you used in the "burn-out" as a kind of bridge - at the risk of falling into a similarly predictable song format - but I think this would create a better shape.

I particularly liked the textures you created in this "burn-out" section - but not so much the "cheesey" keyboard sounds at the beginning - I felt you could have been more adventurous with the tonal quality - although I didn't study the lyrics in any depth, so this could have been intentional. I kind of see where it was going, but I think a light filter applied to (what sounds like) the electric piano sound would provide a nice warp. I'd also like that electric piano sound to be a little more "authentic" and edgy - but that's my taste!

Since your lyric-writing seems strong, it might make sense to colour various phrases with subtle ambience, or even adjust the bass-line slightly for a little "challenge-response" dialog.

The "chorus" is good - a stark contrast with very interesting textures. I liked the vocal harmonies - and overall, the colouration seems to work with the lyrics and the musical textures.

Taking the piece as a whole, the textures themselves seem a little half-hearted in places - again, could be intentional, or could simply be the mix - but I'd like to hear more "colour" in the parts to avoid the feeling of flatness in a dynamic sense rather than the overall tone of the piece.

More generally, I like it - but if you released it as a single, I probably wouldn't buy it. If it was part of an album, though, I would hardly consider it filler!

Here's a link to a couple of old tunes I wrote, so you can get your own back... They're about 3-4 years old now, and I gave that style up after about 7 tracks... Listen to "Nebula" first, as it's the stronger track (IMO) - one day I'll actually finish it...

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/writePage.cfm?myType=music&bandid=281021&bandnamesave=itl - http://www.soundclick.com/bands/writePage.cfm?myType=music&a mp;a mp;bandid=281021&bandnamesave=itl

Keep 'em coming!

...and anyone can play guitar or keyboards...

Not everyone has the ability to put the sounds together in an imaginative or creative manner - and that's what you need to try to hear.

Sometimes it's not so much that anyone could, but more that someone did. Someone invented the wheel...

If you think that the ability to wank up and down the fretboard is the be all and end all, then you know nothing about music.

Practically all music is assembled on a computer these days - all electronic music passes through one at some point.