Power Pop like The Killers

[deantaylor]

Hey Everyone,
We are going for Power Pop like The Killers or similar bands.
Feedback would be much appreciated, on anything.
Any issues? Any room for improvement in anything?

Thank you!

[Casey H]

Hey Dean
This one's very far off the mark in all aspects as a Killers type song. We could talk off line about it.

Best,
Casey

[cosmicdolphin]

Big Killers fan here, saw them play live recently.

The Good : Cool song, reasonably catchy on first listen - I like the title/hook - I like the structure how it uses the intro as a little interlude which is quite hooky. It's a good length for sync as well and there isn't really too much filler.

The Not So Good : Chorus is a bit too repetitive, I think you could improve with a different chord in there - maybe going to a minor chord the 3rd time you sing the line and possibly an octave jump in the vocal to make it more exciting for lines 3 & 4. The mix / production etc is not up to " broadcast quality " to my ears. Some of the keyboard sounds are a little chintzy and drums don't really have much life to them and sound like lower quality drum machine. In the verses I can't hear the bass ( although it's fine in the intro ) so I think there is a lot of production work to be done to bring it up to scratch. If you A/B it directly with anything from The Killers themselves it highlights the gulf in production quality , and whilst we don't expect to sound like a big expensive studio we can certainly get a lot closer.

The Ugly : The vocal - Sorry but it absolutely ruins the entire song for me. Nowhere near good enough IMHO for sync. If you're serious about the track I would hire another singer. The vocal is the " money track " it's what sells song..you can be a 7/10 on everything else and get away with it but if your vocal is a 4/10 then even the most stellar production is not going to make it viable for film/tv

Hope that helps

Mark

[deantaylor]

Casey: Thanks. Who do you think it most resembles? We'd be happy to find another better reference and target that. Ramones? Strokes? Who?

Mark: Thanks for the honest feedback with detailed ideas we can consider to make it better. I'm quite sure several of your ideas will end up making it better.

[AlanHall]

Dean,
I took a (real quick) listen. I get a light, fun, almost 'girl power' vibe from it. Have you tried a female vocalist on this? That might be a better fit with the arrangement that you have.

[Casey H]

Hey Dean
I agree with Mark, the vocal is a deal killer within 10 seconds. I think the song is closest to pop punk or punk from the 90s. Good Charlotte or similar. Ramones a possibility as well. But a backing track for something like those bands would be heavy guitar driven. This one doesn't know what it wants to be. The lyrics should be edgier for punk or pop punk as well.

Best,
Casey

[deantaylor]

Alan: Thanks. Interesting idea. We will keep it in mind.

Casey: Thanks. I think you are probably right that it's a bit more pop punk rather than power pop, but maybe some of both. The composer was thinking Ramones meets Killers when he wrote it. Your comments have given us good food for thought.