Cascades

Love the use of choral parts to flesh out the arrangement – really conjures a vibe for me. I’d be curious about leaning heavier into it; could see some like vocal cluster chords like a Grizzly Bear-Yellow House-esque thing.

There are definitely some McCartney-esque chords in here – made me want some like upbeat bass part moving around with the chords, maybe even with a tight lil’ drum track beneath it too. In general, about halfway through I thought it would be really satisfying for a full band to come in and start filling out the sound.

Sometimes they don’t come easy! I do think there’s a lot of strong material here, though. Others have weighed in on the lyrics pretty well, so I’ll stick to musical development — I think the major thing that I’m craving is some additional voices. Maybe some synths or some big drawn out guitar strums to juxtapose the jangly upbeat stuff. Could open things up vibe-wise and lead to other realizations, as well.

Thanks for sharing your process here – with that background knowledge, I am hearing that maybe this tune hasn’t found what it wants to be yet. Maybe you could find a way to bring the motel setting and the meteor shower back to the fore. For me, the lyrics are focused only on the interpersonal conflict, and not enough on the setting or the details that I think would actually raise the stakes of the conflict and make it more salient. Maybe less exposition about how the conflict unfolded (“you said something that made me feel weird, I sat and waited for awhile trying to think of a way to tell you”) and more emphasis on the feelings (“you think that I’m having a moment, I’ll show you the box you’ve opened” – great line by the way).

I do love the last verse – “I try to always be honest, Speaking from the heart when I have the chance, But that just keeps on losing me people that, I’m trying to break through to, you see? But it’s all what you make of the scene” – such a specific feeling, and I like the ambiguity of the last line.

“you knowwwwwww” love that.

Hey man, happy to be listening to your music again. Love this. I could hear a full band playing this. I wonder what it would sound like without some of the reverb/effects.

maybe the only unnecessary part is 1:29-1:34. it follows a great guitar line, and leads to a satisfying chorus. What if you just dropped into the chorus right from that cool double tracked guitar line?

i also really love the guitar lines toward the end. Really well done. Hope I get hear this song in whatever incarnations it may exist in for years.

Agree with the below comments—fanTASTIC mix, and would love to hear the rest of the band kick in. Funny that Nick mentioned Ob-la-di, as I was thinking this has some McCartney-esque chord changes that are complicated but also just feel right.

Would love to know what your recording setup is like. Also, did you multitrack the acoustic guitars and pan one to each ear? Because that sounds super good.

yeah great writing, alec! love the idea of an initial idea (motels meteors etc.) that eventually is removed leaving a few orphans from that concept. the mix is nice. your vocal and guitar recording process is working. the guitars are soft and just the right amount of mid level thumpiness, and a nice amount of presence. dude some of those higher notes in the background vox make me want to hear a track where you push your limits of your upper chest voice. maybe in some sort of choir/acapella track. sick track.

2:28-end is really really great. Although I like the arrangement as it is, I would LOVE to hear that with a full band, driving beat, Fleetwood Mac style production (same with the part from 1:37-2:09). I like the main melody (“you said something that made me”). would be fun to keep those parts acoustic (and maybe a bit drier in general?) and then contrast with a full production for those other parts.

all that said, I really do enjoy the production as is! very dreamy.