<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><title>Reviews on The Mix Review</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/</link><description>Recent content in Reviews on The Mix Review</description><generator>Hugo -- gohugo.io</generator><language>en-gb</language><lastBuildDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/index.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title>"Messy" by Lola Young</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/messy/</link><pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/messy/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A lot has been said about Young&rsquo;s vocal performance here, and it is genuinely impressive in its loose, conversational style, navigating the fertile ground between pure song and melodic rap delivery. (And I love the little ping-pong delay on the last word of the first chorus at 1:28 too!) But there is plenty to be said about the backing arrangement and performances as well, which have a lot more heavy lifting to do here than in a lot of songs, given the lack of harmonic interest in the ever-present two-bar harmonic loop.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/messy/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Diet Pepsi" by Addison Rae</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/diet-pepsi/</link><pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/diet-pepsi/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There have been a lot of productions which have used a sudden modulation towards the end of a song as a cheap means of squeezing out a bit of extra performance intensity, so the key-shifted final chorus repetition we get here has a good deal of precedent &ndash; but that&rsquo;s about as far as things go in terms of it making any sense! For a start it shifts down a half-step, rather than up, which quite literally undermines the idea of giving the final chorus a &rsquo;lift'.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/diet-pepsi/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Man I Need" by Olivia Dean</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/man-i-need/</link><pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/man-i-need/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In this MOBO Award-sweeping song, Dean continues the increasingly popular trend of two-chorus song structures, an approach that offers more space for chorus repetitions within a shorter overall run time. After all, why bother with a middle section if your song hardly lasts long enough for anyone to get sufficiently bored of the hook that a mid-flow injection of new material is required? That said, I do think it&rsquo;s a bit of a poor show that the prechorus lead vocals appear to have just been copied between the section&rsquo;s two iterations.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/man-i-need/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Mutt" by Leon Thomas</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mutt/</link><pubDate>Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mutt/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is a production which features that classic hip-hop staple, a kick-drum that&rsquo;s distorted just enough to &lsquo;fold&rsquo; slightly on itself, as if your speaker&rsquo;s woofer&rsquo;s bottoming out, unable to cope with the driver excursions demanded of it. But where a lot of modern productions seem to achieve this kind of sound with simple digital clipping, a glance at the waveforms suggests that we&rsquo;re hearing a combination of analogue and digital processes here, and I have to say I do like the warmth of the result &ndash; the clipping doesn&rsquo;t have that same hard and rather impersonal &rsquo;edge&rsquo; that you might hear on, say, a digitally flat-topped dance-pop record.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/mutt/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/manchild/</link><pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/manchild/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The mix sonics here have clearly been optimised for the most mass of mass-markets, in that the priority is clearly maximum audience reach rather than necessarily the most pleasant listening experience. So not much mix real estate is going to headroom-stealing low end, for example. There&rsquo;s no EDM weight to the kick-drum here, despite abundant disco influences elsewhere in the production, with its main low-end energy being centred around 50-60Hz and pretty restrained in the balance to boot.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/manchild/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Chains &amp; Whips" by Clipse</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/chains-and-whips/</link><pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/chains-and-whips/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In a sense this feels very much like an old-school Akai MPC production in the way it&rsquo;s based around a core eight-bar &lsquo;construction kit&rsquo; (which you can hear in full at 3:00-3:19) comprising a triggered drum-sample pattern (primarily a combination of distorted kick drum and what sounds like a noisy cymbal-tail) and a handful of heavily processed and edited four-bar sample loops featuring bass, electric guitar, organ, and trumpet sounds &ndash; although the last two are so heavily messed with that it&rsquo;s hard to be 100% sure of their provenance!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/chains-and-whips/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Abracadabra" by Lady Gaga</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/abracadabra/</link><pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/abracadabra/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the fundamental truths of audio mixing is that human tonal perception is adaptive &ndash; in other words, we tend to adjust our perception of any mix tonality we&rsquo;re hearing to match our preconceptions of how it should sound. This is why referencing is such an important part of the mixing process, because doing A/B comparisons between commercial releases and our own mix work goes a long way to defeating this natural perceptual adaptation, thereby revealing the disappointing truth that our my mix has, for example, waaay too much 4kHz, but that I&rsquo;ve just not noticed because my ears have adapted to that!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/abracadabra/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Ordinary" by Alex Warren</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ordinary/</link><pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ordinary/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is a song that really capitalises on the musical power of harmonic rhythm &ndash; ie. the rhythm with which the chords change. A surprisingly large number of songs maintain a consistent harmonic rhythm throughout, which naturally means that this characteric is common to a lot of the AI-generated music that&rsquo;s now flooding the internet, so it&rsquo;s worthwhile investigating alternative possibilities here if you&rsquo;re going to set yourself apart from the advancing legions of robo-tunesmiths.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/ordinary/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"DtMF" by Bad Bunny</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dtmf/</link><pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dtmf/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What immediately catches my ear on this Bad Bunny smash hit (from his 2026 Grammy Album Of The Year Debí Tirar Más Fotos) is the variety of featured delay and reverb effects. I liked the interplay between the two main delay spins, for instance. The first appears at 0:25 (after the word &ldquo;van&rdquo;), 0:30 (&ldquo;dan), 0:32 (&ldquo;dan&rdquo;), and then again later at 2:40 (&ldquo;choco&rdquo;), and features a tempo-related quarter-note delay time with heavy filtering to favour a low-midrange region around 500Hz.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dtmf/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wildflower" by Billie Eilish</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wildflower/</link><pubDate>Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wildflower/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This year&rsquo;s Song Of The Year Grammy went to this haunting ballad, so I was immediately primed to look out for anything that sets it apart from the crowd in that respect. From a harmonic perspective, the highlight for me is the way the repeating D-C#m-F#m progression of the verse and prechorus sections seems for a moment as if it&rsquo;ll continue when the chorus starts on another D major chord, but that the expected downward root progression then instead moves upwards in the second bar to an E major chord instead.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wildflower/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Subway" by Chappell Roan</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-subway/</link><pubDate>Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-subway/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s extremely hard to maintain a sense of build-up throughout a whole song&rsquo;s timeline, so most commercial arrangers do the next best thing, which is creating a series of &lsquo;waves&rsquo; of rising performance/arrangement intensity. The crest of each of these waves is typically followed by a sudden arrangement breakdown of some sort, designed to swiftly recalibrate the listener to a lower energy level, thereby creating the arrangement &lsquo;headroom&rsquo; required to start another gradual build-up to the next wave&rsquo;s crest &ndash; and, of course, preferably a crest that&rsquo;s a little more impactful than the previous one!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-subway/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"APT." by Rosé &amp; Bruno Mars</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/apt/</link><pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/apt/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I was particulary struck by the warmth and fullness of the bass part that enters with the line &ldquo;don&rsquo;t you want me like I want you&rdquo; at 0:31. Part of this is just a product of the underlying bass-synth programming, which delivers not just a strong fundamental frequency, but also at least five harmonics above it that are healthy enough in level to be clearly visible on a spectrum analyser.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/apt/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Anxiety" by Doechii</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/anxiety/</link><pubDate>Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/anxiety/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      So let me get this right: Doechii is currently nominated for Record Of The Year at this year&rsquo;s Grammy awards for basically re-toplining 2013&rsquo;s Record Of The Year (Gotye&rsquo;s 'Somebody That I Used To Know')?! Verily hath sampling finally eaten itself! Yes, I&rsquo;ve also read plenty of glowing tributes to the quality of that topline, but honestly&hellip; I challenge anyone to argue (with a straight face, at least) that Doechii&rsquo;s talent could have carried any other track off Gotye&rsquo;s Making Mirrors album into the chart stratosphere like this &ndash; or, indeed, to argue that Doechii&rsquo;s &lsquo;version&rsquo; can hold a candle to Gotye&rsquo;s original, missing as it is Gotye&rsquo;s radiant chorus harmonies and the powerfully restrained ferocity of Kimbra&rsquo;s show-stopping middle-section cameo.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/anxiety/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Golden" by Huntrix</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/golden/</link><pubDate>Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/golden/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although many people seem to write off mainstream K-Pop hits like this song as musical fluff, there&rsquo;s actually a lot of quality craftsmanship going on under the surface. Yes, the first minute of the song suggests we might be in for another &lsquo;here we go round IV-I-V-vi&rsquo; snoozefest, for instance, but thankfully the chorus brings with it not only a little variety in the chord pattern (changing to IV-V-I-V-iv), but also a welcome change from the chord-per-bar harmonic rhythm, by virtue of the G-D/F# chord progression in the third bar of each four-bar chunk.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/golden/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga &amp; Bruno Mars</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/die-with-a-smile/</link><pubDate>Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/die-with-a-smile/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Now, I don&rsquo;t know about you, but the onset of this song&rsquo;s prechoruses feels like a bit of a let-down. Yes, the arrangement tries to fabricate a sense of musical arrival by adding piano and bass parts on the first occasion (at 0:27), and by adding piano and synth-pad parts second time around (at 1:45), but fundamentally I think the prechorus&rsquo;s impact is being undermined by its choice of opening chord.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/die-with-a-smile/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Last Christmas" by Wham!</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/last-christmas/</link><pubDate>Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/last-christmas/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;ll confess right upfront that I always disliked this tooth-rottingly syrupy song, with its relentless D-Bm-Em-A harmonic loop, plodding groove, and plasticky &rsquo;80s synth textures. Given its extraordinary longevity, though, I recently felt duty-bound to have a closer analytical look at it, and I have to say that I now hold it in a lot higher esteem. Many musicians worry that analysis will &lsquo;kill the magic&rsquo; of their favourite music, but personally I think it&rsquo;s the other way round &ndash; not only does analysing songs I already love deepen my appreciation of them, but I also find that analysis of music that doesn&rsquo;t immediately appeal to me often uncovers qualities that I initially overlooked.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/last-christmas/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sailor-song/</link><pubDate>Fri, 13 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sailor-song/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As the decades-long Loudness War begins to abate, there are many reasons to applaud artists who decide to master their songs at lower integrated loudness levels in order bring greater dynamic range to their music. This Gigi Perez song, for instance, boasts a loudness range of more than 12dB, well over twice that exhibited by many recent high-profile chart releases &ndash; for comparison, none of Beyoncé&rsquo;s &lsquo;Texas Hold &lsquo;Em&rsquo;, Sabrina Carpenter&rsquo;s 'Please Please Please', Boy Genius&rsquo;s 'Not Strong Enough', or The Beatles&rsquo;s 'Now And Then' manage a loudness range of even 6dB.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sailor-song/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lunch" by Billie Eilish</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lunch/</link><pubDate>Fri, 25 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lunch/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the characteristic qualities of a lot of Billie Eilish mixes is the way they manage to create a subjectively hard-hitting pop/EDM impression despite the essential fact that her vocal timbre is quite delicate, relying a great deal on ASMR-grade intimacy and breathiness. If you listen to a lot of her uptempo songs, you&rsquo;ll hear that much of the backing is therefore actually quite dull-sounding, thereby leveraging the power of mix constrast to give the sense that Eilish&rsquo;s voice is super-breathy and upfront, rather than relying on the massive injections of HF enhancement that many EDM producers fall back on.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lunch/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Enter Sandman" by Metallica</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/enter-sandman/</link><pubDate>Fri, 18 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/enter-sandman/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As with a lot of the best-selling albums of all time, Metallica&rsquo;s Black Album has had a lot written about it. In particular, a number of pundits have asserted that one of the secrets to the band&rsquo;s crossover success with this record was Lars Ulrich adapting his previous thrash-metal drumming style into a slower and simpler heavy-rock sound. But what bothers me about that assessment is that it often seems to be framed as a kind of &lsquo;dumbing down&rsquo;, whereas I think that the drum part on this particular song is tremendous.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/enter-sandman/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Good Luck, Babe!" by Chappell Roan</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-luck-babe/</link><pubDate>Wed, 11 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-luck-babe/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Mainstream mix engineers often spend a great deal of time and effort trying to ensure the best possible lyric intelligibility for their lead vocal parts, but the unnecessarily poor diction of some artists really doesn&rsquo;t make that job any easier &ndash; I&rsquo;m thinking of songs like Bon Iver&rsquo;s 'Calgary', Saint Jhn&rsquo;s 'Roses (Imanbek Remix)', or Ariana Grande&rsquo;s 'No Tears Left To Cry'. However, there are some situations where diction problems are caused by the nature of the melodic writing, as in this song.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-luck-babe/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Please Please Please" by Sabrina Carpenter</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/please-please-please/</link><pubDate>Fri, 05 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/please-please-please/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s rare enough for chart songs these days to change key at all, and the few songs that do tend to fall into one of two buckets:
Songs with a Trucker&rsquo;s Gear Shift (ie. a typically cheesy step-up modulation for the final choruses) Songs with some recurring section in different key &ndash; as in Lady Gaga&rsquo;s &lsquo;Paparazzi&rsquo;, for instance, with its verses in C minor and choruses in Ab major.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/please-please-please/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Fortnight" by Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fortnight/</link><pubDate>Thu, 06 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fortnight/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Once I&rsquo;d overcome my disappointment that this song wasn&rsquo;t Swift&rsquo;s hot take on Epic&rsquo;s classic first-person battle-royale shooter, my first impression was honestly something along the lines of &lsquo;is that it?&rsquo;. It&rsquo;s not that I dislike the song, but there just seems to be very little going on: basically just vocals, the simplest of electro kick-snare-kick-snare beats, and a plodding eighth-note bass-synth riff that repeats every eight bars &ndash; give or take some ambient atmospherics and a few one-shot fills.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/fortnight/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Gigantic" by Pixies</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/gigantic/</link><pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/gigantic/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Following the sad news of Steve Albini&rsquo;s death, I found myself returning wistfully to his seminal early production of the Pixies&rsquo; album Surfer Rosa. What I hadn&rsquo;t realised until recently, though, was that this song was actually recorded and mixed a second time by producer Gil Norton as a radio single at the behest of the record label &ndash; and it&rsquo;s fascinating to compare the two versions, because the two men&rsquo;s visions for the record are so very different.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/gigantic/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/beautiful-things/</link><pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/beautiful-things/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In traditional music theory, your harmony is considered diatonic if it uses only the notes of the key it&rsquo;s in, and there are plenty of great songs based around entirely diatonic progressions. However, once your song sets up an expectation of diatonic harmony, it gives you the opportunity to provoke an emotional reaction from the listener at any moment by introducing a chromatic chord &ndash; in other words, any chord containing one or more notes from outside the established key.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/beautiful-things/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"We Can't Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)" by Ariana Grande</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-cant-be-friends/</link><pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-cant-be-friends/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      From time to time pop artists release not only the full mix of their single, but also instrumental and a-capella versions. As long as the increased scrutiny this places upon the production values doesn&rsquo;t undermine the artist&rsquo;s or producer&rsquo;s reputation in some way, there&rsquo;s a lot to be gained by this, as I see it. Fans who fancy a spot of karaoke, for instance, will likely buy/stream both the full-mix and instrumental versions, immediately doubling the revenue per song (ker-ching!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-cant-be-friends/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eilish</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/what-was-i-made-for/</link><pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/what-was-i-made-for/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the things I think Billie Eilish gets too little credit for is the degree of structural creativity she brings to the pop world. For example, few of her songs seem to fit within a traditional Vs-Pre-Ch-Vs-Pre-Ch-Mid-(Vs-Pre)-Ch chart-pop mould: Bad Guy&rsquo;s &lsquo;chorus&rsquo; is a synth riff, it only happens twice, and the song ends with a slower-tempo section that&rsquo;s only tangetially related to what&rsquo;s gone before; 'Everything I Wanted' is something like Ch-Vs-Pre-Ch-Vs-Pre-Ch; and good luck trying to apply any kind of traditional section labels to 'Happier Than Ever' and its freewheeling two-part structure!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/what-was-i-made-for/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Everybody Wants To Rule The World" by Tears For Fears</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/everybody-wants-to-rule-the-world/</link><pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/everybody-wants-to-rule-the-world/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      An early MIDI-driven production this, and sequenced, according to this 1985 Electronics &amp; Music Maker interview, using Rock Shop&rsquo;s UMI MIDI software running on a BBC Model B computer fitted with a build-it-yourself MIDI interface. Plenty of classic 80s synths and drum-machines are in there too apparently, including the Sequential Prophet T8, Yamaha DX7, PPG Wave, Fairlight CMI, LinnDrum, and Oberheim DMX, although I&rsquo;m certainly not the kind of synth connoisseur who could personally vouch for any of them with certainty by ear!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/everybody-wants-to-rule-the-world/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Cast Iron Skillet" by Jason Isbell &amp; The 400 Unit</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cast-iron-skillet/</link><pubDate>Fri, 12 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cast-iron-skillet/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is a beautifully coherent ensemble sound, and a little soloing of the stereo mix&rsquo;s Left, Right, Middle, and Sides components suggests to me that this may be on account of an &lsquo;all in one room&rsquo; tracking setup and the resultant blending effects of the spill between all the mics. (After all, who wouldn&rsquo;t want to use lots of mics when recording at the vintage-microphone Mecca that is Blackbird Studios?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/cast-iron-skillet/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Not Strong Enough" by Boygenius</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/not-strong-enough/</link><pubDate>Fri, 05 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/not-strong-enough/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s human nature to try to interpret any rhythmic texture in the simplest way, and there are plenty of songs that leverage this instinct to mischieviously wrong-foot the listener. One common trick involves setting up the illusion from the start of the song that the musical downbeat occurs in a certain position, only to reveal later that it&rsquo;s actually somewhere unexpected. Just because I totally nerded out on The Police and Sting at college, I&rsquo;ll always associate this trick with them, and you can clearly hear it in action in The Police&rsquo;s &lsquo;Spirits In The Material World&rsquo; and Sting&rsquo;s &lsquo;Ghost Story&rsquo;, both of which use strongly syncopated rhythms to create a strong initial impression that the musical downbeat is an eighth-note later than it actually turns out to be later in the song.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/not-strong-enough/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"White Horse" by Chris Stapleton</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/white-horse/</link><pubDate>Fri, 22 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/white-horse/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s pretty common to hear artists adding an extra bar to a four-bar or eight-bar phrase for dramatic effect &ndash; as Ingrid Andress does before the second verse of 'More Hearts Than Mine', for instance. By contrast, it&rsquo;s less often you hear four-square phrase-lengths getting shortened, as Olivia Rodrigo does, for example, at the end of each verse of 'Driver&#39;s License'. Even less common, though is when just a beat is taken away, and it&rsquo;s a credit to Chris Stapleton how he&rsquo;s made such a virtue of it here.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/white-horse/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/smells-like-teen-spirit/</link><pubDate>Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/smells-like-teen-spirit/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;ve done a lot of moaning about songs based almost exclusively around a repeating four-chord pattern, but this one gets a pass from me for several reasons. For a start, the i-iv-III-VI pattern itself is far from a common one &ndash; we&rsquo;re not just talking some variant on I-V-vi-IV or I-vi-ii-V here. On top of this, the harmonic rhythm is one of the many musical variables that are used to create such strong section differentiation between the lower-energy verses/prechoruses and the maximum-angst choruses &ndash; the verses/prechoruses use a straight two-beats-per-chord rhythm, whereas the choruses pull the second and fourth chords an eighth-note late (as enshrined in the song&rsquo;s iconic opening guitar riff).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/smells-like-teen-spirit/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Prada" by Cassö feat. Raye &amp; D-Block Europe</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/prada/</link><pubDate>Fri, 08 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/prada/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Checking out this latest hit from Raye, following her recent gong-hoovering at this year&rsquo;s BRIT Awards, I noticed a selection of tried and trusted EDM production tactics on display. The main backing synth, for instance, is clearly being pumped in time with the kick drum, a trick which instantly gives any dance track a nice extra bit of &lsquo;bounce&rsquo;. (If you aren&rsquo;t hearing this pumping very clearly, you can pretty much isolate that synth for closer listening by phase-cancelling the first half of the song against the second like this: play_arrow | get_app )
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/prada/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Now And Then" by The Beatles</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/now-and-then/</link><pubDate>Fri, 23 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/now-and-then/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Much has been made of the clever source-extraction technology that was able to salvage Lennon&rsquo;s vocal from a more-or-less unusable 80s demo tape, and of the rather involved overdubbing/scavenging process that the two remaining band members used to fill in the blanks and bring the &lsquo;Fabatars&rsquo; back together. But for all that effort, I can&rsquo;t shake the feeling that the final production sounds an awful lot like a 90s Robbie Williams record&hellip;
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/now-and-then/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Stick Season" by Noah Kahan</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stick-season/</link><pubDate>Fri, 16 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stick-season/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As far from thrilling as it is to hear the ghost of Mumford &amp; Sons beating I-V-vi-IV to death (again), I can&rsquo;t deny that Kahan&rsquo;s made a workmanlike job of it. We get occasional welcome breathers from the two-bars-per-chord harmonic pattern, for instance, such as the eighth-bar V chord at the end of the each chorus; the two-bar reintro after the first chorus at 1:10; and the one-bar extension that closes out the song at the end of the final chorus.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/stick-season/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Rivers Of Babylon" by Boney M.</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rivers-of-babylon/</link><pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rivers-of-babylon/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I was reminded of this 70s dance smash following the passing of Boney M.&rsquo;s producer and main songwriter Frank Farian. Although the recent documentary about the Milli Vanilli scandal has drawn renewed attention to Farian&rsquo;s penchant for using session singers in place of headline artists on his productions (and then getting the artists to lip-sync for their live shows), you can already hear him at it here, singing the &ldquo;Let the words of our mouths&rdquo; section (2:07-2:41) himself in a clearly Germanic accent that doesn&rsquo;t much match the Aruban/Dutch hybrid of the band&rsquo;s ostensible male lead singer Bobby Farrell.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/rivers-of-babylon/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Strangers" by Kenya Grace</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/strangers/</link><pubDate>Fri, 02 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/strangers/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      When recording vocals, a lot of the time the aim is to deliver maximum excitement or maximum emotion or maximum [fill in as required], so what I found so interesting about this performance is how it deliberately goes in the opposite direction, starving the performance of energy in order to communicate the lyric&rsquo;s undercurrent of relationship fatalism. For a start, it sounds like Grace just doesn&rsquo;t have the strength to open her mouth properly for the vowels &ndash; something I always associate with James Arthur, but in his case it feels like he uses the technique more to suggest emotional repression rather than emotional exhaustion.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/strangers/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lovin On Me" by Jack Harlow</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lovin-on-me/</link><pubDate>Fri, 26 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lovin-on-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Here&rsquo;s an intriguing detail about the bass line in this mix: it&rsquo;s basically mono throughout most of the song, but suddenly widens out into stereo just for the first iteration of each triple-chorus (ie. 0:00-0:08, 0:45-0:55, and 1:40-149). So why might the producers have done this? Well, there are two main reasons I can think of. Firstly, stereo widening inherently has the subtle psychological effect of bringing the widened sound closer to the listener, and that seems in keeping with the greater musical importance of the bass riff at those moments &ndash; it&rsquo;s pretty much the second most important feature after the vocal hook.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lovin-on-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lose Control" by Teddy Swims</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lose-control-02/</link><pubDate>Fri, 19 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lose-control-02/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s not easy to put a new spin on a classic four-chord 12/8 soul ballad like this, so it&rsquo;s a good thing there&rsquo;s such a powerful and charismatic performer singing the lead (step aside, Rag &rsquo;n&rsquo; Bone Man&hellip;), because he could pretty much carry the song on his own, regardless of what the backing was doing. In that sense, it reminds me of Lewis Capaldi&rsquo;s break-out hit 'Someone You Loved', another here-we-go-round-four-chords ballad that could so easily have tanked had it not been for a vocal star turn.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lose-control-02/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Fairytale Of New York" by The Pogues</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fairytale-of-new-york/</link><pubDate>Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fairytale-of-new-york/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Like Cher&rsquo;s 'Believe' or Phil Collins&rsquo; 'In The Air Tonight', this is another of those classic songs where the commentary has always felt rather patchy to me. You&rsquo;ll find plenty of column inches devoted to the words, of course, often considering parallels with the late Shane MacGowan&rsquo;s famously turbulent lifestyle, or arguing over which of the lyrical slurs have aged worst. Much has also been said about the lengthy production process, and the key role of Kirsty MacColl&rsquo;s performance in breaking through the band&rsquo;s creative logjam.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/fairytale-of-new-york/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Standing Next To You" by Jung Kook</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/standing-next-to-you/</link><pubDate>Fri, 08 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/standing-next-to-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      At first I was struck by the harmonic similarities between this song and another funk-disco workout, The Weeknd&rsquo;s &lsquo;Sacrifice&rsquo;, because both have oscillating i-vi verse chord progressions and elsewhere feature a prominent falling 1-b7-6-b6 bass line ( B-A-G#-G in &lsquo;Sacrifice&rsquo;, D-C-B-Bb here). And is it only me, or does the chorus melody remind you of the chorus of the Hall &amp; Oates song &lsquo;Maneater&rsquo;?
But any such discussion is burying the lead, because &lsquo;Standing Next To You&rsquo; has one of the boldest chorus progressions I&rsquo;ve ever come across in a pop production.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/standing-next-to-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"My Love Mine All Mine" by Mitski</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/my-love-mine-all-mine/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/my-love-mine-all-mine/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;ve been following Mitski&rsquo;s rise and rise ever since seeing her NPR Tiny Desk concert, and was delighted to see her making a big commercial breakthrough with this track. I confess, though, to a little disappointment that she&rsquo;s achieved this success with a song that feels so conventional and &lsquo;safe&rsquo;, when it was the defiantly iconoclastic song-writing approaches of her earlier work that felt like such a breath of fresh air.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/my-love-mine-all-mine/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Baddadan" by Chase &amp; Status feat. Bou, Irah, Flowdan, Trigga &amp; Takura</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/baddadan/</link><pubDate>Fri, 24 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/baddadan/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Typical! You wait ages for a hit song in the non-diatonic Phrygian Dominant mode, and then three come along within months of each other&hellip; First we had Sam Smith&rsquo;s 'Unholy', then Kylie&rsquo;s 'Padam Padam', and now Chase &amp; Status with this song. And is it only me who wonders whether the titular similarity between the last two indicates the sincerest form of flattery? Regardless, this song spices up the mode&rsquo;s four naturally consonant chords (ie.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/baddadan/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Remember Everything" by Zach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-remember-everything/</link><pubDate>Fri, 17 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-remember-everything/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Interesting to hear a country artist using a seven/eight time-signature so prominently during the verses of this song, and I think the usage is a slightly unusual one too. You see, a lot of instances of this metre in commercial music (I&rsquo;m thinking things like Pink Floyd&rsquo;s &lsquo;Money&rsquo;, The Beatles&rsquo; &lsquo;All You Need Is Love&rsquo;, and Radiohead&rsquo;s &lsquo;Paranoid Android&rsquo;) tend to lean towards grouping the beats in a 4+3 pattern, kind of like each seven/eight bar is made up of a couple of four/four bars, the second of which is missing its final beat.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-remember-everything/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" by Otis Redding</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sittin-on-the-dock-of-the-bay/</link><pubDate>Fri, 20 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sittin-on-the-dock-of-the-bay/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      My first ever professional session credit was for violin overdubs on an extremely niche John Betjeman-inspired record put together by Mike Read (the &rsquo;80s BBC Radio 1 DJ), and while I was on that session he told a great anecdote about this Otis Redding song. You have to understand that &lsquo;Dock Of The Bay&rsquo; was so successful in the UK that pretty much every radio station kept it permanently available for filling gaps in the schedule, even once all of Redding&rsquo;s other songs had basically disappeared from the public consciousness.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sittin-on-the-dock-of-the-bay/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Paint The Town Red" by Doja Cat</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/paint-the-town-red/</link><pubDate>Fri, 13 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/paint-the-town-red/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you&rsquo;re anything like me, then it&rsquo;s hard to shake the feeling that any production built over some hook sampled from a 60s/70s/80s hit record has a fundamental undercurrent of laziness to it. It&rsquo;s just difficult to believe that Ms Cat&rsquo;s producers selected that slice of Dionne Warwick&rsquo;s &lsquo;Walk On By&rsquo; just because it sounded cool, rather than because of its built-in recognition factor &ndash; or indeed because of Warwick&rsquo;s record company or songwriter Burt Bacharach&rsquo;s publisher offering some financial inducement in return for the opportunity to re-flog their back-catalogue.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/paint-the-town-red/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Who Told You" by J Hus feat. Drake</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/who-told-you/</link><pubDate>Fri, 06 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/who-told-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There are some legendary musical acts that have, whether intentionally or unintentionally, become such targets of ridicule that their names now serve as a kind of shorthand for lampooning anyone else who strays too close to repeating their shortcomings. Few bands want their name mentioned in the same breath as Spinal Tap, for instance. Popstrels blanche at comparisons with Rebecca Black. Rappers quail at the faintest murmur of Vanilla Ice.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/who-told-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Vampire" by Olivia Rodrigo</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/vampire/</link><pubDate>Fri, 29 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/vampire/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Can a female lead vocal be too bright? I mean, I get it &ndash; you want to maintain the extreme intimacy and intelligibility of the singer, even as the backing track gets progressively more aggressive-sounding through the timeline. And if I compare the brightness here with some of the &rsquo;end stop&rsquo; references I&rsquo;ve collected over the years in this respect (things like Cascada&rsquo;s &lsquo;Hold Your Hands Up&rsquo;, Megan Thee Stallion&rsquo;s 'Savage (Remix)', and Madonna&rsquo;s &lsquo;Sorry&rsquo;), the overall HF density of the vocal tone initially does seem just on the right side of overbearing.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/vampire/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Superstition" by Stevie Wonder</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/superstition/</link><pubDate>Fri, 22 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/superstition/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Stevie Wonder&rsquo;s influence as a vocal stylist has been monumental, and this iconic track is as good a place as any to appreciate that aspect of his wide-ranging musical talent. Even on the very surface there&rsquo;s so much to marvel at. The speed and accuracy of his runs is simply astonishing, for instance. Remember that this was the early 70s, and while producers of the day were getting pretty nifty at vocal comping via manual punch-ins on tape (Wonder&rsquo;s engineer Gary Olazabal talks about dropping in single syllables/consonants, for instance, when recording him a few years later in 1976.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/superstition/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Padam Padam" by Kylie Minogue</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/padam-padam/</link><pubDate>Fri, 15 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/padam-padam/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      At the end of the last year, while talking about how Sam Smith&rsquo;s song 'Unholy' had used the comparatively unusual non-diatonic Phrygian Dominant mode, I pointed out that, although Smith had used both of the mode&rsquo;s available major chords (the triads on the first and second scale degrees), he&rsquo;d left its two minor chords untouched (the triads on the fourth and seventh degrees). So it&rsquo;s great to see Kylie&rsquo;s recent comeback hit upping the Phrygian Dominant ante by building the song around I, bII, and iv chords.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/padam-padam/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Miracle" by Calvin Harris feat. Ellie Goulding</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/miracle/</link><pubDate>Fri, 08 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/miracle/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the oldest EDM production moves in the business is to alternate four-to-the-floor kick hits with off-beat bass notes, the concept being that both kick and bass can therefore come through more powerfully because they&rsquo;re never competing with each other. What&rsquo;s interesting about this production, though, is that Harris has decided not to take full advantage of that mix space, in that the bass is really quite understated at the low end.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/miracle/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Eyes Closed" by Ed Sheeran</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/eyes-closed/</link><pubDate>Fri, 16 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/eyes-closed/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is another incredible mix from one of my own personal engineering heroes, Spike Stent. Although, funnily enough, if you&rsquo;d asked me blind who&rsquo;d mixed this song I&rsquo;d probably have guessed Manny Marroquin, because it reminds me a great deal of his iconic work on Rihanna&rsquo;s debut smash &lsquo;Umbrella&rsquo;. Both these mixes manage to pull off that rarest of mix stunts: giving over the foreground overwhelmingly to very few mix elements for maximum mass-market translation (in this song it&rsquo;s the lead vocal and bass/kick/snare, whereas for Rihanna it was more just vocals and drums), but somehow managing to lightly sketch in all sorts of background detail in such a way as to leave you with the impression after listening that the arrangement was actually saturated with a legion of other instruments.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/eyes-closed/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Kiss From A Rose" by Seal</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/kiss-from-a-rose/</link><pubDate>Fri, 26 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/kiss-from-a-rose/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I have no idea whether there was any truth in it, but the rumour I heard circulating amongst studio rats of the mid-90s was that Trevor Horn&rsquo;s record company (ZTT) was known for signing artists up for &lsquo;cross-recoupable&rsquo; contracts which stipulated that all recording costs were to be reimbursed both from the release&rsquo;s mechanical royalties (via ZTT) and from its songwriting royalties (via Horn&rsquo;s own Perfect Songs publishing company) before the artist received a penny.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/kiss-from-a-rose/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Tattoo" by Loreen</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/tattoo/</link><pubDate>Fri, 19 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/tattoo/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s interesting to compare this latest Eurovision triumph with Loreen&rsquo;s previous winner 'Euphoria'. For example, both clock in at almost exactly three minutes in length, although &lsquo;Tattoo&rsquo; runs at a faster 150pm tempo that leaves structural space for a proper eight-bar intro, a prechorus before the first chorus (at 0:39), and an additional eight bars of chorus coda to wrap things up from 2:47. Both also introduce some new material between the first and second choruses, created via melodic and arrangement variation of the song&rsquo;s first-verse material: in &lsquo;Euphoria&rsquo; this provides an eight-bar quasi-prechorus at 1:17, while in &lsquo;Tattoo&rsquo; this section-development follows the first chorus directly a 1:18, so retains more of the function of a second verse, preceding as it does the prechorus at 1:31.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/tattoo/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Can't Get Out Of This Mood" by Samara Joy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cant-get-out-of-this-mood/</link><pubDate>Fri, 12 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cant-get-out-of-this-mood/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Walking away with both Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal album at this year&rsquo;s Grammies, Samara Joy is clearly one of the hottest tickets in town at the moment, and plenty has already been said about her rich vocal timbre, impressive technical chops, and interpretative maturity. Listening to a few cuts from the album (Linger Awhile), however, I couldn&rsquo;t quite shake the impression that her performance was lacking some of the magic of her popular live videos on Tiktok and Youtube &ndash; things like these versions of &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll String Along With You&rsquo; and &lsquo;Autumn Nocturne&rsquo;, or indeed the live version of this very song at the Grammies ceremony.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/cant-get-out-of-this-mood/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Degradation Rules" by Ozzy Osbourne</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/degradation-rules/</link><pubDate>Fri, 05 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/degradation-rules/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Whatever veneration one might have for Black Sabbath&rsquo;s legacy, there&rsquo;s little point in denying that Ozzy Osbourne&rsquo;s latest album Patient Number 9, is an extremely silly record &ndash; notwithstanding its recent Grammy Awards success. With this single, for instance, I honestly lost count of my snorts of amusement. I mean, just the irony of such onanistic heavy-metal harmonica soloing on a song so prominently featuring the word &lsquo;masturbation&rsquo; &ndash; highlighted with a pitched-down effects spin at 1:39 no less!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/degradation-rules/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Stompin' Ground" by Aaron Neville feat. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stompin-ground/</link><pubDate>Fri, 21 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stompin-ground/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The first thing to say about this recent Grammy winner is just &ldquo;go listen to it&rdquo; &ndash; it&rsquo;s so much fun! Not only is the playing by The Dirty Dozen Brass Band first-class, and a reminder of how infectious a great live rhythm section can sound, but the song also reminds us how powerfully yet nimbly a Sousaphone can deliver the goods in the bass department. There&rsquo;s no bass guitar here, so whatever you think you&rsquo;re hearing down there, it&rsquo;s almost certainly the Sousaphone, albeit with occasional support from the baritone sax.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/stompin-ground/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Mr Tambourine Man" by The Byrds</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mr-tambourine-man/</link><pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mr-tambourine-man/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Returning to this, the band&rsquo;s first hit, following the recent sad passing of David Crosby, I was fascinated to discover that the only member of the band who actually played on the record was apparently Roger McGuinn, the rest of the backing parts being provided by legendary sessioneers The Wrecking Crew. That said, McGuinn&rsquo;s jangly 12-string Rickenbacker guitar certainly makes its presence felt, forming one of the linchpins of what was to become an era-defining folk-rock sound.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/mr-tambourine-man/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Flowers" by Miley Cyrus</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/flowers/</link><pubDate>Fri, 31 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/flowers/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s taken a while, but finally Miley Cyrus has given us a song where she sounds like she actually means it! She&rsquo;s transcended the over-studied pop virtuosity of earlier &lsquo;grown up&rsquo; records such as 'Wrecking Ball', she&rsquo;s tastefully dialled back the parody-Americana character we heard on Mark Ronson&rsquo;s 'Nothing Breaks Like A Heart' without losing its attractive vocal grain, and suddenly I&rsquo;m beginning to believe what she&rsquo;s singing about. Hurray!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/flowers/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"About Damn Time" by Lizzo</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/about-damn-time/</link><pubDate>Fri, 24 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/about-damn-time/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Give or take a few penalty pennies dropped into the Slap-bass Embargo Infringement Box (every studio should have one), this is a bass part to die for, not just in terms of sheer stylistic panache, but also on account of the way it combines such rich, deep low end with tremendous small-speaker translation &ndash; essential for a production that wants to cater equally to both clubbers and joggers. My favourite aspect of the part, though, is the way it flits between its disco stomp foundation (eg.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/about-damn-time/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Just Like That" by Bonnie Raitt</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/just-like-that/</link><pubDate>Fri, 17 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/just-like-that/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Probably the biggest surprise of this year&rsquo;s Grammy Awards was this song winning Record Of The Year. Although I&rsquo;ve generally liked Raitt&rsquo;s music ever since 'I Can&#39;t Make You Love Me' first brought her to my attention, her latest album had yet to register on my radar, so I immediately made a bee-line for Spotify to find out what all the fuss was about. And honestly, I was a bit underwhelmed, mentally filing it under &lsquo;well-weathered MOR Americana&rsquo; and losing patience after a minute or so.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/just-like-that/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Sure Thing" by Miguel</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sure-thing/</link><pubDate>Fri, 10 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sure-thing/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      While critiquing Meghan Trainor&rsquo;s 'Made You Look' the other day, I mentioned how the pay-per-play royalty model of streaming platforms has clearly incentivised modern musicians to create shorter song structures. And I reckon this same impulse has a lot to do with another recent industry trend: sped-up &lsquo;nightcore&rsquo; versions. After all, speeding up any song will inevitably generate more plays (and hence more royalty income) per hour. And now that social media has turned nightcore into a mainstream &rsquo;thing&rsquo;, record companies are happily hijacking this new gravy train by accompanying every new release with a no-expense-spent sped-up rendition, as well as inundating us with a helium-huffing parade of their existing back-catalogue.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sure-thing/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" by B J Thomas</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/raindrops-keep-fallin-on-my-head/</link><pubDate>Fri, 03 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/raindrops-keep-fallin-on-my-head/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Following the recent death of Burt Bacharach, I was reminded of a little wind-up music box I had as a child that played this song of his, and how for years I thought it was just some kind of American nursery rhyme, rather than the soundtrack to a film about a pair of notorious career criminals! With hindsight, though, it&rsquo;s hardly surprising that the song spawned its own merch, given that Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid was 1969&rsquo;s highest-grossing film and Bacharach&rsquo;s soundtrack picked up an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy for Best Original Score.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/raindrops-keep-fallin-on-my-head/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Escapism" by Raye</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/escapism/</link><pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/escapism/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In a number of previous critiques (such as this one of Rudimental&rsquo;s 'These Days'), I&rsquo;ve voiced my suspicions that mainstream music producers are specifically tailoring the overall frequency response of their mixes to game the standardised LUFS loudness-detection routine &ndash; the aim being to appear louder than competing productions despite the loudness normalisation routinely used by most streaming platforms. But there&rsquo;s something else I&rsquo;m seeing in recent chart releases that I reckon also stems from the same impulse, and this specific song is a great example.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/escapism/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Kill Bill" by SZA</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/kill-bill/</link><pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/kill-bill/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The big production hook of this record for me is the vibrato you can hear right from the outset. And it&rsquo;s not just the wide range of pitch wobble and the slow modulation rate that make this effect stand out, but also the fact that the modulation waveform doesn&rsquo;t appear to be synchronised to the song&rsquo;s tempo &ndash; just as with echo effects, tempo-synchronised modulations are better at sinking into the background.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/kill-bill/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Made You Look" by Meghan Trainor</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/made-you-look/</link><pubDate>Fri, 13 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/made-you-look/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Talking about this recent comeback hit in an interview with Billboard, Meghan Trainor said: &ldquo;I was really studying 'All About That Bass'. I was, like, &lsquo;Why did this work so well?&rsquo;&rdquo; And if you compare the two songs side-by-side, there are plenty of similarities:
They&rsquo;re both up-tempo grooves without shuffle, and place the same prominently pushed mid-bar kick-drum hit an eighth note after the first backbeat. They use eight-bar sections throughout.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/made-you-look/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you/</link><pubDate>Thu, 22 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is the best-selling holiday song ever by a female artist, and one of only a dozen or so records to sell more than 15 million copies. But it&rsquo;s also quite a curious production. For a start, I can&rsquo;t immediately think of any other big hit which combines both ballad and uptempo versions of the same song ilke this. About the closest thing I can come up with off the top of my head are Gloria Gaynor&rsquo;s 'I Will Survive' and ABBA&rsquo;s &lsquo;Chiquitita&rsquo;, although in both cases the lower-energy introduction still has much more of a sense of rhythmic groove than &lsquo;All I Want For Christmas&rsquo; does.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Unholy" by Sam Smith</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/unholy/</link><pubDate>Fri, 09 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/unholy/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      On the whole, tonal songs outnumber modal songs in the charts, which I&rsquo;d say constitutes something of a wasted opportunity by mainstream songwriters. But amongst the modal songs I&rsquo;ve seen during my time critiquing productions for The Mix Review, it&rsquo;s the diatonic modes (formed on the different degrees of the major-scale interval pattern) that overwhelmingly predominate &ndash; in other words, assuming a white-note diatonic scale pattern, we&rsquo;re talking about Ionian mode on C, Dorian on D, Phrygian on E, Lydian on F, Mixolydian on G, Aeolian on A, and Locrian on B.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/unholy/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Bad Habit" by Steve Lacy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bad-habit/</link><pubDate>Sat, 03 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bad-habit/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In an age where video content holds such an ascendancy, I can&rsquo;t remember the last time I saw an official video as insultingly low-rent as the one for this song. Steve Lacy&rsquo;s no dancer, so why the hell does he think we&rsquo;ll be entertained by four minutes of him wandering around like a stoner on a blank backdrop. Because occasionally they change the lighting? Because the picture turns upside down for a moment?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bad-habit/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Anti-Hero" by Taylor Swift</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/anti-hero/</link><pubDate>Sat, 26 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/anti-hero/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you read any lyric, you instinctively supply it with a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. Here&rsquo;s a line from this song, for instance: &ldquo;When my depression works the graveyard shift, all of the people I&rsquo;ve ghosted stand there in the room.&rdquo; Now, I imagine most people would naturally stress that line something like this: &ldquo;When my dePREssion WORKS the GRAVEyard SHIFT, ALL of the PEOple I&rsquo;ve GHOsted STAND there in the ROOM.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/anti-hero/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Great Balls Of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/great-balls-of-fire/</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/great-balls-of-fire/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the best ways to focus attention on your lead vocalist is to get them singing on their own, and yet vanishingly few records have ever been successful without the support of a backing track. (Janis Joplin&rsquo;s &lsquo;Mercedes Benz&rsquo; and Suzanne Vega&rsquo;s &lsquo;Tom&rsquo;s Diner&rsquo; are the only ones that immediately spring to my mind.) So I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s any surprise that plenty of great rock songs feature some kind of call and response between a band riff and the lead vocal.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/great-balls-of-fire/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Forget Me" by Lewis Capaldi</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/forget-me/</link><pubDate>Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/forget-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you ask me, this song shows signs of having been pared down to bring its duration to the 3:20 mark. The essential problem is that, roughly speaking, the eight-bar verse and prechorus sections last 19 seconds each and the sixteen-bar chorus sections last 38 seconds each, so just the bare bones of a traditional pop structure (with two verses, two prechoruses, and three choruses) based around those elements already finds itself pushing 3:10 without any kind of intro, outro, or middle section at all.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/forget-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"'James Bond Theme' from the Dr. No soundtrack" by John Barry Orchestra</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/james-bond-theme/</link><pubDate>Fri, 23 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/james-bond-theme/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you ask most musicians who wrote this famous tune, they&rsquo;d say John Barry without hesitation. It was, however, the first Bond film&rsquo;s main composer Monty Norman who originally dreamt it up. That said, I reckon that a lot of what people think of as &rsquo;the James Bond theme&rsquo; is actually its arrangement &ndash; that menacing surf guitar, underscored by upright bass, vibes, soft sustained saxes, and insistent trombone backbeats; the powerful horn melody in the big-band section, punctuated by massive gong strikes and aggressive trombone countermelodies; and the cool percussive &lsquo;inverse hemiola&rsquo; climax pitting snare, trumpets, and upper saxes against baritone saxes and trombones at 1:13.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/james-bond-theme/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"You Proof" by Morgan Wallen</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-proof/</link><pubDate>Fri, 19 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-proof/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s perhaps something of an indictment of my UK-centric world-view that the first I heard of Morgan Wallen was reading in the 2021 MRC Data report that he&rsquo;d had last year&rsquo;s top-selling US album! And while the record that earned him that accolade (Dangerous: The Double Album) has lots of expertly crafted MOR country-pop/rock on it, I think this first single release since then sounds a lot more interesting, delivering classic country themes with Wallen&rsquo;s down-home vocal and plenty of slide guitar, but combining that with a trap-tinged programmed beat, powerful subby bass line, and an almost Caribbean sycopated groove!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-proof/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Afraid To Feel" by LF System</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/afraid-to-feel/</link><pubDate>Fri, 12 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/afraid-to-feel/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Under normal circumstances, if I were to show you the following tempo map, what genre would you guess it was?
(Click image to view at high resolution.) I&rsquo;m pretty sure no-one would immediately gravitate towards EDM. In the first instance, there&rsquo;s always been something of a mutual understanding that most dance tracks hold a pretty consistent tempo so people can easily dance along to them, and also (just thinking in terms of practicalities) that this tempo should be present at the beginning and end of the track so that DJs can easily mix between your track and its playlist neighbours without a tempo mismatch.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/afraid-to-feel/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Break My Soul" by Beyoncé</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/break-my-soul/</link><pubDate>Fri, 05 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/break-my-soul/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s not that common for pop/R&amp;B singers to provide official instrumental and a capella versions of their singles, and whatever the back-room reasoning for this, I think it&rsquo;s incredibly short-sighted in this day and age where the former allows every Zoomer and their dog to post a karaoke version on TikTok, and the latter allows every bedroom DJ/producer to post an EDM remix or steal the hook for their hip-hop track.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/break-my-soul/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Grace" by Jeff Buckley</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/grace/</link><pubDate>Fri, 29 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/grace/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There are doubtless many who would argue that, of all the tracks on Buckley&rsquo;s album Grace, it&rsquo;s &lsquo;Hallelujah&rsquo; I should be singling out for comment here. Notwithstanding that song&rsquo;s exquisite combination of Leonard Cohen&rsquo;s songwriting and Buckley&rsquo;s performance, however, I reckon the title track has been more influential with production staff. Indeed, I used to work in a big residential studio during the late 90s, and I lost count of the number of engineers whose first order of business seemed to be blasting &lsquo;Grace&rsquo; through the studio&rsquo;s monitors as a quality check.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/grace/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" by Taylor Swift</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-too-well/</link><pubDate>Fri, 22 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-too-well/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      More than enough column inches have arguably now been dedicated to the whole copyright dispute between Swift and her former label Big Machine, so I don&rsquo;t feel any need to wade into that fray here. However, the fact that she&rsquo;s been spurred into rerecording a chunk of her back-catalogue affords students of record production a series of fascinating comparative &lsquo;old vs new&rsquo; case-studies to ponder. And this fan-favourite song is as good a place as any to delve into such comparisons, I suppose.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-too-well/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"If I Didn't Love You" by Jason Aldean &amp; Carrie Underwood</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/if-i-didnt-love-you/</link><pubDate>Fri, 15 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/if-i-didnt-love-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I imagine that a lot of people instinctively feel, as I do, that guitars are the backbone of what country music is about. So, in a sense, it&rsquo;s actually quite surprising how poorly they fare in mainstream chart releases such as this one, where even in stereo they&rsquo;re probably the least powerful element of the band texture &ndash; after the vocals, bass, and drums. Check out this chorus, for instance: Chorus (stereo): play_arrow | get_app And if you switch to mono the situation gets even worse, because the guitars are hard-panned and therefore take another 3dB dip in the balance.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/if-i-didnt-love-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Space Man" by Sam Ryder</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/space-man/</link><pubDate>Fri, 08 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/space-man/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It was something of a relief to see such a strong contender from the UK in this year&rsquo;s Eurovision contest, following 2021&rsquo;s embarrassingly weak outing. And I&rsquo;d say Sam Ryder richly deserves his success, given the quality of his performance. What particularly impresses me is how well he manages to balance his falsetto against his chest voice. You see, falsetto is actually very difficult to pull off in a live situation, not only because it&rsquo;s inherently quieter, but also because it tends to be tonally woollier and lacking in true midrange.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/space-man/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"As It Was" by Harry Styles</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/as-it-was/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/as-it-was/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although the LinnDrum-esque drum tones might lead you to write off the drums here as a simple two-bar loop, they&rsquo;re actually quite sensitively programmed, doing an unfussy, workmanlike job of underpinning the section dynamics and maintaining the listener&rsquo;s attention. There&rsquo;s the switch from ride to hi-hat that marks the transition to the verses at 0:14 and 1:09, and to the middle section at 2:04, for instance, as well as several understated fills: the open hi-hat variations at the end of most of the eight-bar phrases, as well as the sudden absence of hi-hat at 0:35 and the switch from 16th to eighth notes at the start of verse two (1:09); the kick and snare pattern changes at the end of verse two (1:30), at the end of the middle section (2:15), and at the end of the song (2:36); the powerful snare/toms roundhouse leading into the final choruses (2:17); and that lovely snare roll during the final choruses at 2:28.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/as-it-was/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/running-up-that-hill/</link><pubDate>Fri, 24 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/running-up-that-hill/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Given the public&rsquo;s reignited interest in this song following its prominent use as a plot device in the fourth season of Stranger Things, I figured I&rsquo;d remind myself what all the fuss was about. I&rsquo;ll admit that I&rsquo;ve always struggled to connect with this song emotionally on account of being distracted by her slightly ideosyncratic pronunciation of the hook (which always sounds to me like &ldquo;vrunning up that hirr, vrunning up that vroad&rdquo;), but putting that aside, there&rsquo;s certainly a lot of interesting production stuff going on.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/running-up-that-hill/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Baby" by Aitch feat. Ashanti</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/baby/</link><pubDate>Fri, 27 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/baby/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I had to laugh at the irony that Aitch raps &ldquo;how you not a mother with a body like that?&rdquo; at 0:57 when Ashanti is actually old enough to be his mother! Or at least, I laughed until I realised that I&rsquo;d misheard the word &ldquo;model&rdquo;. Ah well. It&rsquo;ll always be &ldquo;mother&rdquo; to me&hellip;
And, speaking of Ashanti, her contribution here comprises a bunch of samples from her 2003 hit &lsquo;Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)&rsquo;, but clearly these samples have been taken from the original multitrack project, because none of the vocals used here are heard in isolation in the original production.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/baby/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Don't Stop Just Yet" by Belters Only feat. Jazzy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-stop-just-yet/</link><pubDate>Fri, 20 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-stop-just-yet/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Amidst all the 90s throwbacks (eg. the Korg M1 organ bass at 0:47 and piano at 1:33, or the Prodigy-esque breakbeat at 2:03) there&rsquo;s a nice little 3+3+3+3+4 additive synth riff in the breakdown sections at 0:02, 0:17, and 2:03. But what really caught my ear from a production perspective were a couple of classic stereo effects.
The first can be heard on that M1 piano, where the dry sound is panned left, but its eighth-note feedback delay has been panned to the right.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-stop-just-yet/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Freedom" by Jon Batiste</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/freedom/</link><pubDate>Fri, 13 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/freedom/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      After musing briefly to myself about how few chart songs use a 12-bar blues progression like this nowadays, what struck me most about this Grammy Record Of The Year nominee (from Batiste&rsquo;s fabulous Album Of The Year winner We Are) is the extraordinary range of vocal expression on display. Let&rsquo;s just focus on the lead vocal to start with:
The choruses give us forceful high-register chest voice (first heard at 0:08) extending upwards to the extreme high-end (all the way to high C on &ldquo;live&rdquo; at 0:25) and down into the mid-register (for &ldquo;freedom&rdquo; at 0:31).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/freedom/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Candle In The Wind 1997" by Elton John</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/candle-in-the-wind/</link><pubDate>Fri, 06 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/candle-in-the-wind/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;m no fan of the concept of charity singles in general, but even setting that general bias aside, I can&rsquo;t help feeling that this production feels like a retrograde step from the 1973 original in many respects. I&rsquo;ll take the original arrangement&rsquo;s bass and guitar countermelodies, sensitively paced backing-vocal layers, and tasteful drum fills over 1997&rsquo;s bland piano vamping and auto-accompaniment-grade chamber-ensemble arrangement any day of the week. However, Elton John&rsquo;s structural adjustments to the song for the later version are quite thought-proviking, albeit frequently overlooked in the shadow of all the attention paid to Bernie Taupin&rsquo;s elegiac lyrical rewrite.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/candle-in-the-wind/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Go" by Cat Burns</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/go/</link><pubDate>Fri, 29 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/go/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This song provides a nice little example of using harmonic rhythm to differentiate your song sections. The song&rsquo;s in F# Aeolian mode, and uses the same two-chords-per-bar progression ( F#m-E-C#m-D) for its verses and choruses. However, the chords aren&rsquo;t evenly spaced, with the second chord in each bar anticipating the third beat by an eighth note, effectively splitting each bar into 3/8 and 5/8 sections. This is a well-ploughed furrow in terms of harmonic rhythm &ndash; just off the top of my head, you&rsquo;ll hear a similar approach in both Dermot Kennedy&rsquo;s 'Outnumbered' and Ed Sheeran&rsquo;s 'Thinking Out Loud', for instance.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/go/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Vertigo" by Bela Fleck</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/vertigo/</link><pubDate>Fri, 22 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/vertigo/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      You&rsquo;re guaranteed one hell of a ride with pretty much any Bela Fleck record &ndash; but, holy cow, his latest Grammy-winning album My Bluegrass Heart really is a head-spinning concoction of virtuosity and musicality! The opening track &lsquo;Vertigo&rsquo; launches you straight in at the deep end too, presenting a structure full of brain-tangling rhythmic and harmonic twists, within which Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Bryan Sutton, and Fleck himself solo with astonishing freedom and fluidity, as if it&rsquo;s the easiest thing in the world.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/vertigo/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Cold" by Chris Stapleton</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cold/</link><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cold/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Despite having just won Best Country Song at this year&rsquo;s Grammy awards, there&rsquo;s not a million miles between this and Adele&rsquo;s 'Skyfall', to be honest, what with the super-meaty dry drum sounds, moody piano, pillowy bass, and woozy strings! And, like Adele, you&rsquo;re dealing with an absolute star vocalist delivering a tremendous performance that&rsquo;s tailor-made for his range, allowing him to deliver soft intimacy during the lower-register verses and howling intensity in the octave above for the choruses.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/cold/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Believe For It" by CeCe Winans</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/believe-for-it/</link><pubDate>Fri, 08 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/believe-for-it/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you&rsquo;re not into faith-focused music, you may never have heard of CeCe Winans, but her brand of slick, anthemic modern gospel music has earnt her a massive following over the years, as well as a cabinet full of awards. At this month&rsquo;s Grammy ceremony, for instance, she hoovered up Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song, Best Gospel Album (for the second time), and Best Gospel Performance/Song (which she also won in 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2018!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/believe-for-it/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bohemian-rhapsody/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bohemian-rhapsody/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Is there honestly anything left to say about one of the most over-analysed productions in the history of rock music? (Check out this, for instance, if you dare&hellip;) Notwithstanding, it seems to me that most of the column inches this song has generated have been marvelling at its many startling and unusual features. Whereas what actually interests me most from a production perspective is how the hell Roy Thomas Baker and the band managed to bind a bunch of such contrasting episodes into a musically satisfying whole.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bohemian-rhapsody/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Making A Fire" by Foo Fighters</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/making-a-fire/</link><pubDate>Fri, 25 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/making-a-fire/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Following the recent untimely passing of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, I can&rsquo;t help but feel somewhat bittersweet in my appreciation of this Grammy-winning production&rsquo;s rhythmic invention. Although the tempo remains notionally around 91bpm throughout, we get three contrasting grooves within that framework. The song kicks off broadly in 3/4, albeit with a few syncopated kick subdivisions, and then at 0:59 the prechorus moves into 4/4. But after the kick downbeat, the snare drum plants itself directly on the following seven beats, with the kick on the off-beats, the next kick downbeat only appearing at the beginning of bar three.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/making-a-fire/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Black Magic" by Jonasu</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/black-magic/</link><pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/black-magic/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although it&rsquo;s easy to write off extreme kick-triggered mix pumping as a tired EDM cliché, once you start deconstructing a few actual commercial releases, it quickly becomes clear that there&rsquo;s a great deal of subtlety separating different implementations. And this track is a case in point, specifically the cool pumping effect when the choruses arrive at 0:48 and 2:05. A great way to appreciate it is to compare what&rsquo;s going on in the Middle and Sides stereo components.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/black-magic/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I'll Get By" by The Lathums</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ill-get-by/</link><pubDate>Fri, 11 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ill-get-by/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Reading about this mix in Sound On Sound magazine&rsquo;s &lsquo;Inside Track&rsquo; feature recently, my eye was immediately drawn to this screenshot of the bass-guitar&rsquo;s EQ plug-in:
(Click image to view at high resolution.) If you zoom in on the low-end settings, it appears there&rsquo;s a 36dB/octave high-pass filter at 30Hz and a 5dB shelving cut at 100Hz, which together combine to pull the low-end response 6dB down by 60Hz. Listening to the track, the high-pass filter seems more of a safety measure than anything, given that the musical part doesn&rsquo;t really put any fundamentals below about 70Hz, but I confess that I was a bit surprised by the shelf, because I think the bass guitar sounds a bit lightweight, to be honest.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/ill-get-by/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Like A Virgin" by Madonna</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/like-a-virgin/</link><pubDate>Fri, 04 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/like-a-virgin/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      When I critiqued Michael Jackson&rsquo;s 'Billie Jean' a couple of years back, I commented on how its super-transient drum sound felt less well suited to digital playback than to the cassettes and vinyl LPs that still dominated the market of the time. Well, this Madonna single is even spikier in this respect, and I honestly found it so fatiguing to listen to that I actually ended up putting a tape-simulator over it for listening purposes after only a couple of playthroughs!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/like-a-virgin/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Serotonin" by Girl In Red</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/serotonin/</link><pubDate>Fri, 25 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/serotonin/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s an interesting arrangement concept at work here that I&rsquo;ve been hearing quite a bit amongst all the bedroom-pop artists and Eilish-a-likes recently. The basic idea is to avoid building your rhythm around bright percussion or cymbals (as pop, rock, and EDM tracks often would), but instead to fill that arrangement niche with a variety of distortion artefacts instead, effectively leaving the kick and maybe a ponderous backbeat to drive the rhythm along.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/serotonin/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Enemy" by Imagine Dragons</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/enemy/</link><pubDate>Fri, 18 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/enemy/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s hard to shake the impression that Imagine Dragons are working a formula, wheeling out variations on a clearly winning theme: those ponderous distortodrums, the extreme arrangement dynamics, the howling vocal-throng hooks, and singer Dan Reynolds&rsquo; trademark triplet-hemiola verse riffing. No shade on them, though &ndash; if it ain&rsquo;t broke&hellip;
What increasingly draws me to their songs, though, is the fastidiously creative production and mixing work, and specifically all the things in the background that cleverly support the hit template&rsquo;s foreground features.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/enemy/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Mohabbat" by Arooj Aftab</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mohabbat/</link><pubDate>Fri, 11 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mohabbat/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It was this year&rsquo;s Grammy nominations that alerted me to Arooj Aftab, as she&rsquo;s up for Best New Artist and also has this song in the running for Best Global Music Performance. I&rsquo;ll admit that it&rsquo;s hard to imagine anyone but Olivia Rodrigo walking away with the former category, but I can&rsquo;t imagine a more worthy winner for the latter than this star turn from Aftab. That the lush backing texture is so understated only makes her achievement more impressive, because it means she&rsquo;s pretty much responsible for carrying the production on her own.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/mohabbat/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Clash" by Dave feat. Stormzy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/clash/</link><pubDate>Fri, 04 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/clash/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;ve been enjoying the rise and rise of UK hip-hop over the last few years, and have critiqued a number of stand-out tracks along the way. But this one is something really special, with extraordinarily sophisticated performances from both rappers, especially as regards their rhythmic phrasing.
Partly it&rsquo;s just the intricacy and variety of rhythms on offer, skittering between straight and syncopated sixteenths via clusters of 32nd notes, with occasional moments of triplets (eg.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/clash/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"ABCDEFU" by Gayle</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/abcdefu/</link><pubDate>Fri, 28 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/abcdefu/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is the kind of properly sweary, mouthy aggression anthem that makes the Kid Laroi&rsquo;s 'Without You' sound like a child whining into a hairbrush in front of his bedroom mirror. (Even Gayle&rsquo;s cover art knocks his into a cocked hat.) Which makes it a bit of a shame that it feels like such a rip-off of the second half of Billie Eilish&rsquo;s recent diss-hit 'Happier Than Ever' &ndash; albeit a little faster and transposed up a fourth.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/abcdefu/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)" by Elton John &amp; Dua Lipa</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cold-heart/</link><pubDate>Fri, 21 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cold-heart/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Just to pull aside the curtain on my The Mix Review creative process for a moment, whenever I sit down to write a new batch of critiques, I usually start by just listening to several different tracks one after the other, jotting down any immediate first impressions while I decide what productions feel most interesting to write about.
Let me tell you what I wrote for this track (no word of a lie): &ldquo;Oh my god, this is so boring!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/cold-heart/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"'One Hand, One Heart' from West Side Story soundtrack (1961)" by Leonard Bernstein &amp; Stephen Sondheim</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/one-hand-one-heart/</link><pubDate>Fri, 14 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/one-hand-one-heart/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The bittersweet conjunction of Stephen Sondheim&rsquo;s passing and Steven Spielberg&rsquo;s lavish new film adaptation encouraged me to return to the soundtrack of this classic 1961 film. Much has been said about the musical&rsquo;s pioneering book and choreography, but for me it&rsquo;s always been the music that sets West Side Story head and shoulders above most other shows, masterfully bringing soaringly populist melodies and infectious Latin rhythms together with the intense thematic development and masterfully searching harmonies of the late classical tradition.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/one-hand-one-heart/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Still Have Faith In You" by ABBA</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-still-have-faith-in-you/</link><pubDate>Fri, 19 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-still-have-faith-in-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Who&rsquo;d have thought that one of the most influential pop groups of all time would be releasing their first new album together a full 40 years after their 70s purple patch fizzled out with 1981&rsquo;s The Visitors? I&rsquo;d kind of thought it&rsquo;d never happen, so as a huge ABBA fan myself I could scarcely be more pleased. And even if I can&rsquo;t shake the feeling that none of the new songs quite scale the heights of their back-catalogue, this one has plenty of nostalgia value to be getting on with in the meantime: anthemic harmonies from &lsquo;Thank You For The Music&rsquo; or &lsquo;Happy New Year&rsquo;, some &lsquo;Chiquitita&rsquo; rhythmic background vocals, a splash of &lsquo;Fernando&rsquo; snare roll, the undimmed magnificence of the Swedish accents&hellip;
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-still-have-faith-in-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Easy On me" by Adele</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/easy-on-me/</link><pubDate>Fri, 12 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/easy-on-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Imagine you&rsquo;re in charge of Adele&rsquo;s record company for a moment. (No need to drool like that, though.) You have an artist who&rsquo;s delivered two of the most successful records of all time, who&rsquo;s kept the public waiting six years for new material, and whose recent personal transformation has provoked something of a media frenzy in anticipation of her first new single. And let&rsquo;s say you have the whole as-yet-unreleased album in front of you, and can pick any track as that first release.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/easy-on-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Happier Than Ever" by Billie Eilish</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/happier-than-ever/</link><pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/happier-than-ever/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In a sense this song&rsquo;s harmonies are pretty simple, based overwhelmingly around two quite similar chord progressions: C-E-Am-Dm-G7 and C-E-Am-Fm. What gives it a lot more drama than you&rsquo;d expect, though, is the way the E chord is major and the F chord is minor, whereas you&rsquo;d expect E minor and F major chords within the prevailing C major key. In other words, both chords have had their third degrees chromatically altered to the opposite mode.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/happier-than-ever/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Heat Waves" by Glass Animals</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/heat-waves/</link><pubDate>Fri, 29 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/heat-waves/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What earthly use is a double sharp? I mean, surely there&rsquo;s always a simpler way of writing things? Well, not necessarily, as it turns out, because there are some clear situations where double sharps actually make a good deal of sense, and this song actually showcases one of them.
You see, the entire song here revolves around an underlying eight-chord harmonic progression built on the notes of the B major scale: C#m-B-G#m-F#-E-B-C#m-F#.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/heat-waves/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bad-habits/</link><pubDate>Fri, 22 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bad-habits/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The low end of this mix is very nicely managed to deliver impressive weight and punch. For a start, it&rsquo;s leveraging the old House trick of putting the bass line on the off-beats of a four-to-the-floor kick pattern, thereby improving the subjective level of both kick and bass by avoiding frequency-masking or headroom-competition between them. The kick&rsquo;s as tightly-controlled as you&rsquo;d hope within that context, with a powerful energy focus around the 50Hz zone &ndash; a region that&rsquo;s deep enough to keep the track sounding bassy even while the fundamentals of the bass line itself traverse all the way from 37Hz (low D) to 73Hz (an octave above).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bad-habits/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Stay" by Kid Laroi &amp; Justin Bieber</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stay-02/</link><pubDate>Fri, 15 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stay-02/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Blimey &ndash; actual honest-to-goodness production values! Things are clearly looking up post- 'Without You'. That said, the Kid&rsquo;s most attention-grabbing lyrical move still seems to be the F-bomb, the lazy effectiveness of which appears to have rubbed off on his collaborator at 1:17. If Laroi&rsquo;s not careful, that expletive may begin functioning as a musical ID tag &ndash; you know, like when Jason Derulo sings his own name at the start of every song he does.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/stay-02/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Fancy Like" by Walker Hayes</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fancy-like/</link><pubDate>Fri, 08 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fancy-like/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Given the way Lil Nas X and other &lsquo;country trap&rsquo; artists have been shoe-horning Americana into a hip-hop mould (see 'Old Town Road', I suppose it should come as no surprise that mainstread country artists are repaying the compliment. Take this production, for instance. Can you imagine country tunes five years ago having this kind of low end? The ponderous sub-60Hz region of the opening kick-drum, for instance, stands up perfectly happily against most mainstream hip-hop, but then when we get to the chorus, that 808-a-like bass/kick tone makes the song begin to sound almost like an urban remix!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/fancy-like/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"My Universe" by Coldplay &amp; BTS</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/my-universe/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/my-universe/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This production sounds like someone said &ldquo;You know The Weeknd&rsquo;s 'Save Your Tears'? What if we did that&hellip; only bigger!?&rdquo; The kick and snare sounds seem almost like photocopies, set against a similarly sub-heavy chordal synth slab, but the mix manages to be a little louder, wider, and punchier to my ears, so we&rsquo;ll count that as a win for the studio team! The main chorus texture is also more mono-compatible, specifically as regards the balance between the lead vocal and the synth texture.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/my-universe/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Bye Bye Love" by The Everly Brothers</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bye-bye-love/</link><pubDate>Fri, 24 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bye-bye-love/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s something wonderful about the efficiency and effortless poise of this record, an ideal combination of the two brothers&rsquo; voices, Don Everly&rsquo;s guitar, and members of The Nashville A-Team on drums, bass, and rhythm guitar. Everything seems like it&rsquo;s exactly where it should be in the balance and depth perspective, which is quite a trick given that this record was (according to this article) recorded direct to mono using four mics: the brothers shared a mic (as they were used to doing live), the bass and rhythm guitar shared another, and the drummer and lead guitar each had their own.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bye-bye-love/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Love Again" by Dua Lipa</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-again/</link><pubDate>Fri, 17 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-again/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the most inspiring project-studio stories ever told is that of Jyoti Mishra, who in 1997 created a global hit record using an Emu Emax II, a Casio CZ1, an Atari ST, and five tracks of a Tascam 688 cassette portastudio. (More technical info here &ndash; my favourite detail is that the vocal mic was a Realistic PZM boundary mic!) The song was called &lsquo;Your Woman&rsquo; (released under the moniker White Town), and prominently featured a sample from a 1932 Lew Stone &amp; The Monseigneur Band record, a sample that also appears prominently in Dua Lipa&rsquo;s &lsquo;Love Again&rsquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-again/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Kiss Me More" by Doja Cat feat. SZA</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/kiss-me-more/</link><pubDate>Fri, 10 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/kiss-me-more/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although this is apparently based on the chorus of Olivia Newton-John&rsquo;s early-80s song &lsquo;Physical&rsquo;, I can&rsquo;t really see much similarity. (Did it even need clearing?) Still, I suppose we should be applauding such accreditation, seeing as high-profile artists have often been so stingy in that respect. Whatever its source, however, the harmonic progression is actually quite interesting.
You see, a lot of songs use repeating four-bar circle-of-fifths progressions, but these typically treat the home key chord as the destination towards which the cycle is progressing.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/kiss-me-more/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Body" by Russ Millions &amp; Tion Wayne</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/body/</link><pubDate>Fri, 03 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/body/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Putting aside the odd coincidence of my accidentally doing back-to-back critiques of songs referencing Ricky Martin&rsquo;s 1999 smash hit &lsquo;Livin&rsquo; La Vida Loca&rsquo;, there&rsquo;s much to admire in this innovative UK drill production. Probably the most striking thing for me is how unpredictable the kick-drum pattern is. Granted, you get some sense of regularity in the choruses at 1:21, 2:02, and 2:29, which all have reliable downbeat kick hits, and bars 1-2 more or less repeat as bars 3-4.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/body/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Thong Song" by Sisqó</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/thong-song/</link><pubDate>Fri, 27 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/thong-song/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s something almost pointillist about the quickfire staccato of this multi-layered production, and in that respect it reminds me a good deal of Destiny&rsquo;s Child&rsquo;s similar machine-gun antics on songs like &lsquo;Bills Bills Bills&rsquo; and &lsquo;Say My Name&rsquo; from around the same time. While this song might easily have been programmed on an Akai MPC, given the vintage, if it was carried out in a DAW, then it sounds like the producers hadn&rsquo;t discovered the piano-roll MIDI editor yet, so were using the drum editor for everything!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/thong-song/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"By Your Side" by Calvin Harris feat. Tom Grennan</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/by-your-side/</link><pubDate>Fri, 20 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/by-your-side/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Probably the most common way musicians create fills is by adding extra musical events &ndash; think of the archetypal tom hits at the end of four bars of a basic kick-snare-hat beat, for instance, or the widdly funk-bass lick leading from a verse into a chorus. Personally, however, I often prefer fills that work in the opposite direction, so to speak: in other words, by creating variety through removing stuff.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/by-your-side/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Peaches" by Justin Bieber feat. Daniel Caesar &amp; Giveon</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/peaches/</link><pubDate>Fri, 13 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/peaches/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of pop songwriting&rsquo;s most fertile harmonic territories is that family of harmonic progressions where the root of each chord in turn rises/falls by the same number of scale steps from its predecessor. Patterns of falling fifths (or rising fourths) are probably the most commonplace, with songs such as &lsquo;Autumn Leaves&rsquo;, 'I Will Survive', 'Yesterday', &lsquo;Fly Me To The Moon&rsquo;, 'The Windmills Of Your Mind', and 'Hello' just a few of the hits that have used them to advantage.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/peaches/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Oliver Twist" by ArrDee</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/oliver-twist/</link><pubDate>Fri, 06 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/oliver-twist/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of my very favourite UK artists is The Streets, and especially his pioneering first two records Original Pirate Material and A Grand Don&rsquo;t Come For Free. He sounded like nothing else at the time, both in the madcap inventiveness of his beat-making and arrangement, and in the seemingly effortless geezer-rap acrobatics he spun over the top, both reflecting and satirising early-2000s urban England with a unique kind of scabby nobility.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/oliver-twist/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Zitti E Buoni" by Måneskin</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/zitti-e-buoni/</link><pubDate>Fri, 30 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/zitti-e-buoni/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Despite the UK&rsquo;s frankly embarrassing showing this year, Eurovision nonetheless delivered a couple of star-quality performances: Switzerland&rsquo;s Gjon&rsquo;s Tears with &lsquo;Tout L&rsquo;Univers&rsquo; (for all the world like a lost Bond theme) and this song by Italian contenders Måneskin, which magically fuses the DNA of two of my favourite rock bands, The Darkness and Royal Blood, into what feels like a potentially globe-conquering hybrid.
For a start, the sonics here immediately earnt it a place on my own personal referencing shortlist as a modern rock archetype: the drums are weighty and heaving with compression; the bass is solid and characterful with excellent small-speaker transmission; the guitars are raw and wide, but with great mono-compatibility; and the vocals are powerful, upfront, and aggressive.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/zitti-e-buoni/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/satisfaction/</link><pubDate>Fri, 23 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/satisfaction/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      With such an iconic record, it&rsquo;s easy to overlook how odd it sounds &ndash; even leaving aside the pioneering fuzzed &lsquo;placeholder&rsquo; guitar riff that was initially just a placeholder for horns! (It only remained on the record because Jagger and Richards were out-voted by the rest of the band, the producer, and the engineer.) The drum pattern&rsquo;s about as simple as it gets, with kick and snare pounding down together on every beat, and the hi-hat playing eighths over that, although you&rsquo;d be forgiven for missing the latter given how diffuse the hat sounds in the mix.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/satisfaction/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Saint Honesty" by Sara Bareilles</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/saint-honesty/</link><pubDate>Fri, 16 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/saint-honesty/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A well-deserved winner for Best American Roots Performance at this year&rsquo;s Grammies, this song demonstrates tremendous vocal maturity and control. On the one hand, there are spine-tingling moments of technical mastery, like the long, developing sustains of &ldquo;honesty&rdquo; (2:31), &ldquo;need&rdquo; (2:43) and &ldquo;rain&rdquo; (3:31), or the seamless transitions between head and chest voices on &ldquo;so what if the hardwood stains&rdquo; (0:22) or &ldquo;we won&rsquo;t drown in the tears&rdquo; (2:06). But on the other hand there&rsquo;s a breadth of long-term range and register, from the sultry lows of the first verse to the forceful highs of the middle section at 3:01-3:22.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/saint-honesty/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" by Lil Nas X</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/montero/</link><pubDate>Fri, 09 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/montero/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Having thoroughly facepalmed myself by first mistakenly critiquing the Derek West &amp; Midnight Beats track of the same name, I finally ended up at the right spot, and was immediately struck by the cool vocal texture right at the outset, with the lower vocal octave at the centre of the stereo image and the upper vocal octave doubletracks hard panned. Because the higher line is sung falsetto, which naturally has more emphasis on the frequency extremes, it exaggerates the sense of &lsquo;in my ear&rsquo; intimacy already generated by the extreme panning &ndash; especially on headphones.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/montero/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"12 Little Spells" by Esperanza Spalding</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/12-little-spells/</link><pubDate>Fri, 02 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/12-little-spells/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Every year the Grammies alert me to a few new musical treats, and this time one of those treasures was this mind-bending jazz reverie from Esperanza Spalding. And the thing I find most bewitching about it is the way it smuggles some tremendously avant-garde harmonies past you in a deceptively euphonic way. The clearest example of this for me is where the guitar is oscillating between A major and F major chords (harmonies that are already reasonably distant from each other in harmonic terms, but made more palatable by the sonorous shared A pedal tone) and then the bass line launches off tangentially with a low Ab-Bb-G-Cb-Db riff that shares no notes at all with the guitar&rsquo;s chord.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/12-little-spells/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Good Without" by Mimi Webb</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-without/</link><pubDate>Fri, 25 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-without/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I didn&rsquo;t feel particularly inclined to spend another three minutes traipsing unimaginatively round I-V-vi-IV, but there seems to be no escaping it in the charts these days. Yes, the harmonic rhythm is more sedate than most, with a good five seconds per chord, and there&rsquo;s a hint of D pedal note in the D-A-Bm-G pattern, which gives the second chord some Asus4 ambiguity, but it&rsquo;s fairly slim pickings in terms of anything to get excited about.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-without/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Bye Bye Baby" by The Bay City Rollers</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bye-bye-baby/</link><pubDate>Fri, 18 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bye-bye-baby/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      For any given key in tonal music, there will be some other keys that are more closely related, and some that feel more remote. Broadly speaking, the perceived distance between keys reflects the similarity of their scales: the more scale notes the two keys share, the closer they&rsquo;ll feel harmonically, and the easier it&rsquo;ll typically be to modulate smoothly between them. Or, to put it another way, keys which have similar numbers or sharps or flats in their key signatures will feel more closely related than keys which don&rsquo;t.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bye-bye-baby/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/save-your-tears/</link><pubDate>Fri, 11 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/save-your-tears/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s not that often you get a pop song which boasts six different chords, but nonetheless uses only the white notes! In other words, most of this song follows a C-Am-Em-G pattern, while the prechorus sections at 1:13 and 2:10 switch to Dm-Am-F-G, which means that all but one of the scale notes have triads built on them at some point in the timeline. So why was the chord on B avoided?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/save-your-tears/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Without You (Remix)" by The Kid Laroi feat. Miley Cyrus</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-you-04/</link><pubDate>Fri, 04 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-you-04/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you&rsquo;d asked me a couple of months ago how it might be possible to make The Kid Laroi&rsquo;s already teeth-grindingly awful 'Without You' even worse, it would have taken some serious thought. Now, to be frank, I think it&rsquo;s the kind of topic you can&rsquo;t un-ponder, but assuming I&rsquo;d willingly been that cavalier about soiling my own neurons, I reckon the idea of a cross-promotional &lsquo;remix&rsquo; with some credibility-free Stateside popstress would have been pretty high up on my List Of Shame.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-you-04/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Leave The Door Open" by Silk Sonic</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/leave-the-door-open/</link><pubDate>Fri, 28 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/leave-the-door-open/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Whatever you think about Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak&rsquo;s fawning 70s pastiche, you have to hand it to them &ndash; they haven&rsquo;t half smuggled some cool harmonies into the mainstream charts! This is a world where slippery non-functional sevenths are practically standard issue (often major sevenths for the major chords and minor sevenths for the minor chords), with plenty more exotic dissonances sprinkled in besides. Chief amongst those must surely be the G13 chord first heard at 0:49, where its tangible dominant impetus is thwarted by the chorus&rsquo;s opening Fmaj7 chord, and it only resolves a bit more confidently to Cmaj7 at its reappearance six bars later.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/leave-the-door-open/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Songs About You" by Chika</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/songs-about-you/</link><pubDate>Fri, 21 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/songs-about-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s pretty cool the way the envelope-following filter we hear on the rhythmic loop at the outset fits with the filter modulation on the song&rsquo;s main chordal synth part. The inventiveness and athleticism of the bass line&rsquo;s also fun. But where those elements might be enough to carry some productions on their own, they&rsquo;re placed in the shade here by comparison with the vocal.
On the one hand, it&rsquo;s just a cracking performance, switching between rapping and singing with such effortless swagger, and mercifully free of the scourge of artificial electronic mangling, which means we can really dig in and enjoy it!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/songs-about-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Bat Out Of Hell" by Meat Loaf</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bat-out-of-hell/</link><pubDate>Fri, 14 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bat-out-of-hell/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;ve already covered one of Jim Steinman&rsquo;s classic productions in The Mix Review: Bonnie Tyler&rsquo;s 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart'. Following his recent death, however, I figured it was time to look back at this track, from Meat Loaf&rsquo;s eponymous operatic rock opus. And what a piece of work it is! Yet despite its one-of-a-kind qualities I found myself pondering a number of unusual parallels with other records.
For instance, it actually brought to mind The Beach Boys&rsquo; 'Good Vibrations' (bear with me here&hellip;), but not because of musical similarities.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bat-out-of-hell/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Really Love" by KSI feat. Craig David &amp; Digital Farm Animals</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/really-love-02/</link><pubDate>Fri, 07 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/really-love-02/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A really solid EDM beat here (one of the best I&rsquo;ve heard since Topic &amp; A7S&rsquo;s stonking 'Breaking Me', in fact), combined with a meaty, rasping lead rap timbre, smartly designed to feel aggressive and upfront without spittiness. But what most intrigues me with this production is the way the harmony develops under Craig David&rsquo;s sung vocal sections.
You see, when the hook first appears at the outset, the harmonic backing is a kind of hazy wash of watery modulated notes that roughly coalesce into a rather ambiguous Ebmaj9 chord.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/really-love-02/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Sweet Melody" by Little Mix</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sweet-melody/</link><pubDate>Fri, 30 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sweet-melody/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Overlooking, for a moment, the heavy irony of any member of Little Mix delivering songwriting critique (&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t crazy about the words, but the melodies were sweet&rdquo; at 0:19), this production is interesting for the way it maintains its super-wide sense of stereo image. Now it&rsquo;s probably fair to say that, for most pop producers, the wider the mix sounds, the better. However, widening any sound beyond a certain point can begin seriously compromising its mono compatibility, which is important for mass-market mix translation.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sweet-melody/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Everything I Wanted" by Billie Eilish</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/everything-i-wanted/</link><pubDate>Fri, 23 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/everything-i-wanted/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This year&rsquo;s Grammy winner for Record Of The Year is, like all of Eilish&rsquo;s releases, a masterclass in modern vocal arrangement. In fact, even without considering the vocals themselves, the whole production is carefully constructed to maximise the intimacy and warmth of the vocal transmission. For a start, the backing track&rsquo;s lower midrange is sparsely populated, even when the bass arrives (mostly comprising fundamentals around 35Hz and third harmonics around 105Hz), so there&rsquo;s plenty of space for Eilish&rsquo;s proximity-boosted low spectrum in the 150-300Hz octave.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/everything-i-wanted/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Is This Love" by Bob Marley &amp; The Wailers</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/is-this-love/</link><pubDate>Fri, 16 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/is-this-love/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Following the sad passing of Bunny Wailer, I was inspired to revisit this classic song, the opening track (and my personal favourite) from Legend, the best-selling reggae album of all time. It&rsquo;s a song that has so seeped its way into the common unconscious that it&rsquo;s easy to overlook how odd its structure is. Now, if I asked you to sing the song&rsquo;s main hook, you could probably do it easily.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/is-this-love/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"25 Trips" by Sierra Hull</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/25-trips/</link><pubDate>Fri, 09 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/25-trips/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The nomination of Sierra Hull&rsquo;s album 25 Trips for Best Engineering at this year&rsquo;s Grammies is unquestionably richly deserved, and the engineer behind it, Gary Paczosa, has justifiably graced that particular award category on many a previous occasion. (Indeed, he&rsquo;s also nominated this year for his work on Katie Pruitt&rsquo;s Expectations.) And you could do a lot worse than starting your journey through this album&rsquo;s delights by listening to the title track, which has to be one of my personal records of the year!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/25-trips/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"More Hearts Than Mine" by Ingrid Andress</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/more-hearts-than-mine/</link><pubDate>Fri, 02 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/more-hearts-than-mine/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In a sense, this song from Best New Artist Grammy nominee Ingrid Andress feels so conventional that it&rsquo;s almost a country ballad by numbers, but it reploughs its well-worn furrow so exquisitely that I&rsquo;d encourage any student of production to pull it apart bit by bit, because it provides so many archetypal examples of tried-and-true song-writing, arrangement, and production techniques.
Harmonically, there&rsquo;s nothing but I, IV, V, and vi here, but the progressions wring great value out of them nonetheless.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/more-hearts-than-mine/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Business" by Tiësto</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-business/</link><pubDate>Fri, 26 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-business/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The two double-choruses here demonstrate how effectively you can extend the usability of a given melody simply by shifting it up the octave. And it plays into Tiësto&rsquo;s hands in terms of arrangement build-up too, because the lower-register rendition that starts things off in each case naturally works better against a backdrop with less high-frequency action, so it feels natural to delay the onset of the hi-hat layer until the higher-register rendition kicks in.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-business/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Without You" by The Kid Laroi</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-you-03/</link><pubDate>Fri, 19 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-you-03/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Frankly, it beggars belief that a song for which Wikipedia lists four writers and eight engineering staff could have ended up so threadbare. We already didn&rsquo;t need another teenager earnestly thrashing vi-IV-I-V into the ground with My First Strumming Pattern, and the pedestrian melody and clunky word-stress patterns (eg. &ldquo;what my life could poss-i-bly be&rdquo;) make it no easier to swallow. The persistently self-centred lyrical whining is pretty wearing too, especially when it leans so heavily on the cheap crutch of swearing in the absense of any real expressive range.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-you-03/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Baby Love" by The Supremes</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/baby-love/</link><pubDate>Fri, 12 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/baby-love/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I was spurred into revisiting this track by the sad passing of Mary Wilson, in a sense the real linchpin of The Supremes (despite ceding the lion&rsquo;s share of the on-stage limelight to Diana Ross) on account of her presence in all the group&rsquo;s classic line-ups. (The less said about the &lsquo;Return To Love&rsquo; tour, the better&hellip;) From a sonic perspective, there&rsquo;s much to admire. I particularly like the snare, which delivers not only enough attack to punch effortlessly through the backing, but also a rich, noisy tone that feels solid and present, but isn&rsquo;t so sustained as to overshadow the lead vocal.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/baby-love/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lockdown" by Anderson Paak</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lockdown/</link><pubDate>Fri, 05 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lockdown/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is easily my favourite of all the songs I&rsquo;ve heard so far about the BLM protests, because somehow it manages a breadth of scope that makes it feel almost like a State Of The Nation, taking in political hypocrisy, police tactics, coronavirus lockdowns, and even (in a lyrical tour de force at 0:53) the unemployment rate. Paak&rsquo;s quiet intensity and sparing use of expletives only increase the authority and impact of his message too, in my view &ndash; something the video powerfully highlights by disconcertingly using visuals of him lip-syncing in a clearly more impassioned way for the section at 0:51-1:05.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lockdown/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wellerman" by Nathan Evans</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wellerman/</link><pubDate>Fri, 26 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wellerman/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This singer&rsquo;s stratospheric rise is easily the second most endearing musical phenomenon I&rsquo;ve seen on TikTok in the past few months. (After the Ratatousical, of course. You&rsquo;re welcome.) And on the back of an official single release and the crushingly inevitable plastic dance remix, the song has now managed to get within a salty old sea dog&rsquo;s whisker of the UK chart top spot, so I imagine the (Lord help us&hellip;) ShantyTok craze will be around a while longer.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wellerman/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Driver's License" by Olivia Rodrigo</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/drivers-license/</link><pubDate>Fri, 19 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/drivers-license/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In film and TV production, there&rsquo;s an important distinction between diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Diegetic sound occurs within the world we&rsquo;re seeing on screen &ndash; it&rsquo;s the dialogue, the Foley, or perhaps some music that&rsquo;s playing on the protagonist&rsquo;s car radio, say, or in the bar they&rsquo;re sitting in. Non-diegetic sound, on the other hand, lives outside the on-screen environment &ndash; in other words, it&rsquo;s what most film and TV composers create.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/drivers-license/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"You'll Never Walk Alone" by Gerry &amp; The Pacemakers</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/youll-never-walk-alone/</link><pubDate>Fri, 12 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/youll-never-walk-alone/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Perhaps fittingly, this football-terrace hymn of stiocism marked the beginning of the band&rsquo;s downward chart trajectory &ndash; although from quite a peak, it has to be said, having spent 11 weeks at the UK number one spot in 1963 despite stiff competition from The Beatles and Cliff Richard! As usual with singles of this era, you can find a variety of more or less mastering-mangled versions online, and although most listeners at the time would have heard it in mono, it&rsquo;s worth seeking out one of the cleaner stereo mixes, because this was an age when &lsquo;stereo mixing&rsquo; kind of meant &lsquo;choose a channel, any channel!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/youll-never-walk-alone/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Willow" by Taylor Swift</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/willow/</link><pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/willow/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A lovely guitar opening this, and one that&rsquo;s particularly intriguing once you ask yourself how many guitars are actually in there. I&rsquo;m pretty sure there are two mono guitars panned to opposite stereo extremes, because some elements of the texture definitely drop out if you solo the left or right channels. But there&rsquo;s at least one part between them in the image, and I can&rsquo;t quite decide whether it&rsquo;s a single stereo recording, with the inherent image spread you&rsquo;d expect from that, or two more mono parts panned a little to either side.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/willow/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lighter" by Nathan Dawe feat. KSI</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lighter/</link><pubDate>Fri, 22 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lighter/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The horrible house piano and &ldquo;uh-k-ch&rdquo; hi-hat pattern gave me an awful premonition that the music industry might now, having successfully rehabilitated some of their 80s back-catalogue through retro-tinged modern productions like Mark Ronson&rsquo;s 'Uptown Funk' and The Weeknd&rsquo;s 'Blinding Lights' and via viral media like Tim &amp; Fred Williams&rsquo;s &lsquo;In The Air Tonight&rsquo; reaction video, they might now have the worst plastic rave excesses of the 90s in their cross-promotional cross-hairs.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lighter/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Mood" by 24kGoldn feat. Iann Dior</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mood/</link><pubDate>Fri, 22 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mood/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Some engineers talk rather disparagingly about &lsquo;wide mono&rsquo;, in other words the concept of panning everything in your mix so that it&rsquo;s either in the middle of the image or spread evenly on both sides. So you might have your kick, snare, bass, and lead vocal all central, for instance, and then pan any stereo keyboards, double-tracked guitars/BVs, and effects so that they&rsquo;re all neatly balanced between the left and right channels, such that swapping the stereo channels of the mix doesn&rsquo;t appreciably alter the sound.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/mood/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Love Spreads" by The Stone Roses</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-spreads/</link><pubDate>Fri, 15 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-spreads/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Given that fans had to wait more than five years for the band&rsquo;s second album (for which this song was the lead single), I don&rsquo;t imagine many of them batted an eyelid at waiting another 73 seconds for the vocals to come in here. But even I, who normally subscribes to a &ldquo;don&rsquo;t bore us, get to the chorus&rdquo; attitude, was far from distressed by Ian Brown&rsquo;s late arrival, as he&rsquo;s one of those singers I&rsquo;ve never managed to warm to.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-spreads/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Breaking Me" by Topic &amp; A7S</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/breaking-me/</link><pubDate>Fri, 08 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/breaking-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I heard this song for the first time on my car radio while staffing the Senior-family Taxi Service (an occupation hazard of having socially active daughters), and I was immediately impressed at how the vocal sound really leaped out at me compared with the rest of the playlist. Investigating further in the studio, the reasons became clear enough, because the singer&rsquo;s tone is characterised not by the hissy high-end saturation so often used by mix engineers to staple teen popstresses to the listener&rsquo;s forehead, but by a consistently dense, throaty rasp in the 1-2kHz zone (and to a lesser extent in the octave above as well).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/breaking-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"You Broke Me First" by Tate McRae</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-broke-me-first/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-broke-me-first/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There have been a load of songs recently based around variants of the I-V-vi-IV progression &ndash; Lewis Capaldi&rsquo;s 'Someone You Loved' and 'Before You Go', Dan &amp; Shay&rsquo;s 'Tequila', Luis Fonsi&rsquo;s 'Despacito', Dermot Kennedy&rsquo;s 'Outnumbered', and Zac Efron &amp; Zendaya&rsquo;s 'Rewrite The Stars'. In that context, what I find myself most looking for is interesting variants on the basic pattern, such as the syncopated harmonic rhythm in &lsquo;Outnumbered&rsquo; and &lsquo;Tequila&rsquo;, or the nice little harmonic shimmy in this Tate McRae song.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-broke-me-first/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"What's Love Got To Do With It" by Kygo &amp; Tina Turner</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/whats-love-got-to-do-with-it/</link><pubDate>Fri, 25 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/whats-love-got-to-do-with-it/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The late-90s was something of a nadir as regards hip-hop artists lazily ripping off other people&rsquo;s hits to rap over. Although I suspect the years will never quite wash away the pain of Puff Daddy&rsquo;s &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll Be Missing You&rsquo; or Will Smith&rsquo;s &lsquo;Wild Wild West&rsquo;, thankfully the majority of these cash-ins have now faded into well-deserved obscurity. So you&rsquo;d be forgiven for not recalling Warren G&rsquo;s 1996 rip-off of Tina Turner&rsquo;s &lsquo;What&rsquo;s Love Go To Do With It&rsquo;, despite it&rsquo;s appearance in the cinematic masterpiece that is Jackie Chan&rsquo;s Police Story 3: Super Cop.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/whats-love-got-to-do-with-it/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Pretend" by Des O'Connor</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-pretend/</link><pubDate>Fri, 18 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-pretend/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In my teens, I first became conscious of Des O&rsquo;Connor (who sadly died recently at the age of 88) as the perma-smooth and self-deprecating variety/chat-show host who seemed to be a fixture of the weekday-evening telly schedule. Musically, though, I soon learnt that his name was mud as far as the cool kids at school were concerned, and would have scoffed heartily at the idea that he might have topped the UK charts back in 1968, when pop music was enjoying one of its purplest patches.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-pretend/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Tick Tock" by Clean Bandit &amp; Mabel feat. 24kGoldn</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/tick-tock/</link><pubDate>Fri, 11 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/tick-tock/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Is it just me, or does this smack of a bare-faced money-grab for sync revenue? I mean, given how frequently news channels do features on Tik Tok, and how frequently musical underlay is left by overworked producers to the last moment, this track will doubtless prove as inescapable as Robbie Williams&rsquo;s &lsquo;Millennium&rsquo; was in the late 90s, given that Kesha&rsquo;s 2009 smash &lsquo;Tik Tok&rsquo; is basically ancient history as far as the typical user of the micro-video-sharing app is concerned.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/tick-tock/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Ain't It Different" by Headie One feat. AJ Tracey &amp; Stormzy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/aint-it-different/</link><pubDate>Fri, 04 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/aint-it-different/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Muting the beat and/or bass line to emphasise certain lyrics is one of my favourite hip-hop production tricks. I remember talking about some months back in relation to Stormzy&rsquo;s 'Vossi Bop', for instance, so there&rsquo;s a pleasing circularity in such tactics appearing in Stormzy&rsquo;s verse here, most strikingly under &ldquo;&hellip;day, woulda got yourself wrapped on Clifton&rdquo; and &ldquo;Boy!&rdquo; at 2:29. Headie One has similar moments too, under &ldquo;&hellip;prison, but I don&rsquo;t know no different&rdquo; and &ldquo;&hellip;piss test&rdquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/aint-it-different/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Midnight Sky" by Miley Cyrus</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/midnight-sky/</link><pubDate>Fri, 27 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/midnight-sky/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      For the most part, the drums here are extraordinarily dull-sounding for a pop record, but the reason they don&rsquo;t seem that dull is because the snare has a tiny 4ms-long slice of dense high-frequency energy right on its leading edge. Compare, for instance, the enormous perceptual difference it makes if I use region-specific 2kHz low-pass filtering just on those little 4ms snare-drum slices. Unprocessed: play_arrow | get_app With region LPFs: play_arrow | get_app The advantage of creating only a scanty illusion of a full-range drumkit spectrum like this is that it keeps the upper spectrum of the mix much clearer for other elements of the production such as the 80s-throwback synths and the vocal details and effects.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/midnight-sky/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Si Tu T'Imagines" by Juliette Gréco</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/si-tu-timagines/</link><pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/si-tu-timagines/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I confess that I had not been familiar with the work of this icon of the French Chanson tradition before her passing in September at the age of 93, and delving into her back catalogue since then has been a joy. This song is one of her signature numbers, the lyric cautioning a young girl to live life while she can, because her physical charms will soon fade. First recorded for Columbia under the orchestral direction of Pierre Arimi, it&rsquo;s the version from the stereo release of her 1959 album 10 Ans De Chansons (sometimes labelled &lsquo;Version 2&rsquo; on Spotify and iTunes) that&rsquo;s the one to seek out, because it&rsquo;s truly a thing of exceptional beauty.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/si-tu-timagines/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Dynamite" by BTS</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dynamite/</link><pubDate>Fri, 13 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dynamite/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      For a (presumably) big-budget K-pop record, the degree of vocal lip/mouth noise on display is a bit disappointing. Even the very opening phrase has a cluster of crackles between &ldquo;Cos I-I-I&rsquo;m&rdquo; and &ldquo;in the stars tonight&rdquo; and, given the bright vocal tone, I do find them a bit distracting. It&rsquo;s so easy to get rid of them too. Firstly, just make sure the singer&rsquo;s taking sips of water between each take &ndash; and certainly not the &ldquo;cup of milk&rdquo; mentioned at 0:10, as that can actually exacerbate the problem!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dynamite/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Head &amp; Heart" by Joel Corry feat. MNEK</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/head-and-heart/</link><pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/head-and-heart/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Fundamentally, this whole record&rsquo;s rooted on the same bass riff, first heard at 0:07, but what I like about this production is the way the lead line sets up a rhythmic tension-release dynamic in relation to it. What I mean by this is that the main &ldquo;bum-bum-ba-dum&rdquo; vocal hook follows pretty much an identical rhythm to the bass riff, but the lead vocal verse (eg. 0:07-0:23), while still tracking the same template quite closely, also begins to pull away from it in subtle ways.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/head-and-heart/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Giants" by Dermot Kennedy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/giants/</link><pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/giants/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It only takes a single letter to identify some singers. Take Liam Gallagher&rsquo;s &lsquo;i&rsquo;, for instance. (Could anyone else be singing the &ldquo;winding/blinding&rdquo; couplet from 'Wonderwall'?) Or Kate Bush&rsquo;s fricative &lsquo;r&rsquo;. (As in &ldquo;Rvunning up that road / Rvunning up that hill&rdquo;.) And given how important &lsquo;brand recognition&rsquo; is to pop singers, there&rsquo;s an argument for choosing lyrics that capitalise on the pronunciation idiosyncrasies of any specific vocalist you&rsquo;re working with.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/giants/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Grounds" by Idles</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/grounds/</link><pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/grounds/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;m clearly hella late to this party, because the first I heard of Bristol band Idles was yesterday morning, when I spotted their album Ultra Mono perched atop the UK album charts. I duly went in search of what all the fuss was about, and realised how much I&rsquo;d been missing &ndash; what a tremendous record it is! Furthermore, I think it might well signpost a route back to the mainstream for rock bands in general, via the very tactics hip-hop and EDM producers have used to maintain their chart ascendancy in recent years.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/grounds/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Jump" by Van Halen</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/jump/</link><pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/jump/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Back in 1985, getting hold of sheet music for rock songs involved trundling over to an actual music shop, rooting through the racks, ordering from the counter once you&rsquo;d discovered the desired title was out of stock, and then returning in three weeks once it eventually arrived. This is probably why my freshly teenage elder brother was willing to swallow his pride and ask me to transcribe this iconic synth riff for him by hand.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/jump/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Love To Go" by Lost Frequencies, Zonderling &amp; Kelvin Jones</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-to-go/</link><pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-to-go/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In pop music, as in many other walks of life, you&rsquo;re only ever one letter from catastrophe, so it&rsquo;s easy to come a lyrical cropper while mixing if you don&rsquo;t keep your wits about you. This is especially the case if you&rsquo;re already familiar with what the lyrics should say, because your subconscious will then naturally reinstate for you any phonemes your production work obscures &ndash; something the uninitiated listener won&rsquo;t necessarily do.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-to-go/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Unfamiliar" by Seeb, Goodboys &amp; HRVY</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/unfamiliar/</link><pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/unfamiliar/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Maybe I was too hard on Meduza, when I insinuated that they&rsquo;d ripped off their own vocal riff from 'Piece Of Your Heart' to create ''. Based on the evidence here, it could equally well have been Goodboys, given the similarity between the awkward &ldquo;okay&rdquo; speech snippet first heard at 0:34 and the (admittedly much more ear-catching) one in &lsquo;Piece Of Your Heart&rsquo;. Or maybe they just witnessed the success of Meduza&rsquo;s recycling efforts and fancied a bit of the same action.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/unfamiliar/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Cardigan" by Taylor Swift</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cardigan/</link><pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cardigan/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It took me a little while to get to grips with the structure of this song, because there are a number of things that blur the identity of its different sections. For a start, this isn&rsquo;t a typical pop arrangement on a surface level, because the texture doesn&rsquo;t change dramatically as a structural device. Yes, there&rsquo;s some light and shade &ndash; a little more or less drums, strings, or backing vocals from section to section &ndash; but nothing that screams &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s the chorus dummy!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/cardigan/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/in-the-air-tonight/</link><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/in-the-air-tonight/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Like Cher&rsquo;s 'Believe', this is one of those few records where the headline production stunt seems to have eclipsed almost all other aspects of the song in people&rsquo;s minds. Sure, the famous drum sound that arrives with the final choruses undeniably deserves its place in history, standing iconically at the watershed between two musical decades, but there&rsquo;s not much to say about it from a technical perspective beyond what producer Hugh Padgham has already revealed in interviews such as these from Home &amp; Studio Recording (January 1985), Music Technology (April 1987), Sound On Sound (May 1988), and Mix Magazine (January 2005).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/in-the-air-tonight/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"WAP" by Cardi B. feat. Megan Thee Stallion</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wap/</link><pubDate>Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wap/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I think it&rsquo;d be fair to say that there&rsquo;s been some pretty gratuitous sampling in the history of hip-hop, with unimaginative producers lazily piggy-backing on the recognition of earlier chart hits. So it&rsquo;s always refreshing to be reminded how the best rappers are capable of dramatically reinterpreting or commenting on a sampled record, shedding a whole new light on it (and indeed society as whole) in the process. And there can be few more powerful examples of this than &lsquo;WAP&rsquo;, a long-overdue sexual-equality/positivity broadside set uncompromisingly against the hook of Frank Ski&rsquo;s &lsquo;Whores In This House&quot;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wap/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Circles" by Post Malone</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/circles/</link><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/circles/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is a mix with terrific small-speaker kick-drum translation, by virtue of a strong 200-300Hz emphasis and plenty of noisy midrange ambience. Pushing a kick drum&rsquo;s low-midrange region is frequently the last thing you want to do in a lot of mixes where bass, keyboard, and electric-guitar parts are all vying for their share of warmth frequencies &ndash; it can be a recipe for overall tonal muddiness. In this case, though, the kick drum&rsquo;s energy is actually rather restrained below 200Hz, and the low midrange itself is very tightly controlled in the time domain, both of which serve to mitigate any inherent sense of bloat.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/circles/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Tall Fiddler" by Michael Cleveland</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/tall-fiddler/</link><pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/tall-fiddler/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I fell in love with the title track of this year&rsquo;s Best Bluegrass Album Grammy winner the moment I heard it. I challenge you not to tap your foot to this &ndash; personally, I constantly had to restrain myself from doing the Country Chicken round my control room! But besides the eye-watering musicianship, I was also struck by the quality of the fiddle sound. Now, solo fiddle can be pretty challenging to record &ndash; if you move in too close, it can quickly sound scratchy and one-dimensional, whereas more distant positioning can lose presence and definition.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/tall-fiddler/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat)" by Jawsh 685 &amp; Jason Derulo</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/savage-love/</link><pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/savage-love/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This track caught my ear on account of some nice rhythm-programming moments. For example, an utterly pedestrian four-to-the-floor kick-drum pattern is redeemed by two small variations: the eighth-note downbeat offset first heard at 0:28, reminiscent of a reggae one-drop; and the muted fourth beat which first occurs at 0:33. Both of these occur another couple of times during the arrangement, but never predictably enough that they fail to provide a welcome little moment of surprise &ndash; especially when they&rsquo;re concatenated during the final choruses at 2:35.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/savage-love/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Rockstar" by DaBaby feat. Roddy Ricch</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rockstar-02/</link><pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rockstar-02/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;ve always been a fan of harp in urban tracks, and this is the most upfront example I can recall since Brandy &amp; Monica&rsquo;s &lsquo;The Boy Is Mine&rsquo; back in the late &rsquo;90s! What I particularly like about the harp here, though, is how it&rsquo;s treated during the breakdown sections when the main beat drops out. At 1:15 for instance, it&rsquo;s got a gently crunchy bandpassed sound that&rsquo;s not only quite ear-catching in its own right, but also makes the sonic contrast greater when the main beat returns at 1:25.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/rockstar-02/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"We'll Meet Again" by Vera Lynn</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/well-meet-again/</link><pubDate>Fri, 07 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/well-meet-again/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Vera Lynn died recently at the age of 103, and because most of us only ever saw her in her later life it&rsquo;s easy to forget that she wasn&rsquo;t long out of her teens when she first recorded her signature song back in 1939. It&rsquo;s a rather solemn affair, to be honest, with austere accompaniment from Arthur Young on the Novacord (a pioneering tube-based polyphonic synth that also features prominently in Dimitri Tiomkin&rsquo;s Oscar-winning film-song &lsquo;The Ballad Of High Noon&rsquo;), so it&rsquo;s little surprise that its popularity has been eclipsed by her later 1953 big-band slow-dance/sing-along version, which headed up 2009&rsquo;s UK chart-topping compilation album and is currently the Top Result on both Spotify and iTunes.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/well-meet-again/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Roses (Imanbek Remix)" by Saint Jhn</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/roses/</link><pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/roses/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The most obvious question here is &ldquo;what the hell are the lyrics?&rdquo; Granted, a few scraps of meaning do occasionally survive the heavy vocal SFX processing, but it&rsquo;s mostly a lost cause semantically. To be fair on remixer Imanbek, though, if you listen to the original Saint Jhn song, with its slower tempo and natural (ie. much lower) pitch, the singer&rsquo;s diction is actually pretty poor in the raw, with a stylised vocal delivery that drops out a lot of weaker syllables, further undermining intelligibility.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/roses/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Call My Name" by I'm With Her</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/call-my-name-02/</link><pubDate>Fri, 24 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/call-my-name-02/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What a gorgeous-sounding record this is! The drums and guitars are so understated and rootsy, allowing the three vocalists all the room in the world to float deliciously over the top amidst a halo of high-frequency &lsquo;air&rsquo;, but without the slightest smidgen of harshness or excessive sibilance. This production goes straight onto my own reference-track shortlist for breathy female vocal timbres &ndash; although I&rsquo;ll doubtless curse myself as soon as I try to get any mix of mine to compete with it&hellip;
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/call-my-name-02/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Savage (Remix)" by Megan Thee Stallion feat. Beyoncé</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/savage/</link><pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/savage/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      When is a chord not a chord? That might seem like an odd question, but we actually engage with it all the time, and it&rsquo;s something that makes chord recognition such a difficult task for AI algorithms. Take the opening line of the Beatles 'Yesterday', for instance. Even though the lead vocal starts on the second degree of the scale, no-one would seriously suggest that that bar&rsquo;s chord was F9, because it clearly sounds like a simple F chord over which Paul McCartney&rsquo;s &ldquo;yes-&rdquo; is just a fleeting G appoggiatura falling back to F for &ldquo;-terday&rdquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/savage/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Rain On Me" by Lady Gaga &amp; Ariana Grande</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rain-on-me/</link><pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rain-on-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As much as I generally find it hard to warm to this dense and rather uninspiring slab of disco house, there was one thing I quite liked: the pace variations of the hook lyric. So at 0:31, the verse-ending &ldquo;rain on me&rdquo; gives each syllable a duration of three sixteenth notes, whereas the following chorus speeds that up to eighth notes from 0:36, and then slows it down to half notes with Lady Gaga&rsquo;s spoken rendition at 0:46.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/rain-on-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Autobahn" by Kraftwerk</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/autobahn/</link><pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/autobahn/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Despite exposure to a legion of synth afficionados during my work for Sound On Sound magazine over the years, I&rsquo;ve never really taken the time to get into Kraftwerk at all. Following founder member Florian Schneider&rsquo;s passing a few months ago, however, I figured it was high time I remedied my ignorance of this pioneering German electro-music group. And where better to start than their biggest hit, the radio edit of the 22-minute-long title track of their album Autobahn?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/autobahn/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"This Land" by Gary Clark Jr</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/this-land/</link><pubDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/this-land/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Have a listen to this Grammy winning track and ask yourself this: does the stereo image feel narrow? You see, it&rsquo;s easy to get into the habit of assuming that live drums have to be in stereo, but on this track they&rsquo;re pretty much mono. And, if you ask me, I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s anything amiss with the stereo picture at all, because there&rsquo;s plenty of alternative width-enhancing elements: the main bass synth&rsquo;s midrange and upper spectrum; the subtle stereo organ pad; and the selection of stereo effects on the guitars.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/this-land/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"'Bridge Of Death' from Chernobyl" by Hildur Guðnadóttir</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bridge-of-death/</link><pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bridge-of-death/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s been a big year for Hildur Guðnadóttir, who recently won an Oscar for scoring the widely lauded film Joker. (Incidentally, if you&rsquo;re wondering how to pronounce her name, here&rsquo;s Wikipedia&rsquo;s take on it: play_arrow | get_app ) At the 2020 Grammies, however, it was her work on HBO&rsquo;s harrowing Chernobyl miniseries that won her the Best Score award. And this particular cue from that soundtrack stood out for me, underscoring a scene in which residents of Pripyat, the town closest to the power station, flock to a local bridge to admire the ethereal glow of the damaged reactor&rsquo;s ionisation aura, unaware that they&rsquo;re exposing themselves to lethal radiation that will cost them their lives.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bridge-of-death/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/blinding-lights/</link><pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/blinding-lights/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      On a casual listen, this production has a strangely featureless quality about it &ndash; a simple mixture of robotic beat, unassuming bass, gentle wafts of synth padding, effect-swathed lead vocals, and a retro synth hook. Turn up the volume a bit to listen through the layers, though, and you&rsquo;ll find some lovely nuances to savour. I particularly like the use of synth arpeggiation, both the heavily low-pass-filtered patch teetering on the boundaries of audibility during the two verses (0:28 and 1:35), and the more ostentatious upwards flourish that announces the start of the middle section at 2:19.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/blinding-lights/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/tutti-frutti/</link><pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/tutti-frutti/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Back in 2012, Rolling Stone magazine described &ldquo;a-wop-bop-alu-bop, a-wop-bam-boom&rdquo; as the most inspired rock lyric ever recorded, an accolade that&rsquo;s been much repeated in the wake of the rock-and-roll pioneer&rsquo;s recent sad passing. There&rsquo;s one small fly in the ointment, though: he never actually sings that! The closest he gets is probably the final line, but even there he gives us &ldquo;-alu-mop, a-lop-&rdquo; rather than &ldquo;-alu-bop, a-wop-&rdquo;. Everywhere else in the song (another five statements in total), the ending diverges too, from &ldquo;bam-boom&rdquo; to more like &ldquo;-bom-bom&rdquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/tutti-frutti/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Love Theory" by Kirk Franklin</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-theory/</link><pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-theory/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      My Project Studio Tea Break co-host Jon Whitten alerted me to this fabulous production before this year&rsquo;s Grammies, where it won both Best Gospel Song and Best Gospel Album. There are plenty of things I could be complimentary about. The pounding kick and snare. The rich low end. The funktastic synth arrangement. The smooth, full choral textures. But the highlight of this track for me is, without a doubt, the anticipated downbeat accents that flag many of the sections.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-theory/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Life Is Good" by Future feat. Drake</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/life-is-good/</link><pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/life-is-good/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Some of the innovation going on in modern hip-hop is pretty mind-bending, particularly the way A-list artists in the field are playing fast and loose with traditional verse/chorus constructs that have been the staple of mainstream music production for decades. This wind of change first ruffled my ears in Jay-Z&rsquo;s '4:44', with its six-bar musical units and stream-of-consciousness rap overlay, but it was Childish Gambino&rsquo;s 'This Is America' that really floored me with its fluid use of musical material and freewheeling structure.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/life-is-good/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/billie-jean/</link><pubDate>Fri, 15 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/billie-jean/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I spent most of my primary school career playing Thriller to death on my Walkman, and I reckon its sonics must have impressed me even at such a tender age. Indeed, I think you could argue that this production is ideally suited to the cassette medium. If you listen to the drums on MP3 or CD, for instance, their super-present transients sound almost too spikey, sacrificing a certain amount of gravitas in the process.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/billie-jean/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Say So" by Doja Cat</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/say-so/</link><pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/say-so/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This production immediately brought to mind Dua Lipa&rsquo;s recent 'Don&#39;t Start Now', but I can&rsquo;t say the low end fares well from direct comparison there, unfortunately. Next to the tightly controlled sub-60Hz solidity of Dua Lipa&rsquo;s kick, Doja Cat&rsquo;s underpowered and slightly deflated-sounding low end makes the song come across as a bit plasticky. And the fact that (judging by the digital-download files) the master of &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t Start Now&rsquo; seems to have an integrated loudness almost 1dB lower than &lsquo;Say So&rsquo; won&rsquo;t help either, because it&rsquo;ll likely mean that Ms Lipa&rsquo;s audio will exhibit louder peaks, and consequently even greater punch, under loudness-matched streaming playback conditions.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/say-so/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Exit Music (For A Film)" by Radiohead</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/exit-music-for-a-film/</link><pubDate>Sat, 02 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/exit-music-for-a-film/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There are better-known singles from Radiohead&rsquo;s seminal album OK Computer, but this is easily the standout track for me — one of those rare production masterpieces that&rsquo;s chock full of bold and unusual creative decisions, but which still packs an immediate emotional punch on first listen. On a musical level, a key ingredient is the heavy use of falling chromatic alterations, for instance the major-minor movements at 0:55 (B major to B minor) and 1:09 (E major to E minor) and the false relations at 0:31 (A sharp in F# major to A natural in D major) and 1:50 (C sharp in F# major to C natural in A minor).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/exit-music-for-a-film/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Before You Go" by Lewis Capaldi</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/before-you-go/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/before-you-go/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s plenty of mashup potential here. You can, for example, take the chorus of Capaldi&rsquo;s breakout hit 'Someone You Loved', shift it up a tone and slow it down to roughly half speed, and it&rsquo;ll layer beautifully with the chorus of &lsquo;Before You Go&rsquo;, seeing as they both plough the same I-V-vi-IV harmonic furrow. play_arrow | get_app Or you could drop the verse of Ed Sheeran&rsquo;s smash 2017 ballad &lsquo;Perfect&rsquo; down a perfect fourth and slow the tempo a bit: it&rsquo;ll meld seamlessly with the verse of &lsquo;Before You Go&rsquo;, given that they both draw on another hoary old harmonic trope often referred to as the &rsquo;50s progression (I-vi-IV-V).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/before-you-go/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Doin' Time" by Lana Del Rey</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/doin-time/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/doin-time/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I think it&rsquo;s fair to say that advances in playback and listening technology over the last couple of decades have led to an increasing focus on the sub-40Hz bottom octave of the audible spectrum. Of course, the ascendance of electronic and urban genres into the mainstream has played a important role too. Plus, in more recent years, I think the shift towards loudness-normalised streaming services has also encouraged bassier productions, because low end doesn&rsquo;t accrue as heavy a loudness penalty on those platforms as it would have done on vinyl or CD pressings.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/doin-time/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Hey Ma" by Bon Iver</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hey-ma/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hey-ma/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Way in 2011, when Bon Iver had just scooped their Best New Artist Grammy, I had a bit of a whinge about the poor lyric intelligibility in their single 'Calgary'. So I was delighted to hear that the vocal clarity of this, their recent Record Of The Year Grammy nomination, was much improved. That&rsquo;s not to say I actually understand what he&rsquo;s singing about the whole time, just that that&rsquo;s the result of leftfield word selection and rather reticent diction, rather than anything to do with the mix sonics!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/hey-ma/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Be Honest" by Jorja Smith feat. Burna Boy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/be-honest/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/be-honest/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Now more than ever, the music market is a battle for attention, with artists and producers outdoing each other to come up with the most ear-catching lyrics and hooks. One of the more counterintuitive tactics is to suggest to the listener that something&rsquo;s gone wrong with the playback or broadcast process, and then rely on natural human curiosity to draw their focus. Think of it like the audio equivalent of rubber-necking.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/be-honest/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Day-O (Banana Boat Song)" by Harry Belafonte</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/day-o-banana-boat-song/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/day-o-banana-boat-song/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      For a lot of people my age, Harry Belafonte&rsquo;s signature tune will forever be associated with Bob Godfrey&rsquo;s early-&rsquo;80s animated telly adverts for a certain chocolate and caramel biscuit. (&ldquo;Triiiii-O. Tri-i-i-O. I wanna Trio, and I want one now!&rdquo;) However, I didn&rsquo;t realise until recently how incredibly popular his album Calypso (on which this song appears) was at the time, spending a whopping 31 weeks at the top of the Billboard pop chart on its way to becoming the first LP ever to sell a million copies.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/day-o-banana-boat-song/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Godzilla" by Eminem feat. Juice Wrld</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/godzilla/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/godzilla/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Last year I took a pop at Eminem for his super-speed verbal machine-gunning on Logic&rsquo;s track 'Homicide', but I&rsquo;ve now heard suggestions that he&rsquo;s set a new syllables-per-minute world record on this new release. I&rsquo;ll take his fans&rsquo; word for it, because life&rsquo;s honestly too short to bother counting any more. No sense in encouraging him. It did tickle me, though, that the warp-drive lyrical section in question occurs right at the end of the track, for all the world like one of those sped-up disclaimer blurbs you get after radio adverts.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/godzilla/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lose Control" by Meduza feat. Becky Hill &amp; Goodboys</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lose-control-01/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lose-control-01/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The moment I heard this track, I was struck by a strong sense of déjà vu, because its vocal hook is more than a little reminiscent of the one in Meduza&rsquo;s previous hit 'Piece Of Your Heart'. Same tempo. Same syncopated rhythmic contour. Same phrase structure. Same alternation between three-note legato line and staccato panting vocal tick. Admittedly, the whole thing&rsquo;s been moved from Bb minor to C minor and shifted two beats earlier in the bar, but that does little to disguise the creative bankruptcy of trying to chart 90 percent of the same hook twice.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lose-control-01/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Box" by Roddy Ricch</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-box/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-box/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Another month, another viral TikTok dance sensation, but what I particularly like about this one is its bass part, which features something of a rarity: a prominent reverse-envelope note (first heard at 0:18). I&rsquo;m always banging on about the importance of where bass notes finish, but even in cases when producers really pay attention to this, the start point of each bass note still tends to take musical precedence — understandably so, given that it often coincides with a beat&rsquo;s kick-drum hit.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-box/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Dance Monkey" by Tones and I</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dance-monkey/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dance-monkey/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s not often that you hear a genuinely arresting new voice, but this one&rsquo;s a bona fide head-turner — a kind of living mashup of Björk, Dolores O&rsquo;Riordan, and Macy Gray. And I think it&rsquo;s a testament to the hit potential of a great lead performance, because, if I&rsquo;m being totally honest, the rest of the production feels pretty unremarkable.
While it&rsquo;s undeniably impressive to see the singer present the whole arrangement single-handed within a busking context, most chart pop productions have now moved way beyond the kind of repetitive loop-driven construction that&rsquo;s stock in trade for many professional street-corner performers, and I can&rsquo;t help feeling that she could have been framed in a far more compelling way in the studio.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dance-monkey/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-start-now/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-start-now/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Perhaps I&rsquo;m biased by the reminiscences that this song triggered of Moloko&rsquo;s &lsquo;Sing It Back&rsquo; (one of my favourite &rsquo;90s singles) but I have to say that this is one of the best-sounding dance mixes that I&rsquo;ve heard for ages — so much so, in fact, that I immediately added it to my own list of mix-reference tracks!
Most immediately remarkable is a characteristic that I&rsquo;ve always associated strongly with Britney Spear&rsquo;s 'Toxic' (a long-standing benchmark for me), namely a powerful sense of kick and bass muscle without there being masses of actual low-end energy.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-start-now/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Entr'acte" by Caroline Shaw feat. The Attacca Quartet</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/entracte/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/entracte/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As a violinist, there are few things that annoy me more than the unimaginative string arrangements that blight so many commercial music releases. So when I&rsquo;m king, my first act as ruler will be to force Caroline Shaw&rsquo;s latest album, Orange, into the hands of every budding music producer and shout, &ldquo;There! That&rsquo;s how you do it!&rdquo; It is, quite simply, a masterclass in interesting and engaging string-arrangement techniques.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/entracte/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Roxanne" by Arizona Zervas</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/roxanne-01/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/roxanne-01/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although I&rsquo;d rather listen to the Police&rsquo;s 'Roxanne' any day, the bass line in this version presents an interesting case study of how a sub-heavy timbre can nonetheless retain melodic audibility on small speakers. When I say &lsquo;sub&rsquo;, I&rsquo;m talking about the real deal — the bass line has powerful fundamentals stretching from 47Hz right down to a blancmange-wobbling 28Hz! The reason this line translates so well to your phone speaker is that it&rsquo;s being surreptitiously doubled by another line (either another synth or a very restrained clean guitar; it&rsquo;s tough to tell) which provides that all-important mid-range.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/roxanne-01/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Survivor" by Destiny's Child</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/survivor/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/survivor/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A classic R&amp;B production of the early 2000s, this song&rsquo;s generally hyper-slick production values are cannily set in dramatic relief by contrast with the intro&rsquo;s cheesy S&amp;S synth timbres. Incidentally, the version on the band&rsquo;s greatest hits compilation (named #1&rsquo;s, presumably in honour of grocers everywhere) halves the length of this intro — that&rsquo;s the kind of thing I&rsquo;d expect of a radio edit, yet I couldn&rsquo;t find any evidence that the original single release did this.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/survivor/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Highest In The Room" by Travis Scott</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/highest-in-the-room/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/highest-in-the-room/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is one for the space cadets, with a Theremin-style lead synth reminiscent of Portishead&rsquo;s &lsquo;Mysterons&rsquo; (from one of my all-time favourite albums). It also sounds to me as if the backdrop to that synth line is a slowed-down version of the guitar phrase sample that arrives at 0:12, which further intensifies the trip-hop nostalgia!
This mix has bucketloads of sub-40Hz bass, so you get a very different listening experience on smaller listening systems.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/highest-in-the-room/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"It Must Have Been Love" by Roxette</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/it-must-have-been-love/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/it-must-have-been-love/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Revisiting this hit song following the recent untimely death of singer Marie Fredriksson, the quality of her performance impressed me anew, especially those exhilaratingly uninhibited high F notes she belts out during the final choruses. The backing-vocal arrangement is another gem, using a nice call-and-response counterpoint to plug the lead vocal&rsquo;s phrase gaps, and well as adding musical emphasis on the first downbeat of each chorus. I&rsquo;d also forgotten about the modulation to F major that unlocks that higher register by moving up a fourth from the C major of the first two choruses — one of those rare examples of a final-chorus modulation that bucks the usual threadbare &lsquo;up a step&rsquo; cliché.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/it-must-have-been-love/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lose You To Love Me" by Selena Gomez</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lose-you-to-love-me/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lose-you-to-love-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      You have to admire her patience: after more than 10 years of journeyman single releases, Ms Gomez has finally delivered an undeniable hit! Praise has justifiably flowed in from many sources, but I did bridle at a review on the Vulture site which closed with: &ldquo;It was a gamble trusting that the lyrics to this song would sell it on their own, but it was a wise move.&rdquo; Not to diss the lyrics, but the songwriting and production underpinning them are of such high calibre that I reckon the track would still have packed a punch in Klingon!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lose-you-to-love-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Memories" by Maroon 5</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/memories/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/memories/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the more tedious trends of recent years has been Hollywood&rsquo;s obsession with franchises and remakes: the ever-expanding Avengers and Star Wars universes (I couldn&rsquo;t help but scoff at the Episode IX advert that read &ldquo;This Christmas, the saga will end.&rdquo; Yeah, right&hellip;); Disney&rsquo;s lumbering live-action cartoon-reboot production line; and those endless lazy cash-ins on iconic telly series like The Addams Family and Charlie&rsquo;s Angels. The thinking, presumably, is this: why make a wholly new film that has to rely entirely on its own merits, when a derivative release can instantly bask in reflected glory from a long-established hit?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/memories/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"3 Nights" by Dominic Fike</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/3-nights/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/3-nights/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Two things really stand out from this production. The first is the vocal performance, which covers a tremendous expressive range. It starts off with the chilled attitude that permeates the layered opening chorus texture, as well as forming the baseline character of verse 1. After eight bars, though, it assumes a more playful mood, with nice little articulations such as the skipping &ldquo;company&rdquo; at 0:50 and the leap up to &ldquo;like&rdquo; at 0:57.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/3-nights/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lights Up" by Harry Styles</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lights-up/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lights-up/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The layered vocal texture used for most of this song is unusual on two counts. Firstly, it&rsquo;s not common to hear a vocal line being doubled at both the upper and lower octaves, an arrangement that adds timbral variation without actually supporting the harmonies any further. And, secondly, the doubling lines sound so tight and electronic that I suspect they&rsquo;ve been derived directly from the lead line using pitch-shifting. I have no inherent beef with this, though, because even though it does make the combined vocal texture sound more like an artificial effect (rather than a group of natural vocalists), I really don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s a concern within the context of this production&rsquo;s prevailing hazy, tripped-out vibe.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lights-up/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Sorry (I Didn't Know)" by Joel Corry</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sorry-i-didnt-know/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sorry-i-didnt-know/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you&rsquo;ve not heard Monsta Boy&rsquo;s original UK garage release of this song from 1999, then be warned that it&rsquo;s a slightly unsettling listen because, frankly, its bona fide retro production feels a whole lot cooler and more contemporary than Corry&rsquo;s currently charting retro-flavoured happy house cover. Certainly, if you&rsquo;d asked me blind which of the two came out of a &rsquo;90s bargain bin, I&rsquo;d probably have chosen Corry&rsquo;s on cheese-factor alone.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sorry-i-didnt-know/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wonderwall" by Oasis</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wonderwall/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wonderwall/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Despite Robson &amp; Jerome denying it the UK top spot, this song went on to become Oasis&rsquo;s best-selling single in the UK, and it&rsquo;s not hard to find reasons. Liam&rsquo;s instantly recognisable vocal tone, of course, must rank high on the list, balancing super-focused midrange, cutting nasality, and (on higher-register lines such as &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe that anybody&rdquo; at 0:33) a hint of tastefully grainy break-up.
However, I really rate the drums here too.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wonderwall/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Don't Call Me Angel" by Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus &amp; Lana Del Rey</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-call-me-angel/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-call-me-angel/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Seldom has a Serban Ghenea mix been squandered on such a lame song. (To be fair, though, the video&rsquo;s even worse, with Ariana and Miley chewing up the scenery in ridiculous wing costumes and Lana looking like she&rsquo;s praying for the ground to swallow her up.) If you ask me, your best tactic would be to put mental blinkers on and concentrate exclusively on the main bass patch. If you hear it on any system with a subwoofer, it masquerades as one of those urban sub-bass patches, immediately making the production sound more grown-up and edgy.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-call-me-angel/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Drive" by The Cars</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/drive/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/drive/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      To be blunt, even though this song has über-producer Mutt Lange&rsquo;s pawprints all over it, I reckon my mousemat has better groove, and the bass and kick policy of &ldquo;we have one riff, and we mean to use it!&rdquo; is pretty tedious too. Fortunately, there are some nice tempo-sync&rsquo;ed distractions, such as the ping-pong treatment that&rsquo;s making a 16th-note feature out of what, presumably, are single recorded tambourine hits, or the 16th-note predelayed reverb on the electro–claps that precede each snare backbeat.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/drive/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Here With Me" by Marshmello feat. Chvrches</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/here-with-me/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/here-with-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A lot of the time, end-of-section arrangement fills are about adding complexity that isn&rsquo;t present the rest of the time, but there&rsquo;s a great example of the opposite here: the lead vocal&rsquo;s opening delay effect is allowed to swell up after the first three phrases, but is then muted for the fourth, which is, naturally, the hook line.
At the other end of the song, though, the final section&rsquo;s second phrase &ldquo;know I&rsquo;m finally free&rdquo; falls rather flat because the piano part decides to return to the tonic for both its third and fourth chords.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/here-with-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Outnumbered" by Dermot Kennedy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/outnumbered/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/outnumbered/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Following the enormous success of Lewis Capaldi&rsquo;s 'Someone You Loved', it&rsquo;s tricky to take this Dermot Kennedy number at face value. I just can&rsquo;t shake the vision of some cigar-waving svengali addressing a room full of industry suits with the words, &ldquo;Hey, if a gravelly voiced Scot can bludgeon the charts into submission with I-V-vi-IV, then why not a gravelly voiced Irishman?&rdquo; To be fair, at least Kennedy&rsquo;s following a slightly less well-worn route here, using IV-I-V-vi in a three-eighth/five-eighth harmonic rhythm — although Dan+Shay&rsquo;s Grammy-winning 'Tequila' also gave that one a pretty decent flogging recently.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/outnumbered/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Ride It" by DJ Regard</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ride-it/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ride-it/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The most common question I get from students of EDM basically boils down to, &ldquo;Can you listen to my mix and tell me why my bass/kick sucks?&rdquo; Frequently, the problem stems from their choosing a kick drum that&rsquo;s too resonant. Those kinds of samples can sound huge when auditioning them in solo, but their booming low frequencies leave precious little room for anything else — so if you combine them with a bass synth the whole mix ends up feeling unattractively muddy well before the kick or bass feel powerful enough.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/ride-it/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"So High" by Mist feat. Fredo</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/so-high/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/so-high/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      While most vocal pitch-processing remains reactive, I&rsquo;m encountering more and more examples of it being used to add expressive pitch variations to a singer&rsquo;s performance. (Check out Sam Smith&rsquo;s 'How Do You Sleep' or Mabel&rsquo;s 'Don&#39;t Call Me Up' for some recent exhibits.) In those cases there still seems to be an implicit goal to maintain the semblance of a natural delivery, in order that the general public don&rsquo;t seriously question the authenticity of all that impressive ornamental filigree and machine-gun vibrato.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/so-high/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"How Do You Sleep" by Sam Smith</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/how-do-you-sleep/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/how-do-you-sleep/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s no secret that pretty much every vocal performance you hear in the charts these days has been extensively pitch-processed for corrective purposes. Increasingly, however, I&rsquo;m suspicious that a good deal of additional ornamentation and expression is also being added in the process. Check out the words &ldquo;heart to break, baby&rdquo; at 0:54, for instance, and notice the little vibrato wiggle on the C# of &ldquo;ba-&rdquo;. That sounds fake to me, and leaves me wondering whether the little mordents on the word &ldquo;break&rdquo; are too.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/how-do-you-sleep/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Taste (Make It Shake)" by Aitch</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/taste-make-it-shake/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/taste-make-it-shake/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Not unreasonably, I usually look to the rapper to sustain my attention in any hip-hop production, but as the uninspiring monotone of Aitch&rsquo;s delivery did nothing for me it was something of a saving grace that the backing is so evocative and richly textured! If you&rsquo;re not focusing on it, you&rsquo;d be forgiven for leaving with the impression that it&rsquo;s pretty simple — a sampled vocal riff, a sub-heavy bass, a kick, a clap and some skittery percussion.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/taste-make-it-shake/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Truth Hurts" by Lizzo</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/truth-hurts/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/truth-hurts/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Beyond the way the drum fill underlines Lizzo&rsquo;s &ldquo;bom bom bi dom bi dom bom bay&rdquo;, what most impressed me about this mix was the clarity and projection of the lead vocal. One of the eternal battles of mainstream mixing is how to get maximum vocal character and lyric transmission without turning the vocal up so loud that the track as a whole seems small by comparison. And what star hip-hop mixer Manny Marroquin has done to square that circle here is make the bass&rsquo;s sub-60Hz contribution huge (ensuring that full-range listeners are never going to feel short-changed in terms of physical power), while at the same time letting the vocal dominate the rest of the spectrum.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/truth-hurts/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"You Need To Calm Down" by Taylor Swift</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-need-to-calm-down/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-need-to-calm-down/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the most arresting moments in this arrangement is the sudden snare impact emphasising the word &ldquo;bones&rdquo; at 0:44. At first listen, this seems to coincide with a bass F#, but listen closely and you&rsquo;ll notice that this bass note seems to fade in a moment after the beat. It&rsquo;s possible that it might simply be a side-effect of a bus compressor pushing down the bass in response to the snare&rsquo;s peak level, but I wonder whether it&rsquo;s a deliberate programming move — in other words, by restricting the low-frequency information on the beat itself, the snare frequencies can presumably be faded up further within the available headroom.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-need-to-calm-down/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"You're The One That I Want" by Olivia Newton-John &amp; John Travolta</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/youre-the-one-that-i-want/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/youre-the-one-that-i-want/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although Saturday Night Fever just beat Grease to the top of Billboard&rsquo;s end-of-1978 album chart, this single has since outsold anything by the Bee Gees. Written specially for the musical&rsquo;s film adaptation by Newton-John&rsquo;s producer John Farrar (apparently despite the director&rsquo;s reservations), it contrasts a minor verse against a major chorus — something that, sadly, is pretty rare these days. The real star, though, is that tremendously tight-sounding rhythm section, because of the extraordinary musicality of each of its constituents.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/youre-the-one-that-i-want/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Location" by Dave feat. Burna Boy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/location/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/location/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The tempo-delay effect on the synth stabs during the second half of this track (from 2:10) initially sounded like a simple eighth-note ping-pong — in other words, an eighth-note tap on the right, a quarter-note on the left, a dotted quarter-note on the right, and a half-note on the left. However, the third tap (on the right) seems quieter than the fourth (on the left), a slightly disconcerting effect you couldn&rsquo;t really achieve with a simple feedback delay in ping-pong mode.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/location/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Señorita" by Shawn Mendes &amp; Camila Cabello</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/senorita/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/senorita/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It always tickles me when singers are too busy getting their soul on to make up their minds about whether they&rsquo;re affirming or denying their own lyrical message. So I couldn&rsquo;t help smiling at 0:47, when Shawn Mendes comes out with &ldquo;It felt like ooh-la-la-la, yeah, no&rdquo;. It would have been so easy to make that final &ldquo;no&rdquo; into an &ldquo;oh&rdquo;, for instance, so I&rsquo;m assuming he left it in there just to amuse us pedants&hellip; (Still, he&rsquo;s a rank amateur compared with Anastasia&rsquo;s &lsquo;I&rsquo;m Outta Love&rsquo;, which manages to trawl through 19 &ldquo;yeahs&rdquo; and 13 &ldquo;nos&rdquo;, including the incomparable ad lib &ldquo;no, no-no-no-no, no, yeah!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/senorita/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"SOS" by Avicii feat. Aloe Blacc</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sos/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sos/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Over 2000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Plato theorised that all real-world things are imperfect manifestations of conceptual ideals, usually called &lsquo;Forms&rsquo;. For example, he suggested that there&rsquo;s an idealised concept of what a &lsquo;chair&rsquo; should be (the Form), and that it&rsquo;s by comparing any real object to that Form that we decide whether to call the object a &lsquo;chair&rsquo;. But what the hell does that have to do with Avicii?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sos/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Duffler" by Fantastic Negrito</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-duffler/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-duffler/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Having won his second Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album, Fantastic Negrito&rsquo;s clearly on a roll, and this track, featuring one of the grimiest, grooviest juggernauts of a riff I&rsquo;ve ever heard, is a great introduction to his world! (And I love how the top of that riff line alternates between the G chord&rsquo;s perfect and diminished fifths to subtly sustain the line&rsquo;s interest.) The mix has a gloriously filthy sonic quality, which binds the drum samples and instrumental overdubs into an organically cohesive whole without sacrificing significant clarity or detail — quite a balancing act!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-duffler/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Whiter Shade Of Pale" by Procol Harum</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/whiter-shade-of-pale/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/whiter-shade-of-pale/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      We producer types love to inflate the importance of what we do, so it&rsquo;s sobering to recognise how little this monster hit owes to its production, even at a time when Sgt. Pepper&rsquo;s was conquering album charts across the globe. For a start, all the instruments play all the time, with scarcely any textural variation, so there&rsquo;s no real arrangement work to speak of. The engineering isn&rsquo;t exactly flattering either.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/whiter-shade-of-pale/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"19" by Paul Hardcastle</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/19/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/19/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Besides the launch of Sound On Sound magazine, 1985&rsquo;s big electronic music event was this pioneering single, the first bona fide poster-child of vocal phrase-sampling. Sadly, though, most people only really remember its iconic retriggered &rsquo;n-n-nineteen&rsquo; hook, dismissing it in hindsight to the plasticky ranks of the one-hit novelties. This is a shame, because it&rsquo;s impressive on a number of other levels.
Firstly, you need to realise that, as programmed as it might sound, this isn&rsquo;t a MIDI production.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/19/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Homicide" by Logic feat. Eminem</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/homicide/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/homicide/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s a certain irony in these two guys taking a pop at contrived Auto-Tuned rapping, when both of them here deliver single-breath phrases of such length that I can&rsquo;t believe they weren&rsquo;t faked in the edit. Logic kicks things off with a full 24 seconds of uninterrupted rapping without breaking a sweat, and while I respect his skills a great deal, it strains my credulity to imagine that he really did that live.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/homicide/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Don't Care" by Ed Sheeran feat. Justin Bieber</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-dont-care/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-dont-care/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Typical! The moment I bemoan the scarcity of one-drop chart grooves (see last month&rsquo;s critique of 'Good Vibrations'), Ed Sheeran supplies a corking example — and one that incidentally reminds me pleasantly of The Streets, one of my all-time favourite UK hip-hop acts. Yes, there&rsquo;s a lightweight snare on the downbeat, but that doesn&rsquo;t really take away from the wonderfully off-balance rhythmic character I associate with traditional one-drop patterns. And what makes it even better is the handful of extra downbeat emphases placed strategically throughout the arrangement: a bass fall-off flags the second half of the first double chorus (1:01), becoming a fixture for both halves of each subsequent double chorus; and the final double chorus adds a kick-drum downbeat too, as a means of increasing the rhythmic urgency.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-dont-care/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/old-town-road/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/old-town-road/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      At under two minutes in length, this meme-fest is apparently the shortest song to have topped the US charts since Herman&rsquo;s Hermits took &lsquo;I&rsquo;m Henry VIII, I Am&rsquo; (or rather &ldquo;En-er-y the eighth&hellip;&rdquo;) to number one in 1965. Plus it has a weird, almost palindromic structure, with a central A-B-A-B section bookended by banjo and hook sections — in other words &lsquo;banjo-hook-A-B-A-B-hook-banjo&rsquo;. But the question that&rsquo;s given rise to greatest controversy is: what genre is it?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/old-town-road/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wow." by Post Malone</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wow/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wow/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;ve commented in previous columns how digital clipping is often used as a means of loudness enhancement, the idea being that you flat-top your waveform peaks to achieve a higher average signal level within a fixed digital headroom. The main side-effect of doing this is distortion, so it&rsquo;s a tactic that you&rsquo;re more likely to find in beat-heavy music, where the brief bursts of distortion on drum peaks are disguised to an extent by the noisy nature of the beats themselves — the distortion alters the drum tone, but it&rsquo;s possible to compensate for that somewhat with adjustments to the mix itself.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wow/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-vibrations/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-vibrations/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In many respects, this iconic record throws down a gauntlet that few modern productions manage to pick up. How many chart songs can you think of which use a one-drop verse groove with a heavily accented final eighth-note? Or which incorporate multiple tempo changes? Or start and end in different keys? Or even just launch into the first verse right from the get-go, or slowly fade out the lead vocals during a section (as at 2:39)?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-vibrations/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Just You And I" by Tom Walker</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/just-you-and-i/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/just-you-and-i/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Talking of subliminal effects (see my 'Piece Of Your Heart' critique), this production has an absolute doozy! Listen to the hi-hat when it first arrives with the chorus at 0:36. It&rsquo;s sensitively programmed to have a nice, natural lilt. Otherwise there&rsquo;s apparently nothing particularly special about it, but once that chorus moves into the second verse, the hi-hat is subtly different. Closer inspection reveals that the slight swing it previously had has gone — it seems to be keeping completely rigid 16th notes.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/just-you-and-i/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Piece Of Your Heart" by Meduza feat. Goodboys</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/piece-of-your-heart/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/piece-of-your-heart/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s some seriously meta record-production going on here at 0:39, when it sounds like the singer breaks out of character to discuss what kind of line to sing. What&rsquo;s so great about it as a stunt is that I&rsquo;m sure many people hearing it for the first time on the radio will assume, from the informality of the spoken interjection, that the DJ has started talking over the track, at least until the voice returns to singing the riff a few moments later.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/piece-of-your-heart/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Vossi Bop" by Stormzy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/vossi-bop/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/vossi-bop/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The bass line in this production is a curious creature, in that it seems to have been purposely designed to deliver very ambiguous pitch information. For a start, the notes are so low-register that the pitch is hard to perceive even if you&rsquo;re lucky enough to have a monitoring environment that&rsquo;ll do justice to the sub-30Hz fundamentals. In addition, each note has an appreciable pitch fall-off that further weakens the sense of pitch-centre.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/vossi-bop/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"You Say" by Lauren Daigle</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-say/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-say/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The charts recently seem to have been flogging I-V-vi-IV chord progressions to death, so it&rsquo;s a relief to hear Lauren Daigle mustering a little variation on the theme. Specifically, what&rsquo;s happening here is that the dominant chord, the second in the pattern, has been substituted with a minor mediant chord to give I-iii-vi-IV ( F-Am-Dm-Bb in the son&rsquo;s key of F), a progression with a slightly more melancholy atmosphere that seems well suited to the content of the lyric.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-say/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Be Alright" by Dean Lewis</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/be-alright/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/be-alright/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s taken me a while to get into this track, partly because I&rsquo;m a bit tired of all the &lsquo;here we go round I-V-vi-IV&rsquo; songs I&rsquo;ve been hearing lately (see my recent critique of Lewis Capaldi&rsquo;s 'Someone You Loved' and Dan+Shay&rsquo;s 'Tequila'), and partly because I keep having strong flashbacks of &lsquo;Dry Your Eyes&rsquo;, a similarly themed 2004 UK chart-topper from the Streets. After I&rsquo;d settled down, though, it struck me that this production&rsquo;s bass line has very little in the way of real low end.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/be-alright/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/its-not-unusual/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/its-not-unusual/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Depending on who you believe, this song&rsquo;s session date may have brought together drummer Andy White (who played on the Beatles&rsquo; debut single &lsquo;Love Me Do&rsquo;) and pianist Reginald Dwight (better known these days as Elton John), which is quite some line-up! However, what drew me back to Tom Jones&rsquo;s breakout single recently was the sad passing of the song&rsquo;s writer and arranger Les Reed (also responsible for his 1968 hit &lsquo;Delilah&rsquo;).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/its-not-unusual/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Sucker" by Jonas Brothers</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sucker/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sucker/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This track makes great use of 16th-note slap–back delays on the vocals, which add urgency to the brothers&rsquo; percussively rhythmic singing style. You can immediately hear it on Nick&rsquo;s opening falsetto vocal, for instance, although the widening effect that&rsquo;s also been applied to his voice actually obscures the most interesting aspect of the delay treatment, I think — namely that it&rsquo;s a stereo delay. When Joe takes up the melody at 0:14 things get more interesting, as the interplay between the mono dry signal and the stereo slapback creates an appealingly hyperactive stereo effect that really works well.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sucker/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"This Is America" by Childish Gambino</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/this-is-america/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/this-is-america/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Almost all the music releases I critique here have an accompanying video. In the case of &lsquo;This Is America&rsquo;, however, it&rsquo;d be fairer to say that the video has an accompanying music release — seriously, if you&rsquo;ve somehow managed only to encounter the audio so far, then get yourself onto Youtube and check out the extraordinarily powerful piece of film-making that all the fuss is about. But I wouldn&rsquo;t want to imply that the music lacks merit, by any means.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/this-is-america/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Nothing Breaks Like A Heart" by Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/nothing-breaks-like-a-heart/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/nothing-breaks-like-a-heart/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Poor old Miley — no matter what she does, I never seem to be able to find it in my heart to take her seriously. Where 'Wrecking Ball' came off like discount P!nk, this latest stylistic foray feels like she&rsquo;s pitching for a slice of Lady Gaga&rsquo;s recent singer-songwriter reinvention (in which Ronson also had a hand). Convenient, then, that a trace of her native Tennessee twang suddenly appears to be emerging from behind the Malibu facade that has concealed it for so many years.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/nothing-breaks-like-a-heart/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Ode To Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ode-to-billie-joe/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ode-to-billie-joe/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As a podcast creator arriving at the party just as the Zeitgeist seems to be fetching its coat, I&rsquo;ve been bingeing my way through various celebrated music-related series, and can thank Tyler Mahan Coe&rsquo;s Cocaine &amp; Rhinestones for introducing me to this classic country single by Bobbie Gentry. It seems that the song&rsquo;s main acoustic guitar and vocal parts were just a demo recording Gentry did for Capitol Records, but that the label loved the performance, so hired top arranger Jimmie Haskell to flesh it out with some strings.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/ode-to-billie-joe/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/someone-you-loved/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/someone-you-loved/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I was immediately struck by the similarities between this song and James Arthur&rsquo;s 'Say You Won&#39;t Let Go'. Both plough the same trusty old I-V-vi-IV furrow familiar from hits such as Bob Marley&rsquo;s &lsquo;No Woman No Cry&rsquo;, U2&rsquo;s &lsquo;With Or Without You&rsquo;, and Jason Mraz&rsquo;s &lsquo;I&rsquo;m Yours&rsquo;. Both artists sing as if doing their British best to avoid anyone glimpsing their teeth. Both voices boast an impressively ragged upper-register wail, yet aren&rsquo;t shy about sprinkling in falsetto moments to underline the earnestness of their repressed emotions.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/someone-you-loved/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Joke" by Brandi Carlile</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-joke/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-joke/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      With this kind of combination of voice and song, Brandi Carlile more than deserved her recent Grammy hat trick. Reminiscent of Thom Yorke in her combination of emotional fragility and defiant high-register howl, she also boasts a richly expressive vibrato on words like &ldquo;spin&rdquo; (1:11), &ldquo;girl&rdquo; (1:46), and &ldquo;on&rdquo; (3:35) — a mannerism that very few artists can pull off without sounding self-consciously &lsquo;stagey&rsquo;. Moreover, it&rsquo;s wonderful to hear a modern vocal performance on which I can detect no signs of pitch correction, and which is unquestionably more powerfully affecting as a result.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-joke/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"(They Long To Be) Close To You" by The Carpenters</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/they-long-to-be-close-to-you/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/they-long-to-be-close-to-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This song, the band&rsquo;s breakthrough hit, showcases a characteristically efficient and effective arrangement from Richard Carpenter — apparently in collaboration with Herb Alpert, co-founder of the band&rsquo;s label A&amp;M Records. Personal highlights include the syncopated tom fill at 1:14, which leaves a perfect gap for the word &ldquo;that&rdquo;, and the bass guitar&rsquo;s dropped note and subsequent countermelody highlighting &ldquo;follow you&rdquo; at 1:21.
The star of the show, however, is of course Karen&rsquo;s rich contralto, which you can enjoy for the whole first verse in isolation if you solo the right-hand stereo channel.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/they-long-to-be-close-to-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Butterflies" by Kacey Musgraves</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/butterflies/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/butterflies/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This brilliant Serban Ghenea mix, from Kacey Musgraves&rsquo; Grammy-hoovering album Golden Hour, offers one of the coolest delay effects I&rsquo;ve heard in a long time. It&rsquo;s the main hook riff, which you can hear right from the outset and which comprises two layers: a mono plucked-string sound (a banjo, at a guess, but I won&rsquo;t hold that against it) and a staccato stereo synth — the latter so stereo, in fact, that it has negligible mono content, and appears almost exclusively in the Sides signal.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/butterflies/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Don't Call Me Up" by Mabel</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-call-me-up/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-call-me-up/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;ve often said that the end-point of a sound is almost as important as where it begins, but that&rsquo;s usually within the context of editing drums and bass. This song, however, has a great example of this principle in action on a piano part. Listen to the bar before each of the three chorus entries, and notice how the piano chord in each case fades out. In the first case, it shuts down fairly abruptly about 80ms before the vocal hook arrives, which somehow makes the singer&rsquo;s first word pop out more.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-call-me-up/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"High Hopes" by Panic! At The Disco</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/high-hopes/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/high-hopes/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As regular readers will know, I&rsquo;m a long-time fan of the &lsquo;drop chorus&rsquo;, where a song&rsquo;s middle section ramps up towards what you think will be a massive final chorus entry, but then when the chorus arrives it&rsquo;s first presented in some kind of stripped-back form, delaying and intensifying the eventual full-chorus pay-off. In this specific instance, though, it&rsquo;s especially impressive, because the band manage to sustain an entire 10-second chorus iteration with vocals alone, which is quite a risk.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/high-hopes/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Tequila" by Dan + Shay</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/tequila/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/tequila/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The gong for Best Country Duo at this year&rsquo;s Grammy Awards went to a variation on the familiar I-V-vi-IV progression, but I&rsquo;ve a lot of time for this track for two reasons. Firstly, it uses a less common variant of the pattern, starting on the subdominant chord (ie. IV-I-V-iv). You&rsquo;ll find this in things like Taylor Swift&rsquo;s 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together', as well as the choruses of Rihanna&rsquo;s &lsquo;Umbrella&rsquo; and Imagine Dragons&rsquo; &lsquo;Whatever It Takes&rsquo;, but it nonetheless seems to be far less common than the I-V-vi-IV and vi-IV-I-V flavours (the latter running right through both Luis Fonsi&rsquo;s 'Despacito' and Kelly Clarkson&rsquo;s 'Stronger (What Doesn&#39;t Kill You)', for instance).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/tequila/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Bury A Friend" by Billie Eilish</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bury-a-friend/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bury-a-friend/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It was more than 20 years ago, but I still vividly remember walking into my local HMV and being stopped in my tracks by the sound of Fiona Apple&rsquo;s debut single &lsquo;Sleep To Dream&rsquo; coming over the speakers. Since that occasion, no record has demanded quite such immediate attention from me and my wallet, and I&rsquo;d assumed that was just to do with me becoming a jaded pensioner-in-waiting. But then I heard this single from Billie Eilish, and within five seconds the credit card was skipping from my pocket like a spring lamb!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bury-a-friend/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Drip Too Hard" by Lil Baby &amp; Gunna</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/drip-too-hard/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/drip-too-hard/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I confess that I&rsquo;m fed up to the back teeth with hip-hop&rsquo;s blanket abuse of vocal Auto-Tune, a technique which I trust history will smile on as kindly as it has the gated reverb of the &rsquo;80s. Still, some producers are alleviating the tedium a fraction by tweaking the formula. For example, here it sounds like the default chromatic setting has been replaced with something like an A pentatonic scale, which catches the ear by adding an appealingly musical scalar quality to the fall-offs at the ends of many of the vocal phrases.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/drip-too-hard/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Giant" by Calvin Harris &amp; Rag'n'Bone Man</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/giant/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/giant/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Finally! Ever since the success of 'Human', I&rsquo;ve been waiting for some big hitter in the EDM community to take advantage of Rag&rsquo;n&rsquo;Bone Man&rsquo;s extraordinary vocal timbre, and it only adds to my respect for Calvin Harris (of whom I&rsquo;ve long been a fan) that he&rsquo;s the one who&rsquo;s stepped up to the plate. And, as I&rsquo;d hoped, the producer shines plenty of spotlight on his star vocal, during both the verses (0:01 and 1:18) and the breakdown (2:45).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/giant/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Mo Bamba" by Sheck Wes</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mo-bamba/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mo-bamba/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Further to my critique of Lil Baby &amp; Gunna&rsquo;s 'Drip Too Hard', this track also freshens up the hip-hop Auto-Tune formula by virtue of the way the vocal melody, for the most part T-Pained into submission, audibly struggles against the pitch-correction&rsquo;s stranglehold at critical moments. For example, many of the &lsquo;E&rsquo; notes are allowed to start off sharp for a fraction of a second before being dragged back into place, almost as if he&rsquo;s singing so forcefully that he&rsquo;s overpowering the processor&rsquo;s correction.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/mo-bamba/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Sweet But Psycho" by Ava Max</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sweet-but-psycho/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sweet-but-psycho/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;m rather partial to a nice bass dive-bomb, so this production immediately endeared itself to me with the fall-off at 0:17, where the bass pretty much plummets out of the audible band. Even better, it&rsquo;s an integral part of the verse pattern, rather than just a fill, although I did feel just a smidgen nonplussed when it disappeared entirely for the choruses. Still, another low-end rarity soon cheered me up: the lovely little kick-drum roll into the downbeat at 1:17.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sweet-but-psycho/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Windmills Of Your Mind" by Noel Harrison</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-windmills-of-your-mind/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-windmills-of-your-mind/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The recent sad passing of Michel Legrand drew me back to this Oscar-winning song (from his film score to The Thomas Crown Affair), which reminds me of something he once said in an interview: &ldquo;I play with [music]. It&rsquo;s a game.&rdquo; The game in question appears to be whether he can out-do &lsquo;Autumn Leaves&rsquo; for capitalising on falling cycles of fifths — a contest in which he triumphs convincingly, in my view!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-windmills-of-your-mind/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)" by Pink Floyd</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/another-brick-in-the-wall/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/another-brick-in-the-wall/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although The Dark Side Of The Moon remains the Floyd&rsquo;s best-selling album, it&rsquo;s The Wall that spawned this disco-flavoured hit single, their only UK chart-topper (and, incidentally, the last Christmas number one of the &rsquo;70s). I&rsquo;m a big fan of the drum sound here, because engineer James Guthrie manages to achieve super-tight kick and snare sounds without eviscerating the hi-hat or cymbals. The difficulty is that cymbals tend to record better in a reflective environment, and can therefore become rather thin-sounding if you dry out your studio acoustics for the sake of the kick and snare.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/another-brick-in-the-wall/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Baby Shark" by Pinkfong Animal Songs</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/baby-shark/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/baby-shark/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Competition for Youtube viewers is fierce these days, with A-listers slugging it out mercilessly amongst themselves for the highest view counts. Recently, though, a surprising new contender has stepped into the ring: this cheery little childrens&rsquo; tune, and its accompanying kindergarten-friendly dance routine. Clearly, the video&rsquo;s brain-boggling success (five billion views and counting) must partly derive from parents setting it on loop to distract young Billy from chewing that extension lead.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/baby-shark/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Rewrite The Stars" by Zac Efron &amp; Zendaya</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rewrite-the-stars/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rewrite-the-stars/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Over the years, I&rsquo;ve become rather inured to the overabundance of the word &rsquo;tonight&rsquo; in song lyrics, but this song features one specific usage that can still reliably goad me into a groan of contempt: namely, employing that word to settle onto the key&rsquo;s root note in some casually syncopated form, just before the end of the last bar of the chorus. What makes it such a cheap trick in this case is that there&rsquo;s no attempt whatsoever to connect the word into the lyric&rsquo;s general structure or rhyme scheme, so it plumbs depths of cliché untouched even by glutinously schmaltzy forebears such as Chris de Burgh&rsquo;s 'Lady In Red' and Eric Clapton&rsquo;s &lsquo;Wonderful Tonight&rsquo; — surely not a race to the bottom any self-respecting songwriter would want to win!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/rewrite-the-stars/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Rise" by Jonas Blue feat. Jack &amp; Jack</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rise/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rise/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s tempting for anyone producing EDM to develop a kind of knee-jerk quantising reflex, immediately beat-matching and gridlocking all MIDI and audio to maximise the tightness of the rhythmic groove. What this cracking production from Jonas Blue demonstrates, however, is how much a track can be enlivened by incorporating deliberately wonky rhythms into this otherwise highly regimented rhythmic context. What makes this particular scenario so cool, though, is that the song starts by establishing a tight groove where there&rsquo;s no ambiguity at all about precisely where each beat of the bar is supposed to land.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/rise/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Without Me" by Halsey</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-me/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      People talk a lot about up-front vocals as if they&rsquo;re the be-all and end-all of pop production, but in practice the lead vocal&rsquo;s position in a mix&rsquo;s depth perspective often changes through a song&rsquo;s timeline. This production provides a particularly good illustration of this point if you observe the depth relationship between the lead vocal and the programmed clap/snare backbeat. To begin with, the vocal&rsquo;s high-frequency enhancement, stereo widening and minimal reverb bring it substantially forward of the narrower and more reverberant clap.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix)" by Los Del Rio</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/macarena-bayside-boys-remix/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/macarena-bayside-boys-remix/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I think of myself as a fairly positive kind of guy, but this track doesn&rsquo;t half strain the old joie de vivre . Yes, I&rsquo;m sure I danced those daft moves at some point back in the late &rsquo;90s. (Was there any college student who didn&rsquo;t, at least &lsquo;ironically&rsquo;?) And I realise it topped the Billboard charts for 14 weeks and sold upwards of 10 million copies. But, much as it pains me to admit it, the Spice Girls&rsquo; 'Wannabe' will always hold a special place in my heart for preventing &lsquo;Macarena&rsquo; hitting UK number one.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/macarena-bayside-boys-remix/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Shallow" by Lady Gaga &amp; Bradley Cooper</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/shallow/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/shallow/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      When artists layer the sound of a concert audience over something that smacks of studio recording, it usually leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Yes, every production now has a degree of artificiality to it, because everyone uses such a wide array of recording, editing and mixing tools to construct and enhance raw performances. But that somehow feels less manipulative than borrowing an undeserved veneer of &rsquo;live show&rsquo; authenticity.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/shallow/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Sunflower" by Post Malone &amp; Swae Lee</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sunflower/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sunflower/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is a quirky production in many ways, not least by coming in at under two and half minutes in length, but what most caught my ear was the effects processing on Swae Lee&rsquo;s vocal from 0:27 to 0:58. It sounds very much to me like some kind of ducked reverb effect, by which I mean a send-effect reverb processor which has a ducker in its return channel that&rsquo;s triggered from the dry lead vocal.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sunflower/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/thank-u-next/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/thank-u-next/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I took a pop at Ms Grande&rsquo;s vocal enunciation last year when I critiqued 'No Tears Left To Cry', and she&rsquo;s scarcely more intelligible here, but her melody is harmonically rather intriguing in that its repeated Ab-Gb-F riff reiterates the key&rsquo;s flat seventh degree (Ab) over a series of dissonant bass notes (Gb-A-Bb). The &lsquo;Ab versus A&rsquo; dissonance is particularly juicy. Although it seems quite modern, it actually has a very long history in the classical repertoire, and is perfectly justified in terms of traditional minor-key voice-leading, where falling lines use the flattened sixth and seventh degrees (the vocal&rsquo;s Ab and Gb here) and rising lines use the sharpened ones (the bass&rsquo;s leading-note A, which rises to Bb).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/thank-u-next/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Woman Like Me" by Little Mix feat. Nicki Minaj</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/woman-like-me/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/woman-like-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Underwhelmed as I was by this song in general, my attention soon wandered to the production&rsquo;s unorthodox use of the frequency spectrum&rsquo;s extreme low end. Or, to be more specific, the lack of it throughout most of the song. Where most chart productions seem to slather monstrous subs all over everything, the only sustained section with any serious bottom-octave action here is the final chorus at 3:06. In principle I can see the reasoning, as it keeps an ace in the hole, so to speak, as far as the arrangement&rsquo;s concerned, so that the extra low end can give that final chorus an energy boost.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/woman-like-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/everything-i-do-i-do-it-for-you/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/everything-i-do-i-do-it-for-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Having lived through this song&rsquo;s 16-week reign at the top of the UK charts, it&rsquo;s tough to be impartial. Those hyperinflated MOR drums. Those horrible S&amp;S strings and JV1080-era synth pads. The daytime-TV piano and guitar vamping. And that unpardonably onanistic instrumental outro, battering an innocent IV-I progression into submission. Also, I&rsquo;ve never understood the appeal of that ballad-bass cliché that involves repeating a chord&rsquo;s root note with the following rhythm: dotted quarter note, eighth note, half note.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/everything-i-do-i-do-it-for-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Girls Like You" by Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/girls-like-you/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/girls-like-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This fantastically nuanced Serban Ghenea mix seems somehow wasted in service of such a superficial song, but at least it should ease the discomfort of any audio engineer stuck in a lift with it! There&rsquo;s so much going on that I could write pages about it, but here I&rsquo;ll focus on the guitar riff that kicks off the song, and more specifically how it evolves. It&rsquo;s inherently a cool piece of audio, making a feature of the variety of the picking technique and the selection of interesting mechanical noises — something many engineers (me included) would probably have toned down to the detriment of the groove.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/girls-like-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Miss You" by Clean Bandit feat. Julia Michaels</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-miss-you/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-miss-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Julia Michaels (about whose breakthrough single 'Issues' I waxed lyrical a couple of years back) has contributed a tremendous guest vocal to this recent Clean Bandit production. Unusually for a vocalist, it&rsquo;s her use of rhythm and phrase structure that I find so impressive. Let me explain&hellip;
The verse is a masterclass in weaving different phrases across the repeating syncopated keyboard riff (and the underlying 4/4 meter). First you get a little two-beat phrase, &ldquo;I know you&rsquo;re out in Cabo,&rdquo; which clearly plants its stress on the downbeat syllable &ldquo;Ca-&rdquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-miss-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"In My Feelings" by Drake</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/in-my-feelings/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/in-my-feelings/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This track demonstrates very effectively one of the archetypal recipes for giving a hip-hop production low-end weight and punch. The basic trick is to rely on the bass line for the bottom octave, but with enough saturation to generate appealingly warm-sounding low mid-range harmonics. This part is dynamically controlled so that it peaks just below the 0dBFS clipping point, maximising its level within the digital headroom, but without adding harder-sounding odd-harmonic distortion.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/in-my-feelings/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Happier" by Marshmello feat. Bastille</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/happier/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/happier/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s lots to admire in this Manny Marroquin mix, but the clear highlight for me is that fabulous kick-drum sound first heard at 0:19. Anyone can make a kick drum cut through in a mix by adding tons of low end and bucketloads of upper mids, but often those lows will also add rhythmic flabbiness and those highs will make the tone feel cheap and plasticky. This record, on the other hand, features a real rarity: a thick-sounding kick drum that remains tremendously tight and prominent on any system.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/happier/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)" by Aretha Franklin</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-never-loved-a-man-the-way-i-love-you/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-never-loved-a-man-the-way-i-love-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Like many pundits in the wake of The Queen Of Soul&rsquo;s sad passing, I&rsquo;ve recently been revisiting her incredible recorded legacy, and it&rsquo;s this song that knocks my socks off more than any other. Despite it being her breakout hit, she already had nine Columbia albums under her belt, and that experience is abundantly apparent in the sheer range of her expression. Partly this is a simple question of pitch, with the melody effortlessly sweeping across two octaves up to top F — a note few chart singers hazard these days, least of all with such full-blooded wailing.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-never-loved-a-man-the-way-i-love-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lost Without You" by Freya Ridings</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lost-without-you/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lost-without-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Here&rsquo;s another one of those singers who make a feature of not opening their mouths quite as much as most people, so things like &ldquo;I&rsquo;m lost&rdquo; come across as being harder work than normal. But far from being a drawback, this actually feeds rather nicely into the mood of the song, because the resulting characteristically constrained timbre sort of implies that she&rsquo;s having to fight to maintain control of her facial facade despite overpowering emotions.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lost-without-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Trip" by Ella Mai</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/trip/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/trip/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Given recent developments in neural-network technology, some are understandably expressing concerns that AI might begin to do human musicians out of a job. Eternal optimist that I am, however, there&rsquo;s a part of me that welcomes this development on the basis that I reckon productions like this one will probably be first against the wall when the robot revolution arrives!
A two-bar piano loop. A slightly square-wave-y synth bass. The usual retro drum-machine samples with a few MPC-style rolls.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/trip/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Downtown" by Petula Clark</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/downtown/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/downtown/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The Beatles&rsquo; &lsquo;I Feel Fine&rsquo; may have blocked Petula Clark from the UK chart&rsquo;s top spot, but she returned the favour by shunting them out of pole position in the US, becoming the first female UK artist to hit Billboard number one since Vera Lynn 13 years prior. She also bagged 1965&rsquo;s Grammy for Best Rock And Roll Song — one must assume rock &amp; roll was an extraordinarily broad church back then, given that The Kinks&rsquo;s 'You Really Got Me' had already assailed hit parades the year before.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/downtown/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Finders Keepers" by Mabel feat. Kojo Funds</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/finders-keepers/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/finders-keepers/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Overall, I like the low end of this record a good deal. The kick has plenty of 50-70Hz weight to it, but avoids too much energy below that, simultaneously leaving plenty of room for strong bass fundamentals and maintaining excellent rhythmic definition for this tempo. There&rsquo;s enough solid mid-range information in the kick for it to translate strongly on small speakers, but without that transforming the tone into something too forward or aggressive.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/finders-keepers/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lucky You" by Eminem feat. Joyner Lucas</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lucky-you/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lucky-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      While I was on holiday, ABBA&rsquo;s 1980 hit &lsquo;Lay All Your Love On Me&rsquo; seemed forever to be blaring from the poolside Tannoy, and I found myself chuckling at their splendid couplet &ldquo;I used to think I was sensible / It makes the truth even more incomprehensible&rdquo;. However, I was soon teetering on the brink of an uncharacteristic bout of curmudgeonliness, as I began wondering when I&rsquo;d last heard such a multi-syllable word in a chart hit — and drew a total blank!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lucky-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Man's Not Hot" by Big Shaq</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mans-not-hot/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mans-not-hot/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Great parody lies in blurring the line between real-world absurdity and amusingly plausible fiction. For my money, one of the best ways to walk this particular tightrope in the musical sphere is to try to nail the production values of the style you&rsquo;re pillorying, to the point where many listeners have to do a double-take before they realise they&rsquo;re not listening to a &lsquo;real&rsquo; record. This is where I always thought Spinal Tap scored so highly back in the day, by underpinning the fictional band&rsquo;s idiotic antics with uncanny stylistic pastiches such as &lsquo;America&rsquo;, &lsquo;Cups And Cakes&rsquo;, and &lsquo;Stonehenge&rsquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/mans-not-hot/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"4:44" by Jay-Z</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/4-44/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/4-44/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The stark introduction of this double Grammy-nominated hip-hop production makes arresting use of abrupt looping on its underlying sample (a deeply cool soul cover of &lsquo;Late Nights &amp; Heartbreak&rsquo; by Hannah Williams &amp; the Affirmations). Far from being some kind of throwaway gimmick, this foreshadows the essentially unsettling character of the musical structure in the main body of the song.
For a start, the song&rsquo;s most frequently recurring musical section (first heard at 0:26-0:42) is six bars long, but it&rsquo;s constructed from a four-bar section of the sampled track by looping the third bar three times.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/4-44/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Crazy" by Lost Frequencies &amp; Zonderling</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/crazy/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/crazy/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s the construction of the main melody line that intrigues me most in this song. First of all, I love the tricks it plays with your expectations. The verse&rsquo;s third line, for example, begins by following the basic rhythmic template of the previous two but drops the downbeat at 0:22, not only drawing attention to the nicely melismatic variation on &ldquo;gone&rdquo;, but also subliminally underpinning its lyrical content. Though that moment repeats through the song, we&rsquo;re not allowed to get too used to it, with the second verse adding in a supporting ambient backing-choir layer and then warping the end of the melodic contour with the final statement at 1:46.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/crazy/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Feel It Still" by Portugal The Man</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/feel-it-still/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/feel-it-still/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s so much to enjoy in this inventive production, but I particularly like the effects use. The crusty mono reverb (a spring, I&rsquo;d hazard) with its clear 16th-note predelay, nicely offsets the eighth-note delay spin on &ldquo;hah!&rdquo;, and you can hear how filtering in the latter&rsquo;s feedback path gradually emphasises the mid-range of the trailing echoes. Then the lead vocal&rsquo;s echo treatment gives the right channel a significantly longer delay time, adding a cool rightwards &lsquo;swerve&rsquo; to the tails of exposed words right up until the end of the first chorus.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/feel-it-still/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"One Kiss" by Calvin Harris &amp; Dua Lipa</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/one-kiss/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/one-kiss/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the interesting things about tuning is that it&rsquo;s not solely a musical issue; it also affects the way sounds blend. When something&rsquo;s bang in tune with its musical backing, it actually coheres better with the mix. This is, I suspect, one reason why pop vocal tuning is often so assertive; it allows you to maximise lead vocal levels without dislocating the singer from the rest of the production.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/one-kiss/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Walk This Way" by Run-D.M.C. feat. Aerosmith</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/walk-this-way/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/walk-this-way/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A pioneering collaboration between Run-DMC and Aerosmith under the auspices of production guru Rick Rubin, this not only catapulted the rap-rock sub-genre into the mainstream, but also helped launch the career of one of the all-time great mix engineers, Andy Wallace. Despite the heavy gated (or sample-triggered?) snare ambience, what impresses me is how aggressive and upfront this production sounds. That might seem nothing special these days, when we&rsquo;re so used to super-dry and present mixes, but in 1986 Rocky IV, Karate Kid II and Top Gun had saturated the airwaves with lushly reverb-tastic offerings like Survivor&rsquo;s &lsquo;Burning Heart&rsquo;, Peter Cetera&rsquo;s &lsquo;Glory Of Love&rsquo;, and Berlin&rsquo;s &lsquo;Take My Breath Away&rsquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/walk-this-way/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Believe" by Cher</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/believe/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/believe/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In a sense, this smash-hit production has become a victim of its own signature studio gimmick, because all anyone ever seems to talk about is its pioneering abuse of Auto-Tune. That&rsquo;s a shame, because the song&rsquo;s densely layered arrangement has many other features worthy of admiration.
The guitar&rsquo;s chorus hook, for instance, treats us to a prominent tremolo effect, something that&rsquo;s quite rare in pop music. I reckon most producers reject it as a featured effect on account of its whiff of rhythmic ambiguity, but that very characteristic is part of what makes its so ear-catching here, in my view.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/believe/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"God's Plan" by Drake</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/gods-plan/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/gods-plan/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the difficulties of hip-hop production is that everyone wants huge kick and huge bass, but if both those elements are enormous then you quickly end up with a woolly combination that eats up way too much level headroom. One workaround is using strategic EQ cuts to clear selected low-frequency pockets in the kick-drum sound for the bass to inhabit, but then also making sure that the kick always hits while the bass is playing.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/gods-plan/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"No Tears Left To Cry" by Ariana Grande</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/no-tears-left-to-cry/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/no-tears-left-to-cry/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s been a long time since I&rsquo;ve heard such poor lyric intelligibility on an ostensibly pop production. Honestly, it took me a half-dozen listens to guess three quarters of the lyrics, and the other quarter are still a mystery! But I don&rsquo;t think I really blame the engineers here, because I reckon Grande herself should be carrying the can on this one. There&rsquo;s a limit to what you can do at mixdown to salvage a performance with negligible diction, and I think that&rsquo;s the root of the problem here.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/no-tears-left-to-cry/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Paradise" by George Ezra</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/paradise-02/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/paradise-02/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Verse two of this song holds a couple of treasures. The first is the deft manner in which Ezra unexpectedly extends the first phrase to five bars by simply repeating the F#-D# melodic oscillation of &ldquo;never-ending&rdquo; for an extra bar (&ldquo;helterskelter we&rsquo;ll be out what-&rdquo;) before finishing the melody as he did in verse one (&quot;-ever the weather&quot;). And the second pearl is when the lyrics &ldquo;boom boom&rdquo; are enacted by a couple of low tom accents at 1:16.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/paradise-02/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"These Days" by Rudimental feat. Jess Glynne, Macklemore &amp; Dan Caplen</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/these-days/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/these-days/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The vocals on this record could operate as something of a vocal &rsquo;endstop&rsquo; reference for me. What I mean is that the amount of upper-spectrum energy Rudimental have funnelled into the lead-vocal parts rather neatly defines the boundary between &rsquo;enough&rsquo; and &rsquo;too much&rsquo;, as far as I&rsquo;m concerned. Macklemore&rsquo;s opening lines, for instance, stay on the right side of the line: super-close and crispy, with masses of world-weary &lsquo;grain&rsquo; to the vocal tone.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/these-days/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Dancing In The Dark" by Bruce Springsteen</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dancing-in-the-dark/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dancing-in-the-dark/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This song has so comprehensively wormed its way into the collective unconscious that it&rsquo;s hard to hear it without preconceptions, but at face value that drum sound is pretty strange. For a start, the combination of super-dry kick, densely ambient snare, and diffusely distant hi-hat bear no relation to any kind of acoustic reality. In addition, the hyper-consistent kick and snare hits add a definite drum-machine character to the part.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dancing-in-the-dark/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Grandes Études De Paganini" by Daniil Trifonov</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/franz-liszt-grandes-etudes-de-paganini/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/franz-liszt-grandes-etudes-de-paganini/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Daniil Trifonov&rsquo;s tremendous recording of Liszt&rsquo;s complete concert études was a worthy winner of this year&rsquo;s Best Classical Instrumental Solo Grammy. (I was, rather unwisely in retrospect, drinking a glass of milk while listening to his astonishing rendition of &lsquo;Gnomenriegen&rsquo;. There&rsquo;s a QWERTY-keyboard cleaning job I never want to have to do again&hellip;) One of the crucial issues for any classical recording is the balance between the direct and reverberant sound, something that&rsquo;s enormously ticklish to manage with just one pair of mics, so most recordists therefore opt to use multiple mic pairs at different distances to afford some mixdown control over the depth perspective.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/franz-liszt-grandes-etudes-de-paganini/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Say Something" by Justin Timberlake feat. Chris Stapleton</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/say-something/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/say-something/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As his fans become savvier about backroom production tricks, how can Justin Timberlake convince them he&rsquo;s not just a fashionable mediocrity with a big budget for studio fakery? I know! Join forces with more-credible-than-thou roots artist Chris Stapleton, hire warts-and-all music documentary purveyors La Blogothéque, and do an ambitiously choreographed &rsquo;live in a single take&rsquo; music video! Well, you&rsquo;ll forgive me if I forego the widespread &lsquo;OMG! How amazing they did it all live!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/say-something/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Unforgettable" by French Montana feat. Swae Lee</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/unforgettable/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/unforgettable/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      House artists have been pulsing the envelopes of sustained synth sounds, sampled ambiences, and effects returns in a quarter-note pattern for such a long time now, but it surprises me how seldom I hear the related trick that appears at the outset of this production (and frequently after that too): the whole-note envelope ramp. It&rsquo;s particularly effective, in fact, when it&rsquo;s set alongside the traditional quarter-note variety from 0:49, because together they create a sense of internal rhythmic momentum both per bar and per beat.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/unforgettable/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Blues Porteno" by Pablo Ziegler Trio</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/blues-porteno/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/blues-porteno/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Amongst this year&rsquo;s most deserving Grammy recipients were the Pablo Ziegler Trio, who scooped Best Latin Jazz Album for the exhilarating stylistic cross-pollination and virtuosic musicianship of their splendid record Jazz Tango. From a technical perspective, however, I&rsquo;ll admit that it left me scratching me head for several reasons that are readily apparent on the number &lsquo;Blues Porteno&rsquo;. Firstly, the bandoneon miking picks up a lot of mechanical noise, something that felt quite distracting during its rather pensive solo in the second and third minutes.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/blues-porteno/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Either Way" by Chris Stapleton</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/either-way/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/either-way/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you&rsquo;d like a good reason why Justin Timberlake would be interested in cosying up to Chris Stapleton, you need look no further than his multi-Grammy-winning album From A Room, and in particular this starkly lovely ballad, which oozes emotional authenticity from every pore. Whether or not this studio version has been edited to the hilt (unlikely, judging by the quality of the live performances I&rsquo;ve heard), there&rsquo;s nothing in the final mix to upset the impression of a single live take and, besides, the sheer character and intensity of his vocal delivery throws all other considerations into the shade.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/either-way/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Green Light" by Lorde</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/green-light/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/green-light/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      When Jack Antonoff discussed working with Lorde in this Sound On Sound magazine article , he praised engineer Laura Sisk as the &lsquo;unsung hero&rsquo; of his studio. He didn&rsquo;t mention, though, that she&rsquo;s also one of the most talented specialist vocal editors on the planet — and this production is, I suspect, a testament to the quality of her handiwork. I say &lsquo;suspect&rsquo; because what she does is, by nature, designed to be inaudible.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/green-light/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Whenever, Wherever" by Shakira</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/whenever-wherever/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/whenever-wherever/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s been ages since I last heard this song, and while the sheer amusement value of such doggerel couplets as &ldquo;I would climb the Andes solely / To count the freckles on your body&rdquo; and &ldquo;Lucky that my breasts are small and humble / So you don&rsquo;t confuse them with mountains&rdquo; will surely never pall, the bafflingly pervy music video (a 2002 Latin Grammy winner, no less) trespasses into genuinely creepy territory as far as I&rsquo;m concerned.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/whenever-wherever/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"1-800-273-8255" by Logic feat. Alessia Cara &amp; Khalid</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/1-800-273-8255/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/1-800-273-8255/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the difficulties with using an obvious echo effect on lead vocals is that the intelligibility of any given word can become obscured by the recirculating phonemes of previous words, especially in situations where the lyrics are delivered at some speed. This production showcases one of the classic solutions to this problem: put the delay effect only onto the final words of each phrase, such that the echoes land in the gap before the next phrase begins, rather than conflicting with any other words.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/1-800-273-8255/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Broken Halos" by Chris Stapleton</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/broken-halos/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/broken-halos/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The power of this Grammy-winning production is its simplicity, not only framing Chris Stapleton&rsquo;s prodigious vocal talents with the minimum of fuss, but also allowing space for each of the sounds in the arrangement to shine. The snare in particular is a lovely specimen, full of laid-back power and tone. Although that touch of restrained brightness in the attack phase helps it cut through the texture, it&rsquo;s the lower-spectrum solidity that&rsquo;s really the star of the show for me, especially as it leaves a beautifully designed pocket for the tambourine layer to fit into when it arrives.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/broken-halos/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Gravity" by The Infamous Stringdusters</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/gravity/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/gravity/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This single from the Infamous Stringdusters&rsquo; Grammy-winning album Laws Of Gravity is definitely worth checking out for its meaty upright bass tone, especially when the instrument plunges down to low E for the solo section at 2:05, delivering that wonderfully confident 41Hz fundamental. Besides this, one detail that particularly struck me was the momentary D# dissonance Chris Pandolfi injects into his banjo solo over the prevailing C-major harmony at 2:10.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/gravity/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-will-always-love-you/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-will-always-love-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Ah, the early &rsquo;90s: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times! Best, in that this song features one of the decade&rsquo;s great vocal performances, hit-meister David Foster&rsquo;s beautifully paced arrangement, and a luxuriantly reverberant mix from Dave Reitzas. On the downside, that abrasive sax solo really sets my teeth on edge, and neither the electric piano at 1:08 nor the final key-change&rsquo;s iconic tom &lsquo;boooosh!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-will-always-love-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Let You Down" by NF</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/let-you-down/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/let-you-down/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I hear a lot of project-studio mixes that are pretty much two-dimensional. What I mean by this is that they have the &lsquo;height&rsquo; of a well-extended frequency bandwidth and the &lsquo;width&rsquo; of a full stereo spread, but lack &lsquo;depth&rsquo;: that sense that the mix&rsquo;s sound world stretches from the end of the listener&rsquo;s nose all the way to the most distant horizon. Which is why the fabulous use of depth in this recent NF single really turned my head.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/let-you-down/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lust For Life" by Lana Del Rey feat. The Weeknd</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lust-for-life/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lust-for-life/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although compression decisions usually have a technical dimension, there&rsquo;s always an aesthetic angle too. Where drums are concerned, the main technical consideration is to consolidate the mix balance and restrain their peaks to within the available headroom of the output medium, but personal taste also has a big part to play. In this production, for instance, the drums function admirably from a purely technical balance perspective, in that their rhythmic pulse remains solidly audible throughout the song and they aren&rsquo;t triggering clipping lights or ducking other important parts.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lust-for-life/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Silence" by Marshmello feat. Khalid</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/silence/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/silence/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Arguably the most basic loudness processing technique is digital clipping — in other words, just turning up the mix until it exceeds the digital headroom of the delivery medium. However, dealing with the side-effects of clipping on music signals isn&rsquo;t as straightforward as you might expect, because although the primary side-effect of digital clipping is distortion, its impact and audibility on different sounds varies a good deal, as this Marshmello production demonstrates rather neatly.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/silence/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Sun Comes Up" by Rudimental feat. James Arthur</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sun-comes-up/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sun-comes-up/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you feel I was a bit hard on Lana Del Rey&rsquo;s 'Lust For Life', and that it&rsquo;s unreasonable to expect more punch out of the drums at this kind of loudness level, then I&rsquo;d encourage you to give this Rudimental release a listen. Both tracks are mastered to a similar loudness level, but this production has masses more punch to its drums than Lana&rsquo;s.
There are several reasons for this, in my opinion.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sun-comes-up/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Y.M.C.A." by Village People</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/y-m-c-a/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/y-m-c-a/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Over the past few months I&rsquo;ve mixed a handful of project-studio productions where the drummer&rsquo;s combined a four-to-the-floor kick drum with a snare backbeat, and it&rsquo;s given me new respect for the drummers of the &rsquo;70s. It might seem like a straightforward pattern, but I&rsquo;ve come to realise that it&rsquo;s actually far from simple to play consistently and without subtly flamming the kick and snare hits against each other, something that slyly robs the pattern of its trademark rhythmic punch and skipping groove.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/y-m-c-a/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Bodak Yellow" by Cardi B</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bodak-yellow/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bodak-yellow/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Behind this production&rsquo;s stripped-back facade lie a number of interesting nuances. You may not initially notice that the final note of the main B-C-E-B-C-E-B-C melodic riff switches between C and E on alternate bars, and there are a number of further variations besides: the intro&rsquo;s E-B-E-E ending; the tape-stop interruption first heard at 0:59; and the octave-dropped version that appears, rather intriguingly, just the once at 0:30-0:45. I also like the inventive kick-drum programming — the simple trick of displacing the lone 808&rsquo;s hook-section position from the downbeat at 0:15 to the first backbeat at 0:31, for instance, and the contrast between its sustained tone and that of the shorter, higher kick at 0:23.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bodak-yellow/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Dimelo" by Rak-Su</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dimelo/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dimelo/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As befits the reggaeton flavour, the kick and bass are huge in this mix. Unfortunately, this is at the expense of sonic thinness elsewhere. This is already apparent in the opening beat-free chorus, which lacks low mid-range warmth compared with most other chart tracks. On the plus side, the slim-sounding introduction means the beat, entering at 0:21, makes a big impact and there&rsquo;s no danger of the overall mix tonality becoming woolly despite generous helpings of sub-100Hz low-end energy.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dimelo/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"River" by Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/river/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/river/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As I hold both Eminem and Ed Sheeran in the highest esteem, I was looking forward to hearing this collaboration. Unfortunately, I felt myself struggling a bit to understand all the lyrics. Initially, I figured this was my own caffeine-deficient mental sluggishness, but as the impression survived several industrial-grade teabags, I compared &lsquo;River&rsquo; with several of Eminem&rsquo;s earlier releases. Finding my suspicions confirmed, I naturally began wondering about the cause&hellip;
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/river/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The House Of The Rising Sun" by The Animals</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-house-of-the-rising-sun/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-house-of-the-rising-sun/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This folk-rock footsoldier of the British Invasion instantly impresses by virtue of Eric Burdon&rsquo;s howling vocal performance and organist Alan Price&rsquo;s rhythmic precision, both especially remarkable given that the record was apparently a one-take wonder. On repeated listening, though, the Animals&rsquo;s answer to an age-old arrangement challenge also demands respect. One difficulty with using folk tunes in chart music is that they&rsquo;re often in a strophic form, in other words they simply repeat a single verse multiple times.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-house-of-the-rising-sun/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Back To You" by Louis Tomlinson feat. Bebe Rexha &amp; Digital Farm Animals</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/back-to-you/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/back-to-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the challenges with sparse and upfront electronic arrangements is giving them a sense of &lsquo;air&rsquo; and cohesion. With recordings of acoustic instruments, the subtle background noises of the performer, recording environment and electrical components all help signal your mix&rsquo;s high-frequency extension, irrespective of how bright the instruments themselves are, and these noise components also have a psychological gluing effect, almost like a subtle application of global ambience reverb.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/back-to-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ghostbusters/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ghostbusters/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is one of my very favourite &rsquo;80s singles, and a production that&rsquo;s aged pretty gracefully by virtue of avoiding the excessive layering and effects that blight many of the era&rsquo;s other big sellers. Despite Parker&rsquo;s economy of means, he&rsquo;s clearly worked hard to inject musical development into each part. The open hi-hat fill every two bars shows this at its simplest, whereas the kick, snare and tom fills show a bit more variety, especially during the &ldquo;I ain&rsquo;t afraid of no ghost!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/ghostbusters/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Havana" by Camila Cabello feat. Young Thug</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/havana/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/havana/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Beyond the cool reverse-reverb effect preceding the vocal entry at 0:07, the thing that caught my attention here was the vocal arrangement. Partly it was just the variety of textures presented, from the basic centrally panned lead vocal with its tastefully automated background delay effects, to the wide-panned pre-chorus layers (and the combination of both at 0:45-1:04), to the fabulous countermelodic ululation in the second chorus at 1:04. But I also found myself pondering the call-and-response device between the solo and layered vocals in that pre-chorus at 0:27.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/havana/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Rockstar" by Post Malone feat. 21 Savage</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rockstar/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rockstar/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Now, I often talk about the issue of mix translation in this column, in other words how well a production&rsquo;s musical and sonic content carries over onto different playback systems. Usually the concern is whether any important musical elements suffer in one listening situation or another, but in this production what interests me most is how the core commercial aspects of the production (namely the beat and the vocals, along with the chordal pad that provides the harmonic context and general atmosphere) remain robustly audible in practically any playback situation, but that each listening situation nonetheless offers its own unique rewards too, almost like little Easter eggs for specific subsections of the fans.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/rockstar/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Blueberry Hill" by Fats Domino</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/blueberry-hill/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/blueberry-hill/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Perhaps overexposure to Mix Rescue submissions has made me too picky, but I can&rsquo;t help being distracted by some of this production&rsquo;s technical foibles. The tuning is occasionally pretty wince-worthy, partly because most of Fats Domino&rsquo;s low B notes are sharp (it sounds like the choice of key has put them uncomfortably low in his range) and partly because of the horn section&rsquo;s tendency to drift sharp, especially in the fills following the lines &ldquo;the wind in the willow played/love&rsquo;s sweet melody&rdquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/blueberry-hill/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"When I'm Gone" by Joey + Rory</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/when-im-gone/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/when-im-gone/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Pretty much every project-studio musician these days has a virtual grand piano lurking in their DAW, and there&rsquo;s no denying that sampling technology has taken huge strides during the last decade in terms of modelling the instrument&rsquo;s timbral nuances. Only the most advanced virtual instruments, however, attempt to fully model the mechanical noises generated by the piano and performer, and even where such facilities are provided I suspect many players switch them off.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/when-im-gone/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Believer" by Imagine Dragons</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/believer/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/believer/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you want to wrong-foot the listener to highlight the onset of a song&rsquo;s chorus, but your main hook/melody happens to start only on the chorus&rsquo;s first backbeat, then one tried-and-trusted arrangement method is to create a kind of arrangement &lsquo;suckout&rsquo; on the downbeat, allowing the full texture to explode into existence on beat two. This is most often used as a one-off device, perhaps to add that extra bit of spice to the final choruses after a middle-section build-up, but this Imagine Dragons number rides it till the wheels fall off!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/believer/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Look What You Made Me Do" by Taylor Swift</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/look-what-you-made-me-do/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/look-what-you-made-me-do/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the things I immediately liked about this production is that it inverts the long-term dynamics archetype that most pop songs are built around: namely, that the verses start relatively stripped back in arrangement terms, and then ramp up into a relatively full-sounding chorus, the idea being that the chorus payoff aligns with the arrangement payoff. Here, though, the chorus is about as minimal as you can get, with just the spoken vocal hook and a spartan drum beat.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/look-what-you-made-me-do/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Too Good At Goodbyes" by Sam Smith</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/too-good-at-goodbyes/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/too-good-at-goodbyes/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      When shifting into their falsetto register, some male vocalists find it more comfortable physiologically to restrict (or even close off) the flow of air through their nasal passages. A side-effect is that &rsquo;n&rsquo; and &rsquo;m&rsquo; consonants begin to approach &rsquo;d&rsquo; and &lsquo;b&rsquo; instead, almost as if the performer has a cold.
Normally this isn&rsquo;t a huge issue, because most singers only use falsetto pretty sparingly, but it&rsquo;s very much Sam Smith&rsquo;s stock in trade, and I honestly found the nasally congested lyrics in this song a bit distracting.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/too-good-at-goodbyes/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wannabe" by Spice Girls</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wannabe/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wannabe/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the great intangibles of mixing is how to develop the most successful &lsquo;vision&rsquo; for your mix, especially when you&rsquo;re working with new artists who haven&rsquo;t yet nailed down a definitive musical identity. In this regard, what I find so interesting about the Spice Girls&rsquo; debut single is that it provides an opportunity to compare the visions of two of the world&rsquo;s greatest mix engineers, by virtue of its two release versions.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wannabe/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Body Like A Back Road" by Sam Hunt</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/body-like-a-back-road/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/body-like-a-back-road/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Once I&rsquo;d finished laughing like a drain at the start of the second verse (&ldquo;The way she fit in those blue jeans, she don&rsquo;t need no belt, but I can turn &rsquo;em inside out, I don&rsquo;t need no help.&rdquo;) it was the finger clicks that most caught my attention. Although this percussive element is a stalwart of many mainstream styles, it&rsquo;s often far from easy to mix. The problem is that recordings of finger clicks rarely present much true mid-range energy, so tend to lack solidity and sound thin once placed at a sensible level in the balance.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/body-like-a-back-road/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"It Ain't Me" by Kygo &amp; Selena Gomez</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/it-aint-me/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/it-aint-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This production offers a clear example of how the sound of a kick drum can be adjusted in response to the changing needs of an EDM arrangement. The kick-drum you hear in the latter stages of the first verse (from 0:29) works very nicely within that arrangement context, lending more rhythmic impetus without subverting the contemplative mood of the vocal performance at the point. The sound lacks no low end, but also has plenty of low mid-range warmth to bring it out on small systems, and the hint of hi-hat hovering over each hit lends it a little &lsquo;air&rsquo; without overly hardening the edges of the rhythmic events.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/it-aint-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Layla" by Derek &amp; The Dominos</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/layla/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/layla/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Despite that festering old &ldquo;knees/please&rdquo; rhyming cliché (scarcely more endurable than the likes of &ldquo;girl/world&rdquo; and &ldquo;baby/crazy&rdquo;), there&rsquo;s plenty to enjoy in this production, not least an extraordinarily compact song structure that manages to squeeze three verses and four choruses into less than two minutes of running time. Underpinning the guitar riff that launched a thousand Vauxhall Astras, there&rsquo;s also a clever guitar arrangement that&rsquo;s been designed to work just as well in mono as in stereo.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/layla/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"New Rules" by Dua Lipa</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/new-rules/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/new-rules/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s the details of the programming and mixing that really elevate this production for me, starting right at the outset with that beautifully leisurely 3/8-note ping-pong vocal-delay spin, its echoes becoming increasingly filter-mangled as they regenerate. The high-feedback backing-vocal treatments at 1:33, 2:20, 2:30 are equally ear-catching, so it&rsquo;s no surprise that spot-delay fan Josh Gudwin&rsquo;s credited with the mix engineering — he revealed in this Sound On Sound magazine interview that he likes to set up a variety of effect spins on separate tracks within his DAW project, so that he can easily apply them to any given piece of audio just by dragging clips, without having to faff around with automation data.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/new-rules/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"What About Us" by Pink</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/what-about-us/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/what-about-us/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This song&rsquo;s stripped-back opening verse showcases a range of perceptual tricks pop producers commonly use to make lead vocals super intimate and upfront. Most obvious is the brightness of the timbre, and that the upper spectrum has been processed (typically with some combination of EQ, distortion, and de-essing) to make it both denser and more consistent than you&rsquo;d expect in real life. This plays on the fact that, in nature, high frequencies are more easily absorbed and obstructed by the physical environment — even the air itself absorbs high end to some extent.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/what-about-us/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"In The End" by Linkin Park</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/in-the-end/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/in-the-end/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      For the past 15 years, Linkin Park&rsquo;s debut album has been a staple of my mix-reference collection — it contains what I consider some of renowned mix engineer Andy Wallace&rsquo;s boldest and most exciting-sounding mainstream work. Returning to Hybrid Theory&rsquo;s biggest single in the wake of singer Chester Bennington&rsquo;s untimely death, it&rsquo;s perhaps fitting that it&rsquo;s the vocal production that impresses me most of all. Of course Bennington&rsquo;s calling-card dynamic lift is worth the price of entry alone, building from the breathy fragility of the opening &ldquo;it starts with one&hellip;&rdquo; through to the raw power of that high chorus line, while his doubling of key phrases in Mike Shinoda&rsquo;s rap is a killer production hook that remains underused to this day.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/in-the-end/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Room In Here" by Anderson Paak feat. The Game &amp; Sonyae Elise</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/room-in-here/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/room-in-here/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Occasionally, I get emails from project-studio users who are worried about over-processing their main mix bus during mixdown, their worry being that it might tie the hands of the mastering engineer. While I can understand the desire to avoid aggro downstream, I also feel quite strongly that any master-bus processing which substantially affects the mix balance needs to be active during mixdown, otherwise the mix engineer simply can&rsquo;t make properly informed processing decisions.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/room-in-here/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Rooting For You" by London Grammar</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rooting-for-you/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rooting-for-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Don&rsquo;t get me wrong, I can see where they were coming from. Few people would argue that Hannah Reid&rsquo;s vocal performance wasn&rsquo;t pivotal to the success of the band&rsquo;s breakthrough hit 'Strong' — so why not simplify the backing track, shift more focus onto the lead singer, and thereby boost the commercial appeal even further?
The problem with this logic is that &lsquo;Strong&rsquo; already felt stripped back to its bare essentials, with just enough interest in the fragmentary instrumental riffs, skeletal rhythmic groove, and arrangement dynamics to give momentum to the musical structure and support the singer&rsquo;s inter-phrase melodic lulls and occasional emotional reticence.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/rooting-for-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Slow Hands" by Niall Horan</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/slow-hands/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/slow-hands/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Here&rsquo;s a vocal sound that&rsquo;s far from textbook — in fact, it initially prompted me to double-check I wasn&rsquo;t critiquing a faulty audio file! It&rsquo;s quite an ambient presentation, but with what sounds like a gate on it. What&rsquo;s so odd, though, is that the gating threshold appears to have been set deliberately a touch too high, such that it abruptly shuts down both the singer and the room reflections between words, and frequently shaves off important consonants.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/slow-hands/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dreams/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dreams/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This song, the band&rsquo;s only US number one single, is unusual in that the original live-session lead vocal ended up in the final mix, according to engineer Ken Caillat in this Sound On Sound magazine article . (They tried repeatedly to better it, without success.) It&rsquo;s also interesting that Stevie Nicks&rsquo; mic was a dynamic model (Sennheiser&rsquo;s MD441, as I understand), not a large-diaphragm condenser. Now, clearly this deprives the singer&rsquo;s timbre of some &lsquo;air&rsquo; and intimacy compared with many modern records, but the compactness and density of the mid-range nonetheless allows her to hold her place assertively in the balance, as well as giving tremendously robust vocal transmission under low-bandwidth playback conditions such as AM radio.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dreams/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Grown Folks" by Snarky Puppy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/grown-folks/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/grown-folks/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I found Snarky Puppy&rsquo;s recent Grammy-winning instrumental album Culcha Vulcha rather thought-provoking from a mix perspective, and this track provides as good a vehicle as any to explain why. It&rsquo;s all to do with how a mix engineer uses impressions of space and depth in the service of the production. In this respect, you can locate most records somewhere on a continuum between two extremes: productions that aim to reflect the acoustic experience of a real-world performance, albeit perhaps in an unrealistically idealised form; and productions which play fast and loose with notions of acoustic &lsquo;reality&rsquo; in pursuit of an evocative or arresting spatial confection.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/grown-folks/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"HUMBLE" by Kendrick Lamar</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/humble/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/humble/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Despite similarly silly titular typography, this track and 'iSpy' are two hip-hop productions that are starkly contrasted in terms of their bass lines. On the one extreme, the bass in &lsquo;HUMBLE&rsquo; (first heard at 0:07) adheres to mainstream mixing lore by being resolutely mono, thereby maximising the bass power whether the music emanates from two speakers or one — although at the expense of any sense of low-end &rsquo;envelopment&rsquo; for the listener.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/humble/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"iSpy" by Kyle feat. Lil Yachty</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ispy/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ispy/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Despite similarly silly titular typography, this track and 'HUMBLE' are two hip-hop productions that are starkly contrasted in terms of their bass lines. On the one extreme, the bass in &lsquo;HUMBLE&rsquo; (first heard at 0:07) adheres to mainstream mixing lore by being resolutely mono, thereby maximising the bass power whether the music emanates from two speakers or one — although at the expense of any sense of low-end &rsquo;envelopment&rsquo; for the listener.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/ispy/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lights Out" by Royal Blood</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lights-out/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lights-out/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A few years back, I raved about this band&rsquo;s debut single 'Figure It Out', a record that still induces age-inappropriate levels of pogo-ing enthusiasm every time I hear it. So I could scarcely contain my glee when their second album recently punctuated Ed Sheeran&rsquo;s long-term residency at the top of the UK album charts. Musically, the band pretty much follow an &lsquo;if it ain&rsquo;t broke&rsquo; policy, but I&rsquo;m not complaining, as their stripped-back, rifftastic rock formula remains as effective as ever.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lights-out/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Stay" by Zedd &amp; Alessia Cara</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stay-01/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stay-01/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What a fantastic vocoder-like sound they&rsquo;ve achieved here! And by using it as the backdrop for the lead vocal, the consonant impact remains good, side-stepping the common problem that synth-generated carrier signals usually have too little upper-spectrum energy to generate clear &rsquo;s&rsquo;, &rsquo;t&rsquo; and &lsquo;k&rsquo; sounds. All&rsquo;s not totally peachy on the lyric intelligibility front, though, as Alessia&rsquo;s line &ldquo;the clock is ticking&rdquo; has such a weak &rsquo;l&rsquo; that the accompanying clockwork Foley seems like all that&rsquo;s saving it from a Tipper sticker!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/stay-01/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Despacito" by Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee &amp; Justin Bieber</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/despacito/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/despacito/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Comparing the Bieber-ised version of this global smash with Luis Fonsi&rsquo;s very similar original mix throws up some interesting questions. For a start, why has the polarity of the remix been inverted? I realise that some people feel that the absolute polarity of things like drum sounds are an important concern, but try as I might I can&rsquo;t hear any improvement in the remix&rsquo;s main kick sound. In fact, once you loudness-match the two mixes (the EBU R128 standard suggests the remix is about 1.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/despacito/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I'm A Believer" by The Monkees</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/im-a-believer/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/im-a-believer/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of pop music&rsquo;s hoariest old tricks is the addition of backbeat claps. A musical cousin of canned laughter, this usually seems designed to work by a kind of subliminal peer-pressure: &ldquo;If all those people are clapping along,&rdquo; it cajoles, &ldquo;then surely the groove must be irresistible!&rdquo; It never ceases to surprise me, therefore, how often such a pop staple sounds so lifeless and uninspiring on record, this Monkees song being a case in point.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/im-a-believer/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I'm The One" by DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper &amp; Lil Wayne</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/im-the-one/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/im-the-one/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      You don&rsquo;t hear auto-panning effects that often these days, so I was immediately struck by the left-right movement on the chipmunked vocal sample here. But once you&rsquo;ve got over the rarity value, notice how the sample seems so much stronger at the edges of the stereo image than at the centre. The reason for this becomes apparent the moment you switch to mono, where the volume of that sample is revealed to be absolutely rock-solid — in other words, the panner&rsquo;s operating according to a -6dB pan law to keep the sample&rsquo;s level in the mix&rsquo;s stereo Middle component consistent (if you&rsquo;re wondering what a pan law is, check out Hugh Robjohns&rsquo;s elegant summation in this Sound On Sound magazine article.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/im-the-one/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Issues" by Julia Michaels</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/issues/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/issues/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I love this track for its splendidly kooky pizzicato-heavy arrangement, that genuinely surprising first bass entry, and a lead vocal that combines &lsquo;chatty&rsquo; and &lsquo;confessional&rsquo; in an extremely endearing (and commercially savvy) manner. On a technical level, the bass is worth closer attention, because it seems that a good dose of distortion has been applied to give it attitude and small-speaker translation, and that the drive amount appears to have been varied to adapt to the changing mix texture.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/issues/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Mask Off" by Future</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mask-off/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mask-off/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Future&rsquo;s best-selling single to date, this track has been hanging around in the upper reaches of Billboard&rsquo;s Hot 100 for 15 weeks at time of writing, and with good reason. Not only is its sparse combination of drum machine and flute-adorned sample ear-catchingly moody and atmospheric, but it&rsquo;s also extraordinarily efficient in production terms. Both the kick and the rap are left all but free from competition as far as masking is concerned, and can effectively have all the mix real-estate they like.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/mask-off/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Big For Your Boots" by Stormzy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/big-for-your-boots/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/big-for-your-boots/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you managed to miss out on the fuss surrounding Stormzy&rsquo;s Youtube &lsquo;Shut Up&rsquo; video, then now is a great time to catch up with The Future Of Mainstream Grime himself, as his first album has just recently topped the UK album charts. The record&rsquo;s first single, &lsquo;Big For Your Boots&rsquo; also made it into the UK top 10, and with good reason, because in it he presents a more directed and mature vision of the kind of flow he showcased on &lsquo;Shut Up&rsquo;, and with a polished production sound to match — if that&rsquo;s not too much of an oxymoron given the name of the genre!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/big-for-your-boots/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Brace For Impact (Live A Little)" by Sturgill Simpson</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/brace-for-impact/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/brace-for-impact/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The intro to this song plays a fun little trick by starting with solo bass playing &lsquo;G&rsquo; eighth notes for 10 whole beats. Given the featurelessness of the bass playing, you&rsquo;re therefore left uncertain as to the position of the metric downbeat, and indeed the nature of the metre itself. However, there&rsquo;s a general tendency amongst western musicians to assume a simple 4/4 metre wherever there&rsquo;s an absence of any clear indication to the contrary, so when the guitar and kick drum finally appear on beat 11, it&rsquo;s already a bit of a surprise, coming as it does apparently in the middle of our assumed &lsquo;bar three&rsquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/brace-for-impact/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Just Hold On" by Louis Tomlinson &amp; Steve Aoki</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/just-hold-on/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/just-hold-on/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The methods EDM productions use to pump the gain of various arrangement layers in response to the kick drum is a subject of much discussion amongst aficionados. However, what&rsquo;s rarely mentioned is that stereo width regularly plays a role in this effect too, because if you strongly duck all your stereo synths then the breadth of the mix&rsquo;s panorama effectively pulses in rhythm, narrowing suddenly with each kick and then widening progressively in the gaps between hits.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/just-hold-on/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Take Me Back" by Sarah Jarosz</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/take-me-back/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/take-me-back/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although it walked away with a couple of Grammy wins this year, Sarah Jarosz&rsquo;s album Undercurrent&rsquo;s nomination for Best Engineering was also richly deserved, and warrants investigation by anyone with an interest in gorgeous-sounding acoustic plucked strings. At the production&rsquo;s helm is one of the established masters of the field, Gary Paczosa, and his guitar, bass, banjo and mandolin sounds throughout are a delight in terms of their quality and variety of tone.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/take-me-back/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Un-break My Heart" by Toni Braxton</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/un-break-my-heart/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/un-break-my-heart/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the reasons I hate the last-minute &lsquo;up a step&rsquo; key-change cliché is because the expressive potential of modulation is otherwise so underused in chart music. Once in a blue moon, however, a song like this one comes along to demonstrate how key changes can define and support the song structure, rather than just providing cheap dramatic effects.
For example, it makes perfect structural sense for the &lsquo;uplift&rsquo; of an ascending modulation (up three half-steps from Bm to Dm) to coincide with the chorus&rsquo;s arrival here, with its concomitant rise in vocal register.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/un-break-my-heart/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Humble And Kind" by Tim McGraw</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/humble-and-kind/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/humble-and-kind/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;m always banging on about the importance of detailed fader rides if you&rsquo;re trying to get competitive-sounding lead vocals in terms of balance stability and lyric intelligibility. However, there are some balance issues that even a blizzard of level automation can&rsquo;t deal with, as demonstrated if you compare this production with Zara Larsson&rsquo;s 'I Would Like'. In Tim McGraw&rsquo;s case, there&rsquo;s clearly plenty of fastidious fader rippling going on to optimise comprehension of the lyrics.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/humble-and-kind/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-will-survive/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-will-survive/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What connects this song with &lsquo;Fly Me To The Moon&rsquo; or &lsquo;Autumn Leaves&rsquo;? The answer is that all those tunes (and a fair few other hits besides) feature harmonic progressions containing a complete minor-key cycle of fifths. What interests me more than their similarities, though, are their differences, as each songwriter wrestles with this harmonic archetype in their own way. Where this Gloria Gaynor hit trumps the others, for example, is in the sheer persistence of the pattern, which underpins the entire song, repeating 11 times in the single version and 28 times in the more extended album version.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-will-survive/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Would Like" by Zara Larsson</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-would-like/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-would-like/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In a sense, you could say that Zara Larsson&rsquo;s &lsquo;I Would Like&rsquo; suffers from the opposite problem to Tim McGraw&rsquo;s 'Humble And Kind', in that it&rsquo;s small-speaker translation that the vocal struggles with here. Check out 1:35-1:50, where the first two syllables of each of the four vocal phrases are sung in falsetto. The thing about the falsetto timbre is that it naturally tends to have loads of low-mid-range warmth and high-frequency breathiness, whereas there&rsquo;s rarely much real mid-range energy in between.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-would-like/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Peter Pan" by Kelsea Ballerini</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/peter-pan/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/peter-pan/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There are many aspects of this lush-sounding production to savour, but what stands out for me is the snare, whose sound constantly shifts to maintain interest and support the musical momentum. I love that every fourth backbeat gets that extra reverb impact during the choruses, mimicking the similar (but subtler) tambourine accent of the verses, making this idea so all-permeating that it becomes a little production hook. What most intrigues me about the snare, though, is whether there&rsquo;s an automated delay effect.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/peter-pan/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Side To Side" by Ariana Grande feat. Nicki Minaj</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/side-to-side/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/side-to-side/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      We&rsquo;re always cautioning readers about the dangers of low-frequency mix clutter, and in general it&rsquo;s probably fair to say that simpler bass arrangements tend to make life easier at mixdown. This production, however, features a tremendously varied arrangement at the low-end, so it&rsquo;s educational to investigate how all the bass elements fits together. First off, it&rsquo;s worth pointing out that the kick drum is pretty tight, with most of its LF energy focused around 60-80Hz and not too much going on below that where it might interfere with the pitched bass parts.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/side-to-side/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Call On Me" by Starley</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/call-on-me/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/call-on-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Once any commercial electronic music style has progressed beyond sheer &ldquo;Whoa! Cool robot noises!&rdquo; sonic novelty value, one of the perennial challenges facing producers is how to imbue their synthetic/sampled raw materials with enough humanity to elicit slightly deeper emotional responses. The most obvious way of doing this is by layering in a lead vocal with plenty of grain/style/wistfulness/soul/lewdness (delete as appropriate). These days, however, the extreme corrective and/or intentionally destructive processing frequently meted out on lead vocals in the name of genre-friendly ear-candy can undermine their emotional immediacy somewhat, as in the case of this recent debut single from Starley.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/call-on-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"City Of Stars" by La La Land (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) feat. Ryan Gosling &amp; Emma Stone</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/city-of-stars/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/city-of-stars/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There are few stars of the modern screen I&rsquo;d personally class as great singers, which is perhaps why it often seems that sung vocals in live-action films have been (ahem) &lsquo;over-sanitised&rsquo; using overdubbing and various digital audio manipulations. A major reason why I like the winner of Best Original Song at this year&rsquo;s Oscars, therefore, is that it resolutely avoids this, wearing its imperfections on its sleeve as a talisman of emotional authenticity.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/city-of-stars/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Hate U, I Love U" by Gnash feat. Olivia O'Brien</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-hate-u-i-love-u/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-hate-u-i-love-u/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although I confess I initially groaned inwardly at this ballad&rsquo;s lazy &lsquo;female singer too maudlin to stretch beyond wistful block chords&rsquo; cliché, I did eventually warm to the production&rsquo;s overall restraint and economy of means, which focus more attention on the vocal performances, for example the brilliant moment when Gnash unexpectedly lashes out with &ldquo;you said you wouldn&rsquo;t then you fucking did&rdquo;.
Within that context, the production&rsquo;s highlights for me are actually its end-of-section gaps — or, to be more specific, that portion of piano sustain tail that remains unadorned between the end of the vocalist&rsquo;s final word and the onset of the next section&rsquo;s first chord.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-hate-u-i-love-u/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)" by Domenico Modugno</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/nel-blu-dipinto-di-blu-volare/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/nel-blu-dipinto-di-blu-volare/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Few people remember that this song was actually an early Eurovision entrant, and although it only placed third in the contest, Modugno clearly had the last laugh in terms of record sales, as well as walking off with the Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year gongs at 1959&rsquo;s inaugural Grammy Awards. It&rsquo;s worth shopping around to find an original mono version of this single, as all the stereo versions I found appeared to have been &lsquo;stereo-ised&rsquo; by veiling the details with a layer of more or less ham-fisted stereo reverb, which is a shame given that the arrangement here is something rather special.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/nel-blu-dipinto-di-blu-volare/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Never Be Like You" by Flume feat. Kai</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/never-be-like-you/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/never-be-like-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Had it not recently bagged the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Album, this fabulous record might well have slipped under my radar, given Flume&rsquo;s poor showing in the UK charts. And what a loss that would have been, because I don&rsquo;t think a mainstream EDM track has impressed me this much since Skrillex properly went overground a few years back. Although the fabulous stuttering dirty-south-esque drum programming and opulent smorgasbord of ear-catching spot-effects are both big parts of the appeal of &lsquo;Never Be Like You&rsquo;, for me the biggest &lsquo;wow&rsquo;-factor comes from the lavishly modulated main rhythm pad first heard at 0:40.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/never-be-like-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"In The Summertime" by Mungo Jerry</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/in-the-summertime/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/in-the-summertime/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Maybe it&rsquo;s because I was raised on a diet of Benny Hill and The Two Ronnies, but I just love that one of the top five best-selling singles of all time features prominent farting noises in pretty much every bar! Since this simulated flatulence is hard-panned, the easily offended might perhaps save their blushes by listening just to the right-hand stereo channel, although owing to the mix&rsquo;s unusual vocal panning (the lead and its sporadic double-track are on opposite sides of the panorama) these delicate flowers will also miss out on half the lyrics.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/in-the-summertime/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"No Lie" by Sean Paul feat. Dua Lipa</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/no-lie/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/no-lie/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Between them, this track and Jax Jones&rsquo;s 'You Don&#39;t Know Me' rather neatly demonstrate the low-end limitations of many project-studio monitoring systems, so they&rsquo;re worth careful auditioning in your own studio if you&rsquo;re wondering whether your setup&rsquo;s ready for the demands of mixing mainstream club-oriented music.
The first problem with many affordable nearfield-based listening systems is that, despite frequently being tuned to deliver bags of impressive-sounding 50-100Hz energy, they don&rsquo;t actually shed much light at all on the bottom octave of the audible spectrum.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/no-lie/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Rockabye" by Clean Bandit feat. Sean Paul &amp; Anne-Marie</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rockabye/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rockabye/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Well who&rsquo;d have thought it? An EDM track as Christmas number one! I, for one, haven&rsquo;t been as pleased since Rage Against The Machine pipped Joe McElderry to the post back in 2009.
The lyric&rsquo;s themes of single motherhood have already spawned plenty of column inches, but it&rsquo;s actually the mix&rsquo;s low-frequency spectrum that interests me most from a production perspective. What&rsquo;s unusual is that the final chorus section (3:20-3:57) is significantly less powerful at the low end than the full-beat verse/pre-chorus texture first heard at 0:37.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/rockabye/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Shape Of You" by Ed Sheeran</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/shape-of-you/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/shape-of-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I have the greatest respect for Ed Sheeran as a songwriter and performer, and have commented favourably on 'Thinking Out Loud' and 'The A Team' in previous critiques. However, I can&rsquo;t help feeling that the enormous commercial success of his recent pair of post-hiatus singles has more to do with sheer &ldquo;Wow, Ed Sheeran&rsquo;s back!&rdquo; effect than the actual qualities of the music itself. The strange harmonic meanderings and over-saturated chorus texture of &lsquo;Castle On The Hill&rsquo; leaves me completely cold, while &lsquo;Shape Of You&rsquo; feels more like video-scaffolding than it does something designed to sustain a listener&rsquo;s interest musically in its own right.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/shape-of-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wait For It" by Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) feat. Leslie Odom Jr.</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wait-for-it/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wait-for-it/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the things I love about musical cast recordings is that they&rsquo;ve remained more or less a bastion of wide dynamic range in the face of the wider music industry&rsquo;s loudness war. And it stands to reason, partly because a musical has to create momentum over a much longer duration, so needs a wider expressive range to work with. But I&rsquo;m guessing that the audience for stage musicals also tend to listen less casually by nature, because they&rsquo;re captivated by the long-term narrative arc, so there&rsquo;s less need for loudness as a competitive feature.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wait-for-it/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"You Don't Know Me" by Jax Jones feat. Raye</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-dont-know-me/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-dont-know-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Between them, this track and Sean Paul&rsquo;s 'No Lie' rather neatly demonstrate the low-end limitations of many project-studio monitoring systems, so they&rsquo;re worth careful auditioning in your own studio if you&rsquo;re wondering whether your setup&rsquo;s ready for the demands of mixing mainstream club-oriented music.
The first problem with many affordable nearfield-based listening systems is that, despite frequently being tuned to deliver bags of impressive-sounding 50-100Hz energy, they don&rsquo;t actually shed much light at all on the bottom octave of the audible spectrum.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-dont-know-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Black Beatles" by Rae Sremmurd feat. Gucci Mane</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/black-beatles/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/black-beatles/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although it&rsquo;s easy to come away from listening to this song with the impression that it&rsquo;s based around a simple four-bar loop, it actually showcases how you can get better musical value from just four or five electronic sounds by basic muting. The most noticeable occasion is, of course, when the whole beat vanishes at 4:10, but individual parts also disappear elsewhere. The kick drum&rsquo;s ditched for the first four bars of each verse, for instance, with the hat also dropping out for the fourth of those bars.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/black-beatles/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Careless Whisper" by George Michael</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/careless-whisper/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/careless-whisper/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      My sadness at George Michael&rsquo;s recent departure from the pop firmament inspired me to revisit this song, the super-slick self-production that first unequivocally marked him out as a solo star. Granted, it does boast the Joint Cheesiest Sax Solo Of The &rsquo;80s (a dead heat with Dire Straits&rsquo;s &lsquo;Your Latest Trick&rsquo;), but personally I&rsquo;m too busy marvelling at the quality of the rhythm section to care much. The bass player in particular, Deon Estus, does a tremendous amount to enliven the repeating four-bar chord progression, and beautifully paces his performance to enhance the momentum of the song.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/careless-whisper/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Just Your Fool" by The Rolling Stones</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/just-your-fool/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/just-your-fool/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      For the most part, I have to confess that the Stones leave me cold. However, I did perk my ears up after the middle section here, when the band rather disconcertingly drops half a bar from Sir Mick&rsquo;s third verse (around 1:39), having been trundling out predictably 8/12-bar blues patterns up to that point.
Once that had drawn me in, I also noticed the narrowness of the stereo image, and would have preferred at least 6dB more stereo Sides level myself, but I dare say their choice is justifiable on &lsquo;retro aesthetic&rsquo; grounds.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/just-your-fool/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Party Like A Russian" by Robbie Williams</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/party-like-a-russian/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/party-like-a-russian/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This riotous production wins me over on many levels, not least on account of the marvellous lyrics — my personal highlight being the first verse&rsquo;s elaborate tease, where 10 things are rhymed with &ldquo;-utin&rdquo; in as many seconds, but without (in clear defiance of most people&rsquo;s expectations) including the name of the Russian leader. And Williams&rsquo; delivery of those lyrics is also superlative. I&rsquo;ve often felt that Robbie Williams is underrated as a singer, but I think he&rsquo;s tremendous — any weaknesses he might have in terms of technique or range are entirely eclipsed by sheer style and force of character.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/party-like-a-russian/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Sexual" by Neiked feat. Dyo</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sexual/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sexual/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The vocal delivery in the choruses here is unusual in that it bucks the pop-EDM cliché for female vocals to start out breathy and conversational in the verse and then open out into some kind of more powerful, soulful chorus as the main beat kicks in. What the singer Dyo does instead is extend her breathy head voice right up into the soprano register (up to top F) and then slightly forces the level to impart a terrific &lsquo;schoolgirl who smokes behind the bike sheds&rsquo; character that&rsquo;s rarely been heard in the charts since the heyday of Macy Gray.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sexual/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Somewhere" by Michael Ball &amp; Alfie Boe</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/somewhere/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/somewhere/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Judging by the album charts, I&rsquo;m guessing that an awful lot of grandparents found this duo&rsquo;s latest album under the Christmas tree this year! For my own part, as a clandestine fan of the 1985 London cast recording of Les Misérables, I was primarily intrigued to hear how Michael Ball&rsquo;s voice was holding up, and I have to say that he&rsquo;s still very much on form. Perhaps too much, in fact — by which I mean that I found myself a little distracted by the recurrence of some of his signature vocal mannerisms, in particular the momentary (and often falsetto) aspiration he likes putting before certain syllables for expressive effect: &ldquo;H-wait for us&rdquo; at 1:21, &ldquo;s-H-omewhere&rdquo; at 1:57, and (saving the best for last!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/somewhere/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Africa" by Toto</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/africa/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/africa/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the things I like about this song is the way the phrase structure supports the song structure. Whereas a lot of songs fundamentally base themselves around a repeating four-bar phrase-structure, with perhaps the odd extended or curtailed phrase-length for emphasis, Toto in a sense invert this idea here, repeatedly destabilising the four-bar convention with half-bar extensions in the verses, only returning to regular four-bar units for the transition into the chorus and the chorus itself.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/africa/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Don't Mind" by Kent Jones</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-mind/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-mind/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      An ear-catchingly bright, rather hissy vocal reverb this — more what I&rsquo;d expect of an &rsquo;80s pop song than a track from an up-and-coming hip-hop artist! In context, though, it does bring with it a suitably ramshackle personality, and also creates a nice stereo interplay with the bright electronic hat and side-stick snare sounds, which appear to be feeding the same effect. In fact, in that respect all the echoing consonants and breaths fulfil something akin to the role of a layered breakbeat in many other electronic productions, adding an organic touch to otherwise metronomically unvarying programmed percussion.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-mind/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/human/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/human/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I love the way this production makes a stark contrast between the muscularity of the super-direct, mono, rhythmic bass, and the lugubrious, reverb-drenched arrangement about it, with its slow-moving choir and string lines, staggered multi-layer backbeat, and washed-out cymbal hits. Had the bass not been as dry, the other instruments wouldn&rsquo;t have appeared as epicly cavernous; and, by the same token, had the arrangement been more upfront, the bass wouldn&rsquo;t make such a brutal impact.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/human/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Shout Out To My Ex" by Little Mix</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/shout-out-to-my-ex/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/shout-out-to-my-ex/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;ve been a fan of Serban Ghenea&rsquo;s mixes ever since his work on NERD&rsquo;s In Search Of&hellip; 15 years ago, but I&rsquo;ve always had him down as a bit of a &rsquo;loud and upfront at all costs&rsquo; kind of guy. As such, I expected to be able to just &lsquo;set and forget&rsquo; a comfortable listening level for this mix, confident that I wouldn&rsquo;t get any surprises, and was thus startled to find myself reaching for the volume knob the moment the first chorus arrived, because it suddenly felt too loud.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/shout-out-to-my-ex/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Starving" by Hailee Steinfeld &amp; Grey feat. Zedd</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/starving/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/starving/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What a stellar opening lead vocal sound! Listen to those low mids, for instance, which manage to be as full and warm-sounding as you&rsquo;d ever want, but never get overbearing. Many project-studio productions struggle with this, because of singers moving around while singing and causing variations in the proximity-effect bass boost of a cardioid vocal mic. Perhaps Steinfeld&rsquo;s one of those rare singers who sings while standing still, or she&rsquo;d been gaffer-taped to the pop shield (how often have we all wished we could do that?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/starving/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"24K Magic" by Bruno Mars</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/24k-magic/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/24k-magic/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Ahoy there, cash-in on 'Uptown Funk'! We&rsquo;ve been expecting you&hellip; Mind you, it&rsquo;s hard to begrudge success to this polished and intelligent production, if only because of Bruno Mars&rsquo; infectious enthusiasm — it&rsquo;s like he can hardly believe he&rsquo;s getting away with strutting his &rsquo;80s fetish into the charts again! What most turned my head, though, was the breakdown at 2:49-3:07, which manages to thoroughly subvert the otherwise comfortable predictability of the song&rsquo;s eight-bar metric structure, despite being itself eight bars in length, so you lose a clear idea of where the downbeat is.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/24k-magic/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/my-heart-will-go-on/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/my-heart-will-go-on/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Whether or not the overbearing sentimentality of this production makes you want to throw up (a view apparently expressed, somewhat richly, by Kate Winslet, lead actress in the overbearingly sentimental film the song accompanies), it does feature a corking final-chorus key change that&rsquo;s rarely been paralleled in mainstream pop. Taking us from E major (four sharps) to Ab major (four flats), it&rsquo;s at once profoundly unsettling and yet somehow surprisingly logical, and therefore demands the scrutiny of any student of popular harmony.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/my-heart-will-go-on/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Say You Won't Let Go" by James Arthur</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/say-you-wont-let-go/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/say-you-wont-let-go/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As you&rsquo;d hope in such a strongly vocal-led number, the arrangement plays a tastefully restrained role, maintaining 100-percent focus on the singer. Perhaps it&rsquo;s on account of this understatement that the song&rsquo;s standout moments for me, from a production perspective, are the subtleties. Take the first pre-chorus, for instance, where the background piano chords and brighter, wider vocal effects combine to give an almost subliminal emotional lift — more a sense of &lsquo;opening out&rsquo; than anything else.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/say-you-wont-let-go/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Sex" by Cheat Codes &amp; Kris Kross Amsterdam</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sex/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sex/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is a very slick and hi-fi EDM production, and would make a good reference track for anyone trying to gain a foothold in this kind of style. The kick is beautifully solid and well controlled without any overly aggressive HF spike; the bass is full and rich, but with enough LMF components to guarantee decent small-speaker compatibility; the rest of the synths and sound effects complement each other so that the mix clarity remains good even when the texture is at its busiest; and the vocal production not only nails that glistening breathiness that&rsquo;s so much a trademark of many EDM styles, but also varies the vocal arrangement enough to keep the interest going.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sex/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Tears" by Clean Bandit feat. Louisa Johnson</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/tears/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/tears/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s some great stuff going on with the harmony in this song, although it does feel a little scattergun — as if mud&rsquo;s just being thrown at the wall without checking whether any of it&rsquo;s sticking! So, for instance, the first chorus&rsquo;s major-chord substitution at 0:45 (F major replacing the expected F minor) is a cool twist, but it&rsquo;s then dropped from the subsequent interations, leaving them feeling a bit unimaginative and &lsquo;house by numbers&rsquo; by comparison.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/tears/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Closer" by The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/closer/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/closer/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      On the whole, creators of programmed music tend to be fairly reluctant to tamper with a tune&rsquo;s underlying tempo — sometimes because it violates the expectations of a specific electronica sub-genre, but frequently because it&rsquo;s just a bit of a faff to manage fiddling with tempo-changes in practice. As a result, electronic releases rarely benefit from the musical emphasis that can be generated by slowing up momentarily in the beats preceding a chorus or hook section, and then resuming a consistent tempo.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/closer/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Heathens" by Twenty One Pilots</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/heathens/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/heathens/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In chart genres, &lsquo;Thou Shalt Mono The Low Frequencies&rsquo; is pretty much established wisdom, and with good reason: you typically get the strongest impression of bass from any set of stereo speakers if both their low-frequency drivers work in unison. Besides, our stereo perception&rsquo;s pretty vague below about 100Hz, so why not go for maximum bass? Well, as it happens, that&rsquo;s a question this production rather nicely answers.
What Twenty One Pilots have done is trade off some of their mono bass power for bass width by leaving a degree of stereo decorrelation (ie.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/heathens/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Starboy" by The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/starboy/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/starboy/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the easiest ways to create musical excitement harmonically is by using what&rsquo;s often called a &lsquo;pedal point&rsquo;, in other words a note or repeating figure that holds a single pitch constant through a series of chord changes. One classic model for this involves starting with the key&rsquo;s home chord; then holding that chord&rsquo;s root note in the bass while different chords are formed (more or less dissonantly) in the upper parts of the arrangement; and finally resolving things back to the home chord.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/starboy/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wolves Of Winter" by Biffy Clyro</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wolves-of-winter/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wolves-of-winter/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I originally sat down to critique Blink 182&rsquo;s &lsquo;Bored To Death&rsquo;, but (fittingly enough) had to admit defeat after an hour&rsquo;s fruitless searching for anything more interesting to talk about than the song&rsquo;s jet-flanged drum intro! So it was with a palpable sense of relief that my ears subsequently settled upon this track instead, which, despite considerable sonic commonality with the Blink 182 record, immediately offered greater entertainment value by hopping playfully between 4/4 and 7/8 meters.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wolves-of-winter/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/youve-lost-that-lovin-feelin/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/youve-lost-that-lovin-feelin/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There seem to be a number of different stereo mixes of this track doing the rounds, but it&rsquo;s worth shopping around for one that uses extreme LCR panning for the original tape&rsquo;s three tracks. For one thing, this offers the opportunity to compare the arrangement with and without the right-panned strings overdub, simply by toggling the right channel on and off. Personally (at the risk of committing some kind of production heresy) I reckon the song would have been sonically more powerful without the strings (albeit bereft of the orchestral conceit), but from an arrangement perspective they serve to differentiate the second verse from the first, as well as salvaging several nice flute countermelodies/fills (eg.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/youve-lost-that-lovin-feelin/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Charlemagne" by Blossoms</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/charlemagne/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/charlemagne/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The strong ‘80s flavour of this production derives from multiple sources. It’s partly the choice of sounds — the intro’s layering of synth harpsichord and electric guitar, for instance. It’s partly the heavy lead-vocal effects too. But, I think the approach to vocal editing also harks back to that era. Let me explain&hellip;
With a few notable exceptions (anything produced by Mutt Lange, say), the timing/tuning accuracy of an ‘80s vocal performance was still almost exclusively the responsibility of the performer.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/charlemagne/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Cold Water" by Major Lazer feat. Justin Bieber &amp; MØ</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cold-water/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cold-water/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I’ve encountered a misconception amongst many acoustic musicians that electronic dance music is rather simple and superficial from a production perspective — ‘just slap a couple of synth/vocal hooks over a beat, and Bob’s your uncle’, if you’ll forgive the caricature. Indeed, the lameness of many a well-meaning classical/EDM crossover project has frequently stemmed from a lack of nuance in the electronic elements, in my opinion. Even amongst aspiring EDM producers, however, there is a definite tendency to underestimate the amount of careful background sound-design that goes into top-level commercial releases.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/cold-water/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Formation" by Beyoncé</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/formation/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/formation/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As with a number of Mrs Z’s recent releases, I can’t help feeling that this production is too cool for its own good. Perhaps preoccupied with archly juxtaposing that cartoon ‘boing’ sound with southern hip-hop’s flavours of the month, the producers seem to have forgotten to give the track any sense of musical direction. On the one hand, I think this is partly a lack of restraint, because I feel bombarded with ideas that could hooks, but none of them seem spotlighted or developed enough to really stick in my memory.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/formation/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"God Save The Queen" by The Sex Pistols</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/god-save-the-queen/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/god-save-the-queen/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Compared to most rock records, this has a rather unusual stereo picture, because the only element of the arrangement that’s actually in stereo is the drums. Everything else — that thick slab of bass, guitars, and vocals right in the stereo centre — is effectively mono. No hard-panned guitars, no left-right spread on the backing vocals from 2:30, and negligible stereo ambience. There’s something strangely schizophrenic about this for me.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/god-save-the-queen/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"This Girl" by Kungs Vs Cookin' On 3 Burners</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/this-girl/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/this-girl/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The highlight of this rather scattergun production for me is the variety of extrovert reverb-style characters on offer, which consistently tickle the ear with new spatial characters: the ‘airport terminal’ vibe of the guitar’s diffuse echoes in the opening bars; the verse vocal’s subway-tunnel ambience at 0:08 and the sudden recirculating delay spin on &ldquo;girl&rdquo; at 0:39; the pre-delayed reverb ‘warehouse slapback’ bouncing back off the brass riff from 1:01; and the shaky retro sustain tail on the percussion backbeat at 1:27.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/this-girl/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Burn The Witch" by Radiohead</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/burn-the-witch/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Sep 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/burn-the-witch/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Of all the phrases rock bands can utter in the studio, &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s add strings!&rdquo; is probably the one that most reliably sinks my heart into my boots. As a string player myself, I inwardly weep for the expressive potential wasted by those depressingly typical block-chord string arrangements — it&rsquo;s like hiring a session guitarist and only ever asking him to play power chords! As a recording engineer, I&rsquo;ve been on too many sessions soured by mutual distrust and miscommunication between band musicians and classical performers to relish the prospect.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/burn-the-witch/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"China In Your Hand" by T'Pau</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/china-in-your-hand/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Sep 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/china-in-your-hand/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As a judge on X Factor a few years back, Gary Barlow cast aspersions on this song&rsquo;s vocal tuning, but when T&rsquo;Pau&rsquo;s lead singer Carol Decker tweeted her displeasure (in no uncertain terms!), adding &ldquo;I actually have perfect pitch&rdquo;, Barlow subsequently apologised. For my part, though, I actually agree with his original sentiment. For instance, the single version&rsquo;s lead vocal drifts significantly flat to my ears on several occasions during the first verse, something even the (deliberate?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/china-in-your-hand/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Keep Singing" by Rick Astley</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/keep-singing/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Sep 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/keep-singing/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Well here&rsquo;s a surprise! I can&rsquo;t say I&rsquo;ve ever warmed to Rick Astley&rsquo;s back catalogue, but this single is something else, showcasing a voice that has matured into something of considerable expressive capacity and character. In that respect &lsquo;Keep Singing&rsquo; reminds me of some other favourite &lsquo;autumnal career&rsquo; offerings — Tom Jones&rsquo;s &lsquo;Sex Bomb&rsquo;, for instance, or Solomon Burke&rsquo;s &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t Give Up On Me&rsquo;. Furthermore, it&rsquo;s great that Astley (who apparently also had his hands on the production reins) clearly recognises the value of this asset, and has kept the production well out of the way of the vocal timbre, sketching in the retro gospel conceit with a range of backing instruments (upright piano, claps, electric guitar, choir) that remain in the background by virtue of their extremely smooth and restrained high-end.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/keep-singing/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Tilted" by Christine And The Queens</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/tilted/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Sep 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/tilted/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Re-released in the UK a few months ago with English lyrics (the original French-language version, &lsquo;Christine&rsquo;, appeared in 2014), this song has recently been propelled into the charts following the artist&rsquo;s Glastonbury Festival show.
There&rsquo;s plenty to admire in this project, but what first catches my ear is the rhythmic groove, which feels impressively fluid despite the exclusively electronic backing. It&rsquo;s so easy for programmed productions to feel stuck in the mud rhythmically, almost as if they&rsquo;re dragging, but this song skips along lightly and naturally, and several things contribute to this.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/tilted/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Hangin' Around" by The Steeldrivers</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hangin-around/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hangin-around/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;m about as un-hillbilly as any man alive, but on a production level I find myself increasingly drawn towards bluegrass records, as havens of quality musicianship and fine acoustic timbres. This year&rsquo;s Grammy winner for Best Bluegrass Album is one such specimen, as evidenced by this song.
On a wonderfully relaxed groove from the bass and acoustic guitar, the banjo and mandolin overlay their delicate filigree, while a gorgeously syrupy and spacious fiddle tone floats around them.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/hangin-around/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"One Dance" by Drake feat. Wizkid &amp; Kyla</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/one-dance/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/one-dance/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What immediately caught my ear in this track was the extraordinarily mono-incompatible piano sound, which is much brighter and more present in the stereo Sides component than in the Middle component. But once I&rsquo;d got over that moment of mix-nerdy fixation, it was the subtle tambourine/shaker sound in the main groove that endeared itself to me most of all. It&rsquo;s very understated, but if you compare, say, the opening beat entry at 0:07 to the percussionless section at 2:12, it&rsquo;s clear that it&rsquo;s adding a great deal of life to the basic rhythm hits.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/one-dance/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Sexy MF" by Prince &amp; The New Power Generation</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sexy-mf/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sexy-mf/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      While hardly his best-selling single, this dance-party favourite is the one, above all others in this sadly departed artist&rsquo;s oeuvre, that really slays me from a mix perspective. The groove is tight as a duck&rsquo;s arse, but with no lack of funkiness, and I love the way neither the kick nor the bass is particularly aggressive sonically, but both nonetheless manage to come through the mix as independent elements, such that complicated interactions between them (such as those under the signature brass swell at 0:42, for example) can be fully appreciated.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sexy-mf/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Work From Home" by Fifth Harmony feat. Ty Dolla Sign</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/work-from-home/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/work-from-home/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Fifth Harmony&rsquo;s production team offer Daniel Bedingfield the sincerest form of flattery here with a main riff which is (in the words of Humphrey Lyttelton) within a gnat&rsquo;s crotchet of his 2001 hit &lsquo;Gotta Get Thru This&rsquo;. Unfortunately, Bedingfield&rsquo;s lead vocal knocks spots off the unimaginative sultriness of these girls, so I&rsquo;m not sure the similarity plays out that well for Fifth Harmony in the grand scheme of things. Mind you, most of their fans were probably still nibbling rusks 15 years ago&hellip;
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/work-from-home/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Faded" by Alan Walker</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/faded/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/faded/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This nicely stripped-back example of the Euro-EDM mix-pumping cliché makes a clear distinction between the textural elements of the backing track (ie. the bass, synths, and sound effects), which all duck heavily in response to the kick-drum, and the vocals, which don&rsquo;t. Clearly this wouldn&rsquo;t be possible if the pumping effect were being created with a simple master-bus process, so if you&rsquo;re trying to emulate this kind of sound then you need to find a way to implement the pumping on a track-by-track, or at least bus-by-bus, basis.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/faded/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Fast Car" by Jonas Blue feat. Dakota</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fast-car/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fast-car/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What if you want the sound of vocal double-tracking in your mix, but the singer&rsquo;s only recorded the line once? Well, one time-honoured approach is to use modulation treatments such as single-tap chorus (ie. a super-short delay line with a modulated delay time) or vibrato to create a clone of the recorded vocal with minute pitch/timing variations — akin to those you&rsquo;d encounter in a real double-track. The challenge is differentiating the clone sufficiently to create a passable illusion of a second performer (rather than just a hideous plastic chorusing effect), but without making the timing/tuning of the whole confection seem sloppy.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/fast-car/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Only Love Can Hurt Like This" by Paloma Faith</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/only-love-can-hurt-like-this/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/only-love-can-hurt-like-this/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It was recently pointed out to me that this entire song appears to have been recorded out of tune, and I was asked why she&rsquo;d bother doing this? Well, having imported this track into my own DAW, it sounds like it’s about 35 cents sharp, to be specific, which is more than enough to put a spanner in the works if you want to play along using a conventionally tuned instrument.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/only-love-can-hurt-like-this/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Pillowtalk" by Zayn</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/pillowtalk/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/pillowtalk/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      When critiquing Miley Cyrus&rsquo;s 'Wrecking Ball', I made disparaging use of the term &lsquo;consonant sludge&rsquo; to describe a phenomenon that crops up periodically in bombastic chart-pop choruses, where so many harmonic instruments are layered on top of each other in pursuit of an epic ensemble sound that it&rsquo;s all but impossible to hear any of them distinctly in the final mix — you just end up with a kind of amorphous chordal pad surrounding the drums and vocals.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/pillowtalk/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Starman" by David Bowie</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/starman/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/starman/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As befits a song with the line &ldquo;hazy cosmic jive&rdquo; in it, this production is replete with sonic oddities. To be fair, the super-damped, close-miked drums and wafer-thin cymbals were fairly commonplace in productions of the era, but I&rsquo;ve always found such wide tom panning a strange listen, especially from an audience perspective, as it is here, with the low tom hard left — after all, the only person who normally appreciates that kind of panning width on drums is the drummer, not the audience.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/starman/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Stitches (Acoustic)" by Conor Maynard</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stitches-acoustic/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stitches-acoustic/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I was recently asked to provide some insight into how Conor Maynard might have achieved the rich, upfront vocal tone on his Youtube cover of Shawn Mendes&rsquo;s &lsquo;Stitches&rsquo;. Specifically, a problem with simple vocal-and-piano textures like this is that making the voice too bright or present can lead to harshness a cause difficulties getting it to blend with the piano.
Well, the first thing to point out is that we’re not hearing Maynard through the microphone shown in the video itself — his line has clearly been recorded separately.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/stitches-acoustic/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Untitled 02: 06.23.2014" by Kendrick Lamar</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/untitled-02-06-23-2014/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/untitled-02-06-23-2014/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There are so many ideas bursting out of Lamar&rsquo;s recently released demo compilation, Untitled Unmastered, that it&rsquo;s hard to know where to start when it comes to writing about it! For my part, the track &lsquo;Untitled 02&rsquo; is probably the highlight, if only for the rapper&rsquo;s tremendously inventive use of vocal deliveries and textures: the full-bodied &ldquo;get God on the phone&rdquo; at 0:39 versus the following verse&rsquo;s pinched breathiness and quasi-yodelled phrase endings; the chorusey falling group interjections which begin at 1:14; the strangely robotic triplet-based riff at &ldquo;pimping and posing&rdquo;; the emphatic vibrato in the backing-vocal &ldquo;ah&rdquo; at 1:40; the laid-back patter of that extended third verse from 2:30; and the strung-out higher-register from &ldquo;what if I certified&rdquo; at 3:33.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/untitled-02-06-23-2014/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"'Main Title' from Star Wars (1977) &amp; Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)" by John Williams</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/main-title-from-star-wars-1977-and-star-wars-the-force-awakens-2015/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/main-title-from-star-wars-1977-and-star-wars-the-force-awakens-2015/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A long time ago, in a studio far, far from LA&hellip; Or, to be more precise, 37 years ago in a studio about 20 minutes north of Slough, the London Symphony Orchestra first recorded John Williams&rsquo; heroic Star Wars march:
The latest chapter in the film franchise would have been enough of a reason to revisit this classic recording, but it&rsquo;s also an opportunity to pay tribute to a crowning achievement of legendary film-score recording engineer Eric Tomlinson, who sadly passed away last year.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/main-title-from-star-wars-1977-and-star-wars-the-force-awakens-2015/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"7 Years" by Lukas Graham</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/7-years/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/7-years/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What strikes me about this production is its cinematic scope, which is an apt partner for the episodic &lsquo;biopic in miniature&rsquo; lyrics — the best one I can think of since Erwin Drake&rsquo;s &lsquo;It Was A Very Good Year&rsquo;. In part this stems from the targeted use of Foley sound effects such as the old-fashioned home-movie camera and vinyl-crackle samples which open the song, or the MC and crowd noise featured at 1:35.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/7-years/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lush Life" by Zara Larsson</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lush-life/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lush-life/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As with a lot of pop house choons, the harmony has a definite modal flavour, but the question is: which mode? For me, the first half of the song is intriguingly ambivalent in that respect, with the scale&rsquo;s Bb and Eb plausibly suggesting to me both Eb Lydian and G Aeolian. The quasi-rap of the lead-vocal&rsquo;s verses gives scant support to either interpretation, skirting around the root tones of both modes, and only weakly favouring G Aeolian by virtue of the fact that this mode&rsquo;s root triad is the only chord in the song which renders the vocal&rsquo;s main chant tone (D) consonant.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lush-life/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Really Love" by D'Angelo</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/really-love-01/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/really-love-01/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As a mix engineer, most of the time you&rsquo;re endeavouring to deliver a product that&rsquo;ll work well at a wide variety of listening levels. It&rsquo;s not uncommon, however, for mainstream pop mixes in particular to be mixed specifically for lower-volume playback, pushing the lead-vocal/hook levels, mix compression, and general brightness to ensure maximum brand-recognition even for listeners hoovering an Afghan hound — the penalty being a blisteringly fatiguing listen at anything like party-grade volumes.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/really-love-01/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" by Mavis Staples</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/see-that-my-grave-is-kept-clean/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/see-that-my-grave-is-kept-clean/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What a fantastically gnarled vocal sound there is in this recent Grammy-winning production — it&rsquo;s like she&rsquo;s been gargling whiskey and caltrops! Check out &ldquo;have you ever heard&rdquo; at 2:09 in particular, which is about as far from a pure vocal timbre as you can get, but tremendously expressive as a result, and an excellent antidote to the saccharine vocal posturing that chart singers young enough to be Staples&rsquo; grandchildren so frequently attempt to pass off as raw emotion.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/see-that-my-grave-is-kept-clean/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Cirice" by Ghost</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cirice/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cirice/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Whether or not you can keep a straight face through Ghost&rsquo;s stage act, there&rsquo;s nonetheless plenty to recommend this Swedish metal band&rsquo;s Grammy-winning US breakthrough single on a musical level. It&rsquo;s very cool the way they give the song&rsquo;s hook line (first heard on &ldquo;can you hear the thunder&rdquo; at 1:31) a new lease of life halfway through the song by tacking an extra half-bar onto the first phrase (&quot;&hellip;in your heart&quot;) and reharmonising the backing parts to include a couple of euphoric major chords.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/cirice/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Don't Wanna Fight" by Alabama Shakes</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-wanna-fight/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-wanna-fight/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The ethos of experimentation that Alabama Shakes&rsquo; production team talked about in this Sound On Sound magazine article clearly paid dividends — not since Anastasia&rsquo;s &lsquo;I&rsquo;m Outta Love&rsquo; have I heard such a show-stopping vocal opener as this. It sounds like Macy Gray&rsquo;s caught something sensitive in her zip! And aside from its sheer &lsquo;what the&hellip;?&rsquo; impact, that kettle-just-boiling squeal is also tremendously effective as a contrast to the main vocal timbre that arrives three seconds later, serving to emphasise the earthy gutsiness that&rsquo;s practically a Brittany Murphy trademark.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-wanna-fight/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Girl Crush" by Little Big Town</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/girl-crush/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/girl-crush/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s not easy to find a new angle on the classic 6/8 country ballad formula, so I can&rsquo;t help admiring the way Little Big Town have refreshed it here with an inspired combination of quirky instrument sounds. Right from the outset the obligatory arpeggiated guitar is garnished with a deliciously strange slapback echo reminiscent of water dripping. Between that, the achingly glistening lead vocal and the supporting backing vocals, there&rsquo;s plenty to hold the attention well past the end of the first minute, until that magic moment when the specks of tuned percussion (celeste and vibraphone, I&rsquo;d guess) start arriving at 1:16.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/girl-crush/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Little Ghetto Boy" by Lalah Hathaway</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/little-ghetto-boy/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/little-ghetto-boy/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although everything about this Grammy-winning live performance oozes effortless class, it&rsquo;s the vocal that provides the real magic. One aspect of Hathaway&rsquo;s technique particularly impresses me, and that&rsquo;s her treatment of long sustained notes. There are plenty of R&amp;B divas who lack the conviction to stay put on a given pitch for any length of time, retreating into blizzards of emotionally vacuous curlicues at every opportunity — their fear, presumably, being that they&rsquo;ll lose the listener&rsquo;s attention otherwise.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/little-ghetto-boy/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Total Eclipse Of The Heart" by Bonnie Tyler</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/total-eclipse-of-the-heart/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/total-eclipse-of-the-heart/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Bonnie Tyler&rsquo;s tremendously ragged vocal timbre is a saving grace of this production, which might otherwise have descended into pure bathos under the weight of Jim Steinman&rsquo;s production histrionics and a snare reverb as synthetically bouffant as the singer&rsquo;s 1984 Grammy Awards hairdo. The progressive unveiling of her high pitch register is also well paced, with each new section reaching a fresh peak. So in the opening verses we get up to G#, before pushing further to C in the first chorus.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/total-eclipse-of-the-heart/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Drag Me Down" by One Direction</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/drag-me-down/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/drag-me-down/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The downbeat of this song&rsquo;s main half-time hook (first heard at 1:02) certainly packs a punch, carefully prepared as it is through the preceding section&rsquo;s softer-edge rhythmic build-up and last-bar a capella drop. What&rsquo;s even cooler, though, is the little game the guitar and vocal play with the second iteration of the &ldquo;drag me down&rdquo; lyric two bars later (at 1:09), both parts avoiding the downbeat accent, the former by maintaining its characteristic eighth-note anticipation, and the latter by delaying the word &ldquo;down&rdquo; an additional quarter note.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/drag-me-down/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Freak Of The Week" by Krept &amp; Konan feat. Jeremih</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/freak-of-the-week/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/freak-of-the-week/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Crucial to the appeal of this production is its sparseness, which focuses maximum attention on the vocal performances. This is always a high-risk strategy because it puts the onus on everyone involved to make the most of each vocal part, but it&rsquo;s carried off with confidence here. One of the secrets to this success is that each vocal part has such a distinct and identifiable character. Contrast, for instance, the mid-rich monotone of the main hook with the rather scooped timbre of the first rap at 0:30.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/freak-of-the-week/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Let It Happen" by Tame Impala</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/let-it-happen/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/let-it-happen/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you&rsquo;ve yet to discover this Australian psychedelic rock band, whose third album, Currents, recently broke into the UK&rsquo;s top five, you could do worse than start your tour with this, the lead single. You&rsquo;d be forgiven for mistaking the sound for a disco throwback on first impressions, but the psychedelia soon makes its presence felt by subverting the normal four-square phrase structure in favour of a three-bar pattern — a surprisingly unsettling thing to listen to if you&rsquo;ve any familiarity with classic disco, or anything in the current dance charts.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/let-it-happen/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Please" by Rod Stewart</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/please/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/please/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The vocal sound on this single from Stewart&rsquo;s latest UK platinum album is slightly unusual from a mix perspective, because it relies very little on the mid-range to hold its place in the balance. Instead, there&rsquo;s masses going on above 8kHz, as well as a healthy dose of sub-500Hz warmth. The reason you don&rsquo;t often encounter this approach on chart records is that the frequencies that &rsquo;travel&rsquo; best (ie. those come through reliably on the widest range of real-world listening systems) tend to be the mids, so it&rsquo;s almost a reflex amongst commercial producers to ensure that the star dominates this spectral range.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/please/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Sax" by Fleur East</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sax/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sax/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      &ldquo;Can you play that sax?&rdquo;, asks Fleur. Cue sheepish looks from her production team&hellip; Honestly, with this song title, I expected more from the instrumental hook than a rather fake-sounding identikit brass ensemble sound. It&rsquo;s not that I&rsquo;m asking for live sax, but they could at least have done something more creative with samples. There&rsquo;s plenty of precedent in the dance genre — Alexandra Stan&rsquo;s 'Mr Saxobeat' and Yolanda B Cool &amp; D-Cup&rsquo;s &lsquo;We No Speak Americano&rsquo; both immediately spring to mind.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sax/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Toxic" by Britney Spears</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/toxic/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/toxic/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is a fabulous pop production, the apex of a two-year purple patch for producers Bloodshy &amp; Avant, following hot on the heels of other gems such as Ms Dynamite&rsquo;s &lsquo;It Takes More&rsquo; and Rachel Stevens&rsquo;s &lsquo;Sweet Dreams My LA Ex&rsquo;. Although perfectly polished, it is nonetheless inspiringly bold in many respects, not least by creating an electro–pop arrangement around such an incongruous pair of instrumental hooks: an exotic-sounding Bollywood strings line and a languorous Spaghetti-Western guitar riff.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/toxic/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"A Bridge Over You" by Lewisham &amp; Greenwich NHS Trust Choir</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/a-bridge-over-you/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/a-bridge-over-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Roaring to the UK&rsquo;s Christmas number one slot on the back of its feel-good Youtube video and a magnanimous tweet from chart rival Justin Bieber, this mix features something of a depth-perspective role reversal. Although the choir takes the lead role, it nonetheless feels natural to balance the massed singers behind the band instruments, despite the normal commercial preference for up-front vocals. The choral timbre does get a little strident at times, and could perhaps have done with a few decibels less in the 3-4kHz range when the singers really let rip, such as on &ldquo;side&rdquo; at 0:37.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/a-bridge-over-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Breathe" by The Prodigy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/breathe/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/breathe/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What&rsquo;s stayed with me from the very first time I heard this track back in the &rsquo;90s is the way Liam Howlett layers different transition effects and fills to supply forward momentum (ie. the sense that you&rsquo;re always heading towards some forthcoming event), despite the dance music&rsquo;s heavy dependence on loops and repetition, which are essentially fairly static in musical terms. Right from the opening groove you&rsquo;ve got plenty going on in this regard: the instantly recognisable triplet-garnished live snare fill ramping up from 0:13; a short reverse cymbal ending halfway through beat three of each bar pointing us towards every second backbeat; another pitch-drooping reverse cymbal sliding into the start of the second four-bar section; and a slow brass swell working up to the return of our snare fill at 0:29.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/breathe/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley &amp; The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-me-tender/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-me-tender/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What a gorgeous muted-strings texture this is — everything you&rsquo;d hope for from a top-flight orchestra captured at Abbey Road by resident über-engineer Peter Cobbin. The subtle &lsquo;ooh&rsquo; backing vocals which first arrive at 1:52 are beautifully judged, too, audibly lifting the texture without quite trespassing on the star&rsquo;s spotlight. Likewise the harp swooping in tastefully at 2:45. In short, the backing texture here is a sonic marvel, as well as a perfect foil for the touch of mid–range hardness (oo-er) and 7-8kHz crispiness that characterise the lead vocal sound (which seems to have survived any restoration processing commendably unscathed), and the understated zing of the super-gentle acoustic guitar, both of which breeze their way effortlessly through to the ear.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-me-tender/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wasn't Expecting That" by Jamie Lawson</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wasnt-expecting-that/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wasnt-expecting-that/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Seeing Jamie Lawson performing this song live on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, I noticed that he was playing with a capo on the sixth fret of his acoustic guitar. For those unfamiliar with the device, it&rsquo;s a mechanical clamp which you can fix to the guitar&rsquo;s fretboard to transpose your playing upwards — in this instance by a tritone (six semitones). I&rsquo;m kind of assuming that he used a similar technique while recording, given that the single release is in the same key as that live version, and I think it might account for some of the clarity of this mix.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wasnt-expecting-that/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"You Don't Own Me" by Grace feat. G-Eazy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-dont-own-me/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-dont-own-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Two things really hit me about this production. Firstly, retriggering and gating of the main Spaghetti Western-style loop really help contribute to that lugubrious 12/8 verse groove. I particularly like the little 16th note before each bar&rsquo;s second backbeat (most clearly audible during the second bar at 0:06), which adds that streetwise hip-hop limp that so many producers seem to strive for. The hard mutes also frequently highlight interesting moments in G-Eazy&rsquo;s rap performance, such as on the little &ldquo;no&rdquo; call-and-response in the first verse (0:23) and the second verse&rsquo;s incredulous falsetto &ldquo;what?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-dont-own-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Can't Feel My Face" by The Weeknd</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cant-feel-my-face/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cant-feel-my-face/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Besides the great bass/drums groove and top-notch vocal performance, this production is full of lovely little arrangement touches. Check out the subtle vinyl crackle bubbling up under the beat (most noticeable when it first arrives at 0:44), which really gives the track a cool atmosphere. The little Michael Jackson-style background vocalisations (starting with the inspired &lsquo;uh&hellip; ah!&rsquo; during the vocal drop at 1:03) also add significantly to the groove on an almost subliminal level.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/cant-feel-my-face/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Hello" by Lionel Richie</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hello-02/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hello-02/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Adele&rsquo;s 'Hello' shares a title but precious little else with this &rsquo;80s smooch-a-thon, which helped propel Lionel Richie and his perma-rolled sleeves into the pop stratosphere. Returning to the song after all these years (and trying to put that hair/moustache combo out of my mind), I was actually surprised by how well the production had aged. Yes, most of us nowadays would shelve a bit of HF off the reverb returns and fade those synth string pads down 6dB, but all the main backing instruments still sound great, with none of that plastic trebliness that so many &rsquo;80s artists tried to pass off as &lsquo;modern hi-fi&rsquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/hello-02/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Talking To My Diary" by Dr. Dre</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/talking-to-my-diary/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/talking-to-my-diary/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Dr. Dre&rsquo;s second solo album, 2001, has been amongst my most valued mix references for more than 15 years, and still knocks spots off most commercial productions in sonic terms. The bass and kick are admirably tight and powerful; the backbeats are so upfront they make you blink; and the vocals are beautifully clear and judiciously balanced to maintain the power of the beats. The translation is ridiculously good to all sorts of different playback systems, and the depth dimension stretches from the end of your nose to the far horizon.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/talking-to-my-diary/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"What Do You Mean?" by Justin Bieber</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/what-do-you-mean/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/what-do-you-mean/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      With a singer like this, whose low mid-range warmth and upper-spectrum breathiness are essential elements of their character, it makes sense to construct your production around it. Notice here how the piano&rsquo;s thinned low mids at 0:45 and 1:35 help minimise the risk of muddying the overall mix tonality&rsquo;s poptastic airiness, as does the staccato envelope of the rhythm synth (first heard at 0:15) that offers the only real low mid-range competition.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/what-do-you-mean/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Writing's On The Wall" by Sam Smith</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/writings-on-the-wall/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/writings-on-the-wall/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;ll admit that this latest Bond theme doesn&rsquo;t quite float my boat, because even the opulent arrangement and undeniably gorgeous cinematic sonics don&rsquo;t quite seem to compensate for the rather weak parallel-octaves motion between the bass and lead vocal at the onset of each chorus. This is a clear no-no in traditional harmony primers, and while every well-known composer flouts such textbook prohibitions from time to time, they&rsquo;re nevertheless there for a reason: parallel octaves provide none of the chord-to-chord tension and release that typifies classical-style harmonic momentum.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/writings-on-the-wall/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Coming To" by Hilary Hahn</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/christos-hatzis-coming-to/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/christos-hatzis-coming-to/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Hilary Hahn&rsquo;s bravura two-CD encores collection In 27 Pieces was a worthy winner in the 2015 Grammy awards&rsquo; Best Chamber Music Performance category. From a production perspective, though, the stereo presentation of the violin feels rather strange to me, as you can hear on the second disc&rsquo;s opening number. Now I&rsquo;m no stickler for pin-sharp stereo positioning, because I realise that:
imaging precision is merely one of many factors you have to weigh up when selecting recording methods.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/christos-hatzis-coming-to/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Fight Song" by Rachel Platten</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fight-song/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fight-song/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This song definitely has a retro &rsquo;turn-of-the-millennium&rsquo; feel to it. The wistful straight-to-DVD piano which kicks things off, the super-squished breathiness and skin-tight layering of the lead vocal, the &lsquo;dum-dum-tschak ba-du-ba-dum-tschak&rsquo; beat, the Taiko drop-chorus breakdown, the whiff of &lsquo;Bitter Sweet Symphony&rsquo; in the string riff, the double-tracked strummed-acoustic outro, final super-dry a capella vocal phrase&hellip; it&rsquo;s all there! Not that I&rsquo;m complaining, though, because it delivers all these chestnuts with such unreconstructed enthusiasm and conviction that it&rsquo;s hard not to get swept along in the nostalgia.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/fight-song/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Hello" by Adele</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hello-01/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hello-01/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Despite the four-year hiatus since her globe-gobbling album 21, it&rsquo;s clear that Adele&rsquo;s lungs have lost none of their mojo! A beautifully measured and nuanced performance this, with lovely little upper-mordent inflections in the chorus, and everything fearlessly spotlighted by the mix sonics. The first thing that struck me timbrally was an emphasis in the vocal&rsquo;s 9kHz region, which really helps bring it out front. That frequency isn&rsquo;t that common a choice for vocal boosts, in my experience, with most engineers opting to pump the 3-4kHz aggression or 12-15kHz &lsquo;air&rsquo; band instead, where you&rsquo;re slightly less likely to trigger excess sibilance or general harshness.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/hello-01/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Hotline Bling" by Drake</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hotline-bling/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hotline-bling/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is a mix that demands to be taken on its own terms: the bass line stays resolutely beneath the radar of small playback systems; the backing textures of the middle section (2:36-3:03) are seriously mono-incompatible; and the heavy clipping distortion on each kick-drum hit is printed in, whether or not you actually want the music turned up that loud. Anyone rattling the rims off their pimpmobile, however, will doubtless appreciate the way the kick&rsquo;s low-frequency energy neatly targets the spectral gap between the two main bass-note fundamentals (37 and 56 Hz), and also the sporadic super-deep bass fall-offs, most clearly heard when the kick-drum is absent (eg.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/hotline-bling/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"You Really Got Me" by The Kinks</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-really-got-me/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-really-got-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Even by contemporary standards, this classic production is still tremendously spiky-sounding, and has even less low end than I&rsquo;d remembered — somehow it manages to suggest bass power without actually putting much LF energy in there. The gaps between the riffs are also chock-full of extraneous noises and resonances (check out the one at 0:06, for instance), a fitting complement to the chaotic energy of the guitar riff, and indeed the song as a whole.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/you-really-got-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Dead Inside" by Muse</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dead-inside/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dead-inside/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As happy as I am that Mutt Lange continues to eschew the golf course in favour of the recording studio, I can&rsquo;t help wishing that he&rsquo;d retired his Def Leppard snare sound! Putting that aside, though, this production certainly exhibits that juggernaut directness that I associate with so many of Lange&rsquo;s classic stadium–targeted productions, staking everything on the quality of the song, the performance/personality of the singer, and the song&rsquo;s basic groove and sonic signature.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dead-inside/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Not Letting Go" by Tinie Tempah feat. Jess Glynne</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/not-letting-go/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/not-letting-go/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Vocal delay spins are nothing new. Indeed, ever since in–the–box mixing took hold, every man and his dog seems to have been tarting up the ends of sung phrases by riding up the echoes. Those wanting extra value also frequently differentiate the delays from the dry sound by panning them somewhere different and maybe processing their return channel with some kind of EQ or even distortion. But the vocal spin on the words &ldquo;right track&rdquo; here (at 0:31) is a little special because not only are the two echoes panned to create a &lsquo;ping–pong&rsquo; effect and heavily filtered to adjust their tone, but the second delay tap has also been pitch–shifted upward a third or so, independently of the first.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/not-letting-go/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Shut Up And Dance" by Walk The Moon</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/shut-up-and-dance/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/shut-up-and-dance/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s a definite whiff of the &rsquo;80s to this production, with its gated drum ambience (especially on the snare), sheeny synth pads, reversed snare &lsquo;whooshes&rsquo; (at 0:25, 1:05 and 2:40) and general willingness to embrace stadium–sized reverb/delay effects unabashed. Speaking of delays, the verse vocals are interesting in this respect, because you can hear the mix engineer (Neal Avron in this instance) shifting the balance between a shorter single–tap slapback delay and a longer quarter–note feedback delay to highlight words such as &ldquo;Kryptonite&rdquo;, &ldquo;dream&rdquo;, and &ldquo;born&rdquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/shut-up-and-dance/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Goldberg Variations" by Glenn Gould</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bach-the-goldberg-variations/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bach-the-goldberg-variations/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Ask most listeners which composers are most challenging for pianists to play, and they&rsquo;ll almost certainly put the great romantic virtuosos at the top of their, er, Liszt. It&rsquo;d be a rare punter who placed any baroque composers on their performer&rsquo;s pain scale, and yet Bach is actually fiendishly difficult to realise on the piano. It&rsquo;s not &lsquo;flashy difficult&rsquo;, as in throwing fistfuls of notes around the place right across the keyboard, but rather the difficulty is one of control, of phrasing each individual melodic line independently of several others woven around it, despite having only two hands available.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bach-the-goldberg-variations/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Want To Want Me" by Jason Derulo</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/want-to-want-me/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/want-to-want-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Despite its commendably powerful–sounding samples and generally slick production values, I can&rsquo;t help feeling that this song&rsquo;s groove is a bit stuck in the mud. In a live musical performance, musicians will naturally stress certain rhythmic subdivisions more than others, often giving downbeats more oomph than upbeats, for example. The particular patterns of rhythmic stress vary according to the musical style and the sensibilities of the performer of course, but what humans never do is play every subdivision exactly the same — that&rsquo;s one of the hallmarks of expressionless machine–generated music, and generally the enemy of groove.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/want-to-want-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Where Are Ü Now" by Jack Ü feat. Justin Bieber</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/where-are-u-now/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/where-are-u-now/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As you expect of Skrillex (who, together with Diplo, provides the brains behind Jack Ü), there are masses of creative effects on show here, right from the rate–increasing auto–pan applied to the opening reverse–envelope sound effects noise. The narrowed reverb on the G–G–A–B–A hook riff (first heard at 1:09) is particularly cool, not only because of the strange sense of distance it gives, but also because of its contrast with the width of the high percussion, the snare&rsquo;s diffuse decay tail, and the lead vocal&rsquo;s diffuse stereo effects.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/where-are-u-now/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Ironic" by Alanis Morissette</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ironic/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ironic/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This song has been arguably the biggest single of Morissette&rsquo;s career, and the album it comes from, Jagged Little Pill, remains one of my favourite &rsquo;90s records. Having played it to death at the time, though, I managed to lose the CD about 10 years ago (assuming my flatmate didn&rsquo;t burn it!), and only got round to replacing it very recently. One of the things that surprises me most on returning to it with fresh ears is Morissette&rsquo;s tuning, which is wayward enough that I&rsquo;d expect almost any producer these days to correct it almost by reflex.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/ironic/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"King" by Years &amp; Years</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/king/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/king/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I found this track&rsquo;s chorus texture rather bland, but I did appreciate some of the entertaining percussion touches elsewhere in the production. First prize (sponsored by the Spanish Tourist Board — the bottle of sherry&rsquo;s in the post) goes to that fun little castanet fill between verse and prechorus at 0:31 and 1:35, but there&rsquo;s also some intelligent programming (or at least loop selection) going on. For example, the triangle part we hear straight from the outset is much more engaging by virtue of the complicated pattern of damped and undamped hits, and the prechorus hi-hat part enlivens the usual off-beat genre cliché with open hat on the first off-beat and a skipping ghost note on the third.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/king/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lean On" by Major Lazer &amp; DJ Snake feat. MØ</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lean-on/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lean-on/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      When you&rsquo;re programming drums, it&rsquo;s easy to start thinking exclusively in terms of &lsquo;hits&rsquo;, by which I mean rhythmic events defined exclusively by the volume and timing of their onsets. This track, however, offers a reminder of how important event durations can be to the rhythmic momentum. If you listen to the nicely laidback main groove (first heard at 0:49), the most obvious instance is the boxy-sounding snare roll, which forms an off-beat transition effect between every fourth kick hit and its subsequent downbeat, lending a great deal of forward momentum to the groove.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lean-on/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Let It Be" by Labrinth</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/let-it-be/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/let-it-be/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Labrinth destroys me — the first time this song came on the radio I swear I sat there open-mouthed! One hundred percent vocal commitment. Beautifully crafted harmonic momentum. A rock-solid groove that sounds as punchy as hell on small speakers but still topples the studio lava lamps when you turn it up on the big boys. More than anything, though, this guy just makes me green with envy at his talent for bizarrely poptastic arrangement.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/let-it-be/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Runaway (U &amp; I)" by Galantis</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/runaway-u-and-i/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/runaway-u-and-i/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Even if you share my feeling that this song is rather too &lsquo;house by numbers&rsquo;, you ought nonetheless to spare a couple of moments to appreciate its verse vocal, although not for any sonic reason. Rather, I single it out because it&rsquo;s apparently sung by Cathy Dennis, the A-list songwriter best known for her work on such pop smashes as Kylie Minogue&rsquo;s &lsquo;Can&rsquo;t Get You Out Of My Head&rsquo;, Britney Spears&rsquo;s 'Toxic' and Katy Perry&rsquo;s &lsquo;I Kissed A Girl&rsquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/runaway-u-and-i/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Trap Queen" by Fetty Wap</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/trap-queen/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/trap-queen/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s a truism of modern chart music that the bass should always be in the middle, so that the track&rsquo;s low end delivers maximum power on stereo speakers and also survives unscathed on listening systems with a single subwoofer. However, giving your bass part some stereo width can help it sound much more impressive and enveloping in bass-heavy styles like hip-hop, especially where there&rsquo;s loads of room left in the mix for it to fill.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/trap-queen/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)" by OMI</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cheerleader-felix-jaehn-remix/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cheerleader-felix-jaehn-remix/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The vocal effect in this song is an unusual one, with the right channel delayed 30–40ms behind the left. Unlike a shorter &lsquo;Haas delay&rsquo; patch, which would tend to smear a sound&rsquo;s image across the stereo panorama in rather a diffuse way, in this situation the delay produces something more akin to artificial double–tracking. However, the similarity of the two signals means that there&rsquo;s still some vestigial precedence effect in action (whereby the later signal is interpreted as an echo of the first, and therefore fuses with it perceptually), so that even though the two channels have similar vocal levels when soloed, the left–channel voice still dominates slightly in stereo.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/cheerleader-felix-jaehn-remix/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Elastic Heart" by Sia feat. The Weeknd &amp; Diplo</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/elastic-heart/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/elastic-heart/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s not often that a bona fide mix–translation howler makes it onto the hit parade, but this production&rsquo;s the real McCoy — when it came up on BBC Radio 1 during my mid–morning cuppa I honestly worried that my little kitchen radio had malfunctioned! The reason? When the chorus arrived the lead vocals (carrying the song&rsquo;s title hook, no less) suddenly took such a dive in the mix balance that I struggled to make out what she was singing at all.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/elastic-heart/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Hold Back The River" by James Bay</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hold-back-the-river/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hold-back-the-river/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      James Bay is an artist whose voice is clearly his trump card — rich, ragged, and expressive in equal measures. However, credit for the vocal interest in this single should also be given to the vocal arrangement, which has a number of ear–catching features. My personal highlight is the second chorus (1:29), where the high falsetto line takes centre stage, but with support not only from head–voice doubles at the octave below, but also from a distant chorus of yelled doubles at the unison.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/hold-back-the-river/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/see-you-again/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/see-you-again/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The first thing I noticed about this single was the poor mono–compatibility of the opening piano, the mid-range frequencies which seem at least 3dB quieter in the stereo Sides signal than in the Middle signal. The most likely explanation for this would be that they used a wide–spaced stereo mic technique during recording, and then panned those mic signals hard to the extremes at mixdown. Mind you, it&rsquo;s hardly the most imaginative piano part, so I don&rsquo;t reckon single–speaker listeners are losing out too much&hellip;
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/see-you-again/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wish You Were Mine" by Philip George</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wish-you-were-mine/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wish-you-were-mine/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s a very efficient kick sound this, with plenty of welly and attack, yet mercifully free of the fatiguing HF spike that afflicts many a house &lsquo;choon&rsquo;. Critical to its success, I think, is that there&rsquo;s a good deal of attack in the 700Hz region (that kind of &lsquo;bouncing a basketball&rsquo; frequency!), which means the kick doesn&rsquo;t need masses of upper–spectrum energy to cut through the mix. This is great, because it leaves regular on–beat gaps in the frequency spectrum in which our cute little Stevie Wonder Munchkin can strut his stuff, and also makes for better contrast against the noisy HF pumping effects first heard at 0:55 and the rather lovely delicate synth arpeggiation which enters at 1:10.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wish-you-were-mine/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"You're Still The One" by Shania Twain</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/youre-still-the-one/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/youre-still-the-one/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This wedding favourite was one of Twain&rsquo;s biggest hits and showcases the talents of über–producer Robert John &lsquo;Mutt&rsquo; Lange at his slickest and most mainstream. From a sonics perspective what really impresses me with this mix is the magnificent low end, with its lightweight, almost diffuse kick–drum sound adding just the right amount of definition to the understated yet warm and utterly dependable bass–guitar line. The low mid-range is also a thing of beauty, not just in terms of the way the lead vocal warmth is so wonderfully controlled, but also because of how the backing arrangement and mix sound have both been carefully hollowed out in the lower mid-range to allow so much vocal warmth to come through, despite the airy pop/country mix tonality overall.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/youre-still-the-one/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Heart Is A Drum" by Beck</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/heart-is-a-drum/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/heart-is-a-drum/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Probably the simplest way to chart a course while mixing is to form a mental picture of the ensemble (whether acoustic or electric) as if they&rsquo;re set up on stage in front of you, and then try to recreate something akin to that experience from the loudspeakers. This production, however, proudly eschews that in favour of serving up an audio confection that would be very difficult to imagine happening acoustically.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/heart-is-a-drum/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Hold My Hand" by Jess Glynne</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hold-my-hand/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hold-my-hand/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This song showcases a straightforward vocal arrangement stunt that many project–studio solo artists too often ignore: creating call–and–response patterns using different vocal characters. The section I&rsquo;m talking about here is the verses (0:04–0:35, 1:22–1:53), where the powerful, earthy chest–voice delivery of the lead line is contrasted with the prim and airy &ldquo;oh&rdquo; vocalisations of the backing–vocal hook line. So remember, if you&rsquo;re singing your own backing vocals there&rsquo;s no rule saying you have to do it with the same timbre you used for the lead.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/hold-my-hand/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown &amp; The Famous Flames</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-got-you-i-feel-good/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-got-you-i-feel-good/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This song is a testament to how few lyrics you need if you&rsquo;ve got a decent arrangement — only a couple of tweets full, in fact, if you discount the repetitions. What always impresses me is the sparseness of the textures, most obviously in the frequent moments of solo vocal and when that alto sax solo arrives accompanied only by the drums. I also love the way the horns neatly supply responses to Brown&rsquo;s calls, but then land on the beat with him to highlight the onset of the middle section (&ldquo;When I hold you in my arms&hellip;&rdquo;).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-got-you-i-feel-good/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Love Me Like You Do" by Ellie Goulding</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-me-like-you-do/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-me-like-you-do/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the central difficulties of pop melody writing is that repetition is both a good and a bad thing. On the plus side, the more you repeat a musical idea, the more you hammer it into the listener&rsquo;s memory; but on the minus side, such a tactic risks boring the listener into pressing Skip. A couple of ways around this apparent paradox are showcased neatly in this Ellie Goulding song, which effectively creates its entire first-verse melody out of the small phrase &ldquo;you&rsquo;re the only thing I wanna touch&rdquo; (0:27-0:30).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-me-like-you-do/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Book Thief (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" by John Williams</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-book-thief-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-book-thief-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What a lovely thing this Oscar–nominated soundtrack is, combining as it does the talents of two much–lauded veterans: John Williams the composer and Shawn Murphy the recording engineer. Yet, despite the fabulous warmth and depth of the sonics, the emphasised presence and focus of solo instruments (eg. the harp, oboe, and piano in the cue &lsquo;The Departure Of Max&rsquo;) clearly tell us that it&rsquo;s a production where supporting the on–screen drama is of greater importance than emulating a realistic concert hall experience.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-book-thief-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"A Feather's Not A Bird" by Rosanne Cash</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/a-feathers-not-a-bird/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/a-feathers-not-a-bird/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This track features a gorgeous–sounding ensemble, using instrument timbres that all exude the rusty, weather–beaten maturity that Americana so often strives for, but with a truly hi–fi mix that combines musical sensitivity, warmth, clarity, width and air. The depth dimension is a lovely confection, initially pencilled in by the roomy snare and vocal slapback, before opening out luxuriously at 0:56 as the strings underscore the first title hook. Then the smooth, unfussy backing–vocal blends superlatively, slotting neatly between the band and the strings.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/a-feathers-not-a-bird/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Fingerprints" by Chick Corea</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fingerprints/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fingerprints/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The incredible musicianship of Corea&rsquo;s Trilogy live album justly garnered itself a pair of gongs at February&rsquo;s Grammy ceremony, but I find the sonics something of an acquired taste. Recorded on tour in various stops around the world, the 17 tracks inevitably vary slightly in this respect, given the different venues, but award–winner &lsquo;Fingerprints&rsquo; provides a reasonably representative case study.
One fundamental question I find myself asking with most acoustic recordings is this: where am I, the listener, sitting?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/fingerprints/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"FourFiveSeconds" by Rihanna, Kanye West &amp; Paul McCartney</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fourfiveseconds/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fourfiveseconds/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s something very strange going on with the vocals here: it sounds like there&rsquo;s some kind of electronically mangled backing–vocal part behind the lead line, but one that&rsquo;s frequently out of sync with the lead&rsquo;s melody and harmony. The question is whether it&rsquo;s intentional, because Kanye West is a past master of taking what seem like unusably off–the–wall ideas and releasing them, effectively anointing them &rsquo;the new cutting edge&rsquo; by force of personality.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/fourfiveseconds/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I" by Kendrick Lamar</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Perhaps as a result of hip–hop&rsquo;s heavy reliance on turntables and samplers, extreme pitch–shifts are common currency, but this double Grammy–winning production uses them more inventively than most. For instance, the chorus variation at 2:14 pitches &ldquo;The world is a ghetto&hellip; sun gon&rsquo; shine&rdquo; down about six semitones by my count, but the &ldquo;I love myself&rdquo; BV refrains are shifted more dynamically by three to five semitones to fit with the new bass line.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"So What" by Miles Davis</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/so-what/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/so-what/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There are very few things you can say about this music that have not already been the subject of a PhD thesis, but it&rsquo;s also quite interesting from the perspective of studio technique. The first thing to notice in the stereo mix is that the reverb is mono. This is great for Miles Davis, sitting as he is at the centre of the image, but a little disconcerting for John Coltrane&rsquo;s and Cannonball Adderly&rsquo;s solos coming from the left and right respectively.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/so-what/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Ain't It Fun" by Paramore</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/aint-it-fun/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/aint-it-fun/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A strangely &rsquo;80s-sounding opening this, with the ambient slap of the kick, the denseness of the slightly gated snare-room sound, and that twinkly marimba. Once I recovered from that flashback, though, it also struck me that the shifting drum balance here is very much in the classic mould. Probably the most obvious manifestation is when that super-compressed room sound suddenly makes its presence felt on the arrival of the first chorus, reappearing for each chorus thereafter.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/aint-it-fun/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Eva" by Angelique Kidjo feat. Asa</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/eva/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/eva/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you only hear one track from Kidjo&rsquo;s Grammy-winning album EVE, make it this one, because it features two cracking vocals. The first voice is that of Nigerian singer Asa, who sings the verses and middle section, and it&rsquo;s sublimely breathy and airy, but without a trace of harshness and with every consonant beautifully controlled; the second is Angelique&rsquo;s own, which, despite plenty of twang to the vocal delivery and presence in the recording, never becomes harsh in the way wannabe pop divas all too often do when they try to really open up and project.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/eva/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-heard-it-through-the-grapevine/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-heard-it-through-the-grapevine/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This mix presents one of those slightly curious early-days stereo panoramas: drums, percussion and rhythm chops in the left channel; lead vocal in the centre; and bass, keys, backing vocals, and orchestra overdubs on the right. The clustering of the instruments at those distinct left-centre-right positions is easy enough to rationalise, on the basis that stereo consoles of the time often featured simple LCR panning switches, rather than smoothly variable pan pots.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-heard-it-through-the-grapevine/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lazaretto" by Jack White</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lazaretto/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lazaretto/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This track features a fabulous drum sound, in which the kick can afford to provide plenty of 60Hz welly because the bass rolls off at the low end, rendering its fundamental frequency a lot less powerful than its first overtone most of the time. But the highlight for me is the snare (conveniently isolated for admiration during the extended fill at 2:45), which is given room to shine by virtue of the smooth cymbal timbres and generally well-perforated riff-based arrangement.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lazaretto/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"A Little More Jesus" by Erica Campbell</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/a-little-more-jesus/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/a-little-more-jesus/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      While controlling sibilance is a constant battle for many who deal with mainstream vocal production, Christian productions have a particularly heavy cross to bear (so to speak) in that a number of crucial liturgical words incorporate &rsquo;s&rsquo; sounds: &lsquo;Jesus Christ&rsquo;, &lsquo;Spirit&rsquo;, and &lsquo;Saviour&rsquo;, for instance. This barnstormer, from the singer&rsquo;s recent Grammy–winning Gospel album Help, must have been purgatory (er&hellip;) in this respect, with six choruses each containing six iterations of &ldquo;just a little more Jesus&rdquo; (ie.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/a-little-more-jesus/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Apparently" by J Cole</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/apparently/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/apparently/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This recent cut from J Cole&rsquo;s third consecutive Billboard 200 chart–topper immediately hooked me with the unusual delivery of its main vocal lyric, punctuated as it is by little breaths between the words. &ldquo;I. Keep. My. Head high. / I. Got. My. Wings to carry me.&rdquo; I&rsquo;ve spent so much time analysing vocal performances, it can sometimes feel like there&rsquo;s nothing new under the sun, but then something like this comes along — such a simple idea and yet so effective.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/apparently/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon &amp; Garfunkel</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bridge-over-troubled-water/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bridge-over-troubled-water/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s easy to obsess about gain structure in the digital studio, striving to eliminate every last vestige of noise from your signal chain. However, productions like this (the recipient of 1971&rsquo;s Grammy for Best Engineered Recording, no less), leave me pondering whether we often throw the baby out with the bathwater. You see, both the piano and the voice have quite a rounded tone during the first verse, and I think the hiss serves a valuable purpose in giving the production as a whole a palpable sense of openness and air nonetheless.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bridge-over-troubled-water/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Digital Witness" by St Vincent</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/digital-witness/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/digital-witness/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s something magical about a good sample–based stomp beat like this, where a four–to–the–floor kick-drum beat is combined with a heavy backbeat snare sample. What can be misleading to anyone trying to recreate these timbres, however, is that the snare comes across as being subjectively much rounder and thicker in the mix than it really is, simply because it&rsquo;s normally heard in combination with the kick. Fortunately, though, the helpful kick–drum drop at 2:27–2:36 in this mix gives an objective insight into the true nature of the snare sample: while it certainly has a significant low mid–range pitched component giving it some weight around 170Hz, that frequency is very tightly damped to avoid muddiness, and otherwise the noisier components of the sample are focused much more into the two or three spectral octaves above.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/digital-witness/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid 30</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/do-they-know-its-christmas/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/do-they-know-its-christmas/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      For all its good intentions (and indeed achievements), I can&rsquo;t listen to this record without breaking out in a sweat. It&rsquo;s hard to imagine what hell it must have been to get all these different singers to fit onto the same record. It&rsquo;s bad enough trying to make sense of the differences in vocal style and tone with a live duet, but when you&rsquo;re effectively trying to comp a complete performance from a couple of dozen independent overdubs by different singers it&rsquo;s always going to be a bit of a car crash.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/do-they-know-its-christmas/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Love In Venice" by André Rieu</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-in-venice/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-in-venice/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you&rsquo;re wondering &ldquo;André who?!&rdquo;, let me fill you in. Over the past five years, the albums of this perma–tailed violinist and his schmaltzy classical orchestra have spent more than 120 weeks in the UK top 40. Whether or not his brand of easy–listening floats your boat, there is much to admire in the craftsmanship of his productions, as demonstrated by the title track of his sixth top–10 record, Love In Venice.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/love-in-venice/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Eye Of The Tiger" by Survivor</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/eye-of-the-tiger/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/eye-of-the-tiger/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the truisms of radio–targeted production is that you&rsquo;d better hook your listener in early on or they&rsquo;ll switch stations, and many producers basically translate this into &lsquo;hit them with the vocal hook within the first half minute&rsquo;. However, this smash hit demonstrates how you can just as effectively hook &rsquo;em with the band arrangement instead, by virtue of an iconic intro which also happens to feature one of my all–time favourite rhythmic stunts (and the bane of air–guitarists the world over): the way the chords in the riff&rsquo;s third bar at 0:12 are delayed by an additional eighth note when they repeat four bars later at 0:21.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/eye-of-the-tiger/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Louder Than Words" by Pink Floyd</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/louder-than-words/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/louder-than-words/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s definitely a taste of the &rsquo;70s to the drum sound here, in that each drum and cymbal feels very exposed, there&rsquo;s little in the way of overall room sound to bind everything together, and a long, low–level tail of reverb has then been added at mixdown. Getting a sound like this is actually quite tricky in small studios, usually involving a good deal of DIY acoustic absorption (taking care not to absorb high frequencies inordinately) and some high–pass filtering of the overhead mics.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/louder-than-words/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Mary Did You Know" by Pentatonix</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mary-did-you-know/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mary-did-you-know/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Since their 2011 victory in NBC&rsquo;s The Sing–Off, Pentatonix have dragged a capella vocal arrangement firmly into the mainstream, recently delivering one of the biggest–selling US albums of 2014 in the form of their seasonal release That&rsquo;s Christmas To Me. In the process, they&rsquo;ve had to solve a perennial problem that any vocal–only group faces when trying to compete in the charts: how do you achieve the rich, powerful bass sound that many listeners now expect of commercial productions?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/mary-did-you-know/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/thinking-out-loud/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/thinking-out-loud/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is an arrangement that clears the stage for the star by putting his voice unusually loud in the mix, dwarfing the backing ensemble. This is something I traditionally associate with the heyday of the 78rpm crooner, and it&rsquo;s actually surprisingly rare in chart releases nowadays — I can only immediately think of single–instrument ballads such as John Legend&rsquo;s 'All Of Me' or Adele&rsquo;s 'Someone Like You' that can hold a candle to it in that respect.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/thinking-out-loud/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/uptown-funk/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/uptown-funk/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This production is packed with ear–catching little arrangement features, but the thing that impresses me most is Ronson&rsquo;s mastery of textural complexity. On one level, I love the way he fits multiple musical elements together like a jigsaw, so that each has room to shine without the others getting in the way. The section where the bass first enters (0:33–0:50) provides a simple case in point, with the super–wide &ldquo;doh, doh, doh&rdquo; BVs giving way to the &ldquo;hot damn!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/uptown-funk/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Don't Dance" by Lee Brice</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-dont-dance/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-dont-dance/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This recent country hit has some nice arrangement devices that assist the song&rsquo;s sense of build–up. The first is the reverse–envelope chordal transition at 2:54, leading into the final choruses. It&rsquo;s tricky to say exactly what&rsquo;s creating it, but I&rsquo;d say it&rsquo;s either backwards piano or a guitarist fading in a strummed chord using their volume control. A more common transition effect, the cymbal swell, is used heavily, but don&rsquo;t dismiss it as hack work: notice how adroitly each instance is tailored to suit its environment.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-dont-dance/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Rude" by Magic!</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rude/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rude/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      As you&rsquo;d kind of expect from a reggae production, delays are an important ingredient of this mix, providing not only a variety of ear–candy (such as the opening timbale fill&rsquo;s rippling decay tail, the recurring 16th–note ping–pong spin first heard at 0:12–0:14, and the arrhythmic wobble on the final note of that fabulously grimy guitar solo), but also an important element of the lead–vocal arrangement. If you listen carefully for the latter&rsquo;s eighth–note repeats, you can really hear the mix automation breaking a sweat to pull up entertaining little echo spins wherever the vocal interest might otherwise have waned.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/rude/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Take Five" by Dave Brubeck Quartet</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/take-five/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/take-five/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the most instantly recognisable jazz recordings, and the first single in its genre to sell a million copies, this record is also very educational from an engineering perspective, not least because there are some great session photos which show pretty much everything you&rsquo;d want to know about the mic setup used on the Columbia Studios tracking dates. John Bolger&rsquo;s Dave Brubeck Jazz site, for instance, has a tremendous picture showing each instrument&rsquo;s single spot mic in situ.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/take-five/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Take Me To Church" by Hozier</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/take-me-to-church/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/take-me-to-church/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although the stars of the show in this production are clearly Hozier&rsquo;s songwriting and singing abilities, the reverb–saturated mix also makes a strong sonic statement in its own right. On the plus side, such heavy reverb use immediately sets this mix apart from most mainstream productions, so there&rsquo;s no question that it catches the ear immediately within pretty much any modern music playlist. It&rsquo;s cool also that it sits so naturally with the ecclesiastical conceit at the heart of the lyric.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/take-me-to-church/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley &amp; His Comets</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/were-gonna-rock-around-the-clock/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/were-gonna-rock-around-the-clock/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Whatever mic Bill Haley was using here, it sounds like he was all but eating it at times, because you can hear serious wind-blasts at various points throughout this song. (I&rsquo;m kind of assuming it wasn&rsquo;t a ribbon!) Although you normally associate wind blasts with plosive sounds such as &lsquo;p&rsquo; and &lsquo;b&rsquo;, this track provides a good demonstration of how many other consonants can cause similar problems, because you get big low-frequency thuds appearing on &ldquo;three&rdquo; (0:01), &ldquo;four&rdquo; (0:02), and &ldquo;twelve&rdquo; (0:07) in this case.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/were-gonna-rock-around-the-clock/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-about-that-bass/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-about-that-bass/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve heard such an enjoyable combination of pop song and social message since Ms Dynamite&rsquo;s &lsquo;It Takes More&rsquo;, but that&rsquo;s certainly not the only thing to admire here. The vocal line&rsquo;s extended use of faux triplets (ie. a pattern of two dotted eighths followed by a straight eighth) across the four-four beat during the pre-chorus is great, for instance, and there are plenty of ear-catching vocal stylings besides: the stutter edit on &ldquo;bass&rdquo; at 0:13; the striking drop in pitch for &ldquo;size two&rdquo; at 0:18; and the pitch scoop at &ldquo;booty back&rdquo; (1:27), which to my ears draws a rather ironic parallel with the title hook of Robin Thicke&rsquo;s fratboy smash 'Blurred Lines'.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-about-that-bass/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Gecko (Overdrive)" by Oliver Heldens feat. Becky Hill</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/gecko-overdrive/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/gecko-overdrive/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The hollow sound of this particular bass line is definitely reminiscent of a square wave to me, and if you look at the first 10 seconds of this track on a spectrum analyser you can see why: it&rsquo;s mostly just the fundamental, third harmonic, and fifth harmonic which register on the display — a characteristic spectral signature of that wave shape. The sound is almost certainly being low-pass filtered in some way, though.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/gecko-overdrive/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"It Had To Be You" by Barbra Streisand feat. Michael Bublé</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/it-had-to-be-you/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/it-had-to-be-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Whatever you think of Barbra Streisand&rsquo;s music, you&rsquo;ve got to admire her professional longevity, because she&rsquo;s apparently topped the Billboard album charts at least once every decade since the &rsquo;60s — her latest number one being her 34th studio record, the all-duets album Partners. In the absence of an official single release, I&rsquo;d like to focus on &lsquo;It Had To Be You&rsquo;, because it intrigues me how Streisand&rsquo;s voice relates both to the backing arrangement and to the voice of guest vocalist Michael Bublé.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/it-had-to-be-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Rather Be" by Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rather-be/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rather-be/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A lot of mixes in dance-music genres trade heavily on thick synths, heavy effects and copious distortion to create full-sounding textures, but at the expense of mix clarity — the quality and detail of individual parts are simply obscured behind a layer of mush. Not so this tune, however, in which mix engineers Jack Patterson &amp; Wez Clarke have managed to keep everything crystal clear, allowing those lovely string recordings to make a real statement despite their comparatively smooth high-frequency timbre.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/rather-be/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Somebody To You" by The Vamps feat. Demi Lovato</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/somebody-to-you/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/somebody-to-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This song exemplifies nicely one of the simplest pop production tricks you can use to make your choruses sound bigger than your verses: widening the stereo spread. So, in this case, each of the three chorus sections (0:39-1:01, 1:37-1:59 and 2:10-2:54) is preceded by a section with a narrower stereo picture: respectively, the first verse and pre-chorus; the second verse and pre-chorus; and the middle section. What&rsquo;s a little more interesting, though, is that the last of these is quite a bit narrower, and I can see a good justification for this.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/somebody-to-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"All I Need Is You" by Lecrae</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-i-need-is-you/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-i-need-is-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Lecrae has been instrumental in bringing Christian hip-hop into the mainstream, with this single not only topping Billboard&rsquo;s Christian and Gospel charts, but also helping propel his album Anomaly to the top of the US album charts into the bargain. From a production angle, I love how the bass part, which first arrives at 0:13 already sounds warm and rich, and has a nice sense of stereo width, but still leaves space for the earth-shaking sub-bass line which enters four bars later — beautifully judged so that it&rsquo;s just on the right side of overstated, and closely controlled for dynamic evenness.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-i-need-is-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Chandelier" by Sia</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/chandelier/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/chandelier/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Earlier this year, I rather stuck the boot into Miley Cyrus&rsquo;s 'Wrecking Ball'. (So to speak.) Despite remaining unrepentant, I&rsquo;ve always preferred positive examples to negative ones, so I&rsquo;m delighted to report that I think Sia&rsquo;s &lsquo;Chandelier&rsquo; makes a much better job of this kind of modern power ballad. Yes, her chorus texture also features its own variant on the &lsquo;consonant sludge&rsquo; I criticised in &lsquo;Wrecking Ball&rsquo;, but crucially it remains hard-edged and present-sounding right to the end, without syrupy additional string layers blanding it out — the drums stay right up front, the bass/synth combination keeps its bite, and the oscillating-thirds keyboard figure (almost a mini hook) remains clearly audible.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/chandelier/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Figure It Out" by Royal Blood</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/figure-it-out/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/figure-it-out/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Without a doubt, this month&rsquo;s coveted The Mix Review rosette for Snare Hit Of The Month belongs to the splendid opening flam at 0:26 in this single from newcomers Royal Blood. The song also happens to be one of the most exciting new rock productions I&rsquo;ve heard in a very long while: messy enough to have serious garage credentials (check out the &lsquo;so broken it&rsquo;s brilliant&rsquo; solo tone at 2:13-2:35), massively muscular and disciplined when it comes to riffing out in the choruses, chock-full of fantastic pop-sensibility drops/fills (eg.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/figure-it-out/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/kung-fu-fighting/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/kung-fu-fighting/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Given its enormous sales, this is a surprisingly curious-sounding production. To paint it in the most positive light, it&rsquo;s certainly very efficient, in that everything you need to know about the song can be heard loud and clear through the window from next door&rsquo;s portable radio! As a hi-fi listening experience, though, it&rsquo;s pretty unpleasant in all honesty — it sounds like someone at the mastering house accidentally knocked the 3kHz slider of their graphic EQ, lending the overall mix tonality that peculiarly wearing &rsquo;70s tinniness that I associate strongly with threadbare daytime TV repeats, as well as making the high-frequency snare/kick transients and vocal sibilance extremely fatiguing on the ear.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/kung-fu-fighting/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Meanwhile Back At Mama's" by Tim McGraw feat. Faith Hill</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/meanwhile-back-at-mamas/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/meanwhile-back-at-mamas/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;ll admit that I find myself drawn to this kind of mainstream country production with a kind of morbid fascination, gawking at the unholy perfection of the Nashville machine in the same way I find it difficult to wrench my gaze away from aging stars who&rsquo;ve had too many facelifts. As a singer myself, it&rsquo;s the vocal tuning that appals me most. Although rocket-powered &lsquo;Melodyning&rsquo; doesn&rsquo;t fuss me as much with uptempo productions where rhythm parts play a greater role, in this case it seems such a waste that such an intimate song appears to have had so much of the natural emotion steamrollered out of it on corrective grounds.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/meanwhile-back-at-mamas/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Budapest" by George Ezra</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/budapest/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/budapest/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;ve listened my way through more than my fair share of amateur acoustic singer-songwriter productions, and one thing a lot of them struggle with is getting their vocal sonics clear and intimate, without over-brightening the singer&rsquo;s tone to the point where harshness and overbearing sibilance make it an uncomfortable listen. A big reason for this difficulty lies not with their vocal sounds, but rather their choice of guitar and percussion timbres, which are frequently too bright and forward-sounding, thereby masking the critical upper-spectrum vocal frequencies that lend a voice clarity in the mix.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/budapest/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Prayer In C (Robin Schulz Remix)" by Lilly Wood &amp; The Prick</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/prayer-in-c-robin-schulz-remix/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/prayer-in-c-robin-schulz-remix/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This production features a couple of nice effects worth examining. The first is the opening synthetic clap, which creates a wide stereo image on either side of the central kick-plus-bass rhythmic backbone. A close look at the waveforms of the left and right channels for these claps during the intro gives a clue as to why: following the initial centrally located transient there&rsquo;s a strong rhythmic pulse in the left channel, followed roughly 11ms later by a similar pulse (my guess is that it&rsquo;s a simple echo) in the right channel.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/prayer-in-c-robin-schulz-remix/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/shake-it-off/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/shake-it-off/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Last year I praised Taylor Swift&rsquo;s wide-ranging use of speech within her song 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together', and she&rsquo;s at it again here. I particularly liked the brilliantly goofy giggle at 0:19, for instance, and the rhythmic hiatus of &ldquo;shake, shake, shake&rdquo; at the end of the long, spoken middle section at 2:18-2:43. However, I also like the way the chorus&rsquo;s hook line breaks the four-square sing-along rhythmic pattern established by the preceding three lines, putting an accent on the third quarter-note of the bar (assuming a tempo of roughly 160bpm), where it&rsquo;s been resolutely on beats two and four throughout the preceding phrases.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/shake-it-off/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Without You" by Mariah Carey</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-you-02/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-you-02/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Mariah Carey has copped a lot of flak for spawning legions of X-Factor wannabes who suffocate unsuspecting songs under their fulsome vocal filigree. But listening to her in action here, it&rsquo;s not only her astonishing vocal technique that impresses me, but also her comparative economy and pacing. The big problem with the imitators, for me, is that they slather on the melismatic warblings indiscriminately, rather than taking this song&rsquo;s more mature approach.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-you-02/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Coming Home" by Kaiser Chiefs</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/coming-home/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/coming-home/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This mix features a textbook example of slapback echo on the lead vocals during the verses (0:21 and 1:35) and middle section (3:01). To my ears it sounds like a single–tap echo with a delay time of approximately 60ms. As I understand it, this mix comes from Michael Brauer, a big fan of classic tape echo units, so I wouldn&rsquo;t be at all surprised if that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re hearing in this case — certainly there&rsquo;s that kind of smoothness to the delay tap I&rsquo;d expect of an analogue unit.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/coming-home/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Here We Go" by Lower Than Atlantis</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/here-we-go/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/here-we-go/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A reader recently contacted me to as about how he might go about emulating the drum sound on this recent Lower Than Atlantis song using EZdrummer. He was sending each drum component to its own channel to be mixed, before sending the kit as a whole to a bus where he then applied reverb. Each component of the kit had some degree of compression applied to it, so he was wondering whether it would then be overkill to add more compression to the kit as a whole on the bus channel,
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/here-we-go/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Hideaway" by Kiesza</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hideaway/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hideaway/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s not that common to hear a true soprano in chart music, as a lot of divas prefer to stick to alto registers to achieve more soulful timbres. In this case, though, Kiesza&rsquo;s performance, ranging all the way up to top &lsquo;G&rsquo;, really works for me, making something of a production hook out of the resultant &lsquo;hollow texture&rsquo; — you get lots of bass and treble notes, but very little happening in the middle registers.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/hideaway/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Got U" by Duke Dumont feat. Jax Jones</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-got-u/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-got-u/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There are lots of nice little touches in this production — the steel drums first heard at 0:16, the little party–vibe whoops on the left–hand side of the stereo image that first make their appearance at 0:32, and what sounds like a reverse–envelope reverb on the lead vocal at 1:04, just to mention a few of them. My favourite element of this production, though, is the piano that enters at 0:48.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-got-u/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Will Never Let You Down" by Rita Ora</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-will-never-let-you-down/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-will-never-let-you-down/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The odd distortion sound on the guitar intro of this production sounds to me like aliasing, so if you like the sound of it then some kind of &rsquo;lo–fi&rsquo; or &lsquo;bit–crusher&rsquo; kind of plug–in would be the way to go. In this case I think it&rsquo;s very effective at indicating from the outset that we&rsquo;re hearing some kind of electro style, despite the distinctly Red Hot Chili Peppers guitar line/tone.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-will-never-let-you-down/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Smooth" by Santana feat. Rob Thomas</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/smooth/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/smooth/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There are a lot of thought–provoking mix decisions in this track, first and foremost Carlos Santana&rsquo;s lead guitar sound, which trades heavily on its 300-500Hz region to anchor itself in the mix balance. This is a little unusual in my experience, because that spectral region is usually fought over tooth and nail in most mixes — the subjective warmth of many instruments resides in that zone, and mix clutter also normally builds up most quickly there.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/smooth/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Waves" by Mr Probz</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/waves/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/waves/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The lead vocal sound here is rather striking, with a kind of rasping digital edge that constitutes a good contrast against the mellowness of the rest of the mix. While it&rsquo;s impossible to reverse engineer exactly what effects were used to achieve this without direct information from the artist, here&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;d suggest for anyone who wants to recreate that kind of timbre in their own work: try ring–modulation. In my own experiments with Melda Productions&rsquo; freeware MRingModulator I got best results using comparatively low modulation frequencies (around 50-70Hz) and modulation depths in the 20-30 percent range.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/waves/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Fancy" by Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fancy/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/fancy/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      When this song and Ariana Grande&rsquo;s 'Problem' recently occupied the top two spots in the Billboard Hot 100, I was struck by the radically different presentations of Iggy Azalea&rsquo;s vocal tone, but neither of them thrilled me! On &lsquo;Fancy&rsquo;, I can&rsquo;t help feeling that the vocals&rsquo; high frequencies have been over-hyped during recording and mixing. A truckload of 12kHz will usually razor its way through a mix, but it&rsquo;s possible to have too much of a good thing: the sibilance in particular is pretty painful, with a harsh, whistling edge that makes me wince well before I&rsquo;ve reached hip-hop-worthy playback levels on a full-range system.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/fancy/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Problem" by Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/problem/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/problem/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      When this song and Iggy Azalea&rsquo;s 'Fancy' recently occupied the top two spots in the Billboard Hot 100, I was struck by the radically different presentations of Iggy Azalea&rsquo;s vocal tone, but neither of them thrilled me! On &lsquo;Fancy&rsquo;, I can&rsquo;t help feeling that the vocals&rsquo; high frequencies have been over-hyped during recording and mixing. A truckload of 12kHz will usually razor its way through a mix, but it&rsquo;s possible to have too much of a good thing: the sibilance in particular is pretty painful, with a harsh, whistling edge that makes me wince well before I&rsquo;ve reached hip-hop-worthy playback levels on a full-range system.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/problem/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/radioactive/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/radioactive/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Any loudness processing at mixdown will have sonic side-effects, so if you&rsquo;re intent on smashing your production right up against the digital endstop you&rsquo;d be well advised to account for these at mixdown.
Whether for good or ill, one common loudness-maximisation method these days is clipping. In other words, squashing (or simply flat-topping) the mix waveform against the 0dBFS ceiling, the main side effect of which is a fairly harsh-sounding distortion.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/radioactive/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Man" by Aloe Blacc</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-man/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-man/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Most serious students of songwriting and record production spend a healthy amount of time poring over their favourite records, trying to glean techniques which might elevate the quality of their own work. Far fewer people, though, make the effort to scrutinise productions they actively dislike — but they should, as this can be equally revealing.
A recent case in point for me was this single from Aloe Blacc, which I&rsquo;ve found increasingly irksome each time I&rsquo;ve heard it.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-man/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wind Of Change" by The Scorpions</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wind-of-change/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wind-of-change/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This torchsong of German reunification is so familiar that it&rsquo;s easy to forget how odd-sounding it is in some respects. For example, the acoustic guitars are some of the thinnest-sounding you&rsquo;ll hear on record, operating as little more than upper-spectrum percussion, plugging the gap in the texture left by the drum mix&rsquo;s threshold-of-audibility hi-hat and ride levels. So unnatural is the balance of the drums cannonade relative to the ghostly cymbals, in fact, that I find it quite hard to believe they were actually recorded at the same time — it&rsquo;s certainly not unknown for bands to overdub cymbals after the fact in order to allow maximum mixdown control over the snare and tom tone.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wind-of-change/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hound-dog/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hound-dog/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Even after almost 60 years, this production packs a tremendous amount of energy and excitement into its two minutes, a feat I find all the more impressive given the comparatively limited musical scope: a lead melody based around three notes most of the time (five in total); only two verses, each repeated three times; and a fairly small-scale line-up of lead vocal, drums, bass, one guitar, and three-part BVs/handclaps from The Jordanaires.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/hound-dog/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Magic" by Coldplay</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/magic/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/magic/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Mix engineer Mark &lsquo;Spike&rsquo; Stent has been something of a hero of mine for many years. If you want to know why, you need look no further than this Coldplay single, which combines all my favourite Stent-isms into a thing of rare beauty. Partly it&rsquo;s the to-die-for vocal intimacy and the glorious compactness that all the primary mix components have; I feel as if I could reach out and grab any of them right out of the air in front of me.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/magic/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Scream (Funk My Life Up)" by Paolo Nutini</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/scream-funk-my-life-up/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/scream-funk-my-life-up/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;m a big fan of singers who make a virtue of the more noise-like elements of their vocal tone, but for me there&rsquo;s frequently a &lsquo;sweetspot&rsquo; in any such vocalist&rsquo;s discography after which these noise contributions start becoming too studied and consistent. We&rsquo;re pretty used to the idea that too much dynamic-range reduction leads to flat-sounding mixes, and I think a similar principle also applies to a vocalist&rsquo;s &rsquo;emotional dynamic range&rsquo; — the fewer moments of emotional restraint there are, the less powerful the impact of the emotional high-points.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/scream-funk-my-life-up/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Stay With Me" by Sam Smith</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stay-with-me/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stay-with-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is an interesting vocal, because it&rsquo;s a lot warmer and cloudier sounding than you&rsquo;d expect on a chart record — exactly the kind of low-mid-range-heavy sound you&rsquo;d expect of a handheld dynamic mic right up against the singer&rsquo;s lips. Many engineers would high-pass filter towards a more natural tonality, to avoid a muddy combination with the lower spectrum of other instruments, as well as to keep the vocal from making the rest of the arrangement sound small and anaemic by comparison.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/stay-with-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"All Of Me" by John Legend</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-of-me/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-of-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      You frequently hear dance-music producers talking about setting their compressors to match the tempo of the track. The idea is to refine the release characteristics of a master-buss compressor&rsquo;s gain reduction so that its gain pumping supports the groove. Take the four-to-the-floor house kick-drum cliché: if the compressor releases too fast, it&rsquo;ll tend to make the off-beats between the kicks feel like they&rsquo;re rushing rather than rolling along smoothly, but if the release is too slow, the gain reduction never resets enough, weakening the rhythmic drive of the gain-pumping effect itself.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-of-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Happy" by Pharrell Williams</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/happy/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/happy/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although I find the repetitive nature of this track rather wearing, that cloud&rsquo;s silver lining is that it provides plenty of opportunities to dissect the production using phase-cancellation techniques. For example, import this song twice into a fresh DAW project, delay one of the tracks by exactly four bars (264600 samples in this case) and polarity-invert it. Mixing the two tracks together will cancel the repeating four-bar drum loop out of the mix, allowing you to hear the intricacies of the bass playing without interference from the kick part, and unmasking the lead vocal&rsquo;s high-frequency character and subtle tempo-sync&rsquo;ed delay from behind the hi-hat.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/happy/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Money For Nothing" by Dire Straits</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/money-for-nothing/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/money-for-nothing/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Upon reading this Sound On Sound magazine article, I was gratified to discover that the instantly recognisable recorded sound of Mark Knopfler&rsquo;s static-wah guitar on this production was serendipitous. &ldquo;I remember&hellip; heading out into the room to move the mics around,&rdquo; recalls engineer and co-producer Neil Dorfsman, &ldquo;and Mark&rsquo;s guitar tech Ron Eve getting on the talkback and telling me not to touch anything because it sounded amazing as it was.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/money-for-nothing/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Turn Down For What" by DJ Snake feat. Lil Jon</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/turn-down-for-what/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/turn-down-for-what/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is a tremendously clipped mastering job, with flat-top sections on each kick hit that exceed 150 samples in duration, followed roughly 200ms later by per-cycle overloads on the bass waveform, as the kick-triggered compression releases. Despite the opprobrium meted out to such loudness-maximisation tactics in more acoustic styles, I have nothing against them here, because the digital distortion artifacts don&rsquo;t sound at all out of place in such an aggressive electronic style, and all the track&rsquo;s other musical elements are generally balanced well below the clipping threshold, so they come through cleanly enough.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/turn-down-for-what/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Let It Go" by Idina Menzel</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/let-it-go/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/let-it-go/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The success of Disney&rsquo;s Frozen, now officially the highest-grossing animated feature in cinema history, catapulted this song into the Billboard top 10, and provides a good illustration of how a Broadway-trained singer such as Idina Menzel differs from your typical popstress — or indeed from the vast majority of vocalists you usually meet in home or project studios.
The first thing to point out is that most amateur singers simply aren&rsquo;t this powerful.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/let-it-go/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Pompeii" by Bastille</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/pompeii/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/pompeii/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      My first thought on hearing the opening &ldquo;eh, eh-oh, eh-oh&rdquo; backing-vocal riff in this BRIT Award-nominated production was that it sounded like a football terrace full of Teletubbies, but once I&rsquo;d shaken off that mildly disturbing mental image, a more serious question emerged: what is responsible for the particularly dense breathiness in the vocal ensemble tone? Although a bright mic and/or weapons-grade 10-20kHz EQ boost could be responsible, I can&rsquo;t quite believe that&rsquo;s the whole story, given the thickness and smoothness of the HF spectral components.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/pompeii/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Stairway To Heaven" by Led Zeppelin</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stairway-to-heaven/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stairway-to-heaven/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Much has been written about this classic rock production, and there&rsquo;s no doubt that its gradual build-up of arrangement, tempo, and performance intensity is extremely effective — but the tuning doesn&rsquo;t half make my flesh crawl! The main acoustic guitar is fine when it first comes in, but the recorder parts quickly start drifting flat against it. The treble E at 0:24 is the first one that feels rather sour, but it&rsquo;s the F# at 0:28 and then the A at 0:52 that really give me the shivers.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/stairway-to-heaven/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Strong" by London Grammar</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/strong/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/strong/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Despite missing out on the top spot in the UK album charts, the slow-burn qualities of London Grammar&rsquo;s debut If You Wait resulted in it becoming the fifth best-selling album of 2013. The album&rsquo;s most successful single, &lsquo;Strong&rsquo;, not only serves as a good introduction to the band&rsquo;s sound in general, but also showcases the effects of predelayed reverb on the lead vocal. The stereo signal&rsquo;s Sides component doesn&rsquo;t contain the centrally panned mono dry vocal signal, which makes the stereo vocal reverb&rsquo;s pre-delay easier to hear, on which evidence I&rsquo;d guess that it&rsquo;s delayed upwards of 120ms.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/strong/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Another Love" by Tom Odell</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/another-love/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/another-love/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Breathing is something that&rsquo;s so instinctive to us all that it&rsquo;s easy to overlook its role in shaping a vocal performance. Few singles have used the power of breath noise as powerfully as this recent one from Tom Odell, and it therefore repays careful listening &lsquo;between the notes&rsquo;, so to speak. The most impressive bit for me is the first verse, where the immaculate rhythmic timing of the breaths gives a fantastic sense of suppressed urgency to his delivery, despite the tremulous vulnerability of the sung timbre — combining those two attributes in the same performance is deceptively tricky to do, and it&rsquo;s the kind of thing few singers can really pull off.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/another-love/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-cant-make-you-love-me/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-cant-make-you-love-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A classic Don Was production with Ed Cherney at the helm for the recording and engineering, this record sounds smoother than an eel in evening dress. The full and sustained bass part (with its subtle dusting of stereo mix effects) is, of course, a big reason for this, but there&rsquo;s also plenty of harmonic padding being provided in the background. I can certainly hear an electric piano and Hammond in there, plus a string synth arriving around three minutes in, but I&rsquo;m pretty sure there are also other less characterful synth parts lurking underneath as well — it&rsquo;s very difficult to get this kind of soupy warmth without some careful layering.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-cant-make-you-love-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"La La La" by Naughty Boy feat. Sam Smith</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/la-la-la/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/la-la-la/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is a great example of a track that&rsquo;s elevated by virtue of a sample which has been deliberately edited to be a bit ragged. Were it not there, then the extreme precision and quantisation of everything else in the track would feel too sterile and lifeless, but somehow the sample just gives it back a vital glimmer of humanity. By the same token, however, I think it&rsquo;s a shame that the producers didn&rsquo;t reuse that harp introduction, because I suspect (based on a couple of minutes editing and mixing in Cockos Reaper) it could have been layered into the choruses to give a warmer and more organic feel without such heavy reliance on that &lsquo;blandissimo&rsquo; string pad.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/la-la-la/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"White Noise" by Disclosure feat. Aluna George</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/white-noise/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/white-noise/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This track has one of the most extraordinarily effective kick sounds I&rsquo;ve heard in a while. Not only is it short and tight, as you&rsquo;d hope with a bouncy rhythmic production like this, but its low frequencies are absolutely on the beat, rather than lagging slightly behind as some samples do. The attack appears to be spread remarkably evenly across the frequency spectrum — with the result that it manages to sound pert and present, no matter how small a playback device it&rsquo;s heard on.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/white-noise/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Counting Stars" by One Republic</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/counting-stars/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/counting-stars/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Their biggest hit since debut single &lsquo;Apologise&rsquo;, this production from One Republic showcases a simple means of generating a double chorus from a single one: just bump the lead line up the octave! That&rsquo;s not all there is to it, to be fair, because you also get a touch more percussion in the second iteration, an extra BV line, and perhaps the odd subtle guitar layer, but the octave jump easily dwarfs those things in terms of musical impact.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/counting-stars/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Gimme All Your Lovin'" by ZZ Top</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/gimme-all-your-lovin/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/gimme-all-your-lovin/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The &rsquo;80s was the heyday of the drum machine, with producers far and wide rejoicing in the ability to make drum parts tonally consistent, metronomic, and endlessly revisable. Rock bands who tried to take advantage of such new-fangled doobries, however, inevitably encountered problems in retaining any sense of live performance, on account of the lack of sophistication of early rhythm boxes. This production from ZZ Top&rsquo;s mega-selling album Eliminator demonstrates some of the workarounds frequently employed.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/gimme-all-your-lovin/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"God Is Dead?" by Black Sabbath</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/god-is-dead/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/god-is-dead/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Having read this Sound On Sound magazine article, I was keen to hear the final results — and they didn&rsquo;t disappoint! It&rsquo;s particularly impressive how heavy the band sound, given that most of the time we&rsquo;re effectively hearing a drum kit, a bass, and one guitar (assuming Andrew Scheps&rsquo;s published Pro Tools screenshot is to be believed). Any three-piece band presents a problem in stereo, though: if you don&rsquo;t pan anything you get clutter in the centre of the stereo image, but if you pan the guitar to one side it imbalances the mix&rsquo;s overall image.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/god-is-dead/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wrecking-ball/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wrecking-ball/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Many small details of this production caught my ear: the vinyl noise layer in the lead-up to the first and last choruses; the hint of brutally high-pass-filtered piano-bass for &ldquo;we kissed&rdquo; in the first verse at 0:16, prefiguring the second verse&rsquo;s proper bass-guitar entry under &ldquo;it slowly&rdquo; at 1:10; the graceful &lsquo;opening out&rsquo; of the second verse with its layered &ldquo;oh&rdquo; backing vocal, cello, and echoey background stabs; and the middle section&rsquo;s canny ABCD-ABD lyrical structure, which manipulates your expectations to give an extra tug on the heart-strings for &ldquo;I guess I should have let you win&rdquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wrecking-ball/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Animals" by Martin Garrix</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/animals/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/animals/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If you dig the &lsquo;stripped-back chorus/hook&rsquo; idea in Jason Derulo&rsquo;s recent song 'Talk Dirty', then there&rsquo;s another masterclass for you in Martin Garrix&rsquo;s &lsquo;Animals&rsquo; when the main bass kicks in at 0:47. Preceded by massive euphoric trance pads, clouds of stadium reverb, and double-speed snares, everything suddenly evaporates following the electro-beast &ldquo;animals&rdquo; phrase, leaving just the duo of four-to-the-floor kick/bass and synth lead. Again, the introduction of real low-frequency power is a key factor in the section&rsquo;s success, but it works just as well on small playback systems too, given the amount of distortion contained within that bass/kick combination.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/animals/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Talk Dirty" by Jason Derulo feat. 2 Chainz</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/talk-dirty/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/talk-dirty/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What I really love about this song is the way it turns a couple of mix clichés on their heads. There are two things that most chart tunes do when they hit the chorus: first, they increase the density of the arrangement in some way, whether by introducing massed guitar overdubs, backing vocals, trance pads, or whatever; and second, they generally bring the delay and reverb levels up a bit in the mix to make everything seem bigger and more powerful.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/talk-dirty/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Monster" by Eminem feat. Rihanna</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-monster/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-monster/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What struck me most about this track was its use of extreme arrangement breakdowns. Although you might dismiss some of these as the cheap &lsquo;hit some mute buttons to keep Grandma awake&rsquo; tactics that have long been the stock in trade of chart hip-hop producers, I think it&rsquo;s actually a bit more intriguing than that. For example, the use of a low-pass filter instead of a mute is quite effective for &ldquo;it was confusing&rdquo; at 0:32, hinting at woozy disorientation in much the same way as Tinie Tempah&rsquo;s &lsquo;Pass Out&rsquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-monster/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Wire" by Haim</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-wire/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-wire/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I was recently asked what kind of processing might have been involved in achieving the vocal sounds on Haim’s debut album Days Are Gone, so let&rsquo;s take a look at &lsquo;The Wire&rsquo;, the record&rsquo;s biggest hit so far. I don’t actually know anything concrete about how this track was mixed, so I won’t try to speculate. Instead, I’ll explain how I might try to create similar effects if someone asked me to emulate this vocal sound.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-wire/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Yesterday" by The Beatles</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/yesterday/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/yesterday/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This song has burrowed so deeply into the common consciousness during the last half century that it can be tricky to listen to it with fresh ears. Despite this, however, it remains one of my favourite pop songs, concealing numerous musical subtleties beneath the superficial simplicity of its rhyme scheme, instrumentation, and guitar figurations. Foremost amongst these is the seven-bar phrase that constitutes the verse (first heard with the lyrics &ldquo;Yesterday&hellip; believe in yesterday&rdquo; at 0:05-0:22), and which, frankly, continues to baffle me!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/yesterday/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Look Right Through" by Storm Queen</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/look-right-through/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/look-right-through/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There are two different types of effect commonly called &lsquo;reverse reverb&rsquo;. One is traditionally created by playing a multitrack tape recording backwards, feeding a track to a reverb unit, and then overdubbing the effect&rsquo;s output to a spare track. When the tape is returned to its normal playback direction, the reverb is played backwards, which means that the reverb tail precedes the dry feed tracks in time, ramping up in level towards them.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/look-right-through/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Reflektor" by Arcade Fire</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/reflektor/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/reflektor/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This band&rsquo;s highest-charting single to date on the Billboard Hot 100 has many unusual features. The muted retro drum tones and distant hi-hat are particularly characteristic, and make perfect sense from a mix perspective, allowing the psychedelic synth/guitar details and indier-than-thou &lsquo;swallowing an SM58&rsquo; male vocal tone to transmit to the listener effectively. The short feedback delays on the vocals are well chosen, giving a literal interpretation of the song&rsquo;s title that I rather like.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/reflektor/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Roxanne" by The Police</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/roxanne-02/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/roxanne-02/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Despite apparently having been recorded in a studio with egg boxes on the walls (which wasn&rsquo;t a good sign even 35 years ago), this production still boasts one of my favourite close-miked drum sounds ever, comprising thick, punchy snare, kick and tom sounds, along with a mix that places them right in your face. As such, it&rsquo;s an excellent record to listen to if you fancy reminding yourself of the kind of dynamic power that has so often been sacrificed these days in pursuit of mastering loudness — and there are few mixes that will reveal a peak limiter&rsquo;s dirty laundry as brutally as this one!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/roxanne-02/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Royals" by Lorde</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/royals/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/royals/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This has got to be my favourite sassy anti-bling manifesto since Ms Dynamite&rsquo;s &lsquo;It Takes More&rsquo;. It&rsquo;s great to hear real low-frequency reverb on a chart record, as on the kick-drum here. You rarely get to appreciate a reverb unit&rsquo;s low-end tail in such isolation because of the need to keep the low frequencies of the mix clear of clutter but, as there&rsquo;s nothing but the kick and bass going on in the lower octaves, why not make hay?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/royals/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Black Chandelier" by Biffy Clyro</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/black-chandelier/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/black-chandelier/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The drum sound in the first verse of this song is an odd one for any rock band to go for these days, and I&rsquo;m not really convinced by it. The individual components of the drum kit don&rsquo;t sound like they&rsquo;re connected to each other, almost as if they were overdubbed one at a time. This is common on home brew band recordings, where people have relied too heavily on close-miking, because it&rsquo;s the overheads and room mics which typically provide the realism and &lsquo;glue&rsquo; that binds the instruments together believably, and I suspect that faded-down drum-room channels are part of what fuels my misgivings with &lsquo;Black Chandelier&rsquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/black-chandelier/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Need U" by Duke Dumont feat. A*M*E</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/need-u/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/need-u/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What intrigued me about this unconventional retro-dance hit was its characteristically stodgy and harmonically ambiguous low-end texture (most strikingly exemplified at the climax of the song at 2:20-2:47). There are four main elements involved:
The syncopated minor-triad-based rhythm riff you can hear most clearly at 0:32-0:47. Though the character of the sound is definitely governed by its midrange frequencies within the mix, it&rsquo;s actually a synth bass patch, with the closely spaced fundamentals of its two-bar Fm-Gm-Ebm-Cm progression around in the 65Hz-148Hz range.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/need-u/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinead O'Connor</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/nothing-compares-2-u/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/nothing-compares-2-u/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I had a really weird experience when this came on the car radio the other day: I recognised the song within a fraction of a second, but then couldn&rsquo;t for the life of me work out how I&rsquo;d done it! After all, the first seven seconds of this track are just a static F-major synth-string chord, right? So on returning to the rarified environment of The Mix Review&rsquo;s listening laboratory, I fired up the track again for more careful examination.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/nothing-compares-2-u/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"This Is What It Feels Like" by Armin Van Buuren feat. Trevor Guthrie</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/this-is-what-it-feels-like/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/this-is-what-it-feels-like/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This euphoric trance single propelled Armin van Buuren into both the UK Top 10 and the Billboard Hot 100 charts for the first time, an achievement made all the more impressive because the track breaks one of the style&rsquo;s unspoken commandments: &ldquo;Thou shalt build thy choons in four-bar blocks, and unto each bar shalt thou give four beats. Yea, verily, I say unto thee that other numbers shall be an abomination unto the dancefloor!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/this-is-what-it-feels-like/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Bangarang" by Skrillex feat. Sirah</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bangarang/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bangarang/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although arguably best known for his twelve-tone composition technique, the iconoclastic Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg also coined the term Klangfarbenmelodie (literally &lsquo;sound colour melody&rsquo;) in 1911 to refer to the process of shading a melodic line by assigning its different notes to different instruments. But it&rsquo;s taken almost a century for someone to really catapult this idea into the mainstream, as Skrillex has effectively done by butt-editing chains of synth and sample snippets to create his crowd-slaying mega-riffs.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bangarang/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke feat. TI &amp; Pharrell</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/blurred-lines/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/blurred-lines/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This production demonstrates how important vocal performance and arrangement are to modern pop hits — because there&rsquo;s precious little else to it! Indeed, the basic eight-bar backing loop is so simple (varied only on a handful of occasions by muting a few parts), that it wouldn&rsquo;t surprise me at all if it&rsquo;d been put together in the iMPC app during a cigarette break. As such, I have the greatest respect for what Thicke and co-conspirator Pharrell Williams have achieved here.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/blurred-lines/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Ho Hey" by The Lumineers</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ho-hey/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ho-hey/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Creating an effective depth dimension in your mix is about much more than just how much reverb you add. Although the heavy room ambience on this song&rsquo;s titular backing shouts is clearly one of the reasons why they sit well behind the lead vocals, guitar and mandolin, there are two other psychological effects in this production which I think really stretch the front-back perspective. The first is that the foreground instruments simply have more brightness in the top octave of the frequency spectrum.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/ho-hey/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"White Christmas" by Bing Crosby</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/white-christmas/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/white-christmas/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What better time of year to discuss the best-selling single of all time? The Guinness Book Of World Records claims that this record has shifted in excess of 50 million copies since its initial release in 1942, although the version you&rsquo;ll hear nowadays is actually a painstaking re-recording Bing did in 1947, after the original master wore out! (Decca released an ill-advised &rsquo;enhanced for stereo&rsquo; version of the recording in 1963, slathered in added hall reverb, so try to track down the original mono master if you want to hear the sonic details a little better.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/white-christmas/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Get Lucky" by Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams &amp; Nile Rodgers</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/get-lucky/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/get-lucky/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Lots has been said about the production values of Daft Punk&rsquo;s album Random Access Memories (not least in this Sound On Sound magazine interview), so any budding engineer owes it to themselves to give at least this single a considered listen. Most chart-oriented tracks these days are constantly hitting you over the head with sudden, extrovert arrangement changes designed to retain your attention, so the laid-back and groove-oriented approach of &lsquo;Get Lucky&rsquo; already marks itself out as unusual.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/get-lucky/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lady In Red" by Chris De Burgh</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lady-in-red/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lady-in-red/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The &rsquo;80s were the heyday of pads, and if you can withstand this song&rsquo;s tidal wave of smug sentimentality, then their role here repays close scrutiny. There are three main parts in action: the mellow synth strings that underpin the verses, the synth choir that announces the chorus and the double-tracked &lsquo;ooh&rsquo; backing vocals that provide an extra feel-good lift for the intro/link/outro sections at 0:07, 1:40 and 3:26. Although the basic way each pad is used to signpost the song&rsquo;s structural boundaries is nothing special, there are some nuances to consider.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lady-in-red/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Mirrors" by Justin Timberlake</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mirrors/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mirrors/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Once my inner schoolboy had stopped snickering at this tune&rsquo;s undeniably flatulent kick sound, I found myself increasingly annoyed by this track. On a general level, it feels like the Timberlake/Timbaland team have now been mining a very similar vein with diminishing musical returns for more than a decade, starting with the admittedly splendid &lsquo;Cry Me A River&rsquo; on Justified, progressing to the paler derivative of &lsquo;What Goes Around&rsquo; on FutureSex/LoveSounds, and ending up with a threadbare patchwork of the two on this latest single from new album The 20/20 Experience: it&rsquo;s no use stapling the beatbox sounds of the former to the smooth strings of the latter if the songwriting and vocal arrangements are nowhere near as ear-catching.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/mirrors/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Rescue Me" by Steep Canyon Rangers</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rescue-me/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rescue-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Bluegrass is more about albums than singles, but this song is a good place to start if you&rsquo;ve yet to discover the Steep Canyon Rangers&rsquo; Grammy-winning Nobody Knows You. Recorded and mixed by veteran Bluegrass supremo Gary Paczosa, it&rsquo;s a thing of beauty from an engineering perspective, and would make an excellent quality benchmark for any student of acoustic ensemble recording. Fiddle, mandolin and banjo can all sound ferociously scratchy in the wrong circumstances, so it&rsquo;s marvellous to hear them all so smoothly and warmly captured, allowing the lead vocal to maintain its frontal position effortlessly, without any need to overplay the nasality of the Southern twang.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/rescue-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Ace Of Spades" by Motörhead</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ace-of-spades/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ace-of-spades/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This iconic single remains a benchmark of how three guys can create an awesome racket. There&rsquo;s no mucking around: one drummer flailing away at a roomy stereo kit; one distorted guitar with a couple of riffs and powerchords to rub together; one aggressive, mid-heavy bass drone; and generous helpings of sweat and melodic yelling. To hell with fripperies like panning and double tracking, and you can keep all your fancy effects too (bar a couple of delays and maybe a touch of reverb).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/ace-of-spades/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Diamonds" by Rihanna</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/diamonds/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/diamonds/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Whatever you call the interval of six semitones (tritone, augmented fourth, diminished fifth&hellip;), its usefulness in mainstream harmonic progressions is enormous, the strong dissonance driving you towards the promise of consonant resolution, whether or not that yearning is ultimately satisfied! However, its use as a melodic interval is much less widespread, especially in musical styles where memorability is the watchword, simply because it&rsquo;s quite awkward to sing unaided. Indeed, back in the days when people anxiously referred to this interval as diabolus in musica, any vocal line employing it would have been deemed well-nigh unworkable, and even these days it&rsquo;s rare to find prominent tritones in any popular melody without their being resolved immediately to the nearest adjacent pitch.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/diamonds/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Swimming Pools (Drank)" by Kendrick Lamar</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/swimming-pools/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/swimming-pools/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Every inch classic Dr Dre, this production loses little ground against the tracks from Dre&rsquo;s 2001 that have been a cornerstone of my own reference CD for more than a decade. His trademark combination of clarity and depth is well demonstrated here, the massive top-octave density of the vocals and snare (surely not possible to achieve without some kind of psychoacoustic enhancement?) contrasting with the smoothness and warmth of the backing synths, snare reverb splashes and orchestral hits.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/swimming-pools/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Lamb" by Kansas City Chorale</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rene-clausen-the-lamb/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rene-clausen-the-lamb/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Do try to chase down this year&rsquo;s Grammy winner in the &lsquo;Best Engineered Classical Album&rsquo; category if you&rsquo;ve any interest in the pros and cons of different classical recording techniques, because even the simpler tracks such as &lsquo;The Lamb&rsquo; are quite thought-provoking in that regard. Given the wide, fairly diffuse stereo picture and bottomless LF extension, it&rsquo;s probably safe to say that the engineers relied heavily on spaced omnis for overall pickup of the ensemble.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/rene-clausen-the-lamb/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Feel The Love" by Rudimental feat. John Newman</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/feel-the-love/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/feel-the-love/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I have to admit that this production left me scratching my head, because of the one-sidedness of the main bass synth&rsquo;s end. It&rsquo;s not consistent, but a lot of the time it&rsquo;s 6dB hotter in the left channel below 80Hz, and at times (eg. 0:25) it reaches more than 12dB difference. To put this in perspective, I can&rsquo;t recall any other modern chart record that has anything like this kind of inter-channel LF mismatch, and that stands to reason, because if you want maximum sub-80Hz clout within a fixed digital headroom, you&rsquo;ve got to stuff both stereo channels as full of those frequencies as you can.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/feel-the-love/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"If I Didn't Care" by The Inkspots</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/if-i-didnt-care/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/if-i-didnt-care/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although this song is one of the best-selling singles of all time, a lot of readers probably haven&rsquo;t ever heard it, seeing as it dates from 1939! However, as a long-term fan of The Ink Spots, I&rsquo;d recommend seeking out at least this one song if they&rsquo;ve so far passed under your radar, if only to admire a lyric comprised entirely of questions and snigger at the earnest deployment of the phrase &ldquo;honey child&rdquo;!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/if-i-didnt-care/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Sweet Nothing" by Calvin Harris feat. Florence Welch</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sweet-nothing/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sweet-nothing/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      However much you like Florence Welch&rsquo;s performance style, she does struggle to project certain phonemes, so it was perhaps a miscalculation to feature two of them in this song&rsquo;s titular hook-line, because she might as well be singing &ldquo;you&rsquo;re giving me such sweet dubbin&rdquo;, for all I can tell. To be fair, it can be a struggle to bring &rsquo;n&rsquo; sounds out of a busy mix, simply because they&rsquo;re tonally quite dull by their very nature (you close your main airway to say them, after all), so they do often need a helping hand from your mix automation system if they&rsquo;re to come through intelligibly.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sweet-nothing/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-are-never-ever-getting-back-together/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-are-never-ever-getting-back-together/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The highlight of this song&rsquo;s production, for me, is its use of speech. While melody is vital for a pop song, the personality of the vocalist and the apparent sincerity of their lyrics are also huge factors, and the awkward reality is that both of these are usually better served by the more instinctive and unrestricted medium of natural speech. The simplest means of squaring this circle is for the vocalist to substitute the odd sung note for a spoken word, so it&rsquo;s no surprise to find examples here, but they&rsquo;re beautifully judged nonetheless.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-are-never-ever-getting-back-together/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Anything Could Happen" by Ellie Goulding</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/anything-could-happen/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/anything-could-happen/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This production has one of the oddest lead-vocal effects treatments I&rsquo;ve heard for a while, which brings to my mind a vivid image that she&rsquo;s shivering uncontrollably! Listening carefully to the moments when it&rsquo;s most audible (such as &ldquo;cover your eyes so you don&rsquo;t know the secret&rdquo; at 0:19), it sounds a little like an audio vibrato processor, using an 8-10Hz modulation rate. (This isn&rsquo;t the most common of effects; track down Melda&rsquo;s freeware MVibrato plug-in if you fancy experimenting.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/anything-could-happen/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" by Pink</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/blow-me/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/blow-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Prompted by their similarity of style, I decided to compare this song with Kelly Clarkson&rsquo;s 'Stronger (What Doesn&#39;t Kill You)'. It turns out that both were mixed by the same person and mastered at Sterling Sound — although by different mastering engineers. The main difference for me is that the Pink track has more of a &lsquo;smile&rsquo; curve to its EQ profile, such that the Clarkson sounds slightly boxy, by comparison, on larger systems.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/blow-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Bom Bom" by Sam And The Womp</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bom-bom/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bom-bom/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The vocal absolutely makes this record for me — a fantastic and uninhibited performance from vocalist Bloem de Ligny. It&rsquo;s tough making any rap expressive and characterful enough to arrest the listener&rsquo;s attention in its own right, which is why bland and monotonous delivery is the scourge of second-rate hip-hop. It&rsquo;s thus instructive to examine how this lead line pushes towards the other extreme, hamming things up to a point well outside the expressive range of normal speech.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bom-bom/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Hotel California" by The Eagles</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hotel-california/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hotel-california/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Re-reading Sound On Sound magazine&rsquo;s &lsquo;Classic Tracks&rsquo; article about this production, I smiled at producer Bill Szymczyk&rsquo;s assertion that the drums were &ldquo;kept as open as possible.&rdquo; I can only assume that Studio C at Criteria Studios must have been dead as a doornail acoustically, because this sound is pretty much the archetype of a tight, dry, hard-panned &rsquo;70s rock kit. I&rsquo;m not complaining, because it&rsquo;s a lovely sound. The kick has an efficient meatiness in the 70-80Hz zone, leaving most of the low end open for the athletic bass line, while the tasteful 700-800Hz peak was ample to cater for radio compatibility before the following decade&rsquo;s HF arms-race really got going.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/hotel-california/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wide Awake" by Katy Perry</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wide-awake/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wide-awake/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One hallmark of a great pop producer is the ability to tap into the unrealised potential of ideas that others dismiss as laughably simple, so I beg leave to respectfully doff my cap in the direction of Dr Luke and Cirkut. While the concept of sweeping a low-pass filter over groups of backing parts is neither new nor clever, these guys have found a fresh angle by slowing down the sweeps on their backing synths to the point where they graduate into a structural device, reinforcing the musical momentum of the song.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wide-awake/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Candy" by Robbie Williams</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/candy/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/candy/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is one of those productions that intrigues me as an arranger because of its sound layering. The opening piano and sax combination caught my ear immediately, for instance, and I like the way it appears to be bolstered with subtle electric guitar layers as the texture begins to thicken further at 0:25, as well as how the piano shifts up the pitch register to lend the grouping more &lsquo;poke&rsquo; from the first chorus.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/candy/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Don't You Worry Child" by Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-you-worry-child/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-you-worry-child/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      What a great vocal sound this is! Careful use of the 600-800Hz zone lends solidity without woolliness, while there&rsquo;s just enough 2-3kHz to give it a slightly &lsquo;radio&rsquo; tone, despite avoiding the 4-5kHz region that can so easily lead to brashness. However, the singer must also claim a good deal of credit, partly because he never seems to push his vocal cords beyond their sweet spot in terms of volume — or, as an old singing teacher of mine used to say: &ldquo;Never sing louder than lovely!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-you-worry-child/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio feat. L.V.</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/gangstas-paradise/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/gangstas-paradise/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Given his 1994 success with &lsquo;Fantastic Voyage&rsquo;, Coolio could probably have guaranteed himself a respectable hit simply by sampling Stevie Wonder&rsquo;s &lsquo;Pastime Paradise&rsquo;, so thank heavens he and Doug Rasheed didn&rsquo;t just settle for the simple cash-in, crafting a proper rearrangement, complete with star turn from R&amp;B vocalist LV.
Mastering loudness aside, this mix still competes strongly against current chart releases, with beautiful crossover-friendly translation of both the kick and bass even on under-powered domestic systems.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/gangstas-paradise/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Good Time" by Owl City feat. Carly Rae Jepsen</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-time/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-time/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I had high hopes for this collaboration, given that these artists have delivered two of my favourite pop singles of recent years (&lsquo;Fireflies&rsquo; and 'Call Me Maybe' respectively), but I have to say I was disappointed. Gone are the quirkily inventive song-writing and clear, super-efficient arrangement that set both those former singles out from the herd, and we&rsquo;re treated instead to party club-pop by numbers. Sure, it&rsquo;s of a high enough calibre in its own right to have performed solidly on a commercial level, although not a patch on past glories in that respect, either.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-time/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wings" by Little Mix</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wings/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wings/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;m sure I&rsquo;m not the only music enthusiast for whom despising Simon Cowell has become something of a hobby. Despite my ingrained antipathy, however, I can&rsquo;t help warming to this production of the former X-Factor winners. The handclaps are cracking, getting good mileage out of thwarting my rhythmic expectations, as well as avoiding most of the usual backbeat clichés — at least, until the choruses really get going. In a wider sense, variations in the kick/snare arrangement are handled very adeptly too, including the four-to-the-floor skeleton of the first verse (0:03-0:17), the softer-edged, kick-only pre-chorus (0:36-0:43), and the bass-synth drops at &ldquo;running off your mouth&rdquo; (0:26) and &ldquo;ready, steady, go&rdquo; (1:29).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wings/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Beneath Your Beautiful" by Labrinth feat. Emeli Sandé</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/beneath-your-beautiful/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/beneath-your-beautiful/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      For all the buzz surrounding Emeli Sandé&rsquo;s vocal talents, I think Labrinth blows her off the record here! The understated fragility and fatalism of the first verse blooms magically into a ray of hope at 0:55 (&ldquo;but I&rsquo;m gonna try&rdquo;), and the chorus vocal&rsquo;s ragged grain fascinates the ear. There are moments where Sandé holds her own (the low-register segment at 1:54-2:02, for instance), but most of the time she too readily retreats to her comfort zone of well-worn R&amp;B stylings, which rings a bit hollow when Labrinth is taking real risks in pursuit of emotional immediacy.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/beneath-your-beautiful/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Genie In A Bottle" by Christina Aguilera</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/genie-in-a-bottle/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/genie-in-a-bottle/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This track&rsquo;s 32nd-note kick-drum pattern remains unusual in mainstream pop to this day. The long wavelengths of a kick-drum&rsquo;s low frequencies usually take time to decay (if not in the signal itself, certainly in the real world of resonant playback systems and domestic room modes). If kick hits are too close together, the low frequencies don&rsquo;t have time to decay before the next hit, reducing the punch of each hit and swamping any bass part in the lower octaves.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/genie-in-a-bottle/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Hall Of Fame" by The Script feat. will.i.am</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hall-of-fame/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hall-of-fame/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;m bored to tears by most of the lazy broken-chord keyboard figurations in chart productions, but this intro injects some musicality into that tired formula. Although the piano maintains a16th-note pulse, it doesn&rsquo;t stick to the same oscillating figuration of the first two beats, but moves to a four-note Bb-Eb-Eb-G shape, returning to the oscillations, but with &lsquo;B&rsquo; as the lower note. There&rsquo;s also a nice syncopated accent just before bar two, beat three, replaced by a 32nd-note mordent during the second iteration (0:06-0:11).
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/hall-of-fame/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Skyfall" by Adele</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/skyfall/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/skyfall/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The CD single of this Oscar-winning track includes an instrumental mix, which can be phase cancelled against the full mix, almost isolating the vocals! Courtesy of this dodge, it&rsquo;s apparent that the vocals have been chopped around a fair bit (check out the &ldquo;zat skyfalls&rdquo; at 1:54, for example) and that much of the second chorus appears to have been copied from the first.
The lead line obviously relies on heavy reverb and tempo-sync&rsquo;ed delays, but the isolated vocals suggest that there are no short reverb or stereo widening effects, which helps to explain how the vocal manages to remain so up-front, despite its subjective wetness.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/skyfall/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Back In Black" by AC/DC</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/back-in-black/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/back-in-black/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;m clearly not the only one who likes the production on this track, because it&rsquo;s in mastering engineer Bob Katz&rsquo;s &lsquo;Honor Roll&rsquo;, but it also features one of my all-time favourite drum sounds. The kick drum on this record sowed the seed of my long-unrequited gear-lust for a U47 FET, its well-defined transient carrying through on small listening systems, despite the guitars, and its 70Hz low-end power-base tailor made to slot between the harmonics of all but a handful of the bass-guitar notes.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/back-in-black/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Summer Paradise" by Simple Plan feat. Sean Paul</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/summer-paradise/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/summer-paradise/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      In mainstream pop, clear transmission of the lead singer&rsquo;s melody, lyrics, and trademark mannerisms is paramount. When it comes to songwriting, &lsquo;Summer Paradise&rsquo; may not be a work of high art, but it&rsquo;s not for want of a highly crafted frame — because this is as good a model as any for students of pop vocal production.
First, the vocal editing is first-class. The pitching is absolutely nailed down, in line with stylistic expectations, but care has nevertheless clearly been taken to retain selected expressive contours within the performance.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/summer-paradise/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Taking Over Me" by Lawson</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/taking-over-me/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/taking-over-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This production scores strongly in games of Rubbish Lyrics Bingo. (Mangling the word order to meet the rhyme scheme? Check. Tangled use of &ldquo;you&rdquo; and &ldquo;she&rdquo; about the same person? Check. The word &ldquo;ecstasy&rdquo; from anyone under retirement age? Bingo!). Still, it does have some more commendable features too. Take the arpeggiated synth that appears right at the outset and frequently thereafter. Placing every odd-numbered sixteenth note on the left, and every even-numbered one on the right creates a wide-sounding rhythmic texture in stereo that also has cast-iron mono compatibility.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/taking-over-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wonderful" by Angel</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wonderful/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wonderful/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Up-front pop/R&amp;B vocal sounds have always required a stiff dose of top-octave &lsquo;air&rsquo; frequencies, so if you want your lead singer all but leaping down the listener&rsquo;s throat, enhance their 10-20kHz spectral zone. At least, that&rsquo;s the theory! In practice, you need to tread with care, as this Angel production demonstrates.
High frequencies sound appealing on almost anything (not just vocals), so it&rsquo;s very easy to turn the high end of your mix into a bit of a battle-zone, making the overall listening experience rather grating, especially at higher volumes.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wonderful/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Gangnam Style" by Psy</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/gangnam-style/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/gangnam-style/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Peel away the daft dance moves, and &lsquo;Gangnam Style&rsquo; is still an extremely effective mainstream house production that would make a good reference point for students of the genre. The kick has a solid 50Hz foundation and enough energy in the octave above to give a subjectively thick and &lsquo;bassy&rsquo; timbre, but it nevertheless manages to exert a powerful influence over the arrangement even if you high-pass the mix at 1kHz, thanks to the transient&rsquo;s HF extension and the deep kick-sync&rsquo;ed gain-pumping effect — which is all good news if you&rsquo;re concerned about widespread translation across different playback systems.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/gangnam-style/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Will Wait" by Mumford &amp; Sons</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-will-wait/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-will-wait/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Regular readers will know that I&rsquo;m a great fan of arrangement drops: those moments when the mix suddenly thins for dramatic effect, reclaiming headroom so you can build up towards the next climax. So I was delighted to discover that this song&rsquo;s chock full of them! All three verses (0:18, 1:30, and 2:28) start with drops, for instance, the first bringing us down from the introductory instrumental chorus; the second lifted a little in relation by the more prominent kick pulse; and the third lent a fresh twist by the introduction of that unusual dulcimer-like sound.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-will-wait/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Killing Me Softly" by The Fugees</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/killing-me-softly/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/killing-me-softly/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      If there had been a Big Brass Balls Music Award 1996, this production would have left all the other nominees standing. Even out of its original context (on the heels of UK number ones from Oasis, Take That, George Michael, and the football anthem &lsquo;Three Lions&rsquo;) I still have the utmost respect for whoever it was that called time when so much space still remained unfilled. &ldquo;Just beat and vocals for 30 seconds?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/killing-me-softly/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Watchtower" by Devlin feat. Ed Sheeran</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/watchtower/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/watchtower/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Many people confuse the purpose of a single-driver mid-range speaker (such as the famous Auratone 5C), with that of a simple low-fidelity &lsquo;grotbox&rsquo;, but the differences between them are well demonstrated by the way each responds to the vocals in the context of this (deliberately) heavily distorted mix. My mid-range speaker (an Avantone MixCube) delivers the mix very clearly, adding little in the way of distortion or resonance, so that I can much more clearly hear the relation between the vocal and backing levels.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/watchtower/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Don't Wake Me Up" by Chris Brown</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-wake-me-up/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-wake-me-up/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This song&rsquo;s chorus is fairly conventional euphoric trance, but the second verse (1:37-2:07) is so nicely put together that it&rsquo;s worth seeking out even if this sub-genre isn&rsquo;t your usual poison. The lovely blippy synth sequence and eighth-beat-only clap hit put a great new slant on the basic four-to-the-floor kick pattern here, but still leave plenty of room for the ear candy of the vocal/guitar delay details to be amply appreciated.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dont-wake-me-up/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Ill Manors" by Plan B</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ill-manors/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/ill-manors/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s easy to be distracted from the Keystone Cops-style string sample by Plan B&rsquo;s blistering state-of-the-nation polemic, and leave with the impression that it&rsquo;s just a simple loop. On the contrary, however, its actually pretty inventive, a notable technique in the producer&rsquo;s arsenal being that of triggering the same snippets both in on-beat and off-beat contexts. The most obvious example can probably be heard at the start of the chorus, where the first seven of the sample&rsquo;s 16th notes (assuming a 67bpm tempo) are retriggered again on the eighth, and then again on the 15th.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/ill-manors/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Lightning Bolt" by Jake Bugg</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lightning-bolt/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/lightning-bolt/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I love the way this production makes a virtue of its own economy of means, blasting along on the same fairly straightforward groove for just over two minutes before calling a halt. That said, the arrangement is no less effective for its simplicity, giving each new section its own added feature. So following the opening guitar-only accompaniment, the entry of the kick drum and tambourine at 0:17 increases the energy into verse two; verse three adds in the bass; the snare arrives with the first chorus; and the high-gain guitar solo part takes the baton from the chorus vocals to carry us over the song&rsquo;s midway point.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/lightning-bolt/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Mercy" by Kanye West feat. Big Sean, Pusha T &amp; 2 Chainz</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mercy/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mercy/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A recent chart topper in Billboard&rsquo;s rap division, this track epitomises what I consider to be one of hip-hop&rsquo;s greatest strengths — its ability to convincingly glue together collections of disconcerting and/or potentially conflicting sonic elements, primarily through sheer force of ego! Ask yourself this: what do quotations from the Book Of Revelation have to do with four rappers figuratively waving their dicks around? Not a great deal, frankly, but Kanye West&rsquo;s unflinching transplant of those well-known biblical phrases into his home turf encourages you to make them subservient to his own lyrical message.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/mercy/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Money, Money, Money" by ABBA</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/money-money-money/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/money-money-money/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is one of my all-time favourite arrangements — there&rsquo;s just so much to enjoy here! The part that probably stands out most for me is the bass. Not only does it contribute to one of the song&rsquo;s signature hooks by boldly doubling the first half of the chorus vocal melody, but it also sprinkles the song with diverting ear candy — for example, the fill before &ldquo;ain&rsquo;t it sad&rdquo; at 1:28 and the longer counter-melody under &ldquo;aah&hellip; all the things I could do&rdquo; at 2:12-2:18.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/money-money-money/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Pride" by Amy Macdonald</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/pride/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/pride/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I took a blind punt on Amy MacDonald&rsquo;s third album, Life In A Beautiful Light, after noticing that she&rsquo;d cracked the top echelons of the UK album charts without my having come into contact with her music before. Upon receiving the album, I was also intrigued to discover the mixing credited to Bob Clearmountain — a name once practically synonymous with the phrase &lsquo;hit record&rsquo;, but which rarely appears in the singles charts these days, I&rsquo;m sad to say.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/pride/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"30 Days" by The Saturdays</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/30-days/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/30-days/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Not content to kick off with arguably the most threadbare opening line in popular music history (&ldquo;I woke up in the morning&hellip;&rdquo;), this production also distinguishes itself as one of the clunkiest marriages between lyric and melody that I&rsquo;ve encountered for months. The chief crime here is the way the robotic melody clumsily over-emphasises certain syllables by virtue of putting them on strong beats: for example, the third syllable of &ldquo;felt so far away&rdquo; at 0:17 and the first syllable of &ldquo;subtract the distance&rdquo; at 0:30, amongst others that even Abba would probably have baulked at.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/30-days/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Call My Name" by Cheryl</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/call-my-name/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/call-my-name/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The bass at 0:34 in this track has got to be one of the most punchy and solid-sounding synths I&rsquo;ve heard in a long time — an absolute stunner! However, its power base isn&rsquo;t the sub-bass region (the kick&rsquo;s 47Hz foundation rules the roost there), because its fundamental isn&rsquo;t actually its strongest component. The first overtone is considerably more powerful, hammering the 100-160Hz zone for maximum subjective &lsquo;bassiness&rsquo; while leaving the subs tighter than Cheryl&rsquo;s hotpants.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/call-my-name/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Euphoria" by Loreen</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/euphoria/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/euphoria/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This year&rsquo;s Swedish Eurovision winner even managed to work its way into the UK charts, and its extensive use of parallel melodic motion between the bass and melody is an unusual treat. Most of the motions are in thirds, starting with the small upward and downward excursions heard under &ldquo;evermore&rdquo; (0:08) and &ldquo;open door&rdquo; (0:15) respectively, and moving to more extended chains of parallel thirds during the chorus on lines such as &ldquo;forever till the end of time&rdquo; at 1:34.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/euphoria/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Heatwave" by Wiley feat. Ms D</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/heatwave/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/heatwave/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s not often you hear something that sounds like an obvious fluff on record these days, so I was fascinated when the string loop and bass drone that had been building up so predictably for the first half-minute of this production suddenly took a bizarre-sounding swerve at 0:37, for all the world as if the person at the MIDI controller had had a seizure! Whether initially created accidentally or not, however, the fact remains that this odd arrangement feature was allowed to survive all the way to the final mix, becoming an unorthodox and arresting little hook, repeated at 1:36 and 2:35 as a vote of confidence — a variation on the old jazz trick of repeating a mistake until it starts to sound like part of the plan!
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/heatwave/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Hot Right Now" by DJ Fresh feat. Rita Ora</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hot-right-now/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hot-right-now/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This production&rsquo;s &ldquo;throw your hands up!&rdquo; refrain rather neatly demonstrates some of the pitfalls of using vocoders in a high-energy mix. The first challenge when vocoding is that although most bright, synth-based carrier signals have enough high mid-range energy to render the mobile resonances of vowel sounds easily recognisable, they don&rsquo;t usually have the same HF density as the noisy elements of natural vocal signals, so the intelligibility of sibilant and fricative consonants (eg.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/hot-right-now/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Too Close" by Alex Clare</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/too-close/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/too-close/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Whatever prejudices I may harbour against Microsoft, I can&rsquo;t help but thank their marketing department for alerting me to this track, featured in recent Internet Explorer 9 advertising and subsequently driven into the charts. It&rsquo;s not just that I&rsquo;m a sucker for dubstep-inspired chorus theatrics either, because one of the things that appeals most to me in this case is the level of restraint shown in the production. The way the two main elements of the chorus texture (the modulated bass synth and lead vocal) are made responsible for capturing the listener&rsquo;s full attention, wilfully without fills and other arrangement distractions, is an uncompromisingly bold move that could easily have backfired, given a less engaging synth sound or vocal performance.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/too-close/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Can't Say No" by Conor Maynard</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cant-say-no/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/cant-say-no/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Within the first minute, this song made a good impression on me: there&rsquo;s a bold production hook in the choice of kick drum, combined with tastefully sparse sound-design and high-class vocal production in the Mixolydian mode. As the timeline progressed, however, I became progressively more frustrated at the unremittingly barren harmonic backdrop. Yes, I realise that the main arrangement hook here is a pitched bass drum, but would it have been so tricky to shift that a couple of semitones either way from time to time, just so the songwriting had more room to breathe?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/cant-say-no/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Drive By" by Train</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/drive-by/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/drive-by/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although this song&rsquo;s opening double-tracked acoustic-guitar texture, featuring the two passes panned to opposite stereo extremes, seems quite formulaic from an engineering perspective, it warrants a little extra attention. Solo the left and right sides of the mix independently and you can distinctly hear that the chord voicings in the two channels are different. Now compare the stereo mix with its mono sum, and notice how the double-tracked sound doesn&rsquo;t take on quite as much of that chorus-like shimmer you&rsquo;d expect of a traditional closely matched double-track, which makes it seem a little more rock and little less pop.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/drive-by/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Primadonna" by Marina &amp; The Diamonds</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/primadonna/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/primadonna/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It sounds as if Marina has been listening to P!nk, Ke$ha, and K@ty Pe®®y on repeat, but who&rsquo;s complaining if it&rsquo;s spurred her into writing mouthy pop lyrics like these, and supporting them with a terrifically gutsy performance? What I particularly like about the latter is its sense of range, both in terms of pitch and expression. The low register of every fourth verse line is wonderful, for instance, not just because it&rsquo;s a rarity to hear a female singer exploiting this region so confidently, but also because it gives those lyrics a kind of boozy petulance that&rsquo;s very much in keeping with their meaning.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/primadonna/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Where Have You Been" by Rihanna</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/where-have-you-been/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/where-have-you-been/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A lovely kick-drum sound here: plenty of 50Hz weight, but not without well-judged doses of 90Hz &lsquo;chest punch&rsquo; and 180Hz warmth, and an envelope as spiky as it is tightly damped. Even better, though, is the programming of the acid-style bass riff that dramatically hops into the spotlight for the first time at 1:15. Not only is the note and pitch-bend programming first-class, and indeed more nuanced than it might at first appear (check out the fracturing of the line at 3:00-3:13, for instance), producer Calvin Harris has also introduced a great deal of ear-catching tonal variety.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/where-have-you-been/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Picking Up The Pieces" by Paloma Faith</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/picking-up-the-pieces/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/picking-up-the-pieces/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;m not a fan of this mix at all. Sure, the vocal is well upfront, but otherwise the sonics feel curiously muffled overall, and it&rsquo;s very difficult to appreciate the qualities of most of the backing parts because they&rsquo;re so difficult to hear. For example, I get the sense that the upright piano sound that enters with the first verse could be really interesting to listen to in its own right, but the mix somehow contrives to represent it using all its least characterful frequencies, leaving it indistinct and forgettable.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/picking-up-the-pieces/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Princess Of China" by Coldplay feat. Rihanna</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/princess-of-china/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/princess-of-china/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is a fascinating production; mad as March hare in some respects, but somehow the band manage to carry the whole thing off fairly convincingly. The song&rsquo;s structure, for example, is enigmatic to say the least. Although you get a clear sense of there being two verses at 0:23 and 1:08, it&rsquo;s nevertheless tricky to cast this song into any kind of traditional structure. The closest thing we get to a &lsquo;chorus&rsquo;, for instance, is the ornamented open-fifth riff which bookends the first verse and then recurs at 2:23, but this features no lyrics and is never really framed as a climax, plus it&rsquo;s all but absent from the song&rsquo;s culmination from 2:46.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/princess-of-china/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"R.I.P." by Rita Ora feat. Tinie Tempah</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/r-i-p/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/r-i-p/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Despite its demonstrable unit-shifting capabilities, it was all I could do to keep my finger off the Skip button while auditioning this exceptionally bland production. Any life that might have remained in the mechanically programmed drums has been smooshed out of them at the mastering stage; mushy synth layers complacently go through the motions, draped around unimaginative harmony; and there&rsquo;s scant arrangement interest beyond a bit of fader/mute juggling. Despite all that, though, I couldn&rsquo;t help smiling at one corner of the main hook lyric, because of the neat way it plays with your expectations.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/r-i-p/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Starships" by Nicki Minaj</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/starships/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/starships/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Of all the ways to remove expletives from a track for chart release, editing the final mix to reverse the offending segments is probably my least favourite. And rarely have I heard it applied so destructively as in this track, where the instances at 1:32, 1:33, and 1:45 really kcuf with the groove. This seems pretty self-defeating in any kind of club tune, even given the shaky justification that the rhythmic hiccups operate as little bits of ear-candy in their own right.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/starships/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Write It On Your Skin" by Newton Faulkner</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/write-it-on-your-skin/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/write-it-on-your-skin/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This, the lead single from Newton Faulkner&rsquo;s recent UK number one album of the same name, makes a rewarding listen for mixing aficionados, right from the lovely vocal and guitar sounds at the very opening. But what I really like is the way mix engineer Ruadhri Cushnan has conjured up a series of tasteful but distinctly ear-catching effect treatments to flag the song sections and keep the basic &lsquo;voice and acoustic guitar&rsquo; backbone of the track sounding fresh — especially important given how much musical/lyrical repetition there is between the two verses and three choruses.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/write-it-on-your-skin/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Boyfriend" by Justin Bieber</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/boyfriend/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/boyfriend/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Watching the Olympic archers during a lull in studio proceedings, I was struck by how modern bows, while undoubtedly the pinnacle of effectiveness and efficiency, don&rsquo;t half look weird. And I get a similar impression about Justin Bieber&rsquo;s music. Ever since &lsquo;One Time&rsquo; and &lsquo;Baby&rsquo; were in the charts a couple of years back, I&rsquo;ve found the low end of his fiercely teen-targeted mix sound slightly freakish, as amply demonstrated in this latest single.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/boyfriend/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Girl Gone Wild" by Madonna</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/girl-gone-wild/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/girl-gone-wild/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s a lot I like about Her Madgesty&rsquo;s latest offering. The beat motors along, with plenty of chunky synth sounds and enough arrangement jiggery-pokery to keep grandma from nodding off. I&rsquo;m also pleased that the dog-bothering brightness of her last album, Confessions On A Dance Floor, appears to have been tamed for MDNA, which makes it a more palatable listen if your playback hardware happens to cost more than its faux-calfskin carry case.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/girl-gone-wild/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"One Day Like This" by Elbow</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/one-day-like-this/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/one-day-like-this/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      London&rsquo;s Olympic Closing Ceremony jamboree catapulted this 2008 single into the UK top five, a new high point for the band. Richly deserved, too, if only for the string arrangement, which makes the most of a rare opportunity to take centre stage. The pacing of the string contributions around the lead vocal is masterful, for instance. Simple unison swells grow into gentle oscillations during the first four vocal lines (0:27-0:50) before imitations of the lead melody emerge and develop to lead us into the staccato riff of the first &ldquo;beautiful day&rdquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/one-day-like-this/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Payphone" by Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/payphone/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/payphone/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Maroon 5 appear to have the Midas touch at the moment, with another big hit following hot on the heels of their global smash 'Moves Like Jagger'. My first impression is that the snare has a lovely crunch to it here, and its super-wide processed ghost-note details provide a sense of horizontal dimension to the verses without dramatically undermining the stereo impact of the chorus&rsquo;s wide-panned lead vocals. However, it&rsquo;s the harmonic ramifications of the main hook line that ended up catching my ear the most.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/payphone/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Whistle" by Flo Rida</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/whistle/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/whistle/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The bitcrusher-style distortion on this acoustic guitar at first seems a little heavy-handed, but once the mix gets going, it seems to recede, subjectively speaking, while still leaving the guitar part itself with a certain extra presence. I suspect there may also be distortion processing in action on the bass and whistle parts during the hook section (first heard at 0:28). My reasoning here is that the bass has masses of rich HF, which makes it extraordinarily small-speaker friendly, but without a particularly sharp-sounding resonance peak; while almost anyone who has ever tried to mix a whistle part will confirm that this mix&rsquo;s edgy cut-though is extremely difficult to achieve without supplementing the sound&rsquo;s naturally scanty upper-spectrum information.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/whistle/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"My Valentine" by Paul McCartney</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/my-valentine/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/my-valentine/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I was keen to get my paws on Paul McCartney&rsquo;s latest album, Kisses On The Bottom, partly because of this recent Sound On Sound magazine article, but also because its main engineer is Al Schmitt, who&rsquo;s something of a Grammy magnet as far as jazz productions are concerned. As I&rsquo;d expected, the album represents an excellent benchmark for anyone making their own recordings in this style, although it will probably prove a source of considerable frustration too, because although Schmitt makes the job look easy, sonics like this are tremendously difficult to emulate, especially under budget restrictions.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/my-valentine/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Pelican" by The Maccabees</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/pelican/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/pelican/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although this tune barely tickled the singles charts, its parent album pushed the band into the UK top five for the first time. What particularly interests me about &lsquo;Pelican&rsquo; (and, indeed, the other single, &lsquo;Feel To Follow&rsquo;) is how mix engineer Cenzo Townsend has created contrast between the drums and bass and the vocals and guitars. Although the drums are by no means dry, their short ambience makes them come across as very dense and compact — almost small — not only keeping the inner details of the complex patterns clear, but also serving as a great foil for the stereo width and long reverb/delay effects of the upper parts.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/pelican/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"We Are Young" by Fun feat. Janelle Monáe</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-are-young/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-are-young/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      On the one hand, this song makes the hit recipe seem so straightforward: arrange your singalong hook on a bed of I-vi-IV-V, add a dash of drum loop and a sprinkle of piano eighth-notes, then bake under the media glare of a Glee cover and a Superbowl Chevvie ad until golden! On the other hand, there are so many left-field features that the whole production somehow manages to engage my attention for many more listens than I&rsquo;d expect it to — so it&rsquo;s a struggle to make this &lsquo;painting by numbers&rsquo; accusation stick.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-are-young/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Good Feeling" by Flo Rida</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-feeling/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-feeling/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Two recent hits have featured the same Etta James sample (taken from her rendition of &lsquo;Something&rsquo;s Got A Hold On Me&rsquo;), but I&rsquo;d rather pay money for this track than for Avicii&rsquo;s &lsquo;Levels&rsquo; any day. It&rsquo;s not that Flo Rida uses the sample any more imaginatively — neither of them are particularly inventive there — it&rsquo;s the main groove of &lsquo;Good Feeling&rsquo; that I think kicks Avicii&rsquo;s arse, even once you take into account Flo Rida&rsquo;s higher subjective loudness level and slightly faster tempo.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-feeling/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Home Again" by Michael Kiwanuka</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/home-again/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/home-again/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      After reading about Paul Butler&rsquo;s production style back in this Sound On Sound magazine article, I eagerly ordered Michael Kiwanuka&rsquo;s album to hear the results. The eponymous single is as good a place as any to get acquainted with this wonderful-sounding record, and it&rsquo;s also full of production gems. I was particularly intrigued to hear the string sound Butler achieved by layering up a lone violinist (Andy Parkin), which is a dodge that my readers regularly ask about.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/home-again/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stronger/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/stronger/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I often talk about the need to mix (and indeed master) with your target listeners in mind, because different playback systems and listening situations affect what people are likely to hear and appreciate in the music. In practice, though, most mix engineers understandably hedge their bets somewhat, in order to cater for as broad a range of listeners outside their core market as possible — as a chart-dance producer might do, for example, by layering some mid-range harmonics over a club-tastic sub-bass for the benefit of the small-speaker listeners driving his iTunes sales.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/stronger/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/call-me-maybe/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/call-me-maybe/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of my longest-suffering friends is an exceptional art historian who has generously tolerated my inability to distinguish Rothko from Rococo for nigh on 20 years. Such are his didactic powers that, despite my natural lack of artistic sensibility, he does occasionally succeed in sowing a small seed of art-related wisdom in my consciousness. And so it was that, while poking fun at some superfluous decorative stonework in Heidelberg Castle, he recently introduced me to the idea of horror vacui: the artist&rsquo;s fear of leaving empty space.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/call-me-maybe/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Heart Skips A Beat" by Olly Murs feat. Rizzle Kicks</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/heart-skips-a-beat/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/heart-skips-a-beat/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This song pulls one of pop&rsquo;s classic structural tricks: a pre-chorus extension bar with a hook in it. The hook in this case is the stuttering snare pattern that starts the song, and its second appearance at 0:51 confounds the expectation (clearly established by the five preceding four-bar groups) that the chorus will start at that moment, effectively extending the last unit of the verse to five bars. The reason why this is such an effective device is that when you wrong-foot the listener&rsquo;s expectations, they immediately pay more attention to what they&rsquo;re hearing at that moment — so the hook plants itself more clearly in their memory.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/heart-skips-a-beat/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Party All Night (Sleep All Day)" by Sean Kingston</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/party-all-night-sleep-all-day/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/party-all-night-sleep-all-day/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Like a lot of club tracks, this tune takes full advantage of extravagant, kick-triggered pumping effects. Whatever method you use to create these in your mix system, there are two critical variables that need to be refined: the amount of ducking on each kick hit, and the timing of the gain-reset curve between the kits. What intrigues me about this Sean Kingston record is that I wonder whether he might have misjudged the latter setting.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/party-all-night-sleep-all-day/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye feat. Kimbra</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/somebody-that-i-used-to-know/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/somebody-that-i-used-to-know/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Youtube has a lot of critics, but I for one continue to give thanks for its role in connecting exciting new artists direct to the public. Only a few months back, it turned up Lana Del Rey for us, and now it&rsquo;s alerted the world to this cracking music from Gotye. That the final version of &lsquo;Somebody That I Used To Know&rsquo; apparently took him six months to complete isn&rsquo;t hard to believe, because it&rsquo;s a treasure trove of sonic details that amply rewards repeated listening.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/somebody-that-i-used-to-know/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Nothing's Real But Love" by Rebecca Ferguson</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/nothings-real-but-love/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/nothings-real-but-love/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;m pretty unshockable when it comes to using super-heavy compression as a creative tool, whether to completely change the character of individual channels or to give bussed signals that exhilarating &rsquo;everything fighting everything else&rsquo; effect that&rsquo;s graced many a rock freak-out. But, try as I might, I just can&rsquo;t warm to the dynamics processing in this particular mix, because it feels to me like it&rsquo;s being used as some kind of shortcut, to avoid actually balancing the mix sensibly.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/nothings-real-but-love/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Read All About It" by Professor Green feat. Emeli Sandé</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/read-all-about-it/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/read-all-about-it/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Beyond an uneasy sense that Professor Green is making Eminem the subject of a pastiche, the thing that really seems odd about this track is the vocal balancing, because I can&rsquo;t really fathom the thinking behind it. Sure, the chorus&rsquo;s vocal hook is good and loud, which is fine, but why is the lead rap then so much further back in the mix by comparison? Given that Emeli Sandé&rsquo;s vocal is already setting a limit on how &lsquo;big&rsquo; the backing seems (by comparison with her level), it feels, to me, like Prof Green could have been quite a bit higher in the mix without making Sandé seem any smaller, which would have really improved the lyrical intelligibility.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/read-all-about-it/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Without You" by David Guetta feat. Usher</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-you-01/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-you-01/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Despite David Guetta receiving top billing here, what really stands out for me is the contribution of guest superstar Usher. Despite some rather ham-fisted tuning processing, I think this vocal is an absolute stunner, carrying the song through two separate minute-long verse sections (0:15-1:15 and 1:41-2:41) with only the scantiest assistance from the arrangement.
This achievement is all the more remarkable given that he has so little to work with: basically four iterations of the same melody per verse, arrayed over a block chord-based backing containing almost nothing in the way of fills or counter-melodies.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/without-you-01/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Earthquake" by Labrinth feat. Tinie Tempah</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/earthquake/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/earthquake/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Even since Tinie Tempah&rsquo;s fantastic &lsquo;Pass Out&rsquo;, I&rsquo;ve considered Labrinth to be one of the most inventive chart producers around, and this recent track of his is once again full of surprises. The beat is certainly a curiosity, achieving the same kind of ponderous gait we heard on &lsquo;Pass Out&rsquo;, which nonetheless manages to conjure a sense of a faster rhythmic motion underneath the surface — most obviously through the vocal arrangement and the chain-like percussion &rsquo;echoes&rsquo; after each snare hit, but also via subtle synth-envelope modulations and the soft, retriggered, vocal-like effect that first appears in the chorus at 0:53.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/earthquake/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Loca People" by Sak Noel</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/loca-people/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/loca-people/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A recurring question on discussion forums seems to be how to get a really clear, cutting kick-drum sound for mainstream chart-oriented dance tunes, and because this production provides a good example of that, I thought I&rsquo;d take the opportunity to examine how it works. The choice of sample is, of course, critical, and while this is inevitably a question of personal taste, there are nonetheless a number of practical considerations to bear in mind too.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/loca-people/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Make Me Proud" by Drake feat. Nicki Minaj</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/make-me-proud/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/make-me-proud/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is one of those productions that wears its no-compromise sonics and stripped-back arrangement with pride. &ldquo;Can&rsquo;t hear the bass line? Get some proper speakers! Chords?! Go listen to Stevie Wonder!&rdquo; That kind of thing. This is great in this situation, because it not only focuses attention on the vocals, but also on the wonderfully diaphanous atmospherics of the arpeggiated synth backdrop, which would have been the first casualty had anything much else been mixed in.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/make-me-proud/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Shake It Out" by Florence &amp; The Machine</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/shake-it-out/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/shake-it-out/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A production with lots of heavy delay/reverb like this is a fairly rare beast these days, so it&rsquo;s interesting to consider how the mix engineer (Spike Stent in this case) seems to have endeavoured to avoid the sonics dissolving into a washy mess. Firstly, notice that although the drums, pads and backing vocals are thick with reverb, the lead vocal doesn&rsquo;t appear to be. Based on the lack of vocal reverb in the stereo Sides signal and the rather truncated-sounding effect tail audible at some phrase ends (such as &ldquo;way&rdquo; at 0:49), I&rsquo;d guess that the main time-domain effect on the lead probably consists of a short, low-feedback, tempo-sync&rsquo;ed delay.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/shake-it-out/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"All About Tonight" by Pixie Lott</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-about-tonight/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-about-tonight/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s always plenty to learn from listening to commercial productions, but it&rsquo;s not always purely about the sonic aspects of the mix. In this track, for example, what most grabbed my attention was the way that several layers of rhythmic complexity combine to create interest and uncertainty.
It&rsquo;s not hard to guess that any pop tune destined for the dance floor will at some point be driven by a dominant 4/4 beat, but the predictability requires that the producer brings other tricks into play to maintain interest.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/all-about-tonight/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Sophia" by Laura Marling</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sophia/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/sophia/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The opening of this recent single features a considerable level of background hiss. Not that I mind — on the contrary, I think hiss has a lot to recommend it here, because it adds a kind of background width and &lsquo;air&rsquo; to the sound, as well as subtly gluing the different elements of the production together. And this last side-effect is pertinent given the way engineer Ethan Johns has decided to populate the stereo panorama.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/sophia/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Death Of You And Me" by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-death-of-you-and-me/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-death-of-you-and-me/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Even if I inhabited a twisted parallel universe where I actually wanted to hear the word &ldquo;sunshine&rdquo; sung by either of the Gallagher brothers ever again, I&rsquo;d still have some reservations about the vocal on this record, specifically as regards the balancing of its occasional falsetto notes. The nub of the issue is that a falsetto delivery has a completely different timbre to a note that&rsquo;s sung more normally, especially if the singer has to strain to hit the pitch in question, as is normally the case — the 2-4kHz register will tend to be emphasised by forced high-register singing, whereas a weakness in this spectral region is part of what tends to give falsetto its naturally softer-edged character.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-death-of-you-and-me/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Heaven" by Emeli Sandé</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/heaven/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/heaven/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The highlights of this track for me are the warm gospel-choir &lsquo;oohs&rsquo; and major tonic chord that uplift &ldquo;but the day it always lasts too long&rdquo; each time it comes around. Beyond that, though, this track showcases a few simple arrangement tricks that are very handy in all sorts of styles. The first is simply to use volume swells to give long held notes some direction and realism. For live string players it&rsquo;s such a natural thing to swell in and out of important chord changes, or to bubble up into empty pockets in the overall ensemble texture (as is particularly noticeable in the first verse here at 0:15-0:44), but most of the programmed strings I hear fail to include such basic musicality.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/heaven/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Off The Record" by Tinchy Stryder feat. Calvin Harris &amp; Burns</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/off-the-record/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/off-the-record/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A great opening synth sound here — at a guess, a high-pass-filtered pair of sawtooths pitched two octaves apart — but whatever its make-up it&rsquo;s brutally buzzy and with razor-sharp HF peaks at 4.8kHz and 8.6kHz. The gravelly texture makes me suspect that some inharmonic components have also been mixed in for good measure (perhaps from some kind of digital grungifier plug-in), not least because Calvin Harris has had his paws on this production, and he made great use of digital distortion on his recent single 'Bounce'.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/off-the-record/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Video Games" by Lana Del Rey</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/video-games/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/video-games/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is the most captivating thing I&rsquo;ve heard in the charts for months, a production that instantly grabs you with its tangential instrumentation, a vocal so languid it&rsquo;s borderline medicated, and a lyric of unspoken heartbreak. However, like almost all music that really stays with me, it&rsquo;s also replete with buried treasure.
Take the basic two-bar idea that underpins the verses (0:19 and 1:46). It catches the ear straight away, not only because of its unusual parallel chord motion and alternating minor/major pattern, but also because of the way the harmonic rhythm grinds to a halt part-way through the second bar each time.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/video-games/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/what-makes-you-beautiful/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/what-makes-you-beautiful/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A device used repeatedly in this song is that of differing note-durations, and the staccato/legato contrast this generates. The opening guitar riff&rsquo;s black silences start the ball rolling, setting the tone for the whole of the first verse (complete with stuttering deliveries of &ldquo;do-o-oor&rdquo; and &ldquo;enou-ou-ough&rdquo;), but the pre-chorus at 0:23 then smooths things out with more legato guitar, bass and vocal lines. A similar contrast exists between the first and second halves of the chorus, providing a definite energy step-up in the arrangement without the need to add anything much to the already packed-out instrumental texture — and also allowing the return of the clipped durations at 1:00 to flag the hook of the word &ldquo;beautiful&rdquo;.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/what-makes-you-beautiful/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Called Out In The Dark" by Snow Patrol</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/called-out-in-the-dark/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/called-out-in-the-dark/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I love how the background hiss is worn with pride during this song&rsquo;s intro — it immediately gives what could easily have been a rather pedestrian line an appealing patina that&rsquo;s immediately arresting, given the general cleanness of most mainstream commercial productions. However, even when that guitar riff takes a more back-seat position as the drums and vocals enter at 0:08, the noise element remains an important part of the overall presentation, making the air around the comparatively sparse arrangement feel somehow slightly smokey, as well as doubtless providing some incidental blending of the mix as a whole.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/called-out-in-the-dark/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"We Owned The Night" by Lady Antebellum</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-owned-the-night/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-owned-the-night/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although this band&rsquo;s country pop sound has scarcely tickled the UK singles listings, their last two records have both topped album charts in the US and Canada, with their latest offering making the UK top five. For me, the star attraction of this second single, from a production perspective, is the vocal editing, which is an exercise in firm but musical control. The pitching and timing are clearly superhuman, especially when you consider the vice-like hold that Charles Kelley&rsquo;s voice exerts over his bandmates&rsquo; backing harmonies, but whatever behind-the-scenes work this may have involved is worn so lightly that suspension of disbelief is almost effortless, and you can pretty much just get on with enjoying the song.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-owned-the-night/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"With Ur Love" by Cher Lloyd feat. Mike Posner</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/with-ur-love/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/with-ur-love/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Last month, I pointed out how the whistled line in Maroon 5&rsquo;s recent smash 'Moves Like Jagger' reinforces one of the song&rsquo;s main vocal hooks. By way of contrast, the opening of this Cher Lloyd song demonstrates how an instrumental riff can be spotlighted by a lead-vocal doubling. Like it or not, the singer commands the lion&rsquo;s share of most listeners&rsquo; attention in chart music, so this simple technique is a very effective way of drawing people into the details of the backing track — whether you choose to use scat lyrics (as in this case) or something more meaningful.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/with-ur-love/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Won't Let You Go" by James Morrison</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-wont-let-you-go/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-wont-let-you-go/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The first thing that struck me about this track is how clear and upfront Morrison&rsquo;s trademark gravel-gargling is in the mix, especially when it first arrives, drilling away at the top two octaves of the spectrum, which have studiously been left clear by the introductory Hammond pad. As with a lot of ballads, an important part of the recipe here is the deliberately mellow backing sounds, minimising HF masking of vocal details even when the band is playing flat out later in the song.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-wont-let-you-go/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/moves-like-jagger/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/moves-like-jagger/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The whistled part in this production is a masterstroke on a number of levels. For a start, it presents the chorus&rsquo;s key melodic moment right away, despite the song&rsquo;s lyrics preventing the vocal from delivering it so early on. It also pops up all over the rest of the arrangement to ensure that you&rsquo;re never more than 15 seconds from a reminder of the chorus, and allows a convenient means of signing off the song with an extra repetition of the final hook — all very savvy from a commercial perspective.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/moves-like-jagger/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Paradise" by Coldplay</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/paradise-01/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/paradise-01/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is one of the oddest mixes I&rsquo;ve heard in the charts for a while, not least on account of its overall tonality, which feels starved at around 200Hz but rather abrasive at 2kHz or so, as well as boasting powerful spectral extremes. While this comes through pretty well on smaller consumer speakers, it feels like a bit of an acquired taste on anything larger or more high-resolution. It&rsquo;s also a little puzzling that the bass appears to have been panned significantly to the right.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/paradise-01/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Down With The Trumpets" by Rizzle Kicks</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/down-with-the-trumpets/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/down-with-the-trumpets/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Here&rsquo;s a production that feels to me like it&rsquo;s trying a bit too hard to sound big and clear on low-quality systems, giving owners of pimped VW Golf GTIs some cheap sub-100Hz thrills and ensuring crispy ringtone transmission at the top end, but at the expense of a deficit in the 300Hz &lsquo;warmth&rsquo; zone. The HF transients and sibilance feel overcooked too, and if they had been limited, to take off some of their plasticky edge, I reckon the lyrics would have come through better and you&rsquo;d have been able to turn things up more before your ears started bleeding.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/down-with-the-trumpets/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Jar Of Hearts" by Christina Perri</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/jar-of-hearts/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/jar-of-hearts/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      A successful production isn&rsquo;t all about mixing and mastering. In fact, the songwriting and vocal performance can often be sufficient to carry a track. Indeed, I suspect that the runaway success of Christina Perri&rsquo;s low-budget debut single &lsquo;Jar Of Hearts&rsquo;, following its appearance on the TV show So You Think You Can Dance, will have taken the artist and the production team by surprise. As the songwriting is clearly what&rsquo;s been selling this track, I&rsquo;d like to point out a few interesting musical features that I think might have helped it stand out from the crowd.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/jar-of-hearts/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Rope" by Foo Fighters</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rope/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/rope/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      &lsquo;Walk&rsquo;, the other big single off the Foo&rsquo;s album Wasting Light, has one of my favourite arrangement drops at the start of its final choruses, but I&rsquo;ve chosen to focus on &lsquo;Rope&rsquo; here because it&rsquo;s a great example of some stalwart rock arrangement fundamentals in action. An easy way to make your drummer sound powerful in the face of epic guitars is to punch a few holes in the main guitar/bass riffs, allowing you to really hear the details and sustain of his playing, particularly on the snare.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/rope/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Super Bass" by Nicki Minaj</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/super-bass/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/super-bass/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s lots to learn from Nicki Minaj&rsquo;s rapping on this record, and from the brilliant daftness of the chorus vocal hooks, but what intrigues me most is the difference between the original version on the Now! 79 UK singles compilation, and the remastered version on her follow-up album Pink Friday. A/Bing both tracks into my DAW revealed that the album is roughly 3dB louder subjectively speaking. Even when you compensate for that, there&rsquo;s a considerable tonal disparity: it feels as if the album version is down about 3dB below 200Hz, and is also tilted upwards from 1kHz by a decibel or so.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/super-bass/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Bounce" by Calvin Harris feat. Kelis</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bounce/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bounce/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I love the sound of this record, and the way it comes across as clearer and more up-front, yet at the same time less abrasive, than strong competitors such as Example&rsquo;s &lsquo;Changed The Way You Kissed Me&rsquo; or Pitbull&rsquo;s 'Give Me Everything'. Part of the trick of this, it seems to me, is simply that &lsquo;Bounce&rsquo; doesn&rsquo;t have any padding instruments at all — in other words nothing that exists simply for the purpose of stating the harmonies.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bounce/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Calgary" by Bon Iver</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/calgary/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/calgary/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Everyone has different views as to how lead vocals should be balanced in a track, and it&rsquo;s no secret that mix levels and effects treatments vary considerably from genre to genre. Nevertheless, cutting across stylistic boundaries is something of a general consensus amongst mix engineers that, if nothing else, the listener should be able to make out the song&rsquo;s lyrics. One of the practical problems with judging this at mixdown, however, is that if you yourself actually know what the lyrics are supposed to be, it can make them appear much more audible to you than they will be to the average listener.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/calgary/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Give Me Everything" by Pitbull feat. Ne-yo, Afrojack &amp; Nayer</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/give-me-everything/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/give-me-everything/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This recent floor-filler hinges on its vocal production, and part of what keeps the interest going here is the contrasts between the different vocal textures: Pitbull&rsquo;s rasping, loosely triple-tracked rap (for example at 1:00); Ne-Yo&rsquo;s piercingly pitch-perfect high melodic hook (first heard at 0:15); Nayer&rsquo;s vaporous &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t care what they say&hellip;&rdquo; refrain (first heard at 0:31); and Pitbull&rsquo;s 50 Cent-soundalike low-register &ldquo;Excuse me&hellip;&rdquo; sung line (first heard at 1:23). This is where getting guest vocalists in to contribute to a track can really pay off, especially if each singer/rapper works hard to maximise the unique character of their own delivery.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/give-me-everything/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Louder" by DJ Fresh feat. Sian Evans</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/louder/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/louder/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Even if you might initially be put off by the sonics, which feel, to me, overly harsh in the 5-10kHz region, even for this kind of style, &lsquo;Louder&rsquo; is nonetheless well worth a spin for its unusual sped-up ending section, made all the more effective because of its contrast with the intentionally ponderous half-time drums preceding it. While the idea of revealing a musical &lsquo;ace in the hole&rsquo; during the closing stages of a song is nothing new (consider Tinie Tempah&rsquo;s breakthrough smash &lsquo;Pass Out&rsquo;, for example), it&rsquo;s great to hear someone experimenting with tempo like this in a chart release.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/louder/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala" by Arctic Monkeys</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-hellcat-spangled-shalalala/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-hellcat-spangled-shalalala/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Someone involved with this production seems to really like 2.5kHz, because both this track and first single &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t Sit Down &lsquo;Cause I&rsquo;ve Moved Your Chair&rsquo; feature it pretty strongly. On the plus side, this mid-pushed voicing does lend proceedings a kind of &rsquo;everyone coming through the singer&rsquo;s SM58&rsquo; indie appeal, and it&rsquo;s important not to underestimate the commercial value of a band creating an ear-catching signature sound like this. However, the downside for me is that the choruses make my ears hurt well before the volume&rsquo;s loud enough to party to.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-hellcat-spangled-shalalala/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"A Night Like This" by Caro Emerald</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/a-night-like-this/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/a-night-like-this/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is a bona fide masterclass in arrangement, if only on the basis of that the endlessly repeated piano figuration somehow manages not to grate on the ear too much. The first thing to point out is the way that every new section brings with it some new sonic layer, while at the same time existing layers are frequently stripped out to keep the texture from expanding to a point where the choruses start sounding small.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/a-night-like-this/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Dirt Road Anthem" by Jason Aldean</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dirt-road-anthem/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/dirt-road-anthem/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although it&rsquo;s made little impact on UK listeners, this powerhouse of a country hit marks Aldean&rsquo;s first Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 placement, and has propelled his album My Kinda Party up to number two in the US album charts. What impresses me most about it is the warm, laid-back power of its slick chorus backing sound. The foundation of this is the bass, which, despite excellent audibility and good small-speaker translation, actually appears to contribute almost nothing to the mix above 250Hz.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/dirt-road-anthem/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Glad You Came" by The Wanted</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/glad-you-came/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/glad-you-came/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This track showcases a production principle that&rsquo;s so simple that you&rsquo;d think it would be self-evident, but I&rsquo;m constantly surprised how often budding dance-pop producers forget it: if you want clear-sounding lead vocals, try not to put thick, fizzy synths against them. In this case the most aggressive synth/accordion texture only appears three times in the track (0:19-0:34; 1:20-1:35; 2:20-2:50), where there are no critical lead vocals. Listen to any of the sections where the lead vocals are in the ascendant, and the synths are actually surprisingly muted-sounding.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/glad-you-came/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The A Team" by Ed Sheeran</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-a-team/</link><pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-a-team/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s always a pleasure to hear acoustic music climbing the charts, if only as respite from the endstop-bashing hyperactivity of most of the more electronic productions. However, there&rsquo;s a lot to recommend this production in its own right, too. The arrangement is built up in an assured but tastefully understated manner, and I love the main acoustic guitar part that it hinges around. For a start, the performance steers clear of adding to the already teetering EU Unimaginitive Strumming Mountain, going instead for something that&rsquo;s as much rhythmic as it is harmonic — while there&rsquo;s just enough &rsquo;note&rsquo; in there to give a sense of the chords, there&rsquo;s so little upper-spectrum pitch information that every detail of the vocal performance can speak across it effortlessly.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-a-team/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" by Katy Perry</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/last-friday-night/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/last-friday-night/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      An extremely spiky drum sound here, providing brutal small-speaker translation. Although the track I&rsquo;ve long associated with this kind of drum sound is Perry&rsquo;s previous single &lsquo;Hot &amp; Cold&rsquo;, it&rsquo;s possible this one might have the edge, if only in terms of a bit more satisfaction at the low end. As usual, with high-quality pop productions, slick vocal touches abound too: the subtle stereo double-tracking for the end of each phrase during the verses (eg.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/last-friday-night/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Mr Saxobeat" by Alexandra Stan</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mr-saxobeat/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/mr-saxobeat/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      For a dance single that apparently presents such a simple surface thematically, I love the way the producers here keep gently wrong-footing the listener. The 13-bar introduction is probably one of the most obvious examples, but Alexandra Stan&rsquo;s vocal hook (first heard at 0:28-0:36) offers a more subtle demonstration. Notice how the characteristic syncopated rhythm momentarily straightens up for the last beat of bar two, for instance, and how the word &lsquo;freak&rsquo; is pushed ahead of bar four&rsquo;s downbeat later on:
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/mr-saxobeat/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Paper Airplane" by Alison Krauss &amp; Union Station</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/paper-airplane/</link><pubDate>Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/paper-airplane/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I was fascinated to read this Sound On Sound interview with Mike Shipley, as I&rsquo;ve been following his mixing pretty closely over the years. In particular, it was great to have more insight into his reliance on enormously detailed automation of levels, compression and EQ to get lead vocals almost impossibly solid in the mix — something I&rsquo;ve long associated with those big Shania Twain records, but which is amply showcased here too.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/paper-airplane/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Bass Down Low" by Dev feat. The Cataracs</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bass-down-low/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/bass-down-low/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I was recently asked how to emulate the kinds of extrovert vocal effects that are all over tracks like this Dev single, so I thought it might be helpful to make some suggestions here, albeit without any insider knowledge of what gear or techniques were actually used.
The song is peppered with rhythmic stutter-editing, which is very easy to do using a DAW&rsquo;s cut and paste tools, as long as you use very short fades at the edit points.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/bass-down-low/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"I Need A Dollar" by Aloe Blacc</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-need-a-dollar/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-need-a-dollar/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The vocal performance and awesomely funky bass/drums groove on their own earn this track some close auditioning, but it&rsquo;s also worth checking out as a textbook example of how to create mix clarity. Although many of the sounds are by no means glorious on their own, they fit together effortlessly, and simply leap out of even the crummiest playback system. Take the snare, for example. I was immediately struck by how dull-sounding it is for a modern record, but it doesn&rsquo;t make the mix sound dull because it only appears on its own a couple of times and other elements in the mix are providing enough high-frequency information to make the mix tonality as a whole seem well balanced.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/i-need-a-dollar/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Traktor" by Wretch 32 feat. L</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/traktor/</link><pubDate>Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/traktor/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There&rsquo;s a lot about this single that I love. Great rapping, inventive programming and canny arrangement all come together to create a piece of chart alchemy that, musically, is more than the sum of its parts. Despite this, the mix leaves me dissatisfied.
One of the most common tips you&rsquo;ll find in mixing tutorials is that the low frequencies of your bass synth/guitar should occupy a different frequency region to those of your kick drum.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/traktor/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Guilt" by Nero</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/guilt/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/guilt/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It&rsquo;s been a long time since any radio single has made me sit up and take notice in quite the way this one does, and I just love it to pieces. That hungry predator of a bass synth; the ponderous beat, which nonetheless seems to surge by at breakneck speed; the achingly poignant song-writing cybernetically implanted into some kind of alien dub-step mutant. It even gives the nod to Bladerunner, for heaven&rsquo;s sake — what more do you want?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/guilt/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"L.I.F.E. G.O.E.S. O.N." by Noah And The Whale</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/l-i-f-e-g-o-e-s-o-n/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/l-i-f-e-g-o-e-s-o-n/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I find the oddball, singalong vibe of this track very endearing, and likewise a few specific production features. The first is the degree of looseness in terms of pitching and timing allowed to the lead vocal. On the face of it, it&rsquo;s possible that the singer&rsquo;s performance has been left completely unedited in this respect, but if Melodyne or whatever was involved (as I strongly suspect), then it&rsquo;s a fantastic example of musical restraint on the part of the producers.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/l-i-f-e-g-o-e-s-o-n/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett &amp; GoonRock</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/party-rock-anthem/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/party-rock-anthem/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although I, for one, would cheerfully nominate this track for the hotly contested title of Most Annoying Hook Of 2011, I must nonetheless admit, through gritted teeth, that there&rsquo;s some great production going on here. The first thing that really stands out for me is the kick-drum programming, which goes well beyond the call of duty in terms of providing variation from section to section, and as such is worth some study.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/party-rock-anthem/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Right There" by Nicole Scherzinger</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/right-there/</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/right-there/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      I&rsquo;ll freely admit that the kick drums on this track mystify me. It&rsquo;s not that I don&rsquo;t like the sounds: one is more compact but nicely roomy, while the other is more powerful and upfront, with a tremendous &lsquo;Journey To The Centre Of The Earth&rsquo; pitch-dive. The thing I really don&rsquo;t get is why the first of these is in the choruses, and the second in the verses. True, the dry/ambient contrast between them makes for fairly standard-issue long-term pop dynamics, but the massive imbalance between the stonking low end of the verse and the chorus&rsquo;s rather limp LF rumbling really doesn&rsquo;t support the song for me — especially when the final chorus hits.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/right-there/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Beautiful People" by Chris Brown feat. Benny Benassi</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/beautiful-people/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/beautiful-people/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It used to be that the classic dance-style delay patch was the 3/16 — in-tempo, but nonetheless syncopated, creating lots of complex, skittering repeats for even the most four-square synth line without undermining the underlying metronomic pulse. However, where the 3/16 rhythmic grouping permeates the actual synth/vocal lines themselves, as in this Chris Brown single (and many other club tracks at the moment), the simple eighth-note delay can take on the same &lsquo;press this button for more rhythmic interest&rsquo; role instead.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/beautiful-people/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Good Girl" by Alexis Jordan</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-girl/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-girl/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Although on first listen I was worried that the pre-chorus (0:45) was about to rip off Katy Perry&rsquo;s &lsquo;Firework&rsquo; big style, my fears were proved groundless by the song&rsquo;s nice harmonic digression from the home key of A major into its relative minor F#m — rather aptly underscoring the ambivalent nature of the lyric, in my view. However, I was a lot less enamoured of the A7 chords (with G in the bass) at 1:53, 3:24, and 3:32, presumably introduced to refresh the listener&rsquo;s interest in the heavily repeated &lsquo;good girl&rsquo; hook material.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/good-girl/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"We R Who We R" by Kesha</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-r-who-we-r/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-r-who-we-r/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This mix has a lot of instructive little production tricks, such as the drop at the start of the second verse, which uses the kick to reinforce the 3/8-note synth riff momentarily, demanding renewed attention for the lead-vocal lyrics. But it&rsquo;s the middle section (2:15-2:48) that I think is the real tour de force from an arrangement and mixing perspective, developing an uninterrupted sense of tension and rising power over a full 16 bars, yet without stealing the thunder of the final chorus entry.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/we-r-who-we-r/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Wonderman" by Tinie Tempah feat. Ellie Goulding</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wonderman/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/wonderman/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      This is another track that has some fantastic arrangement devices. The drop at the start of the second chorus is inspired, for example: it not only serves the technical purpose of reducing the overall energy level (so that it can be built up again later) and re-focusing the listener on the vocals, but it also pulls off a great bit of word-painting as the filter opens for the words &ldquo;imagine when it changes”.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/wonderman/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Blind Faith" by Chase &amp; Status feat. Liam Bailey</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/blind-faith/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/blind-faith/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      There are lots of points of interest here, not least the way distortion allows the lead vocals to maintain some presence in the face of the backing track&rsquo;s full-frequency assault — a long-standing trick in heavy rock music, which is equally applicable to slab-like saturated synth textures like this. I also love the way the arrangement is constantly evolving through time. Take the first verse (0:27-0:55) for instance. It starts by dropping the drums with a low-end &lsquo;boom&rsquo; one-shot and a sizzly HF transition effect.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/blind-faith/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Price Tag" by Jessie J feat. B.o.B</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/price-tag/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/price-tag/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      One of the mix engineers I keep quite a close eye on is Serban Ghenea, and (as usual) several of his mixes have been bothering the charts recently. This is my favourite of the current crop, which is a masterclass in mixing for the mass market — by which I mean for cheap playback systems and low volumes. Even on small speakers it manages to retain a feeling of warmth to the low end, yet keeps the vocal clear and cutting, and offers real bite in the drum department.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/price-tag/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Who's That Chick" by David Guetta feat. Rihanna</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/whos-that-chick/</link><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/whos-that-chick/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      The thing that really struck me about this track is the satisfying way the various vocal melodies and bass/synth riffs bounce off each other rhythmically, and how they both interact with the regular kick-drum pattern. Looking into this more closely, the one thing that I noticed particularly was how David Guetta has used repeated 3/16-note and 3/8-note groupings. It&rsquo;s a common dance-music trick to use these time values for stereo delay special effects, as the repeats remain more audible by virtue of avoiding the masking effects of the main drum beats, even though they still lock in with the overall groove.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/whos-that-chick/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Hands" by The Ting Tings</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hands/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/hands/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Being nostalgic by nature, I was immediately attracted to this song&rsquo;s turn-of-the-&rsquo;80s influences, but have since noticed something else interesting about it: whether by luck or design, the Ting Tings have allowed many of the vocals to remain out of tune with the track in a very effective way — in my opinion, at least. Not only does the wayward tuning give a kind of sneering, Debbie Harry attitude to proceedings, but it also serves to reduce the degree to which the vocals blend with the backing, which makes the singing poke out of the mix more at a given fader level, bringing it closer to the listener.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/hands/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Someone Like You" by Adele</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/someone-like-you/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/someone-like-you/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      More impressive to me than Adele reaching the top of the US album charts is her feat of taking this sparsely arranged vocals-and-piano number to the top of the UK singles chart. While its success clearly hinges on her outstanding vocals, what caught my ear was how well the production team had managed to contrast the vocal with the piano, thereby setting the former in high relief. The understated, repetitive piano part itself is partly responsible, quickly receding from the listener&rsquo;s attention to form a passive background against which Adele&rsquo;s more emotional performance unfolds.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/someone-like-you/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"The Time (Dirty Bit)" by Black Eyed Peas</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-time-dirty-bit/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-time-dirty-bit/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Top mix engineer Dave Pensado likes to say that it&rsquo;s more important to be new than to be good, and few bands seem to follow this mantra more successfully than the Black Eyed Peas. Ever since &lsquo;Boom Boom Pow&rsquo;, I&rsquo;ve been fascinated by the way they treat record-making like concept art, structuring their music around pure hooks, irrespective of current fashion or traditional aesthetic considerations. Even though I can&rsquo;t stand this particular single myself, I can&rsquo;t help admiring their chutzpah: who in their right mind would have even contemplated releasing a cover of such a nadir of &rsquo;80s cheesiness?
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/the-time-dirty-bit/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"What's My Name" by Rihanna feat. Drake</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/whats-my-name/</link><pubDate>Sun, 01 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/whats-my-name/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      It took me several listens before I could put my finger on what bugged me about this mix. In the end, though, I worked out what it was: the harmony is being undermined by the kick drum. The basic harmonies throughout the track are a bar of F#m, a bar of A, and two bars of D. Against this, there&rsquo;s very little in the arrangement that qualifies as a traditional melodic bass-line, so the 808-style kick-drum&rsquo;s pronounced pitched components at 37Hz and 74Hz fill that void with a D note.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/whats-my-name/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Grenade" by Bruno Mars</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/grenade/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/grenade/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Once I got over how much the piano riff sounded like Coldplay&rsquo;s &lsquo;Clocks&rsquo;, what was most notable in this Manny Marroquin mix was the surprisingly bassy kick-drum sound — low end is often very tightly controlled in chart releases, to save on headroom, but here it&rsquo;s particularly loud and proud at around 45Hz, and the bass is also full-sounding above it in the 60-90Hz region. However, the cost of the powerful kick/bass combination and good vocal intelligibility is audible when the chorus hits: the additional instrument layers required to expand the arrangement at that point have to be pushed very wide in the stereo field to give them any illusion of size without adding too much level or clouding the central instruments.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/grenade/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"When We Collide" by Matt Cardle</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/when-we-collide/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/when-we-collide/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Whether you&rsquo;re a fan of The X-Factor or not, there&rsquo;s a lot to learn from this UK Christmas number one, if only by referencing against the great opening vocal sound — warm, breathy and intimate, despite the gale-force pitch-correction. While we&rsquo;re talking about the opening, let me also draw your attention to savage low-frequency filtering of the acoustic guitars. Although it&rsquo;s hardly the most natural of sounds (unless you live in a doll&rsquo;s house), it&rsquo;s nonetheless very effective in context, giving the impression of an acoustic guitar in the arrangement, while staying out of the way of the clean electric guitar and lead vocal in the low-mid range.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/when-we-collide/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item><item><title>"Your Song" by Ellie Goulding</title><link>https://themixreview.org/reviews/your-song/</link><pubDate>Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://themixreview.org/reviews/your-song/</guid><description><![CDATA[
      
      
      
      
      
      Ellie Goulding&rsquo;s tremendous vocal performance was more than enough to carry this song into the charts, but personally I can&rsquo;t help being underwhelmed by the instrumental arrangement, which reminds me rather too much of something out of one of those &lsquo;one man band&rsquo; arranger keyboards! I mean, come on — surely there&rsquo;s more to life than eighth-note piano chords? And I pity the poor, wasted cellist, whose only relief from uninspired chordal padding is the self-conscious-sounding fill at 2:27.
      <br><br><div>...Read the whole review on on <a href="https://themixreview.org/reviews/your-song/">TheMixReview.org</a>!</div>
      ]]></description></item></channel></rss>