Conmaniac: Conmaniac's Band's EP!

Conmaniac 11.15.16	https://whitenoiseofanxiety.bandcamp.com/ again here's the link. plz be honest but I always appreciate constructive criticism over destructive criticism. thanks y'all
zakalwe 11.15.16	White Noise of Anxiety pffft lol
Conmaniac 11.15.16	yep thats the band name. dont listen to this zak plz
AsleepInTheBack 11.15.16	whoo hype, will jam it soon con
Conmaniac 11.15.16	sweet thx dude
Sinternet 11.15.16	listening rn
Conmaniac 11.15.16	cool shit Sint
Sinternet 11.15.16	well it's actually got professional-sounding production which puts it in the top 5% of sput user projects
Sinternet 11.15.16	this is pretty good so far actually nice
zakalwe 11.15.16	Sorry dude I couldn't resist giving it a spin. You know what it's alright. I can appreciate the effort that's gone into this one. Fuck are you lot wearing on your feet though?
ashcrash9 11.15.16	yeah this is pretty sweet, Con not empty praise, you guys are actually solid
Conmaniac 11.15.16	damn that's the best thing Zak could ever say (,: and thanks Sint/ash!! really appreciate it
zakalwe 11.15.16	I can even stomach the trumpets. I'm surprised dude it really is alright. Fair fucks to ya.
Conmaniac 11.15.16	fuck dude youre gonna make me cry
DinosaurJones 11.15.16	I'll check it out when I get home, can't access it at the office. Leaving this comment as a reminder though.
Conmaniac 11.15.16	sounds good man. excited to hear what ya think
DinosaurJones 11.15.16	You got it, pal!
AlexKzillion 11.15.16	Cant wait to check this
Conmaniac 11.15.16	cant wait for ya to hear it man
Sinternet 11.15.16	ok just finished it here are my thoughts Firstly, it's pretty solid, it's well produced, but i think it really wears it's influences on it's sleeve. You do a good job of emulating other artists, which is fine, but it could really use some fresh ideas to liven it up. Secondly, the individual tracks are good but they don't really work as an EP, more like a demo, but that's just me being nitpicky. You use four different styles across the release where it could flow better if you tried to incorporate elements of each style into each song. Thirdly I think it could use some more laidback, atmospheric sections like you use in the second half of the last track, that was really neat. Also drums were just slightly too punchy and could sound a bit flatter so as to not take away from the guitars. Vocals could be very slightly quieter. Lyrics are pretty great throughout. And as for the individual tracks: Garysings: well put together track, catchy, vocals kinda drag on a teensy bit on some bars but other than that not much to complain about. use of trumpets was nice - unexpected but incorporated well. think that maybe the first half and second half feel a bit too seperate like it's two different short songs put together in places so maybe try working those into each other a bit more Bluebird: best track on here imo, structure is great, melody is great, only thing i would change in this is the backing vocals sound too gruff when the lead vocals are doing the whiny sound pretty well E.N.: there are some good ideas but vocals don't fit, they need to be quieter and more fragile to suit the mood, also some places they get very breathy and it doesn't sound right, guitars sound a bit strange in parts too, actual ideas are nice though Tethers: sounds a bit like emo/post-hardcore Sleep Party People which is really cool, pretty great track, vocals sound a bit echoey in places though which doesn't really work, really great second half but the middle from like 3:00 - 4:00 could be a lot shorter or just taken out imo and then it would be pretty awesome anyway yeah i can type this up into a short review if you want
wwf 11.15.16	I didn't think this would be my thing right away (even though it's consistently well done) but I liked every song more than the last. It's great dude
wwf 11.15.16	I was going to mention the production gripes you did sinternet but that's hardly fair to con tbh He didn't produce it; the production's good but it's clearly done by someone who mostly works outside of the genre; that's hardly uncommon
Sinternet 11.15.16	oh yeah no i'm not saying that but if any of these were to be re-recorded you might wanna think about those bits of advice
Conmaniac 11.15.16	wow thank you so much Sint this is really helpful! only thing I disagree with you is the echoey vocals on Tethers I think they work really well personally but that might just be preference! I agree E.N. is prob my worst vocal performance at least up until the ending...something I definitely need to work on is my more fragile vox so thank you for being honest. Surprised you think Bluebird is the best though! we actually all think it's our 2nd worst but im glad you dig it! I agree this isn't focused at all but it gives us a base for our next EP. we are def gonna be more focused for it prob along the lines of a combo between Bluebird and Tethers so we will see how that works and we will def work on cohesiveness.
Conmaniac 11.15.16	yeah production wasnt us although we did have a say in it! and thank you so much wwf I really appreciate it
Deathconscious 11.15.16	damn, i like what im hearing from this too. dont have time to listen to the whole thing right now, but ill certainly jam the whole thing later.
Conmaniac 11.15.16	thanks man! really excited to hear what you think of the whole thing
elliootsmeuth 11.15.16	Definitely gonna check this soon. Maybe after I get my tooth out.
wwf 11.15.16	btw when I downloaded it from bc it didn't download the artwork for some reason
Trebor. 11.15.16	will check
Conmaniac 11.15.16	hmm really? how do i fix this wwf? and sweet Treb/ellioot! lemme know what you think
wwf 11.15.16	ok nvmd I guess it downloaded it just didnt import into my itunes for some reason like it normally does
Conmaniac 11.15.16	yeah that's what it did to me as well. some bandcamp releases have done that before though but idk how to fix it
FullOfSounds 11.15.16	oh swee I'll give it a listen when I get home bud
Conmaniac 11.15.16	thanks my dude
FullOfSounds 11.15.16	I'll also provide feedback
VaxXi 11.15.16	The trumpets in the first track tho~ Will give a bit of my thoughts when I hear the full thing.
FullOfSounds 11.15.16	oooooo trumpets you weren't lying when you said it was like a jeff track
Conmaniac 11.15.16	damn loving the trumpet love since i play trumpet (: thanks peeps
TheWrenKing 11.15.16	checked track 4 it was chill, it's in my itunes now, lookin forward to listening!
Conmaniac 11.15.16	ayy nice thanks man that's my fav track tbh
Conmaniac 11.15.16	oh damn wow thank you so much for the list feature. really means a lot
TheTripP 11.15.16	checking out!
TheTripP 11.15.16	last song is best song, but great stuff!
SandwichBubble 11.15.16	Con's band's EP > New Rosenstock G re at n ess achi e ve d~
DungeonBoy 11.15.16	Interesting little EP dude. It's got a nice punk sound to it. Kinda Weezery at parts. The 2nd song Bluebird shows some pretty refreshing guitar playing, which is nice to hear. The distorted guitars sound a little thin, the clean parts sound much better. Drumming and bass playing are competent and work well the punk vibe. Vocals aren't too shabby. Overall a solid effort.
FullOfSounds 11.15.16	First off this is really well produced. Everything sounds clean and stands out when it needs to, props to whoever produced this. Vocals are good on every track but I thought they were a bit flat E.N. Bass and guitars are consistently jammin'. Every song has some cool vibes going on, I like it.
FullOfSounds 11.15.16	Also the last track slays
Conmaniac 11.15.16	loving the feedback folks thank you so much.
Conmaniac 11.15.16	also @Sandwich thank you but there's nooooo way this is better than the Jeff Rosenstock album hahaha
Conmaniac 11.16.16	hmm that's an interesting take on E.N. Toad. what do you mean waiting for that closer?
BlushfulHippocrene 11.16.16	Good stuff, man. I'll give it a closer listen soon, but I liked what I heard.
Conmaniac 11.16.16	ahh cool glad ya dig man and would love to hear what you think Blushful!
AlexKzillion 11.16.16	Finally jammed it. Thought every track was better then it's predecessor, and I thought you guys knocked the closer out of the park. Not really an expert on this kind of music and have never jammed anything from the any of the albums on this list but I liked this EP for sure.
Futures 11.16.16	production is really good so props and the vocals aren't bad but idk the songs really lack a structure felt like a bunch of ideas smashed together awkwardly
Conmaniac 11.16.16	thanks AlexK appreciate it and I def see what you're saying Futures, cohesiveness isnt really all too present on this album. i wouldnt go as far to say that individual songs are just loose ideas but i can see where you're coming from
Futures 11.16.16	i mean of course YOU wouldn't this is your album lol just offering my opinion
Futures 11.16.16	like the trumpets part was really out of place and bad tbh lol
Conmaniac 11.16.16	yeah hence my understanding of the criticism aha. thanks for listening man
Conmaniac 11.16.16	woah there you crossed the line with the trumpet comment (;
FullOfSounds 11.16.16	Giving this a second listen now
Danred97 11.16.16	Really good EP, man. The guitars are right up my ally. Very Mathy and TMP-esque. The vocals are a little pitchy at points, but it's not a deal breaker or anything. Tethers is my favorite track by a mile. really good balance of Twinkly Emo and raw aggression. Production is really great as well. I'd say it's probably the best user project I've heard. Can't wait to hear more from this project. Real potential for something truly great here.
Conmaniac 11.16.16	wow thanks dude i really appreciate that. i agree i'm not 100% satisfied with my vocals but i've realized my strengths and i'll def keep everyone's comments in mind for the next ep.
Astral Abortis 11.16.16	My opinion: Track 1 is really bad, I didn't like the style at all Track 2 is bit more to my liking because I guess I like that awful emo shit Track 3 was nice musically, absolutely awful lyrically, the vocals need work since your voice is too strong for the softer style of the song, so obviously you can hear the vox stumble a lot Track 4 was really cool and had the best and most cohesive sound but still dragged a bit too much, coulda shortened it a fair bit and had the same effect overall 2.5/5, band has potential if you focus on one style in the future and hone it. I also recommend utilising your drummer's abilities a bit more since he seems to be pretty adept but on all tracks is being underutilised
Futures 11.16.16	yeah con the lyrics on this are really bad lol sorry
Conmaniac 11.16.16	wow yeah track 3's lyrics are for a friend that passed away. i know that prob doesn't make a difference but just wanted to let ya know in case you got a different idea. appreciate the feedback though man! i agree Tethers is our best and our next EP will be in the style prob. thanks for your honesty it's really helpful. our drummer is insane yes we will try to use his skills more!
Futures 11.16.16	it's personal to you but that doesn't mean they are good sorry man.
Conmaniac 11.16.16	Garysings lyrics are supposed to be kinda funny/dumb kinda fits the style. Bluebird's i personally didn't write but i love them so much. i thought they were by far the strongest. EN's are above and Tethers are kind of an experiment because the guitarist and I cowrote that song. i thought they were short enough to work though
Astral Abortis 11.16.16	i mean i guess i can see that now but you're way too vague and it just seems like a song glorifying LSD in a cheesy way sorry for your loss btw
Conmaniac 11.16.16	he died while on LSD it's really not a glorification but the fact that you took it that way is interesting
Astral Abortis 11.16.16	I see that now that you've told me, but initially listening and reading a long, the perspective shift lyrically between him and then you lamenting his death in the final few lines wasn't conveyed well, and it read/sounded like a metaphorical drowning/longing due to drugs rather than a literal drowning and then you missing him
Conmaniac 11.16.16	completely understand that criticism Ov. it's interesting you cite that specific part because the lyrics had to be cut and that was one of the areas where it got cut
Futures 11.16.16	futures i think it might be more helpful if you explained what you thought could use improvement and how it might be improved there isn't much to say sorry. i already gave my thoughts. i just think the lyrics are poor. i'm not a lyricist idk what you're expecting from me
Conmaniac 11.16.16	thanks Toad. making the lyrics completely cohesive on this next EP is definitely our goal
Futures 11.16.16	it's sad how people get torn apart for offering even slightly negative criticism. user projects are just a circlejerk.
Conmaniac 11.16.16	futures there's a difference between constructive criticism and just negativity. comments like Ovs are extremely helpful for us honestly
Astral Abortis 11.16.16	My advice is lose the idea of being vague and just go straight for what you mean. If you wrote that song like "you headed up north looking for your next fix in a secret PO box you liked to keep, you thought the water looked like gold and yada yada" Like make the story more obvious/personal so it conveys: 1, more emotion, and 2, more sense to those who aren't familiar with it. Reading between the lines is too much effort for most people so it's easy to leave wrong impressions
Conmaniac 11.16.16	i feel like really good lyrics arent surface level. i agree they aren't the greatest though i wrote them over a year ago. it's interesting to me that i decided to hide behind vague lyrics instead of opening up and telling the story in a more personal way. when i write now i often try to write in a straightforward style but next semester i'm taking a poetry class so i can hopefully learn how to write in different styles
Astral Abortis 11.16.16	To me, surface level lyrics work better than anything. Diluting stories and poetry with artsy fluff doesn't tend to enhance the material in any meaningful way
Conmaniac 11.16.16	I agree with you to a certain extent because some of my favorite lyrics are the brutally honest ones but some of my overall favorite lyricists are the ones you have to pick apart.
Futures 11.16.16	lmao this is idiocy. this is direct criticism. "production is really good so props and the vocals aren't bad but idk the songs really lack a structure felt like a bunch of ideas smashed together awkwardly. the trumpet part particularly was forced and cringy" this is helpful, it's just not what you want to hear.
Conmaniac 11.16.16	@Toad thank you I definitely have a lot to learn. also it's so great how much you sound like a teacher in that comment aha @Futures you're quoting the wrong comment. if I remember correctly I said something like "and I def see what you're saying Futures, cohesiveness isnt really all too present on this album. i wouldnt go as far to say that individual songs are just loose ideas but i can see where you're coming from"
Futures 11.16.16	i can't offer help as a lyricist. are you that dense? in my opinion they are really juvenile and lame
Futures 11.16.16	for the 1000th time i am not a lyricist. i read lyrics and know good ones when i see them. but can't offer help. if you don't want criticism what's the fucking point?
Futures 11.16.16	you are really not getting it.
wwf 11.16.16	mom, dad, you're saying like the same exact thing
Futures 11.16.16	it is worthy to fix up bad lyrics. i can't fucking help with that dude for the 1000000000000000000th time.
Futures 11.16.16	nobody else was saying it because circlejerk so i had to
Deathconscious 11.16.16	"To me, surface level lyrics work better than anything. Diluting stories and poetry with artsy fluff doesn't tend to enhance the material in any meaningful way" both straightforward and vague lyrics can work, it depends on how theyre written.
Astral Abortis 11.16.16	There are always exceptions to the rule, there are plenty of vague and abstract lyrics I adore, I always just found that with music of this style, it's really basic lyrics that hit harder than anything else. But top notch writing can make anything seem good really
Deathconscious 11.16.16	ambiguity allows you to have your own ideas on what it all means, and in that way can make them even more personal. they stir up the imagination. sometimes i like not being sure what a song is about.
Astral Abortis 11.16.16	Depends on the song, really. I usually like straightforward lyrics with a touch of personal ambiguity that listeners wouldn't fully understand.
Deathconscious 11.16.16	you guys have some kinks in your songwriting and lyrics, but i dont really have any constructive criticism, i think its just something youll improve on over time with more experience. although i do have one thing to say, that solo at the end of the first song doesnt feel like it fits at all with the tone of the song. but no big complaints other than that. overall i liked this EP.
Conmaniac 11.16.16	haha the solo was fucking funnnnnn though but yeah I agree. we honestly didnt take that song too seriously lmao. but thanks man
Deathconscious 11.16.16	"only listened to the last track but that stuttered/repeated vocal bit (not the echo effect but the part where you actually repeat the lyrics) during the verse is really annoying." kind of agree with this too, maybe repeat it once or twice or something but those parts dont really work as they are imo. but there are some great ideas here, keep it up.
BlushfulHippocrene 11.16.16	In regards to E.N., I do like the first verse a lot. Personally, I find the lyrics the most interesting of the songs. I think the couplets "that tab of inspiration / the psychedelic experience" and "changing objectives / flipping perspectives" are nice ideas that could've been fleshed out a little more. I like the first half of both, but I feel like their respective second halfs are a bit obvious, perhaps a tad bit redundant. Slight rephrasing could help with that, because both of them are beautiful ideas. I do like the lyrics to this track overall, though. Thought they were heart-wrenching on first listen, and you have my condolences, man. If I'd have written it, I'd have either made it a bit more obtuse and intentional, or a little more straightforward, but I do like that track the most, good job. I liked the last two tracks a bit more than the first two, and I think most of what has to be said has been said above. You and your band, keep it up. There's something special there.
AsleepInTheBack 11.16.16	Really enjoyed this con. Think I actually preferred Wobblewaltz, but the lyrics on this are especially solid
Conmaniac 11.16.16	I completely agree Blushful the lyrics are kind of in limbo between straightforward and obtuse but im glad you enjoyed them! and thx Asleep!
Astronewt 01.02.17	sax to the future
Conmaniac 01.02.17	that used to be one of my bands name yeah but this is a different band. you been stalking my profile man?
Astronewt 01.02.17	You shouted(?) in mine so I went to yours
Conmaniac 01.02.17	makes sense I guess and most people just say "shoutboxed"
Astronewt 01.02.17	anyway smell yah later
Conmaniac 06.08.17	bump because WNOA has 7 new songs and we are self-recording soon ayyyy
AsleepInTheBack 06.08.17	hype! let me know when there is something to jam
butcherboy 06.08.17	shit, Con.. this is alright.. the stop-starts on EN are great.. I like Bluebird best.. let me know when the new one gets out.. I'll write something up..
Conmaniac 06.08.17	yeah I'll keep ya updated man thanks for the love (: and we have two demos at the moment...I'll share an interlude with you guys if ya want...
verdant 06.08.17	yah good shit connor
butcherboy 06.08.17	yep!
Conmaniac 06.08.17	https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B94UjR8VRb6_RlFoZkZWRTNoYlE/view?usp=sharing boom. hope you like Slint and getting weird also thx Jack!
verdant 06.08.17	oh i like both of those things, listening now
Conmaniac 06.08.17	it's iphone quality and way undermixed (obv) but the idea is there I think.
verdant 06.08.17	i've written a deluxe album's worth of songs that only exist on my phone's voice memo app because it's just me, a guitar and no proper recording equipment. doesn't bother me
verdant 06.08.17	yeah man this is some beautiful chaos, i'd be excited to see where this'd fit in the context of a record but it's giving me vibes similar to the end of Like I Do by Envy on the Coast, which is a personal favourite of mine. no complaints here whatsoever
butcherboy 06.08.17	"hope you like Slint and getting weird" - my go-to pickup line.. this is fantastic, Con!!! fucking great.. reminds of the Dirty Three, minus the violins.. more of that!!
Conmaniac 06.08.17	yeah thanks man! that's something we are trying to decide right now actually...we aren't sure how to integrate it into the other stuff we are writing but it def fits the vibes if not the genre. we are gonna do an EP most likely and a split and maybe a single. it'll def fit on one of those haha
Conmaniac 06.08.17	and thank you butcher! need to look both those artists up now ahaha
AsleepInTheBack 06.08.17	Love that interlude con, but yeah would love those drums to be dropped back a bit so I can hear some of the intricacies that I think are lurking beneath
Conmaniac 06.08.17	yess we are gonna record it and mix it so that it sounds like the drums are coming from a different room. so they'll still be prominent/the centerpiece but a lot more subdued
AsleepInTheBack 06.08.17	sounds good to me, keep me updated mate