Punk, Pop-Punk fans....three songs off of my new album for your listening pleasure

jrthebassguy · #1 12-04-2006, 02:15 PM

My band, Kemo For Emo, is set to release our debut album soon, so here are three songs for you guys to sink into. I should note I'm the lead guitarist for this band, not the bassist. To my credit though, our bassist is way better on the low end than I. If you like pop-punk (think the Descendents, older Green Day, Jawbreaker etc.), you may dig us.

Songs are in WMA format, sorry if your computer isn't compatible, I'll try and get them to mp3 format soon.

And I - Your simple pop-punk tune. Not our best, but a good introduction. Writen by Larry, our more pop song writer.

Don't Hesitate - One of my favorite songs on the record. It's a more serious song (ie not about a girl), written by Brian the bass player, the more rock song writer. I love the dual vocalists on this song (neither of which are me).

Aiming Steady - Another Brian song. About as punk as we get, I suppose. "Words to say!" is my only vocals you'll find of me on the record

Any/all comments and constructive criticism welcome.

BassSurfer · #2 12-04-2006, 02:26 PM

wow great songs man i like them alot my favorite us And I sweet stuff man

jrthebassguy · #3 12-05-2006, 05:14 PM

Thanks for checking it out dude, glad you liked it, we worked our asses off for a long time for that thing.

Anyone else? I figured I'd get a little more responses than just one.

The album will be available for purchase online fairly soon as well (think in about a month).

jucas · #4 12-05-2006, 09:26 PM

Yeah, solid songs. Nice to see the bass audible all the time, and not just when the guitar stops. I'm not a huge pop-punk fan, more that transition period between the oldschool stuff and what we ended up with (I'm too young to be "old school" and not a poseur... and one who can't spell).

THe vocals don't really do it for me. No offence intended, but to me they're too similar to your average pop-punk sound (although one can't really help their voice), but that may be a selling point that helps people less stubborn than me enjoy it. Otherwise, its solid and you guys lock in pretty tight; not sloppy at all. Other than the mentioned vocals, it reminds me of the punk I grew up with... and its nice to see a double kick put to good use. (as a disclaimer, I may be half cut, and I'll give it another listen when more sober)

Dave Siff · #5 12-06-2006, 04:33 AM

Good stuff, Jake! I am a big fan of that style of music. Let me know when the album is for sale.

i_got_a_mohawk · #6 12-06-2006, 05:30 AM

I liked it, sounded really good, not quite what i like, i like older stuff generally, but thats a personal preferece,

Did like the sound you guys had tho!

jtlee · #7 12-07-2006, 03:31 AM

Is that a scratch mix or the final mix?

Going to preface this by saying that I'm not trying to be mean or nasty, just offering my $.02.

I was playing that kind of stuff over a decade ago...and I've heard a million bands in that genre. Your overall recorded sound is OK, but it's a bit generic...it screams low budget indie label recording. That's fine if that's what you're going for. But you may want to re-record or take it to a REALLY good mastering engineer to make it "pop". And that kick drum sounds awful...it sounds completely detached from the rest of the kit. If you're going for more of a NOFX/Bad Religion/Socal Punk-style click, it needs more punch, less "flap".

It think you guys are off to a great start and you sound pretty tight as a band (though some of the individual playing is a little "loose"). I dig the Descendent's style bass lines and the prominent bass sound. Some more tempo changes might help with making the songs seem less similar and you might want to vary the actual tones on the guitars/bass a little more. I know most "punk" bands are of the set and forget mentality when it comes to tones, but a little tweak here and there goes a long way. If you listen to the later albums by all the bands you like (Green Day, Jawbreaker, Descendents/All), the sounds/tones vary more as the bands have matured.

Anyway, good luck with the album and the band!

**Rune Bivrin** · #8 12-07-2006, 05:10 AM

I really like this! It rocks.

There's just one thing that irks me: The guitar solos! They really sound like "Uhm, if I just play a lot of notes, noone will notice the crappy sound". Sounds like when I used dads old tape recorder as a fuzz box, 25 years ago.

I'd slow the solos down. There's so much happening in the rythm section that a slower, more melodic solo would be a better balance.

Rune

jrthebassguy · #9 12-11-2006, 03:53 PM

Thanks for checking it out guys. I'll let you know when it's available for sale.

jtlee, I see what you're getting at. But considering the recording was absolutely free, I think it came out well considering the price we paid.

I know we've got a lot of room to improve, and it's coming slowly but surely.

Once again, thanks for checking it out!