Are the vocals mixed too high on this?

[*ToNeS*]

I've gone absolutely blind in the ears working on this. The vocals are starting to feel like ASMR to me.



I hate ASMR

 

[delta7fred]

Sounds ok to me.

 

[FilterFunk]

^What he said.

Have you walked away from mixing it for a while? Sometimes when I'm mixing, I get frustrated and can't decide what sounds best. When that happens, I go for a walk, get something to eat, watch a little TV, maybe even spend a whole day away from the mix. Then I come back with fresh, frustration-free ears and listen.

 

[Mickp]

Vocals are tough to get just right, 'cause the human brain cues in on them so much, a small variation is picked up more than with other sounds. The key, IMHO, is using Reference Tracks. There's a ton of information out there about this topic, but basically, find 2 or 3 tracks that have a similar style or vibe, where you like the vocal level, then A/B with your mix (you can get plugins that help you do this). It gives you an objective reference to aim for.
The other thing I've noticed with vocals is more than any other instrument, you need to automate the levels...sometimes a singe phrase, word or even syllable needs to be louder or softer.

But to answer the question - no, I don't think they're too loud!

 

[*ToNeS*]

Thanks heaps, peeps. Been driving me mental! A lot of bands I've been digging lately (Sleep Token, Leprous, Tesseract) have similarly sort of 'eccentric' vocalists that are really up front and I like this, but goodness it is very difficult to get right when you're in the chair. Hats off to them, no idea how they manage it.