The Mumbles - Another Shade/Slice Of Black (EP)

[robertzombie]

You can now download the new EP from The Mumbles - "Another Shade/Slice Of Black."

Click here to download.

Listen to it, tell us what you think, THEN DELETE IT

[aims]

Downloading.

Whether I delete or not depends...

[aims]

That's something to be proud of there, robert.

Full review coming tomorrow or Wednesday when this maths work is out of the way. And I'll try not to be too brutal

[robertzombie]

hehe, I look forward to your words of wisdom

[Izzy HaveMercy]

I will check it out too, and give you my unbiased report, for what it's worth.

You can already be proud of yourself. You did something only 0.01 percent of the Earth's population ever did. Recording a piece of musical art.

IZ.

[nick the stripper]

My god, that was a good impression of Von on Body Electric.

[robertzombie]

hehe thanks for all the (incoming) opinions

I'm a bit annoyed at the "bass" on Body Electric, kinda drowns out the main song. oh well, learn from our mistakes.

[nick the stripper]

Dude, the bass is the best part of Body Electric. Make it louder.

[aims]

So here it is. My honest and slightly flowery opinion:

I’ll admit to being somewhat sceptical about The Mumbles. Having seemingly spent more time in front of cameras than behind their instruments, one would be forgiven for thinking that nothing was happening. But you’ve got to start somewhere and image is as good a place as any, provided that you come up with the goods. And, with Another Shade / Slice of Black, Messrs Cowlin (Vocals) and Ward (Keyboards) apparently have.

Clocking in at 6 tracks and just shy of 20 minutes this is hardly an epic, though the sweeping keyboard arrangements show a glimmer of potential for something more grandiose. Unfortunately, the most delicate elements are lost beneath the apparent lack of production, not uncommon on such first outings. While the keyboards and vocals lose out to clipping and a fuzzy mix, the drum sound benefits quite noticeably from the lo-fi ambience, particularly where it’s more prominent in the arrangement.

Sweet Aurora (Taste my Blood) opens proceedings with the previously mentioned keyboard sweep before breaking into what could perhaps be a restrained take on Death in Vegas’ hauntingly danceable Contino Sessions era, overlaid with semi-spoken vocals and a call and response chorus which wouldn’t be out of place on a hip-hop record. As for the lyrics themselves, I’m a little uncertain. They fit with the rhythm undoubtedly, but coherency occasionally gives way to the compulsion to rhyme – personally I’m all or nothing, if they make sense, make them all make sense, if they don’t, then have fun with that rhyming dictionary. However, this is only personal preference and doesn’t detract from the first listening.

The pace picks up with Snow to Settle, a constant dissonant barrage which is not too dissimilar from an old Lorries LP played at 45. In terms of getting you moving, there’s nothing wrong – however much the “interesting� use [abuse?] of English grammar irks me, there’s no doubting the sheer momentum of this piece. At 2:38, it should be getting just short of tedious, but the occasional pause for breath goes some way to alleviating this. This will be a dance-floor filler – it’s just a case of keeping them interested once they’re up.

Having previously seen the video, I knew more or less what to expect from Corridor and certainly wasn’t disappointed. The instrumentation is tighter than the previous effort and the vocals are more coherent. Sadly, as one of the more delicate tracks, the song suffers at the hands of poor production, with buzzing and pops killing the intended mood. From a song writing point of view, the lyrics again seem gratuitous in places and would maybe benefit from a little polish – if it was easier to follow, this would certainly make a fine finale to any Goth set.

So, up until now, we’ve been dealing with original song writing, desperately trying to ignore the oblique hints thrown our way. Alas, no more. As Body Electric hits, you will, if you haven’t already, notice a rather explicit nod to a little known Yorkshire beat combo. While this slightly embellished arrangement loses much of the simplicity of the original recording, credit is due for Robert’s rather convincing impression of a certain Mr Taylor, around the time he was living above a chemist. Now imagine for a moment that this song was written 5 years down the line from its actual release. Given such circumstances, this would be a fine rendition – the keyboard line has an unmistakably Floodland feel to it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t and I can’t help but wonder if they might be missing the point. Each to their own, it’s a fine interpretation.

Seven Nails has something of a hollow ambience to it, quite bare and simplistic in light of the previous tracks, but still retains the incessant pounding drums and harassed vocals. The vocal melody does fizzle out in places, which detracts particularly from the piece, given the prominence of the lyrics, but set against the rough and ready backdrop it doesn’t seem so disastrous. Again, some variation wouldn’t go amiss, but the basic idea is very much there.

And so, with We Are The Same, Suzanne, this particular Slice of Black draws to a close. Or rather, hobbles along the home straight. The keyboard intro is simply not tight enough, but that’s a limitation of the instrument itself. The arrangement is interesting in that the song has never been given a studio airing before (a cause of some controversy when the cover was first announced) so they are very much working blindly. And, with the exception of the keyboard bassline, it seems to work rather well and it doesn’t take a much suspension of disbelief to imagine some of the keyboard flourishes making it onto the final version (if indeed it is ever recorded by its original composers). The vocals are weak in places, due in part to the lack of distinction on the chorus at the live performances on which this rendition is based, but the overall feel, however far removed from the original, is a nice one.

After several listenings, the influences are quite obvious. As with every band finding their sound, there were moments when the intended idolisation does appear to spill over into the world of imitation. With more mature writing, tighter instrumentation and better gear, this will certainly turn into something beyond its current form. So maybe two covers of the same band on your first release isn’t very sensible and perhaps the record does leave you believing that the producer was AWOL. But you know what? It’s not half bad.

[Izzy HaveMercy]

Sweet Aurora: Nice tune, vocals are really good, I think, but the refrain has too much lyrics in my opinion. The vocalist is just rattling away to fit it all in... Ditch some words, keep it concise. Also, vocals and bass are out of sync sometimes on the refrain, which gives it a muddy and unprofessional sound. The thing that really annoys me after a couple of seconds is the clipping sound and the drum presets we all heard a gazillion times before. Ditch the Doctor, go for your own refreshing drum sound.

Snow to Settle: The same problems with distorted sound and clipping, and too much words crammed in which makes it sound a bit Hiphop, as Motz said before... There is also a weird delay (on the bass I think) somewhere which does not sync with the drum rhythm. Otherwise a nice song, even a bit too short.

Corridor: Starts like 'Emma', apparently Piano-sound is also out of sync, consider recording all the stuff with a MIDI-track, so you can sync more easily. Again (and not for the last time I fear) the clipping makes me want to skip it after a few seconds... Which is a shame, coz it could sound very nice I think...

Body Electric: Ain't this song originally from a certain well-known band? Nice cover, same problems with sound of course, what I really liked is the additional notes on the strophes which makes the chords fuller, although the synths play a couple of 'wrong' notes IMO Very good voice, loved the dual vocals too... Nice!

Seven Nails: same prob as Snow to Settle: too much words on the strophes, clipping sound...

We are the same Suzanne: the reason why you have to work with MIDI: the piano bassnotes in the beginning are out of tempo... love the thunderclap in the beginning, also the lead piano sound is very nice... Vocals are very good, nice delay too, although I would only use it on some words ('We are the same' only, for example).

Overall: a nice effort overshadowed by a crappy production, which is such a pity. I should consider working with someone who knows how to record (there are some people here on this forum, or so I heard ). The vocals are really good, singer has a nice voice, only try to spread the words as I said. Sometimes more is said with less words and it has more impact sometimes when you use only a few well-placed sentences instead of a rattle of words. That's for people like Sir Mix-a-Lot and Anthrax

I heard a lot of lovely stuff here from our youngsters, the only thing they always lack (without much exceptions really) is the productional side of the thing. Not that my productions are state-of-the-art, but always remember a good song or album stands or falls with a decent production and mastering, be it a first attempt at a demo CD or a tenth professional album. Clipping and distortion can be easily avoided by watching your track levels and overall master levels. Please do so. Louder ain't always better. It's better to use compression to give your songs that 'pump' instead of thinking that +6 decibel is better for your sound. It isn't

Best of luck, to ALL of our young and new projects!

IZ.

[markfiend]

Downloaded, across-loaded to the iPod, awaiting a chance to listen...

[robertzombie]

OMG! I didn't expect such indepth reviews!

If it's alrite with you guys, then I'd love to put them on the site. Obviously I'll credit both of you, and the forum

[Izzy HaveMercy]

OMG! I didn't expect such indepth reviews!

If it's alrite with you guys, then I'd love to put them on the site. Obviously I'll credit both of you, and the forum

You can do whatever you want with it. Even ignore it

IZ.

[robertzombie]

BTW, what's a "stroph"?

[Izzy HaveMercy]

BTW, what's a "stroph"?

Strophe and refrain. These are what we mainlanders call a verse and a chorus.

IZ.

[aims]

OMG! I didn't expect such indepth reviews!

If it's alrite with you guys, then I'd love to put them on the site. Obviously I'll credit both of you, and the forum

You're most welcome to use it on the site. Keep up the good work