[Jambrains]

Finally a new track from @MonnoDB and yours truly. Per request I'll try to give a bit of background:

The short story; about 6 months ago Karen sent me a demo and asked if I thought it to be a candidate for an AFD song. I said yes, quickly made a demo of my interpretation of her demo and then sort of lost interest in it, thinking it was just shite. A few weeks ago I had a listen again, thought it was great and the it all came together in a few weeks, go figure...

The long story: what triggered me with Karens demo was the phrasing of the first verse. I could hear a beat in there so after upping the tempo some 15 bmp or so and adding the drums and bass the beat was there. The guitar on one side hitting 2 and 4 cemented that and the guitar on the other side that is almost a harmony version of the vocal melody gave some "flow" on top of the beat.

The pre-chorus took a while but once I got the drums with the almost half time feel there over the pumping bass the rest fell into place. That soaring guitar on one side is playing octaves up and down the neck and is soaked in ridiculous amounts of delay.

The chorus was the weakest part in the original demo (imo) so I realized I had to come up with something to drive the darn thing forward while Karen did her ooooo-ing.  Came up with the guitar riff and got the drums to follow-> mission completed.

The M8 happened thanks to a Nashville strung guitar and some good old chugga-chugga on the electrics. Karen still have not figure out what happened, the melody is the same but the chords are almost completely different. That is actually something that happens frequently, I hear a demo from her, ask for a vox-only track, import that and start working. The result is that sometimes the chords are drastically altered while preserving the vocal melody which is like sort of he opposite way to work compared to "top lining".

I hate ending song so the outro came last.

Finally Karen did all the vocals on top of it all, a little mixing and voila!

Anyway, all and any feedback welcome and just ask if there is something re the making of this that you want to know more about.

I’ve been cheated on, beaten down, taken for granted
For playing by the rules
I’ve cried in my pillow for the loss of my heroes
In a world that’s governed by fools
But I won’t paralyse my dreams and my desires
Even if you want me to
I’ll stick to my guns, I’m strong enough to know
That it’s not me, that it’s you

And I’ll walk on your spine to straighten mine
It feels like it’s time to hand the burden to you

I gave it all except my soul
Left this place with nothing but my dignity
Stripped bare, all my cares redefined
Reordered by priority
Now my eyes can see
Relieved of all the bullshit to give clarity
Decisions are made easy
When I don’t have to honour your authority

And I’ll walk on your spine to straighten mine
It feels like it’s time to hand the burden to you

I won’t be fooled by your charm and the words you speak
You can’t win me over with promises that you won’t keep

And I’ll walk on your spine to straighten mine
It feels like it’s time to hand the burden to you

[MonnoDB]

Finally a new track from @MonnoDB and yours truly. Per request I'll try to give a bit of background:

The short story; about 6 months ago Karen sent me a demo and asked if I thought it to be a candidate for an AFD song. I said yes, quickly make a demo of my interpretation of her demo and then sort of lost interest in it, thinking it was just shite. A few weeks ago I had a listen again, thought it was great and the it all came together in a few weeks, go figure...

The long story: what triggered me with Karens demo was the phrasing of the first verse. I could hear a beat in there so after upping the tempo some 15 bmp or so and adding the drums and bass the beat was there. The guitar on one side hitting 2 and 4 cemented that and the guitar on the other side that is almost a harmony version of the vocal melody gave some "flow" on top of the beat.

The pre-chorus took a while but once I got the drums with the almost half time feel there over the pumping bass the rest fell into place. That soaring guitar on one side is playing octaves up and down the neck and is soaked in ridiculous amounts of delay.

The chorus was the weakest part in the original demo (imo) so I realized I had to come up with something to drive the darn thing forward while Karen did her ooooo-ing.  Came up with the guitar riff and got the drums to follow-> mission completed.

The M8 happened thanks to a Nashville strung guitar and some good old chugga-chugga on the electrics. Karen still have not figure out what happened, the melody is the same but the chords are almost completely different. That is actually something that happens frequently, I hear a demo from her, ask for a vox-only track, import that and start working. The result is that sometimes the chords are drastically altered while preserving the vocal melody which is like sort of he opposite way to work compared to "top lining".

I hate ending song so the outro came last.

Finally Karen did all the vocals on top of it all, a little mixing and voila!

Anyway, all and any feedback welcome and just ask if there is something re the making of this that you want to know more about.

@Jambrains suggested I add my "side of the story" in keeping with @PaulAds fab suggestion for more context.. hope this doesn't drive us into overkill....

The song itself was centred around the line "I'll walk on your spine to straighten mine".. a line I've had hanging around for ages... sitting there alone on a page in one of my (many) lyric notebooks... and I picked up the guitar one day and built around it.. To JB's point, the "to you"s which I guess are the chorus were kinda stuck on as I thought the chorus was too short (I made no distinction between PC and Chorus). I do remember his initial feedback being "like the pre-chorus", the chorus is a bit shite (I see he's speaking Hiberno English now  )..  Anyway he's described the rest mostly - he did a quick mock up but we both moved onto other things..

A snippet he left out though was that he wrote a whole new track and when he came to start the lyrics he somehow realised that his verse melody was exactly the same as this one and that's actually how we ended up picking it up again.. So there's a version of this with JB singing the verses, same melody and lyrics but against a completely different track.. chorus melody is different but he's using the prechorus lyrics..  The other song is now evolving into a co-write... different process from our normal one... Once we got back into it this one was quick - it's only been a couple of weeks with lots of back and forth as is our usual way.. Invigorating and so much fun as always..

More backstory to this than most of our songs.. so I hope I haven't tipped this over the edge but sure you can always skip over it entirely.. I'm really interested to read the evolution of other songs.. Hope this sticks - great idea Paul!

K

[LostBoy]

Well I love hearing about how the song came together, that’s cool and I’ve also had similar experiences with rediscovering ideas I originally thought were shite.

Yeah, I really like this one, it’s an unusual chorus, but I think that’s why I like it so much. The arrangement is ace! You guys make a great team, I hope lots of people have found or are finding your music. 😄🎶👊🏻🎶

[Kafla]

This is right up my street 😍 indie rock and the arrangement grows as the song progresses...some excellent chord changes😍

I don’t know how you critique songs like this...maybe some lines just a little rushed...even that’s stretching it because on second listen it’s just ace 😝

I really like the breakdown chorus and which contrasts the verses perfectly ❤️

Lovely production @Jambrains

Amazing emotional and technical singing Karen 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[PeteS]

Ok, the bits i don't like! right at the start there's a noise, was it deliberate to leave it in?  and I don't like the ending.  The bit in the middle is just brilliant!  Love the way it  comes straight in with the vocals and the guitar riffery is perfect.  The slower feel to the pre-chorus(?) gives it real light and shade.

As you know, I don't focus on the lyrics as much but I love the title line, it should inspire a song as good as this.

Great work guys.

[PaulAds]

I loved reading the extra info about the way the song came about from both perspectives...so thank you for that @Jambrains and @MonnoDB

Karen's super vocals and harmonies come very close to stealing the show again in this one...which is really saying something because the backing is perfect...love those off-beat guitar stabs...they're right up my street. Lovely how it added the keys in V2 (I think it was) to keep it interesting...not that it was ever going to not be interesting...but you know what I mean 

I sometimes think my ears are about goosed because I often think things need a little more top end and then when I hear my own stuff...I give it too much top and have to reel it in a little. Happy to take JBs guidance on this and figure that this is just right.

Aye...that "walk on your spine" bit is very sweet!

Real top quality...and I loved the ending...but not so much the final note. I have a habit of always doing that when I'm recording...I suppose it's from playing live so much...it just became the natural thing to do. It's of no consequence though...the song's 99.9% over by that stage!

Loved this, you two 

[Unclenny]

@Jambrains @MonnoDB .....you guys just keep getting tighter. This production "sounds like a record" to me.

JB....I absolutely love your mixes. Those guitars sound awesome and the drums hit just the right spot.

Karen.....well...you ROCK!  That hook line is fantastic, btw.

[pompeyjazz]

Wow ! I've just finished reading the back story to this song. It's a fascinating insight into the writing / creation process. It's been a great initiative to discover a bit more about how things evolved. This is delicious slice of upbeat pop rock. With a killer mix that sounds pretty damn perfect. I loved the echo vocals, very effective indeed. No nits from me, just fantastic 

[moraamarolaloba]

Hola @Jambrains @MonnoDB
I heno listening to collaborations so well executed, it's a very original song, the chorus has something special, different, and you know I like difference.
Great song, I love the drum!!!

Very pleasant to listen to!!!

Mora

[digger72]

Hi JB/Karen,

Another great write and performance. Sort of Cranberries meets Fleetwood Mac.
Deserves a very wide audience.

It's instant and catchy, but also has enough variation to keep it interesting - Pop rock with added special dust.
Up there with your very best for me.

Digger

[cowparsleyman]

@Jambrains @MonnoDB - Really love the way the lyrics fit the rhythm right from the off, beautifully stitched together, I don't think the Chorus is shite, far from it, rather strong indeed.

Love the guitars JB, and the choice of drums,

Particularly liked the ending  and the title, I took have a reminder folder on my phone where I note all the hooky lyric lines, so many ideas, but how to string 'em together...

This is very nice, one of your best....although I guess you don't think so.

[montydog]

Karen's voice really makes this song fly - easily good enough to be a pro. The song itself is muscular,catchy and very radio friendly. Kind reminded me of Fleetwood Mac with a punk attitude. Loved the echoed phrases and God, this song is so damned brilliant. It's the kind of song that you just want to play again as soon as it's finished because you can't quite believe how good it is. Sublime pop music.
M

[adamfarr]

"Walk on your spine to straighten mine" is such a good lyric - so much so that I wanted that to feature more, or in a different part of the chorus where it would really shine through more. Perhaps because of that the chorus didn't totally draw me in, but that's my only possible issue.

These upbeat numbers work so well for Karen's vocal and Jambrains' arrangements are always big (drums!), layered and full of movement. I would definitely listen to a whole album...

[MichaelA]

I would definitely listen to a whole album...

I actually did that last week and listened to the album on Spotify. I can DIY paint a bedroom ceiling in the time it takes to listen to it, so it’s great for productivity. My wife came in and thought I was listening to a pro signed band. I said no, it is just a couple of wasters off the forum, then she sighed and failed to be impressed further!

Well ‘music is my madness, it keeps me sane’! Brilliant.

This one took me a couple of listens to totally get on board. It’s  a few days now since my first listen so it’s definitely a grower though. Not a bad thing. Like Adam I think I was expecting more development on the first line of the chorus, seeing as you had a compelling idea in your hand. But now I am warming to how that second half of the chorus unexpectedly diverges and really kicks in.

Great explanatory notes btw, really interesting to see how you both work together, sparking off each other’s ideas.

Smashing singing and harms, and I think you’ve got the chemistry and formula so right after all this time that you could probably make anything sound pretty fantastic.

I suppose it won’t be that long for you to have enough material to help me paint the next bedroom ceiling. I will look forward to that!

[Jamie]

@Jambrains @MonnoDB

Hi guys, great song, great singing, great.....you get the picture .Love it, a brilliant pop/rock song, and it sounded like a record. I also think the commentary indicates how ephemeral music is. At one point there was nothing (or little at least), then, some heavenly/infernal/diabolical thing happens and there's a song......I still don't know how I write my own stuff .
Great collaboration, good work!

Cheers

Jamie