Originally Posted by Sharp11 ➡️

I like the song, but i feel the arrangement is too busy and lacks a central focus, or identity - it’s like you’re saying “ hey, i play all these instruments really well, and I’m going to use them all”; for example, there’s a banjo that comes in midway - why? It’s only playing an arpeggiated motif over the same set of chords, so it adds nothing new except to ask the listener to expect something that never happens - i.e., how the banjo relates to everything else ??. Same thing with the female vocal, it seems to come out of nowhere, why?

I’d stay with the acoustic and electric guitars , perhaps play a little less on the bass and work out some more variation in the drums in terms of the part and sound. Little bits of sound design are cool stay with those, but pare it down.

In this genre, as in most every rock genre, there’s an identity to the sound that’s shared among certain groups, but then there are things that come in and out as “auxiliaries”, non- essential decoration, often there as sweeteners. In your case, imo, you’ve got too many strong elements vying for space all the way through.

That’s my subjective advice, i went the arrangement route, I couldn’t care less about ssl compressors and the sound of a kick, the essential thing is the song, which is wonderful, and the arrangement, which lacks finesse.

Hope this isn’t too harsh, but 45 years in the music industry has taught me a lot.