if you would give this an ear and shoot back with some comments it would be much appreciated
I'm listening to "Trains" first. I love the flow of the song. Very laid-back and chill, awesome. The slide guitar is perfect once the singing starts, but I think it could come up in the mix a little bit. It might even be a little too loud at the end of the first chorus, but the level once the turn-around happens and the singing breaks is PERFECT.
I love the doubled vocals. There are slight differences in the 2 vocal tracks you sang, but IMHO, that's perfect. The small differences between the two really add to the song's mood. Slide guitar maybe too loud in the break-down section. LOVE it though, especially that part. When the other tracks are coming in, I can detect some popping of the tracks being re-enabled...try to mix it a little smoother so it is a seamless transition back into the full instruments.
In general, I'd give your bass track a little more bottom end and maybe even lower-mid range in the EQ. Check out this link
here. I stumbled across that page some time ago, and it has been infinitely helpful in my mixing. It's an EQ chart.
Closing notes on "Trains": I absolutely love it. If I could download it from the website that you have up, I absolutely would, and it would immediately go on my iPod. It seems like the perfect late-night driving song, one that just helps you take your mind off of things.
Onto "I Can't Believe This Shit". Great instrument use in this. I'm a piano/keyboard player first and amateur producer second...so naturally I fell in love with the organ in this song immediately! I would suggest turning the rotary speed up fast in certain parts, like in the initial chord the organ plays after the guitar intro, just for added texture. The fast rotary speed gives the song added drive, but then you can easily back it off for more of a background sound once the vocals come in. Speaking of the vocals, I love everything about them. You EQ'ed your voice perfect, it fits so well in this song. I especially love when you go up into your higher register in the second half of the verses. It sounds partly inspired by Steven Tyler if I'm not mistaken? Regardless, it's my favorite part of the song. Chorus into guitar solo: I can hear in my head a descending electric guitar line that resolves on the root in the first measure of the guitar solo. Simple minor walk-down but I think it would sound pretty cool to lead more into that resolve. Great guitar solo. Perfect length. I love the background voice(s?) during the second guitar solo. Again, like the last one, the bass could probably use a bottom-end/lower-mid EQ boost. Cymbals maybe down in the mix a smidgen.
Closing notes on "I Can't Believe This Shit": I love this one too. I've been saying that redundantly, but hey, it's true!
Closing notes: You fucking rock. I'd love to hear more. I think I'm well overdue to step down from my stupid little portable soap box though. I look forward to hearing more from you.
I plan on taking that record down and listening to it in 2059, on the 100 year anniversary...if I'm still around, that is!