LIZRO Anymore: feedback on guitar and arrangement?

[LIZRO]

Hi everyone, I'm LIZRO, and this is my original song, ‘Anymore’. It was featured in the finale of the Korean webtoon Love Revolution (연애혁명). I'm new here and still trying to find listeners for my music, so I'd really appreciate a listen and some honest feedback.

Listen to Anymore on YouTube

I'm especially interested in the guitar and the arrangement. Does the guitar sit well with the vocal, or are there places where it gets in the way? Does the arrangement keep you interested from section to section, or would you simplify or change anything to give the song more movement?

If something isn't working for you, please say so. A timestamp and what you'd try differently would be really helpful. Thanks for taking the time!

 

[Polkasound]

Welcome Lizro!

Beautiful song. I'm a sucker for retro love ballads.

The first thing that stood out is that if you wanted to market this to American listeners, you would absolutely need the assistance of an American songwriting collaborator. The lyrics sound pretty and clearly convey the mood and sentiment of the song, but linguistically, they're a Google-translated train wreck and need to be corrected for English-speaking audiences.

From a production standpoint, I'll be honest.... it's nice, but it's nothing memorable. I like the melody, chord structure, instrumentation, and retro vibe, but the arrangement doesn't have enough variation to hold attention. Neither the music nor the vocals build to anything. No harmonies, no strings, etc. From 0:36 on, the song just kind of plods along without any changes in dynamics or color from either the vocals or the instrumentation.

From a mix standpoint, I didn't hear anything that jumped out as needing immediate attention. If anything, the instrument solos could probably come up a little bit, however I am listening on multimedia speakers at a lower volume right now, so I'm not in a position to critically judge the mix.

From a technical standpoint, I heard a brief audio dip at 0:15. Also some of the toms are so dry, they sound like digital pops, or as if the drummer hit the tom mics by accident.

Hopefully this information may help you. It's a pretty song, but it needs the assistance of a native English speaker who can rewrite the lyrics, and I would recommend adding dynamic and color variation to the arrangement to hold the listener's attention.

Tom

 

[LIZRO]

Hi Tom,

Thank you so much for the warm welcome and for taking the time to listen so carefully and write such a thoughtful, detailed response. I'm glad you enjoyed the melody and the retro feel, and I appreciate your honesty about the parts that didn't work as well for you.

Your comments on how the English lyrics come across, the lack of development after 0:36, and the need for more variation in the vocals and instrumentation give me a lot to think about. Thank you, too, for the specific notes on the solo levels, the dip at 0:15, and the dry toms, and for explaining your listening setup when discussing the mix. That level of detail is really helpful.

It means a lot that you gave the song this much attention. I'd be very grateful for any further thoughts or advice you'd like to share, now or in the future. Thank you again for being so generous with your time and experience.

LIZRO