Here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today, we’ve been listening to the latest single from Jordan Popky. Hair Care is released today and is a co-release and first-time collaboration between Sarah Mickey, Jordan Popky, and Adam Tilzer. If you’re looking for a folk/folk-rock tongue-in-cheek response to unsolicited advice, this is most definitely the song for you.
Hair Care starts with a strummed acoustic guitar to set the scene. When the vocals come in, they’ll take your breath away. Three layered stereo harmonies whose timing is some of the best we’ve heard in a long time. The super-low panned left harmony is a great addition in places and adds to the overall sound of the song, but also throws in a slightly quirky element that suits the song perfectly.
We adored the stops, the A Capella moments and the sublimely high quality of the vocal delivery. We were just grinning all the way through.
Lyrically perhaps, not one for radio airplay without enough edits to make the song lose its impact, but this song is a shining example of what happens when three vocalists are perfectly in time with each other. The first line of the song, “If I wanted your opinion I’d fuckin’ ask for it” sets the scene and the later vitriol thrown at the mic is done with great humour; “You entitled selfish narcissistic prick.”
Strings soar above the choruses and we were impressed with the strings instrumental section which then led to a glorious A Capella breakdown section that exploded out with a quick nifty drum fill and back into the catchy chorus again.
Ideas from our ears
The production and mix on this track is absolutely awesome. To our ears, a hi-pass at around 40Hz would remove some sub-bass rumble and a small EQ dip at around 65-70Hz would reduce a slight boom in that area. Also, a single-band compressor with some make-up gain on the top 2 octaves would add some extra brightness without affecting the sibilant parts of the vocal tracks. Finally a light compressor/limiter and maybe 5dB of make-up gain on the whole track would add extra warmth as well as raising the overall volume to match similar commercial releases. As always, these are just some ideas from our ears.
Final thoughts
Jordan Popky’s, Hair Care, absolutely made our day here at the Send Me Your Ears studio. Witty lyrics and sublime harmonies. What more could you ask for?