We were happy to see the latest single from Near Death Experience reach the top of our reviews pile today here at the Send Me Your Ears studio. We previously reviewed Near Death Experience (NDX) back in May with their fun, Brian Setzer feeling track, Underground. Today they’re back with their new single, Living, released on the 26th of August 2022.
Living is catchy right from the start. With some harmony “ooh yeah’s” that made the team say “ooh yeah” in approval, this is a feel good song, reminiscent of the kind of groove you would expect from perhaps 60s pop.
The song immediately grabs your attention and has you feeling like you want to bop around the room, or at the very least, bop your head and smile at the positivity surging through this London (UK) based band.
There’s some great layered vocals in the choruses, and a well placed organ, as well as some great tambourine work, fill out the sound. There’s something happening all the time.
We particularly liked the build that leads into the guitar solo, with a lovely breakdown of mainly vocals and percussion that followed.
There’s a lovely growl and attitude in the lead vocalist tone. We noticed it in our previous review and it’s used even more in this track, as if to add to the sense of happiness and joyfulness that the song is conveying.
From a production perspective, we felt that there are some slightly clashing frequencies in the low mids around 120Hz so a cut around here might help to clear things up a little. There are also a couple of places where the vocals are a little heavy around 300-350Hz so which can make them sound a little muddy so a cut here might reduce some of those tones. A tiny boost around 500Hz would add to the fullness of the track and a cut centred around 3kHz would reduce some slightly harsh sounding tones where certain aspects seem have a little too much character. Finally a tiny high shelf boost in the top octave for brightness and air. Any adjustments are tiny if they even need anything at all. This is a fun track that carries itself well.
A feel good track with a stinger ending, this is a summer anthem that we can imagine blaring out on your car stereo as you drive to the beach for the day. Near Death Experience (NDX) have produced another great sounding track that clings for dear life onto those last few days of summer.