Here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today, we’ve been listening to the latest single from Tedworth. Going Under was released on March 16th, 2023.
Tedworth, from Appleton, US, describes Going Under as being about losing hope in life and losing hope in your passions. Tedworth says, “I thought music was gonna be the thing I do for the rest of my life when I first started it. But along the way, I lost touch with the reasons why I started making music in the first place. This caused me to feel very depressed and have many suicidal thoughts. This song was a shining light in my life and gave me hope to keep going and push through.” This is an important message at a time when so many people are struggling with their mental health and a campaign we can firmly get behind.
Going Under sets the scene with just drums before a heavy electric guitar joins the mix with a super-catchy and punky riff. An electric guitar solos with a simple melody line over the top, and at this point in the track, one might draw comparisons to Billy Idols style of punk/rock.
When the vocals come in, they are deep and low and layered in places. They hold plenty of character and interest, and as the song progresses, it feels like Tedworth gains confidence.
The choruses have additional instrumentation and make good use of extra percussion to fill the sound out more.
A guitar solo with a simple but effective melody takes over the song for a while. There is something about this track that also reminded us of the style of Blondie (obviously without Deborah Harry!) It has an indie rock/ pop-punk feel to it, which is quite endearing.
Ideas from our ears
Some extra thump and punch in the kick drum could be achieved with a boost centred around 60Hz. The snare sound is peaking a little at 150Hz, so a small but careful surgical cut here could help it fit a little better. The solo guitar could use a small cut around 2.5kHz to reduce a slightly ‘harsh’ tone. A shelf boost set around 7kHz would increase the overall brightness and presence, bringing out some extra clarity, particularly in the vocals. Finally, a light compressor/limiter with around 3dB of make-up gain would further increase the warmth in the track as well as raising the overall volume. As always, these are just some ideas from our ears.
Final thoughts
Tedworth’s latest single, Going Under, is a brave exposé of depression and suicidal thoughts and being brought back from the brink by a love of music.
Send Me Your Ears offers mastering, career advice and more. Please visit https://sendmeyourears.com/advance-your-career/ for more information.
https://www.facebook.com/Tedworth-114235233756267
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2idwEb3ujKcKLk1iRkGPHB
https://soundcloud.com/teddyvb25
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXubiwqd5FMoe5HDpRkCatw
https://instagram.com/tedworth/