Here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today, we’ve been listening to the latest single from Tom Craven. Released today, March 17th, 2023, New Signals is an anthem for those who have loved and lost in the recent few turbulent years.
We previously reviewed Tom’s single, Let It Fall – an upbeat and positive track. New Signals is just a touch more reflective and sentimental. It retraces Tom’s rise, fall and eventual return.
New Signals is a 6/8 folky ballad which comes straight in with a full folk band sound. A gentle distant acoustic guitar strums the rhythm, and electric guitar and piano interweave between the vocal melodies. The bass is melodic and interesting to listen to.
Female harmonies join the mix (provided by Rachel Chilcraft), and create a choir-like feel of background stereo voices. Cello, provided by Andrew Chilcraft is also a nice touch in the track.
A distant Hammond fills out the sound in places, and the instrumental sections are kept simple and uncluttered. The song is folk-influenced and positively euphoric in places. We particularly liked the build out of the almost A Capella section with a superb Hammond smear leading into a repeated chorus.
New Signals sits at over 5 minutes long, so it may not be picked up by commercial radio (they can be so picky about lengths!), but we’d urge Tom to seek out folk radio shows and internet radio to garner him more fans. We’d also recommend seeking out possible licensing opportunities for placement in a TV show.
Ideas from our ears
There is a gap around 80-85Hz, so a large but careful boost here would add a great deal of thickness, particularly in the kick drum. A couple of cuts around 500Hz and 2.5-3kHz would reduce some ‘honky’ and ‘harsh’ tones, respectively. A final boost in the top 2 octaves for added brightness and presence. An added single-band compressor with some make-up gain in this area could also help bring some more brightness and sparkle, noticeably in the ride cymbal. As always, these are just some ideas from our ears.
Final thoughts
Tom Craven is creating consistently impressive singer-songwriter music to remind you to focus on the good things in life. Great feel-good music!
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https://www.songkick.com/artists/885185-tom-craven
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