mix notes by isaac

Back in second year Uni someone described mixing as “hanging washing on the line, you’ve gotta find space for everything” and since I just finished hanging out my washing, I thought I might run everyone through the mixing process behind the 4 Dogs Eps.

Back when we wrote and recorded these songs, we didn’t really have a clear direction that we were heading for sonically. It was a throw ideas at the wall and see what sticks approach which has was really a blessing in disguise. It meant that we had no constraints in the production and post production phases and we could take inspiration from so many musical influences. I’m going to pick out a few songs here and explain how we came to the end product; and it involves a surprising amount of Weezer...

Plutonium Studios.

ANYMORE

This song was written well before I joined the band and the first time we played it in practice I was actually obsessed. The song has everything I love about Melaleuca; upbeat, catchy instrumentals and lyrics that make you question the validity of every relationship you’ve ever had. Real playground next to a cemetery vibes. For all the songs we tracked drums and bass live which gives the song it’s drive, but at the end of the day just having electric guitars throughout the song felt like it was missing something crucial. Enter everyones favourite band with an array of different coloured albums. On first playback all I could hear was shades of ‘Island in the Sun’ with a teaspoon of Sugar Ray. So I picked up my beat up old acoustic guitar and played down some extremely loose and jangly island vibes. After that Andy came in and added some organ layers and the song just made sense.

I treated the drums differently to every other song we recorded, opting for no samples, no gates and keeping the kit bright but organic and natural. I like to think it sounds like we just set up in someones lounge room and played the song for them (wether they liked it or not).

Highlights: Jane’s and Andy’s ad libs at the end, Matts ghost notes, the bass line (chef’s kiss).

Matt killing Andy at Plutonium Studios.

HOT AIR BALLOON

Again, a loooooooot of Weezer coming out of places I wasn’t expecting...truth be told, when we finished tracking this song I had absolutely no idea how much I was going to love it by the end. The little clean leads, huge choruses and layers upon layers of filthy electric guitars, self deprecation overload; this song is straight out of the Rivers Cuomo playbook.

The biggest challenge in mixing Melaleuca is trying to make a snare drum cut through a guitar thats going through a JCM 800 and played by a guy who grew up playing hardcore. Luckily Matt plays the drums like he hates them, and after a lot of trial and error I managed to get that thing sitting where it needed to be. As much as I try to keep it ‘old school’ samples can really be your friend, folks.

I had a lot of fun with the end of the song, I love Jane’s lead that plays over the last chorus and automating the reverb and delays on Andy’s soaring vocals creates this epic stadium rock vibe that I didn’t know we could do. But Weezer did, and so did we.

Highlights: Andy F***ing SHREDDING

Andy fucking shredding at Plutonium Studios.

GLASS CEILING

At the time of writing this, this song is yet to appear but maybe it will have when this is uploaded? I don’t, that’s not my job I just press buttons and damage my hearing.

This is another one that had so much to love but felt like it just needed a little boost. At the time I was using ‘Cheer’ by Drug Church as a mix reference for most of the songs because it might be one of the best produced and mixed hardcore (adjacent) albums I’ve ever heard. It’s incredible balance of grit and clarity felt like a perfect match for our brand of music.

The acoustic guitar lead in the song ‘Dollar Story’ stands out as an incredible moment on the record and I used that as the inspiration behind the chorus lead on ‘Glass Ceiling’. Multiple layers of sparkly acoustic guitars (recorded mid-side) create a really cool space and and colour that makes the chorus come to life.

The drums are also far ‘roomier’ than in the other songs with reverbs becoming more prominent in the chorus which is something I don’t do very often. I usually like to keep things consistent but in this case I think it really works; especially when the direct mics dropout in the bridge.

Jane’s vocals are also saturated to absolute hell which is another nod to Patrick Kindlon’s vocal on ‘Cheer”. It’s an angry song; I wanted to make Jane sound like she would actually tell all of your secrets.

Highlights: The ‘chk chk’ before the solo. Love that shit.

Jane telling all of your secrets at Plutonium Studio.

WASTE AWAY

It wouldn’t be the four of us without trying to emulate the sweet sounds of Mr Will Yip. The guy is the godfather of modern emo and I would honestly take a bullet for him if it meant he could make a new Title Fight record. Please.

I love this song. I love that it took us a good 12 months to write and went through quite a few iterations before we landed where it needed to be. The reference for this track came about through pure chance. My studio is a room above a coffee shop and when I was heading in for the Waste Away mix session my guy Caleb was blasting Superheaven and I realised that this was a Superheaven song. The huge drums and guitars on ‘Jar’ were the perfect blueprint for the song. We decided the vocal was less of a feature and more of a texture which meant I had free reign to push the instruments as far as I possibly could. This song is LOUD and it absolutely should be. The snare sounds like it’s being played in an empty pool in a cathedral. Epic.

Highlights: That little guitar bend in the second chorus, feedback all the time.

Captured by James Caswell.

If you’ve read this far thanks you, here’s a list of songs that made these records what they are:

Weed Pin - Drug Church

Dollar Story - Drug Church Island in the Sun - Weezer Buddy Holly - Weezer

Every Morning - Sugar Ray Sponge - Superheaven

Harness Your Hopes - Pavement