Thoughts on mixes

Hi guys, would love some criticism on the mixes from my latest project:
 
https://soundcloud.com/all-the-kings-men-620357397/sets/let-us-adore-him
 
It was a departure from what I normally do, and I took a completely different approach to recording it. Almost every mic was in omni, while we just bashed away in a room to try and get an authentic sounding result. I aimed to use as little processing as possible, even if that meant things being a little muddy - I really wanted a 'homely' and raw vibe. Would love to hear what you think, and if you thought I achieved that raw, authentic sound I was after and what I could have done better.
 
If you only listen to one, please make it Hope of the World, and listen all the way to the end, as it gets pretty intense about half way through :-)
 
Thanks in advance.
 

Thanks for the reply - not unhelpful at all! Yeah, I guess when I was thinking 'homely' and raw, I wasn't thinking so much lo-fi, just a bit more 'honest' sounding than the heavily processed/hyped sounds of pop recordings. Thanks for the kind words - glad you enjoyed it!

Hey James!  aren't you the same James Collins who posted in the Music Creator forums a long time ago?
 
first, I agree with Walt, you'll get more responses if you'll post songs individually, but not all at once, either, space 'em out.
 
I listened to Hope of the World first - this is just really good!  the mix does sound a little "unpolished" but for a "live" room sound you've really captured it well!
 
performances are all fantastic - love the "celtic/folk" feel!
 
the handclaps and "heys" sound like they're more "pristine" than the acoustic guitar and sound like they're not in the same place.
 
at 3:35 when everyone comes it, the mix gets cluttered and it's hard to hear any of the voices clearly, the guitar is mixed louder than anything else, I'd like to hear the choir better.
 
I also listened to "New Life" - this seems a lot more "live" especially at the beginning.  same thing when everyone's singing, tho, the voices are covered by the instrumentation (especially the acoustic guitar which you've mixed louder than anything else).
 
great songs!  great work!  tight vocals!  the choir is all right on timing and that's hard to get!
 
good stuff!

Beagle
Hey James!  aren't you the same James Collins who posted in the Music Creator forums a long time ago?

Possibly :-) I posted some stuff from my classical guitar album a few years ago?

first, I agree with Walt, you'll get more responses if you'll post songs individually, but not all at once, either, space 'em out.

Thanks, will do in future.
 

I listened to Hope of the World first - this is just really good!  the mix does sound a little "unpolished" but for a "live" room sound you've really captured it well!
 
performances are all fantastic - love the "celtic/folk" feel!
 
the handclaps and "heys" sound like they're more "pristine" than the acoustic guitar and sound like they're not in the same place.

Interesting- any tips on how to blend claps and heys more? They were recorded in exactly the same way as everything else and in the same room. Actually come to think of it, I recorded almost everything in stereo (M/S with the middle mic in omni) but the claps and heys were a single mic in omni. Same mic and room though...
 

at 3:35 when everyone comes it, the mix gets cluttered and it's hard to hear any of the voices clearly, the guitar is mixed louder than anything else, I'd like to hear the choir better.

Yes it is a bit cluttered, and I know it sounds like an excuse, but I actually kind of wanted that! I just wanted it to explode at that point and go a bit over-the-top with it. And yes the vocals could be more audible, but I found with them at a higher level I was losing some of the power that came from the band, and if I EQ'd for more clarity, it sounded too different to the previous section. Any ideas/thoughts on what else I could have tried? I think I was willing to compromise on clarity for reasons mentioned earlier - if portraying the feeling of a bunch of guys just getting in a room and going for it meant a loss of clarity/intelligibility at times, I was willing to live with that. Perhaps I was wrong?
 

I also listened to "New Life" - this seems a lot more "live" especially at the beginning.  same thing when everyone's singing, tho, the voices are covered by the instrumentation (especially the acoustic guitar which you've mixed louder than anything else).

Haha yes, I think I always mix guitars too loud - can you guess what my main instrument is?!
 

great songs!  great work!  tight vocals!  the choir is all right on timing and that's hard to get!
 
good stuff!

Thanks so much for listening and commenting, and I'm thrilled you enjoyed it :-)

Great vocals, great playing, great mix, great old school sound, what's not to like here? Really good stuff!