At IAAS Music, we pride ourselves on supporting indie musicians. So, I've felt rather conflicted at the long list of submissions we have received this year that haven't – and most likely won't – get any published articles or reviews.

Today, I'm going to explain why certain submissions won't get an article published, how we make that decision, and then give some shorter-form bits of feedback to those who submitted when we first reached out.

The most important thing I must stress: If we haven't written a review of a track/album you've submitted, it doesn't mean we don't like it!

As a brand, we will never write a review of an indie band that is predominantly negative. So sure, there's a chance it's not up to snuff... If you've submitted AI generated text-to-voice over a Taylor Swift song's backing track, then how on earth would we ever give you any feedback? But more often, we get submissions that are either in genres we have little experience in, or maybe tracks and sounds we like – but not in a way that offers enough inspiration or story to write about.

So, we’re introducing the Mixed-Bag Mixtape! It’ll be a place for us to give more critical feedback in shorter sections. Again, I stress: If we include you here, it means we like what you’re doing!!

‍

folklaur

From Philadelphia (Go Flyers!), Laura Feigin describes herself as a singer-songwriter blending indie, pop, folk, and singer-songwriter styles. She states on her Spotify bio that she's "drawn to lyrics that feel honest, even (or especially) when they're messy" – so there's a huge chance that my biggest critique could be a stylistic choice!

Listening to Leaves & Letters, the first and titular song from her 7-song album, made me completely overwhelmed. Individual pieces of the record are beautifully recorded, sounding clean and well-produced. But they're all fighting over the track, not mixing well or working towards the same goal.

There's an element of songwriting that falls into a similar category, too. Certain lines are a bit awkward or forced, making the more intricate and well-written lines get lost in a continuous blast of lyrics.

The issue is finding your own sound when too heavily inspired by one artist. Sonically, the entire album sounded like Taylor Swift's early discography; some vocals and instrumental decisions felt similar. There's other artists I've drawn similarities to or spotted the artists' inspirations (for a direct example of an early Swift-inspired sound check Annika Kilkenny's EP Make Yourself At Home, which we reviewed here.

I do believe folklaur has tremendous potential as an artist. The songs have strong foundations, but there's maybe just an element of refining her sound until she finds something unique, instead of leaning so heavily on artistic influences.

You can find folklaur on Spotify, Instagram, and Bandcamp.

‍

t0ny

t0ny has a lot of potential, but I need to be honest – the first track voice box was difficult to listen through. The vocals are completely misused stylistically; by the second track, though, he finds a style of singing that is much better suited.

Lots of elements clearly demonstrate a great understanding and talent for music production. The more distorted elements of the record are well recorded, and various instruments are utilised perfectly to create the desired soundscape. Despite the fine production, there is an element of rawness, particularly in vocals. I found the double-tracked vocals to be a little out-of-sync. Sometimes this can be stylistic, but it has to be done right.

The EP settles in, and the later tracks find their sound – I think some attention to dynamic variation and finding the vocals would make it great.

t0ny has a toolkit full of strong assets, making them definitely one to watch. Production quality is high, and their ability to write music is evident – the good news is that there's only a small amount of adjustment needed to take their records to the next level.

You can find t0ny on Spotify and Instagram.

‍

Mr. Nic

I actually really like the sound of this mindful track entitled Find your peace. The introduction felt a little on the nose, but the recording is tight and everything contributes to the overall vibe. Mr. Nic achieves a decent soundscape, and creates a dynamically interesting listening experience utilising different sounds and allowing ebbs and flows amongst the instruments to shift focus.

The repetition of "find your peace" is executed well, acting like an anchor throughout but not overused. It got stuck in my head very quickly, allowing me to anticipate the hook after instrumental breakdowns/solos.

You can find Mr. Nic on Soundcloud and Apple Music.

‍

Conclusion: IAAS Mixed-Bag Mixtape #1

Hopefully, this has been a snapshot of our diverse submission pool. For artists, I would love to hear your thoughts on type-ups like this and the overall format – please let us know in the comments below! All you have to do is create an account on iaasmusic.com, and you'll be ready to join the conversation.

If you're an indie artist looking for a chance to be featured on the site, send along your music submissions for our review here!