Nick P - Full Detox EP

Nick P

​Full Detox EP
self-released; 2017

​3.4 out of 5

By Dan Weston

Nick P is a writer, musician, filmmaker and producer hailing from Alabama who recently released Full Detox. I have to admit I wonder about artists who wear this many hats and if they are able to be great at one thing.

The songs on Full Detox are very straightforward rock songs. There are some decent hooks here and there but no real surprises along the way. The two songs that stuck out to me were “Half Past Fall” and “Tell-Tale Signs.” I thought the most impressive aspect was the guitar work. I liked his voice as well but there were multiple times where he gets off key.

As an engineer myself I feel it would be a disservice to not mention what the artist can improve in this area. The songs are extremely lo-fi but there are things you can do even when you are recording at home to improve the sound. By far the most important thing here is that there are so many harsh high frequencies within the 5k to 10k range that your ears will start to ring even at a moderate volume.

​Some of this can be rectified by using a Low Pass Filter and boosting frequencies between 150 - 300 hz on individual elements or the entire track to get some warmth. There is almost no separation between the instrumentation to where the song simply sounds like a sheet of white noise. The other thing to note that was difficult to hear was the drum sound which sounded programmed yet also borderline non-existent at points.

In all honesty these songs need so much work in the production and engineering department that I think the artist needs to work with a producer or engineer who has more experience in the studio on his next release. I think it would be a beneficial learning experience as well.

​The artist has some guitar and songwriting ability but there is a lot that would need to happen for the recording to be competitive with popular artists. He seems to be passionate about music and I hope to hear him evolve and come back stronger.

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