The Feeble Contenders

The Feeble Contenders are a rock band from College Station, TX. As someone who spent 4.5 years growing in that music scene, I have a special place in my heart for the musicians thriving there. The Feeble Contenders are no different. They are a group of incredibly fun and talented guys who take their music seriously. If you’re lucky enough to catch these guys on stage, you will immediately notice an energy and passion that is rare and captivating. That’s exactly why I wanted to tag along when I heard they might be working on an album.

I should probably start by saying that I am all for DIY (do it yourself) projects. That’s why I got into music production, and it’s a huge reason I stay in it as a musician myself. Today, there are a lot of options available for the DIY musician. For TFC’s project, we decided the recording and mixing process should be split among the band and myself to fit the band and their budget. We decided that the band would be able to handle most of the tracking themselves, and I would be primarily mixing and mastering. Anything that we were unsatisfied with could be retracked at my studio while the rest of the tracks would be used directly in the mix. We also agreed on some recording strategies beforehand that left me with a lot of options during the mixing stage.

After we coordinated the details, the guys were left to track the album on their time and their budget to their standards. This is one of my favorite arrangement for a project. Studio time can become very stressful when paying by the hour. Taking on the tracking yourself can get you natural and almost stress-free sessions. Once the guys were fairly satisfied with their tracks, they sent them to me via Google Drive for mix prep. At this stage, I evaluated the songs as they were tracked to identify any issues and to start formulating the mixes as I heard them. I passed back the results to TFC. We agreed to try and retrack a things like bass and vocals and add pads for a few songs. This also gave them time to sit on the preliminary mixes and add in any final touches.

After the tracking was deemed complete, the mixes started flying back and forth. TFC gave back some great, detailed feedback which made the mixing process fairly simple. After the mixes were completed, mastering was applied and the tracks were arranged and timed for the album.

Overall, Circles is a great album, and the title track seemed like the perfect track to really display the band’s dynamics and energy. The entire album is packed with guitar hooks, intimate and sometimes playful vocals, and a certain darkness that makes the songs stick (think Brand New meets Say Anything). These aren’t a bunch of a sappy love songs. Instead the lyrics are full of conflict, contemplation, and redemption. Then they wrap it all up in raunchy guitars and huge drums. All in all, it was a ton of fun working with the guys. They are great musicians and they deserve your attention. Make sure to check them out at their release show in Bryan, TX on 7/11/14. Tickets are on sale now! - Collin Brewer Music

A five-piece alt rock band from College Station, Texas, The Feeble Contenders is comprised of a mixture of current Texas area students and grads. The group’s music is thoughtful, spiritual and intoxicating, combining faith-based lyrics with hard-edged instrumentals. They released their debut EP, Circles, last July, a five-song mini-record chock full of melancholic Death Cab-esque acoustics and Jack’s Mannequin-inspired indie power ballads. Listen below. - IndieU