Yeah... SUPER common issue! Comments definitely prove that haha! I think everyone has great suggestions and insights.
What I can add that hasn't been mentioned is try to just write some throwaway tracks. They might turn out, but they might not. I.E. maybe take a short break from your main track, and just try to write something random and finish it in 2 days (not unreasonable, it's actually a regular deadline for writing original music in advertising - usually between 15sec to 90sec averaging at 30/60sec track lengths). You perhaps don't have to do full 3min tracks or whatnot, you could try just doing a verse-chorus type thing - 30-60sec. I think if you do this, it kinda helps solidify that circuit of finishing tracks and helps close that dopamine loop, but you get to do it with stuff you're not so precious about. If you're releasing a personal album/track, and if you haven't released much up to date, it's natural to be SUPER picky and slow with it - because those few tracks represent ALL of you. And it CAN definitely be super useful to place a deadline on this, but it can also be really hard, because you may still want it to be better than it is and not want to release it on the deadline, despite having set the deadline - because it's really personal and has a ton of weight on it.
That's why I think just doing something that you're less invested in on the side can help. Maybe try to write a random track a week, or 2 a week for a bit. Get like 10 done, without caring THAT much how they turn out. Practice getting it done on deadline. Finish them all regardless of how great they are, then you may actually really like some of them, and feel more confident and motivated. If you find a gem in there, then perhaps shelf that one for more development/work. But just write a bunch of whatever tracks. Maybe even try to do your own quick versions of tracks you like by other artists (not necessarily copy, but inspired by). Imagine you just got a call as a job and have to get it sent in by the end of the week, or in a couple days (this is what my actual work is like).
I'm sure this will help once you get back to your main tracks. One effect this has too, is when you listen back to your tracks that you did as throwaways, a little time later, you learn they're actually not as bad as you may think they were initially. When we are editing/mixing - our brains go into HYPER detail focused mode, and we focus on ALL that's WRONG with the track. That's what we have to do in order to fix those mistakes - and it's useful in the moment - but it doesn't feel very good. Then when we're in that state, we bias ourselves towards primarily hearing everything that's bad. It's kinda like if someone looks for all that's wrong in a situation, or any potential threat, they may always be on edge and unhappy. And we don't think the track is any good because we are attuned to only the mistakes and imperfections - and we are hyper aware of every tiny detail (plus we're likely bored of the track and used to it).
Once you take a break and let yourself come back with fresh ears and aren't in that flaw-focused editor/mixing mindstate, you'll probably realize the tracks are really not that bad at all.
You could even try to share them with some people, with the caveat that they were just random and for fun, and you may be surprised that people think they're much better than you thought - and might not even hear what's wrong with them that you're hearing. This community may be more nitpicky (; haha - cause that's what everyone's hyper focused on here, but your average listener may not notice things the same way that you do while you're mixing or this SoundGym community that is also hyper focused on mixing and hearing all the details.
It is a challenge though!
I can write and produce fully finished songs in a day (though it's a little hectic ) from start to finish when it's on deadline... but when it's for myself, tracks can take me YEARS sometimes... I'm currently mixing a personal album I've written, and I'm in month 2 of mixing right now (and writing/arranging these tracks has also taken me months)... which is incredibly frustrating since I know I can finish songs in a day lol. But I want these to be as good as they can be - especially BECAUSE I've spent so much time on them already... to skip the same amount of effort on the last step would feel wrong. The lack of progress does get demotivating, but that's why having a different outlet where you can get a quick dopamine hit from finishing something is actually really good for overall self-esteem and keeping things balanced (/keeping your perfectionism a little reigned in - giving it a reality check). Try writing some random stuff that you're not super invested in. That should help with the overall confidence and reinforce that loop of finishing stuff (:
Give you a deadline as if you were working for somebody else. and just try to accept the result you gotta no control of everything. Just accept you record or mix or master as it is and as you were able to do.
Hi Alex nice to meet you I am Alex aha. First of all cool Metal track, I really liked the growled vocals! Let's get down to it I could hear a few issues with the high end on the lead guitars. Some of those could be a bit more cleaned up around 1mn15 but also throughout the song. The main issue is for me at the very beginning with the change of volume the automation is not brutal enough. You hear the volume going up like someone is turning it up. You could use a bit more EQ/saturation to achieve the classic radio effect at the begining and then take it off and BOOM. You have this punchy effect after intro that we like so much in metal :). The instruments are well spread across the spectrum but kicks and snare could be more fonted or vocals slightly wider to let the snare being heard better. Guitars are properly recorded and riffs sounds hella cool though! Keep it up !
Had some great responses from my last post. I am so grateful to finally find a great place to bounce ideas and grow as an audio engineer. With that in mind, I recently mixed a multitrack session of a punkish-rock-metal-emo band. This stuff is my jam (maybe it's not yours) but audio is audio and I think that an even/balanced/well-rounded sound should be apparent and a well mixed track should translate across most if not all tastes and genres, generally speaking, am I right?
Well, agree or disagree, (winks) but here's my latest mix:
