Andrew, suspect the joy of listening to albums end-to-end has been diluted by modern realities like streaming and short attention spans. But if I were slotting songs for an album, I would make EVERY song a banger with a quick hook and a snappy ending so that the listener can't wait to get to the next song. Save the most challenging song for the end. By then, the listener will be either invested or checked out. Hopefully the former.

Be forewarned, I'm an unsophisticated dabbler in shallow pop music, and I shamelessly only post songs that I think listeners will enjoy. Furthermore, I have never released an album, nor do I think I ever will. But none of that stops me from having an opinion. So...grain of salt, and all that...

But I think it's very cool you are going to release an album. Much respect.

Mario makes a great point about mastering levels across the tracks.

DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)