Yeah, the lack of processing, just in general, has been a revelation for me. Basically what I've learned is that the more you process things the more they become lush and settle into the mix. The less you process (and the more you add light distortion) the sharper it becomes and the further forward it moves.
As a result of this logic, I put a lot of processing on my synths (which are mainly there for mood) then I put a modest amount of processing on the bass and drums (song foundation) and then I put very little processing and some distortion (or saturation) effects on the guitar and the vocals to make them really sharp.
It's intended to guide the listener to what they are supposed to be listening to and, as a result, helps the song feel more organized. Well, at least imo.
And yeah, vocal dysphoria is all over the place on this one I'll have to admit. The good news is that the vocals are actually processed enough that it doesn't entirely sound like my voice to me, it sounds kinda like a really good vocal synth. That...seems to help. I used a VT-4 (which does parallel processing, I had it set at 30% wet) to add in a reverbed, distorted, octave pitch shifted secondary voice. It def makes the whole thing sound unwordly... And that helps. But, you know, I think it's just gonna be a struggle for the time being and...that's fine. Life is rarely perfect, but at least this is good :)