I commented in the listening party that I was planning to write up reviews, but I kept feeling like all my reviews would consist of "Great cover! Great original! Good job!" so they wouldn't be very helpful. That review still stands for each of these. NEVERTHELESS I decided to write a few brief notes on these below!
Caravan Ray for JB - All Tan - wow, the mood from the original has really changed! I heard the cover first and was not at all expecting the sound of the original track when I heard it. I like how you've reversed the electronic/acousticness of the two JB covers. This song is ridiculous and brought a smile to my face. The computer vocals work really well with those swaggery weird lyrics.
Caravan Ray for JB - Systematic Panic - Loses a bit of panic in the translation, but this has a lovely warm feel that I really enjoyed. I like the sound of your guitar and vocals!
Crumpart for Micah - Zero Gravity - A song about space! Of course this is the one you picked, that's perfect. I dig the somber, desolate feel of this, it has a sort of stately Renaissance dance feel with the recorder (?) and violin and castanets. Micah's piano version is really lovely and full (in the parts between verses, anyway) in a more conventional way; this arrangement has a sort of raw emptiness that works really well too. I really like the staccato violin stabs.
Glennny for Fluffy - Cindy on the Bus - This reminds me of the Violent Femmes. It has a classic, familiar feel to it. Nice production--the vocals and acoustic sound good, I like the energy level of this cover, and the synths are really cool--the croaky one in the back and the little organ-ish noodles between vocal lines.
JB for Paco - Auld Lang Syne - Gorgeous, otherworldly whistling, I am so envious of your whistling abilities. Listening to this cover of Paco and Paco's cover of crumpart make me really appreciate the uniqueness of Paco's musical style! I really like the swells of layered vocals and acoustic guitar as this picks up.
Jerkatorium for Vowlvom - The Sugary Goo Inside - One of my favorites of the coverfight, you really did a great job with this one! Infectious and the production is excellent. Love the tinkly toy piano stuff and the crunchy stop/start guitars, the chorus really soars with the harder-hitting guitars in this version. The subtle backing vocals add a lot, and Chumpy crooning the wonderfully disturbing lyrics is giving me slight Misfits "Saturday Night" vibes.
Jerkatorium for Vowlvom - Your Discarded Cigarette - Vom's original version has a very appealing dark synthpop feel but the upbeat power-pop Jerkatorium version is excellent too and still feels like it would be totally on-brand for a VV song.
Johnny Cashpoint for Lichenthroat - I Used to Know You Better - Funny how you guys drew each other as partners! I'm glad this got picked, this was one of my favorite Lichen Throat songs lyrically. The cover has a bit more of a relaxed feel to me but keeps much of the same kind of dark, melancholy mood, which is interesting, in my
original review of this song I had commented that the music felt much darker than the lyrics. I'm glad the one-note guitar line got preserved in at least part of the song as synth, but that there were some additional melodic bits added in too for extra interest. Really enjoyed hearing the new take on it; it's fun when I remember the originals and then I see the new versions posted!
Lichenthroat for Johnny Cashpoint - When it Snowed - I enjoyed the production--glad that descending guitar line stayed in, and I really liked the part where it kicks in with the drums. I admit the first time I was listening I wasn't really paying attention and thought "oh how nice, a nice song about a snowy day" and then I listened more carefully/looked up the lyrics and whoa that's not what it is at all. I think the cover reflects a bit more of that lyrical darkness in there whereas the original has a somewhat more ethereal sound with the choir pad and chiming guitar.
Micah for Sleepysilverdoor - You'll Know It When You See It - Brilliant, this made me laugh. Very well executed stylistically and it actually works so well with the lyrics. I liked the lo-fi, noisy drone and energy of the original version, the cover has somehow preserved that onslaught of lyrics and the melody while doing a 180 from the energy level and musical style.
Owl for Jocko - We Were So Grand - The original has just acoustic guitar, the cover has everything
but guitar... I switched the key to get into a better range to get the harmonies in there, and started with just the synth pad and shakers and slowly layered in all the other stuff like the ukulele and guiro. (I want a real guiro!) I went back and forth on what to do in the solo for a bit, including considering a kazoo, and ended up playing it on melodica and then running it through some effects. I love the affectionate nostalgia and sincerity in Jocko's song, it is really a sweet tune (and I like that I'm also sort of doing a bonus Pigfarmer Jr. cover to boot!) I had figured I'd do one of the Spintunes ones from the last round that I quite enjoyed, but changed my mind when I heard this one.
(I played real bass on this and the neutronflow GOM as well, I should do that more because despite being not great at it so it takes a long time to record, it turns out I really enjoy it--it satisfies my urge to play constantly once I'm holding an instrument in my hands, without anyone telling me to "leave space for other instruments" or "stop noodling for a minute"!)
Paco for Crumpart - Right Town, Wrong Address - This is great! Another where I remembered the original (which was charming!) and it really was transformed. I looked up my old review of this and I had written "it starts to feel like a lot of stuff all going on all the time" which you (Paco) have taken to the next level here, it kind of made my head spin. I love the manic pace of this and the jangly guitars, there's a part like 3/4 of the way through where there are some guitar stabs on the off beats that I really liked, they help change up the arrangement a bit. Criticisms: I would have enjoyed it more if all the instruments were played with food.
Phlebia (Sleepysilverdoor) for Owl (Vowl Sounds) - Shock Value - Thank you for my excellent gift! This was so very Phlebia, which makes me happy. It's nuts, and it's great. I'm sure I would have enjoyed hearing a full version that sounded like the first section, because that was great and a bit more easy for me to appreciate in a traditional way! I love the ominous pounding bass and drums, and the effected vocals work really well. Someone on the chat compared it to Slowdive which I can definitely see and +1 to the comment that I'd love to hear more songs from you in that vein. But I appreciate the creativity of the procedurally generated noisy drums, too. I never did manage to see the link to whatever you used to generate the drum MIDI in the second section because I think the Youtube chat hid the external links, but I'm curious, you should post it!
Fluffy for Caravan Ray - ABCD Puppies - This cover brought a smile to my face! Of course it's a goofy and lightweight song, but it was cheerful and exuberant and fun to listen to. I like those little swirls of piano. I don't have a lot of notes about it, but I enjoyed it a lot.
Third Cat for Jerkatorium - Ocean of Blood - This ties with Jerkatorium's "The Sugary Goo" as my other favorite of the fight. I love the melody of this song and I think your arrangement of this version really worked well to showcase it. I don't think you were in the listening party chat, but I commented there that it reminds me of Fight Test by the Flaming Lips/Father and Son by Cat Stevens, not so much in the original version but in your cover definitely, I guess it's probably the drums + acoustic guitar. Love all the swirling textures, especially that shimmery harp strum thing that starts coming in at the end of the bridge. I keep coming back to listen to this again!
Vom Vorton for Glennny - My Favorite Monster - The textures of this cover are great, I love the lo-fi drum machine sound and all the synths and contrasting guitar tones. Glennny's song has lots of cool interlocking riffs and parts and you did an excellent job getting them all put together in a new and interesting way!