SpinTunes 19 Round 1 'Shh' reviews and comments

[BoffoYux]

31 official songs in this round and 1 shadow so far! I'll try and do some reviews this week if I can get a break from work.

Streams and downloads available here
https://spintunes.bandcamp.com/album/sp ... 19-round-1

Don't forget to post lyrics here
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12262

[BoffoYux]

While we wait for reviews and the judges - here's some stats off the Bandcamp site! I grabbed these about 5pm on Wednesday, so it's a little less than 2 days since the LP.

Your milage may vary, but I see 'A Good Man' and 'Secret Lair' have the best ratio for people listening to the end without skips (And no plays on the embed!) And '*Tom Delonge Voice* Wheroar Yheww' has the 2nd highest playback, even though it's 13th on the playback list.

Number of plays have no bearing on how the judges will vote, but it does show interest in the replayability of the song, and how many are skipping before the end.

FYI - I know most of the judges listen to the songs at least 4-5 times before reviewing, so it'll take them a while to get through all these tunes. That's about 10 hours of listening in a week before even writing the reviews. I appreciate them and the time they invest to help us out.

st19r1a.JPG (118.36 KiB) Viewed 1912 times

st19r1b.JPG (90.42 KiB) Viewed 1912 times

[seemanski]

In an attempt to push myself to write reviews I am going to post a portion of song reviews each day. I always find the shear scale of songs and daunting and figured splitting it into more manageable chunks might help, using the power of maths I have worked out that if I do 7 songs a day I should be able to get through everyone. I also figured if I start I have more incentive to finish.

Before I begin, I want to start out saying that these are my opinions and I am just as judgemental on myself. I will try to be constructive in my criticism and I apologise if this offends, you never know I may just have the missed the point. So here goes yesterdays reviews (I'm going through todays, day 2, at the moment).

Melody Klein - Just

This track has such a great build. It's quite a lengthy song but your variation of the bass line and all those eq tricks of pushing it to its peak to get that awesome crunchy synth sound keep you engaged. The words are really captivating but it does feel that it's more about (and rightly so) your discomfort with the current state of play and then the word secret tacked onto the end. It feels the challenge was an after thought. I'm not a judge though so I can just love the track as is.

Richard Shakespeare - Oh No

This one took a couple of listens, it is a really nice tune and a great sounding mix but it is a bit of a slow burner. There were elements I really loved, the rolling drums panning from ear to ear was nice and there were some really nice rhythmic change ups. I did feel it needed a better hook as the chorus doesn't really grab you after listening, repeating "Oh no" and having that stuck in your head doesn't really sell the track. I thought it was good solid number, well produced with very clear and slick vocals.

Quazimodo's Balls - Limited Time Offer

This was an uncomfortable listen, I suspect that was what you where after but it's not really for me. I found it hard to follow what you were singing about because all that delay and distortion makes it difficult to understand. There are some nice tricks in it but I found it a bit messy and rushed.

Stephen Weigel - What's your Secret, Hermit?

I'm really sorry but I couldn't get on with this. The fact that it is a mammoth 8 minutes long and with very little change ups. Simple things put me off like having a guitar that is in tune (with it being noticeably out from the offset, unless that was your intention) really put me off. I tried to give this a chance but it wasn't happening. For me this felt like it needed some more love and the length reducing or if it is going to be anthem the track needed to vary more to keep it interesting.

Governing Dynamics - Widow's Peak, Kentucky

The clarity and space of your instrumentation is lovely, I really liked the gated snare. Your deep and high vocal parts are very effective and the switch to double time is great. The line "this town can keep a secret, so can you" is particularly cutting. It was at that point where the meaning of this song really hit home, this poor woman who has been beaten and being forced to keep it secret by an entire community and I really felt for her (that was my intepretation on upon hearing that line).

Star Bear - A Foreign Language

Unrequited love is always a winner for tunes. The emotion in your voice comes across very well, the reverby guitars are really lovely. I would prefer something other than that fake orchestra (it didn't quite fit), I wonder if simple oos and aas might sound a bit more authentic and also back you emotionally. I also felt percussively it could have done a lot more, it feels like a tambourine has just been used as a metronome. Great guitar playing. Not sure about it being a secret. I suppose you are keeping a secret of your own making but I would have preferred the secret to be something you know about somebody else.

FireBear - The Seeds

I absolutely love the tone you have with the clean guitar, I felt the distorted guitar took away that tone a little bit (felt a bit too harsh in contrast with the clean guitar). I love the story telling in this tune, and your liner note made this an even more special song. I thought the vocals are very nice and I particularly liked the distorted vocals, sounds a bit lit Placebo in that part.

[gizo]

31 is a big number of songs to review, especially when I struggle to review the smaller SongFight! cohorts.

I have one comment so far that should be shared - I think See-Man-Ski wins the catchiest hook award. I will be singing "our little secret" over and over for a long time. Also totally digging those tight downstroke guitars that kick us off.

[seemanski]

31 is a big number of songs to review, especially when I struggle to review the smaller SongFight! cohorts.

I have one comment so far that should be shared - I think See-Man-Ski wins the catchiest hook award. I will be singing "our little secret" over and over for a long time. Also totally digging those tight downstroke guitars that kick us off.

Thanks

Agreed it's a huge ask and I don't envy the judges, it's hard enough putting your thoughts down but then having to rank them somehow, eek. I will attempt to review them all, not sure if I will achieve it but now I've started I have more of a reason to carry on.

[Toshiro]

I see we’re winning most skipped, good work me.

[seemanski]

Pigfarmer Jr - Sitting Silently

I'll start off with the stuff I liked about this song as I did like it a lot. The story telling is great, I loved how you told a different story verse by verse and brought it all together. I thought the introduction of the electric guitars was spot on and done in exactly the right place and your backing vocals are divine.

There were a few things that niggled me.

First thing I noticed that it felt like you acoustic might be over compressed as it feels a bit too pumpy to my ears. I also felt myself wanting an extra dum in the ba dum of the drums that broke up the first verse (but that is personal taste and I think it works regardless). Finally, I found your lead vocals lacking presence and they could have used a sprinkle of reverb to help bring them to life a bit more. That said, these are nitpicky and overall I enjoyed this and would happily listen to it on repeat.

rackwagon - Articles

Talk about a killer hook, I absolutely loved the verse. You always know when someone has written great lyrics when you start googling some of the lyrics to find out the relevance. This is a great catchy tune, loved the singing throughout and the guitars pinging around in my ears are great. I did feel it was lacking in the lower frequencies. Loved it though regardless.

Dented Bento - A Man is a Clam

This is a very funky and extremely fun number. It has a hint of David Byrne at the start but then it goes full on Bowie. The chorus is killer and very very catchy. I absolutely loved the wee hoo, wee hoo backing vocals in the second chorus. My only, very nitpicky, criticism (and this is purely taste) is I felt the bass in the verse hung around a bit too much and could have been shortened or made staccato to give it some more dynamics.

With Joe - Somebody Knows

This is incredible, easily one of my favourites of this round. You vocals are spot on and I immediately have comparisons with the English electronic band Hurts. You have some really nice big biting synth sounds that slap you round the face and I love all the sidechained compression in the vocals and that delicious pitch shifted vocal. It really feels you have used your voice as an instrument which was the thing that made this stand out for me.

YES! Just read the liner notes and I guessed right, it is Latin . That was the cherry on the cake for me. Dark lyrics which easily meet the challenge.

Great production and I did decide to put it into my daw and have a look at a frequency analyser to see what was going on.

marlon. - *Tom Delonge Voice* Wheroar Yheww

This is a pretty simple setup and there were things with the mix that bothered me. In particular there was a sound that managed to convince me that there was some loose earwax I needed to get rid of and I did take out my ear pods to inspect only to realise it was in the mix. I'm really struggling to understand how the lyrics work and where it fits with the challenge, it's a bit too abstract for me, I just want to be told "I know a secret, shhh". I did managed to get through it all (so it kept my attention) but I wasn't bowled over by it. Just wanted it to be a bit more polished with all those background noises stripped away.

Roman Numeral Orange - dont pour it out

To me this just sounds like one idea that has been repeated for 4 minutes. It is interesting to begin with but it gets old very quickly. I had no idea what you singing because the effects you've put on completely hide whatever it is you are singing and looking at the lyrics you sing backwards which I wouldn't have got anyway because I couldn't understand any of it.

This did start well it just needed a lot more variation and less hiding behind effects.

Regis - Three Can Keep a Secret (If Two of Them are Dead)

I absolutely loved the hook line which completely won me over. There are some mix issues. The acoustic guitar sounds out of tune to my ears. It's either that or it is the tone that doesn't sound quite right. Lots of changes and the guitar solo keeps this interesting, overall I liked this track and I can forgive the bits I'm not keen on because the track is so charming.

[seemanski]

I see we’re winning most skipped, good work me.

Now I have the sudden urge to keep skipping my track. Damn my competitive nature.

[Toshiro]

I did feel it was lacking in the lower frequencies.

So you're saying I shouldn't mix only on headphones and not bother to check it on other speakers?

Delores, take a note.

[BoffoYux]

I see we’re winning most skipped, good work me.

Marlon mentioned that his phone was skipping and stuttering so he would hit replay frequently, which might be skewing the data.

[seemanski]

I did feel it was lacking in the lower frequencies.

So you're saying I shouldn't mix only on headphones and not bother to check it on other speakers?

Delores, take a note.

I'm totally guilty of that. I do a lot of my mixing when my 6 year old is a asleep so tend to avoid my monitors. I think you were unlucky that your song followed pigfarmer jnr because that did have the lower frequencies and it highlighted it.

[crumpart]

I've started writing out some reviews, and by "started out writing some reviews", I mean "I've typed up the song and band names in a list". Here is that list so that you can copy and paste it into your own review writing file!

***

Just - Melody Klein

Oh No - Richard Shakespeare

Limited Time Offer - Quazimodo’s Balls

Our Little Secret - See-Man-Ski

What’s Your Secret, Hermit? - Stephen Weigel

Widow’s Peak, Kentucky - Governing Dynamics

A Foreign Language - Star Bear

The Seeds - FireBear

Sitting Silently - Pigfarmer Jr

Articles - rackwagon

A Man is a Clam - Dented Bento

Somebody Knows - With Joe

*Tom Delonge Voice* Wheroar Yheww - marlon.

don’t pour it out - Roman Numeral Orange

Three Can Keep a Secret (If Two of Them are Dead) - Regis

What Does It Matter? - The Dutch Widows

It’s Juicy - Firefly

Extrasensory - Phlub

Invisible Ink - Hot Pink Halo

Ease My Mind - “BucketHat” Bobby Matheson

A Good Man (But A Lousy Wizard) - Also In Blue

Who put Bella in the Wych Elm? - chewmeupspitmeout

Hero - L.J.P

I Should Have Told You - thanks, brain

Secret Society - Night Sky

Corner Store Jesus - Fluke Wilson

Don’t Say Anything - Ominous Ride

Secrets - SunLite

To Have and to Hide - Mandibles

Secret Lair - Hanky Code

Can’t Take It With You - Sober

Hello? (the grim awakening of Helly R) - The Late Heavy Bombardment

[sleepysilverdoor]

In an attempt to push myself to write reviews I am going to post a portion of song r

Stephen Weigel - What's your Secret, Hermit?

I'm really sorry but I couldn't get on with this. The fact that it is a mammoth 8 minutes long and with very little change ups. Simple things put me off like having a guitar that is in tune (with it being noticeably out from the offset, unless that was your intention) really put me off. I tried to give this a chance but it wasn't happening. For me this felt like it needed some more love and the length reducing or if it is going to be anthem the track needed to vary more to keep it interesting.

Not to detract from every other point in the review -- Stephen himself has mentioned that the whole song was written in the span of an hour and it very much shows -- the odd tuning is a feature, not a bug. Specifically, he's using a 19 tone guitar...not this model obviously, but you'll get the idea.

https://freenotemusic.com/product/freen ... onic-blue/ You can read more about the tuning system here: https://en.xen.wiki/w/19edo#Theory

[crumpart]

…specifically, he's using a 19 tone guitar...not this model obviously, but you'll get the idea.

https://freenotemusic.com/product/freen ... onic-blue/

I am VERY CROSS that they’re trying to claim that guitar is blue…

[governingdynamics]

…specifically, he's using a 19 tone guitar...not this model obviously, but you'll get the idea.

https://freenotemusic.com/product/freen ... onic-blue/

I am VERY CROSS that they’re trying to claim that guitar is blue…

In real life, G&L's "Sonic Blue" hits at about "light cyan" but usually photographics like "you were looking at a piece of paper and someone yelled 'blue' in the next room" https://cssgradient.io/shades-of-blue/

[seemanski]

The Dutch Widows - What Does It Matter?

This one caught my attention when listening during work. I loved that constant beat that supports the instruments with the clean guitars mixed with that ebow is great. Your vocals are both tender with an air of sadness. I really enjoyed listening to this, it was right up my alley. I especially liked how it is quite similar throughout the song but all the different elements that build up around it you don't really notice the repetition.

Firefly - It's Juicy

I thought this track did have some charm, the child backing vocals really give this a playful feel. I wasn't bowled over by the instrumentation, to me it lacked presence, I felt the guitars where too clean and need at least some more reverb to give them some presence. I would have also like a bit of distortion and some aggression, just felt a bit to straight down the line for me. I didn't think it was terrible and I did enjoy the listen just felt it was missing some secret sauce.

Phlub - Extrasensory

The first that popped into my head was, man, you are the master of microtonal. This song pushes the tuning elements to the limits and just as you think it is about to go over, it doesn't. You have an early 90s feel to it, I have glimmers of my bloody valentine and a bit of Suede in some of your melodic choices. It is very trippy, there were a few occasions where I felt the vocals were a bit hot in the mix (around the 56 second mark it caught my attention). That is really nitpicky on my part though.


Hot Pink Halo - Invisible Ink

I have to admit, I wasn't sold on the intro. The choppy guitars with the hand claps didn't really work for me. I thought to myself, this needs more clap dubs. However, once the drums kick it there is a massive shift. The guitars remind me of the cure and the chorus is super catchy, loved the ba da da, ba da da. This is a very sweet sounding song, bags of charm in this one.

"BucketHat" Bobby Matheson - Ease My Mind

This one caught me off guard, I must admit when I listened whilst working it passed me by but when I spent time with it I grew to love it. Your vocals demand attention and I often found myself lost in your delivery and forgetting to write notes. Even though your words are quite harsh the way you deliver them it is oddly reassuring. This was a diamond in the rough for me, it took a few listens but it really grew on me.

I do have to confess though, I did want to burst into "We skipped the light fandango" because of that organ intro.

Also In Blue - A Good Man (But A Lousy Wizard)

I loved that magical feeling I got when I reached the point in the lyrics where I clued on to what you were singing about and instantly fell in love. I can't harp on about this enough, the song craft is unbelievable and you can get some lovely sounds out of what you got that sound so professional and slick. Loved it from start to finish and there has been quite a number of occasions where your hook line decided to pop into my head for no apparent reason. I did get shades of Bo Burnham from your vocal delivery and also the wit and cleverness of the lyrics. Oh, and those harmonies, looooovvvveeely. Very very jealous.

chewmeupspitmeout - Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?

This is undoubtedly a very interesting subject matter, you do get a ghostly feel from it. I'm on the fence with this, I did find it intriguing but I also felt it was a bit over the top, I felt that the cavernous reverb was a bit much and the track was very stop starty. My ears did prick up when the drums kicked it, I just wish it hadn't taken so long to get there and there was more of them.

That said, you have nailed the idea of witchcraft and mystery in the way it is performed so I'm torn. I think I'm leaning on liking it for what is rather than my own musical taste. This is a grower though, it has taken a couple of listens for me to come around (as you might have guessed from my write up).

On the challenge front that is a bit tenuous in my opinion. It is a song about a witch and then you kind of threw in the idea that she might have secret, with no where else in the song mentioning it until the middle 8, rather than it being a song about a secret.

[sailingmagpie]

chewmeupspitmeout - Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?

This is undoubtedly a...

Firstly, thanks for the review. Quite an undertaking when you aren't even a judge!
A couple of responses to points you raised. I did originally have a lot more drums throughout the song but I gradually cut most of them away, as it made it sound a bit busy. Maybe I went too far with that and should've left some more in!
The "secret" in my song isn't what I mention in the mid 8 (that's a little bonus secret referencing the theories that she was a nazi spy) but the fact that someone knows something about the woman's murder, hence the graffiti mentioning the case.
Lastly, I didn't mean for it to come across that she was actually a witch but that she was just a victim and the details of the case have a spooky/witchy vibe.

[seemanski]

chewmeupspitmeout - Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?

This is undoubtedly a...

Firstly, thanks for the review. Quite an undertaking when you aren't even a judge!
A couple of responses to points you raised. I did originally have a lot more drums throughout the song but I gradually cut most of them away, as it made it sound a bit busy. Maybe I went too far with that and should've left some more in!
The "secret" in my song isn't what I mention in the mid 8 (that's a little bonus secret referencing the theories that she was a nazi spy) but the fact that someone knows something about the woman's murder, hence the graffiti mentioning the case.
Lastly, I didn't mean for it to come across that she was actually a witch but that she was just a victim and the details of the case have a spooky/witchy vibe.

Ah, that's fair enough. The penny has dropped.

[sleepysilverdoor]

chewmeupspitmeout - Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?

This is undoubtedly a...

Firstly, thanks for the review. Quite an undertaking when you aren't even a judge!
A couple of responses to points you raised. I did originally have a lot more drums throughout the song but I gradually cut most of them away, as it made it sound a bit busy. Maybe I went too far with that and should've left some more in!
The "secret" in my song isn't what I mention in the mid 8 (that's a little bonus secret referencing the theories that she was a nazi spy) but the fact that someone knows something about the woman's murder, hence the graffiti mentioning the case.
Lastly, I didn't mean for it to come across that she was actually a witch but that she was just a victim and the details of the case have a spooky/witchy vibe.

I'm just gonna say this was my favorite song of the fight.

[seemanski]

chewmeupspitmeout - Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?

This is undoubtedly a...

Firstly, thanks for the review. Quite an undertaking when you aren't even a judge!
A couple of responses to points you raised. I did originally have a lot more drums throughout the song but I gradually cut most of them away, as it made it sound a bit busy. Maybe I went too far with that and should've left some more in!
The "secret" in my song isn't what I mention in the mid 8 (that's a little bonus secret referencing the theories that she was a nazi spy) but the fact that someone knows something about the woman's murder, hence the graffiti mentioning the case.
Lastly, I didn't mean for it to come across that she was actually a witch but that she was just a victim and the details of the case have a spooky/witchy vibe.

I'm just gonna say this was my favorite song of the fight.

I totally get the appeal. It is truly evocative and memorable. I honestly think with a few more listens under my belt I would have been completely sold, I was definitely getting there.

Lucky for me I'm not a judge so my opinions count for absolutely zilch and I don't have to rank them.

[sailingmagpie]

I'm hoping, if you listen to it enough times, it'll become your favourite song of all time. Then I can release it and rinse you for some sweet, sweet streaming dollar

[seemanski]

I'm hoping, if you listen to it enough times, it'll become your favourite song of all time. Then I can release it and rinse you for some sweet, sweet streaming dollar

Unfortunately for you I have a very short attention ... SQUIRREL!