sonofgearfight #2 "Access Denied"

[Evermind]

Hanky Code
Upbeat intro! Robot voice is a little boomy, probably could shave a bit of low end off of that. It's a little hard to tell what the lyrics are, but I can tell there are some. You might mix a little of the original signal in with the vocoded version. They're a little clearer around the time we get to the hook. Vocal melody in the chorus is great. Guitar solo exiting the choruses is a nice little touch. I like the funky guitar strumming sprinkled throughout but it could be louder.

IRC USM
Guitars are maybe a little too loud, and they unbalance the mix to the right channel. Love the tone of the bass guitar. The "but my access is denied" line doesn't have much impact. Got me bobbing my head with this track at times, but the guitar mixed too hot in the right channel is killing my enjoyment of the rest of the song, which is pretty catchy.

Ken
Love the sound of everything in here, the portamento synth especially sounds fun and happy. Some of your scansion is off, like on the line "staying cur-RENT each season". The portamento synth kinda wears on me after hearing it for so much of the song, it feels a bit overly bright halfway through. This song wins most likely to be sung in the shower. Some of the lines in the bridge get kinda soft when you go for the low notes, you might try putting a little more breath support behind those notes. I like the harmony in the last prechorus/chorus.

owl
Guitar tone is a bit dark and some of the notes get kind of lost. It might benefit from a pass through an amp sim to give it a little more bite and compress it a bit. Love the Quantum Leap reference. The song- and lyric-writing on this song are really good and I like the way the vocal parts interweave with one another.

phlub
More experiments in microtonal tuning! Cool cool. I remember when my friends in high school were Wiccan. Some temporarily, others still are! Some of the phrases of this incantation, that I can't remember the name of, work better as lyrics than others. Cool use of the stereo field, cool feedbacky effects in the outro. I feel like you've mumbled the lyrics a little bit in some parts of this one, it's hard to make them out. Some very cool rhythmic stuff happening around 1:47. This is a really ambitious song. I think your fiddle playing may be a little out of tune in places like around 2:13, though it's hard to tell if it's that or my Western-music sensibilities. It took me a few listens, but I decided I think this is cool as fuck, and I think it may be my favorite song of the bunch. Song ends kind of suddenly. Might work better if you gave a little time for the reverb trail to finish out on the drums before the song cuts, or if you faded out.

Pigfarmer Jr
I like the bassline. The lyrics start out grabbing my interest! Some of the phrases feel a little rushed or slowed, like the "she always says" in "she always says access denied", and "she'll answer" in "she'll answer every time". This has kind of a spy groove to it, I'm digging it. The rhythm guitar seems too far in the background. Could maybe use a bit more crunch, or a few more dB, to make it more audible in the mix.

Vom Vorton
Starts out with a bit of a 50s doo-wop feel to it. Mixing feels a little dark especially in certain bits, like the descending guitar arpeggio starting around :44. "I have friends inside my phone" is a good line. Can't find much to criticize about the song, well done!

[Paco Del Stinko]

Here I am! Folks, I first want to thank everyone for participating both as entrants and reviewers. Great job by all, seriously. Although I think Lunkhead did more of a dissection than a review. Give a man a scalpel...

I truly enjoyed every song, there's not one there that's a stinker, by any means. Strong collection of goodness by a very talented group. A tip of the hat to all. Not easy to judge, I almost regretted doing this when I heard the songs. Ha! So, with that, I choose Phlub as the winner of this round.

I will submit reviews in a day or two, but would like to say that the Phlub tune has some genuine psychedelic experiences contained within, for me. Not a requirement, but really worked. I'll explain better later.

At work, gotta go. But again, will add comments soon, start tee shirt design. And thanks again to all who participated, great work, great spirit of Blue and SongFight! thang. Wonderful.

P.S. Not meant as a participation trophy (stupid and wrong, those) but if anyone wants some picks, lemme know and I'll send some off. PM your address, I promise I'll discard it after. Peace!

[Lunkhead]

Congrats Phlub! Yay sonofgearfight!

[vowlvom]

Congrats, enjoy your new gear!

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Thanks for another gearfight and congratulations to Phlub.

[sleepysilverdoor]

Wow, thanks for the love y'all! I told myself that my goal was to eventually win something on here. So I guess now I have to never submit a song again and disappear forever.

Nah, who am I kidding, I just have to abuse tremolo for several entries in a row. :p I'm glad the tune was well received, it was quit an adventure to record. Much thanks to Paco for arranging this!

[Paco Del Stinko]

Sleepy - Dig the song, man. Great job. I'll get the prizes out after I do the tee, I'm off Friday, allowing me to complete.

Big thanks to Mo, who is/was the organizer and coordinator of all this. The brains and the brawn. He carried and nudged me as needed, i had the essy part. Cheers!

[mo]

no, thanks to the participants, who in their lust for gear have provided us with so much music!

[BoffoYux]

SongFight 'I Only Imagined It' & Son of GearFight 2 'Access Denied' Listening Party

9/27/21 9pm EDT. Hope you can drop in for both (assuming the SF is posted by then, otherwise it'll just be GearFight!)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyu3L7_ureI

[owl]

Congrats Phlebia! Your song was super cool, I like hearing things that are a bit different musically in the mix. I keep forgetting to say thank you to all the reviewers and to Paco for hosting this round!

@mo: the drums are all from the same little groove library song so I blame EZDrummer for any cohesiveness issues in the rhythm (actually I don't, I'm sure it's my fault somehow)

@lunkhead: see above, the drums are all MIDI from EZDrummer. There is definitely bass but I guess I was playing in a higher range than you were expecting? According to my notes I started the verses on the 5th fret of the A string so it's not like super high up, but I went quite a bit up the neck on the chorus. I like the fadeout idea, I probably won't ever go back to edit this one but if I do I'll keep that in mind. Loudness-wise, I mastered it to -13.1 according to the meter but didn't expect the other songs to be mastered so hot

@evermind the guitar is actually already going through an amp sim with compression! I guess next time I could turn up my tone or adjust the settings. Or bring the Telecaster back upstairs to my recording area.

[Lunkhead]

Wow, those are some good MIDI drum grooves then. Great choices for the parts, IMO. I use EZDrummer also, I'm curious which groove pack it was and what kit you used?

[owl]

I’m pretty sure it was the Singer-Songwriter Grooves MIDI pack and one of the kits from the Indie Folk EZX—I don’t really find the grooves from that one that useful, they’re generally kind of weird and busy for my pedestrian tastes, but I really like all the drum kits that come with it. I can check later what the specific kit was.

[Paco Del Stinko]

Hey, gang. I'm off tomorrow after enduring three straight days of forced overtime. I'll post reviews tomorrow evening, if interested. I haven't forgotten you all, but nutso busy.

Peace!

[ujnhunter]

Definitely interested... but take your time... forced overtime isn't cool. I like to work OT... to get paid... but of my own accord.

[Paco Del Stinko]

I genuinely enjoyed all of these songs, and am glad that I didn't enter and get trampled underneath the talent train. In a regular fight, I would've voted for all of them. None of them are perfect, but they are all good. Thank you all for creating such good songs.

Hanky Code - The melody is wonderful, hooky, classically scented and the lyrics are very good. To read. The treated vocal is beautiful as it transitions into the key sound timbre, reedy almost. The bridge vocal almost struggles for a moment, but ends on a grabby hooklet. Airs out nicely, percolates just right. The guitar riffs could benefit from a bit of harmonizing to shake a slightly wimpy feel, but good riff, crankin' lead. Overall an almost nerdy start into a night clubby singalong with feeling.

IRC USM - Great big riffs that work all the way through, guitars and bass each. The time jamming is great, pulls without being jerky. The handful of lyrics are sprinkled and spread nicely. I like the themes they return to and when they vary into that inside out riff section, it just plows. The lean production is part of the success as well, keeping it tight, although there are times I might've liked hearing a slice of color or flash in the corner peppering splashed of depth. Supporting vocals work well, detached in places and creepy/scary in others. Overall powerhouse riff rocker punches and grooves.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff - Breezin' along with the top down, singing along. The hooky chorus is easy to carry, bitter edge softened by the chunga drive rhythm progression. The harmony vocals are good, and welcome when they arrive. They could definitely show up in the vocally shaky bridge. Lacking a little lift there. Yet it makes the return to the chorus all the more rocking. The synth work is rightly done, not too much, although feels lonely at times. Supports it all nicely, offering some higher notes that add some shine. Borrow the Cars vocal stacks and Elliot Easton: huge. Overall good tune that rolls and rocks strong enough to stand alone or support the weight of production.

miscellaneous owl - This leans closer to watercolor than oil or acrylics, but is not all washy. These lyrics are wonderful. Mature and patient. The pulling away and tasting lives lines are great, capping verses full of feel and imagery, they transition nicely into the opening chorus, sweet supporting vocals accompanying just right. The bridge is sun dress in tall grass near twirl. This sounds like its a few tunes in on the A side of a vinyl album. Very nice. Overall an intelligent calm gently sways through the warm honesty of being human.

Phlub - A dig the other side of the world rhythm here, it also doubles as a trancey around the fire ritual dance. The underlying elements that make their way in turn this a little ominous and increase your heart rate. There are moments of white and pink lights here that trigger a heady psychedelic soar in my mind. Very pre Meddle Pink Floyd. The descending vocal scale is a little grounding after and into some lost in the whirl moments, not always successfully. Love the deconstruction at the end. Overall an effective trance border requiring some abandonment that's exciting.

Pigfarmer Jr - I totally dig the trench coat wearing on a rainy street vibe and rhythm, the train horn chord only making it more late night urban. The story lyrics goes in the right direction, could be kicked around a little, tightening up the story. Too many cadences are off, but the easy melody fits. The guitar solo fits perfectly, not doing anything more than it needs to say, with a great tone. Overall good cool guy rocker song that brings the mood then walks away.

Vom Vorton - Love the boom stomp intro into the swaying motion of the song. The sad story, feeling bad for oneself, buffered by the confession of just that, is painted well. The hurt inside comes across effectively, love the fun doing nothing line esp.. I keep wanting to hear the vocal line go up during the pre-chorus but it leads in a nicely melodic chorus. The guitarmonies are good, if a bit on the harsh side sonically. Dense mix though, in a good way, makes sense. I think the chorus could've actually been repeated at the end, not being frightened to cross the three minute mark. Overall a song that might require a Shane McGowan type version.

So, I went for Phlub because it really triggered a strong feeling or alteration of the senses thing in me. I loved the bold and different approach it took, and production wise was very effective. None of that is requirement at any time for me, necessarily, but it just kind of grabbed me and took me along. I think I'm a draws with a fistful of crayon kind of guy, so it's always a treat to hear songs that were painted or sculpted. Thanks again, all, great work.