This round was really hard to rank. If you were in the top, you were just as enjoyed as all the top. And if you weren't in the top, you were no less enjoyed than anyone in the lower-half.
73 Keep It Beautiful - Nice. For a bit of an elevator genre, it still stands out. As always, performed deft-fully with interesting melodic choices. I appreciate the genre diversity - though the genre doesn't speak to me. You managed to make this a sweet little song *despite* the genre.
Balance Lost - The breaks and talking work well, and that's hard to pull off! The flute is a bit annoying at points with no discernable melody. I really like the energy changes, and it's performed well. The ending leaves a bit to be desired in terms of resolution. Overall, really cool and I like the bass melodizing and instrumental choices especially.
Berkeley Social Scene - You think you can just do 6/8 and get my attent- hey look at these really cool harmonies!! Really cool intro. I like the delivery of "the waves will crash". One or more of you are suffering a little with the high and low parts of the chorus, but that's OK. This song feels like it's trying to hack me, personally, as a judge, so I do wonder about that... but let me be hacked, cause this is great! 6/8, bass tone, drum tone, lead guitar tone, rocking hook chorus with harmonies... My wife said "this sounds like a better Weezer". The chunk on the guitar in the verse is a great touch.
Buffo Yux Dudes - Almost thought you were Paco at that first line. You can't sing this song like this - some screaming, layered vocals, something, at the chorus would make it a great sing-along. The lyrics sound so angry, but your voice is so subdued and nice. The chorus has a good counter-melody on the keys. What I'd do: thin out the drums and turn them up - make it more of a rock plod, save the lead keys for the chorus, have a variety of vocals at chorus maybe some screaming. Nice little song that could use some production.
Cavedwellers - The mastering hurts a LOT and I'm trying to not let my rank be affected. I like the direction of the song - chord changes and bass lines particularly stand out. Glen, I can't remember the last time you sang so well in that range (hey maybe that reflects on my listening patterns). You are so INCREDIBLY on key except the last couple words. Really digging the bridge onward. While having a lot of cool pieces, the composition is a little vanilla.
Glenn Case - Awesome vocals. It would fit well on Guster's "Lost and Gone Forever" album - almost too well! But has more of the production of Weezer. It's a well written, well performed song that would benefit from some more production/instruments. Some of the most brave counter-melody vocals of the group, with a tasteful three-piece harmony at the end.
Inflatable Vegetables - The intro is exciting! The verse is a little less exciting, but I like the direction. I like how you're mixing up the instrumentation The chorus dynamic shift is nice - it would be nice to have harmonies or more. The drum build-ups are cool. It would be nice if they were meatier drums - thicker, louder bass and snare, reverb on the snare. Overall nice song that could use help in the mix. Feels a little James-bondy! The repetitous lyrics stand out a little.
Jerkatorium - Damn, I didn't think this was coming after the last round. This is awesome. I can tell you're really into the lyrics. You should have used some vocal countermelodies in the pre-chorus: "I'm just starting!" "You're departing!" The vocals are great, and I think they would be enough to add some more spice to the verses with harmonies. The mix at the chorus could have been thicker (eg; dist guitar up), but it's tasteful regardless and that's a matter of preference. The length could have probably been trimmed - 4 minutes of that stripped down drum beat is a bit much.
Merisan - Like BSS, I kind of feel like I'm being exploited by some of the musical choices. All of the augmented pieces are really nice - ooohs, low vocals, lead guitar. Nice engineering and performance all-around. My nitpick would be with an over-abundance of sameyness in the verses - the format of a rhythm guitar waltz can feel like a plod to me sometimes, so changing up the rhythm guitar a bit more during verses, or added layers, or even shortening the song would have made it 10/10. The pre-chorus could have had some really hooky additional vocals.
Lichen Throat - The beginning is pretty cool, as is the use of dissonance. It's strangely charming and interesting. With a bit less dissonance and higher register voice, it could be more Animal Collective and less Ween.
Lucky Witch - Tastefully done. I like the tone of the keys, but they are a bit loud in the mix. Take the reverb off the vocals and put it on the guitar and keys, lower the keys, raise the main vocals, add some drums, and you've got a fine recording.
Micah Sommersmith - It was a bit a hokey, but I like the acapella ending. Singing the scales is brave and might pay off, but you're a bit off-key in there. At least you're putting your heart into it!
Nick Soma - Pretty cool alt rock track. The arrangement is right. I really like the lead guitar tone you picked and the feel of it. Engineering wise, you're a bit quiet - maybe you'd have more luck by dropping off the bass EQ? (I didn't verify this, it's just a theory). I really enjoy the bass line but it gets lost in a muddy mix. I think this would be higher ranked if it had better mixing.
Paco Del Stinko - I like the character voicing! The chorus is a bit trite. I like the self-righteous anger feel, but I feel like the vocal performance could have conveyed the annoyance a bit more. Composition is just right and has good transition points and doodles. The layered vocals are great at the end.
Pigfarmer Jr - I like what's going on here. I think very similarly to your last entry, you have a knack for picking up very recognizable musical elements from popular songs. There's a bit of Piano Man, Sad Songs and Waltzes, some famous song from karaoke, ... I think the chorus needs a bit more force - maybe more vocal layering or something and it could be really fun to sing along. I can definitely tell you added more variety from the round zero entry.
ROTR - You've added two more chords!
I like this genre a lot better than Kenny Loggins Foot-Loose from last round. The callbacks on the chorus are sweet. Good singing, good guitar changes, good tempo. I like the idea behind the bridge but I think it could have used a little more thought at the beginning - for such a concisely composed song, the bridge was weak until the lead guitar really took over there.
Skub - I love the mix of inspiration going on here. It's like Les Claypool, Prince, Electric Six, and OK Go had a black-out drunk party and nobody knows who's the father. I doubt I need to praise your performance anymore since you probably know it's impeccable. I would have liked a stronger end - it kind of feels like a challenge CYA, and I find the fade-out a little lazy (yet strangely brave and appropriate).
Strangelove - Wow, low mix. Once I turned it up a LOT and gave it a longer shot, I'm really digging the synths and I hear what you're going for. The breakdown is pretty cool, nice drum programming... It seems like you didn't have enough time to get all the finer details down but the rough outline of a sensible composition is there. A stronger vocal take would have helped a lot to my ears.
Wendy Wiseman Fisher - Much improvement over last round. The "after you" rounding vocals are the hook and the song really starts to reach cohesion about 1.5 minutes in - which is a bit late - as the beginning is a little bit of a questionable journey. The vocals at 1:15 are performed like you wrote some bad lyrics and then wanted to sing them ironically - don't do that! Own the awkward burger line or cross it out!
Zed's Dead Baby - This is just really fun. It's a genre work, but I want to sing along with it, and the loose plodding adds an essential air of authenticity. Great work on harmonies and lead guitar, especially. I've definitely heard some major elements of this song elsewhere but not enough to take down my enjoyment.