Face down in a mud puddle (Floating Away Reviews)

[Pigfarmer Jr]

I feel like I'm in the ocean!

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Lyric thread: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11851

[Lunkhead]

Songs posted!

[gizo]

First listen points go to Robyn Mackenzie. I am all aboard your vibe.

[deadnettlez]

Balance Loftz - this song helps me to understand, with the nature of this week's fight is going to be ephemeral light floating noises as if we were in the Heavenly Choir with various Celestial canons of angels, also the self-deception being a theme of this weeks entries. i love how yer dialect iz a bit like a soggy day in totnezz. The squeaky Chipmunks voice seem to also be the other unofficial theme of this week's fight so good on you for remembering.

Ball Mark production - thank you so much for explaining to me this very Niche industry advertised in the back of tabloid magazines I too am one of the idiots who once fell for this in my dialectic song poem towards Jimmy Carter... unfortunately this backing track from my song poem was "she's a brick house" this is my new favorite Chipmunks song, I will definitely play this on the very song Fight chrizzmaz Albumbum... ALVINNNNNN. On the remix put a sick dance track on the didactic part...

Brown word and the big wine - are you from New Orleans!? I've been in the place before where I've huffed ether off of socks. It seems as though one of the unconscious subliminal themes this week was drug use and how it disassociate us for our material being. I'm going to have to go to Urban Dictionary to learn about this Mississippi Mud. I love the Allman Brothers Jerry Garcia Style Anthemy singing part in the middle.

Dear cannibal parrot, I played this this morning for a yoga class I taught and all of the students had very spiritual and profound messages to convey about the synth part near the end I wish I could summarize them all for you but you'll have take my word for it or risk coming and participateing.

gizo. How kind of you to place the sound artifact in the periphery of my mind! tunnel thank you for being so explicit about your delusions of grandeur within the framework of relativity Albert Einstein is to my biggest Muse do you think that the energy returned on energy invested of this nuclear fusion called reality.  thank you for adhering to the subliminal subconscious sound fight draman this week I do too a casualty of the counterculture specifically of the lysergic lace paper strips which one is off to place under onez Sun. Thus enabling one to live in a privately defined world. I hope you one day become grounded again I'm damaged goods unfortunately.

Hot pink Halo - do you have variable Tempo control on your drum synth? I love the lyric "we were stretched across time and left everything lost behind"

Ken super duper band and stuff - thank you for helping this song to be an actual narrative. the one and only this week that wasn't deeply personal introspective and substance-induced narcissism. FreezeDriedPork got a shout-out in this and I'm all about that. I'm sure we will learn about which specific flight this evening during song Fight history class at my dinner table. I also reminded myself of my own colonization journey flights over many eons with which my corpse husk has materialized... a soft swaying sea of lichen spores to eat Amorphis Rock substratez.

Lycanthropez as my wearwolf mentor, you always inspire me to the be at my most punk-rock. One day perhaps you will consider my admission to your illustrious record label. But until then I remain ever your servant... drednoddlez

philcollinz - Philadelphia Commons the connection between floating away and loneliness is palpable. tickling the ivories bee delicious in this lovemaking balled. I give it 6 out of 6 whipsNchains..

phlebia - let me know if you ever need a death metal throat singer I could definitely hang with thiz sludge Rock deep Palm mute core metal... the music video is at the inflation of the hot air balloon event and slowly the footage speeds up until it's hyper 3x vid speed and the color saturation cranks to 180

robyn MacKenzie - this is The Unofficial theme song of the collapse of Empire I once enjoyed the Halcyon Days inside of the former United States of America before the Texas exit and the California exit, I have been breaking my own heart and self-destructing instead of facing the consequences
shrts - oh yeah she's holding the bag and she got a new swag and it's gravity no one escapes from Gravity perhaps it's just the price I pay this mess is killing me now taking control... this song was missing the middle part also known as the bridge I'm so glad that you gave your extra time to all the other contestants this week... this was very selfless of you... definitely my favorite track though

sober - me and Stephen King were at the narcotics support group... we both eyed you up and down when you came into the room and we knew that you would become the next Little Nass X... we told you that if you got clean, that your life would be like a country song Run in the reverse... I wish you had believed us and not got your life straight. But thank you for bringing this sound artifact too our songfight ears . I'm going to use your lyric about Tylenol , at the next Percocet freestyle... the Jimson weed mixed with reptilian David Icke mindbiology make for a potent combination and not a new rock bottom that us lightweight can aspire too.

sweeny toad - I can't wait to rap battle you! What a delightful smattering of references that Napster downloading Metallica fans... can xan2

[sleepysilverdoor]

phlebia - let me know if you ever need a death metal throat singer I could definitely hang with thiz sludge Rock deep Palm mute core metal... the music video is at the inflation of the hot air balloon event and slowly the footage speeds up until it's hyper 3x vid speed and the color saturation cranks to 180

A death metal throat singer? Stick around the website for long enough and I'm sure you'll be on the receiving end of a PM eventually. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Ken: [...] the one and only this week that wasn't deeply personal introspective and substance-induced narcissism.

I must clarify that mine is about Elian Gonzalez watching his mother drown in a shipwreck.

Also I love your bandname. Deadnettles are a lovely springtime flower (and also taste better than you'd think).

[crumpart]

Ken: [...] the one and only this week that wasn't deeply personal introspective and substance-induced narcissism.

I must clarify that mine is about Elian Gonzalez watching his mother drown in a shipwreck.

Mine is about one of the single greatest moments in Australian sporting history.

Also, I used Logic’s magic drummer for this. Set my song sections, chose a drum preset, then toggled the drum choices and loudness/complexity graph for each part until I had something I liked. Logic does have the option to alter timing throughout a song, but I didn’t use it this time.

[sleepysilverdoor]

Lots of unfamiliar names this fight! I got new earbuds with better bass response, so I may notice a lot of that this week.
-----

Balance Lossed - Ooh, I LOVE those underwater sounding synth sounds that make up the main backdrop of this track. And that synth bassline that’s driving the background of this is just delightful. I expect you to get way more votes than me and I am okay with that. This builds and flows well. Something about the delivery of “And you’ll never be ready” reminds me heavily of...some song that was huge on the pop charts sometime in the mid-early aughts, but I can’t place it. It was one of those melodic singer-songwriter ladies like Vanessa Carlton or Natasha Bedingfield or something. Not that I care -- the charts in those days were filled with great melody lines. The production and mix and performance in this is top notch.

Balls - Entirely too meta. Entirely too novelty. I smiled a bit the second that the actual music came in, but even that wore out its welcome. I don’t like Alvin and the Chipmunks. And this annoys me heavily. If I could give this a negative vote I would.

Brown Word and too much Wine - I was expecting a lot of drug songs this week given the title, (much like Liquid Starshine, which didn’t disappoint either). Having never been to New Orleans, done anything for Mardi Gras period, or huffed ether off of a sock, I can’t say I can totally relate to the story...and I’m not much of a lyrical reviewer but your lyrics are more front and center than usual! Anyway, I like the verses a bit more than the chorus in this tune, if only because the chords and melody seem a little generic to me. That said, I enjoyed hearing a more “normal” acoustic driven number from you, it’s kind of a cool change of pace! Plus when was the last time you overdubbed harmonies? I don’t recall you doing that before. A bit pitchy in places, but I often am too…

Psittacine autophage - Eight minutes good lord. This takes “Floating Away” to one obvious extreme...opening your song with a lengthy stretch of instrumental, cosmic synth music. Lush, instrumental, cosmic synth music. Do you ever listen to Pulse Emitter? He’s awesome. I bought his albums “Lava Lamp” and “Longing Thresholds” on tape and used to use them to help my kid sleep. By the time that the drum machine FINALLY comes in I’m expecting to hear Enigma horns. Because that’s what MY mom used to help me sleep when I was a kid. “We came out from the deep...to help and understand...but not to kill…”. I’m talking Enigma 2 of course because MCMXC ad was entirely too sexy of a record for that. Okay, so I hate to say this, but I don’t dig the instrumental nearly as much once it stops being nothing but cosmic synths. I think it may be that I don’t like the tone of the piano...maybe it’s because the chords follow a bit too predictable of a pattern and typically only change once every 2 bars other than some intermittent modulation. Though when you modulate upwards sometimes up to the ii I do enjoy it a bit more. And that pulsing synth bass that’s so present throughout the song sounds like it has more reverb on it, which makes it washed out. If you want it to be more driving, it needs to be a bit clearer in the mix. On the other hand, I think the drums sound too DRY. I’m not keen on that choir synth. I’m never keen on choir synths though...and the drums aren’t DYNAMIC enough. Like since the main goal we’re going for here is this EPIC JOURNEY that we’re FLOATING AWAY on, I need some SERIOUS RHYTHMIC DRIVE to take me there and I’m not just getting it! Like this needs some crazy Neil Peart sounding stuff..instead it’s mostly just a typical backbeat...chords changing every couple of measures...yaaaawnnnnn. You aimed high with this though, and I must commend that.

Lamium purpureum - What in the world. Okay, this has two things that I think are really cool...beatboxing. And throatsinging techniques. Actually three things: slam poetry. However, it all seems thrown together in a very kind of haphazard manner, and it doesn’t quite come together into a particularly coherent whole. The vocal harmonies are a bit sloppier than I’d like to hear too. I feel like a song this heavily driven by being nothing but vocals needs to really. Nail. every. Single. Note. Unless you’re only going to have only one (pitched) voice going on at a time, at which point you can probably get away with it more because there’s no other pitches competing in the same sonic space, you know? That being said: if this were refined a bit more, with the lyrics being a bit more front and center and the structure being a little less all-over-the-place, this would be totally great. Keep at it, I wanna hear more entries from you!

Gizmo - Your production has really gone up a notch over the past few fights that you’ve been in. And while I’m not sure if you’re totally aware of this, that guitar tone with those washes of reverbs and the tons of sustain is delightful. I’m not entirely sure if there’s an established word to describe it but I love it. And those vocal harmonies, and the panned back and forth “I’m floating...I’m floating…” that comes in at the end is sonic perfection to me. This is definitely one of the songs that I have nothing bad to say about at all, can’t offer constructive criticism cause it’s really well done, and will probably revisit a few times after the fight is over cause it’s entirely too rad.

#FF69B4 Corona - Speaking of people who’ve really taken it up a notch from previous fights in the production department, you are another example of that wonderful phenomenon. Last I heard from you, your songs were lyrically cool and often times a bit sort of low fidelity affairs that sounded like they needed a few more vocal takes...excellent development! I didn’t hear any of your Nur Ein entries though, so maybe this has been gradual improvements that have just taken me by surprise cause I’ve not been listening to any of your work lately. ANYWAY I dig this song and that slow, kind of bouncy backbeat (that gives me early Björk vibes -- I had to look it up, it’s “All Neon Like” I’m thinking of), and the lyrics commemorating a delightful event in Australian sporting history that I don’t remember at all because in 2000 I was neither in Australia nor did I care about sports. I’d trim the outro a bit on this one as it goes on too long, but this is the best HPH song I’ve heard.

Shuriken the super band- Well that’s a spooky synth tone to start off with. SO MUCH PHASER. Though maybe I’d EQ down some of those “caustic” frequencies on the top of it. Fortunately that only really matter once the whole song really kicks in. I kind of wish the bass line was doing something a little bit more interesting. I think there’s a certain type of 8th note chug that I really dig but this for some reason isn’t tickling it. The key change in the chorus is welcome, like the clouds part from those dark, churning bridges. The vocal delivery is a tad flat to me. Maybe that’s it? The synth solo works well. I feel like this isn’t really a particularly dynamic song. Points for the optional challenge. I want to like this more than I do, largely cause it has a slightly post-punk vibe to it and I usually love those vibes.

Jugular cyanobacterial/fungal symbiote - You made a reference in the pre-fight to saying this song was failing at pretty much everything you were going for. I don’t know if this song fails at a whole lot other than really having much of a narrative, because it tickles the perfect level of “wait what on earth is going on, this song is nuts” for me to enjoy it. The production is a bit murky, but honestly that doesn’t bother me all that much. It’s kind of like two short vignettes thrown together lyrically...and they don’t seem to tie together all that much, so I suppose this doesn’t quite reach the level of lyricism that I know you’re capable of. Hey, I enjoyed it.

The Mustard Tiger - I can’t believe the ghost of the mustard tiger has come to grace SongFight! And if you don’t catch that reference...well, that’s too bad. Anyway this is a great impersonation of a Phil Collins song, in that if you hadn’t lampshaded it by literally naming yourself that, I would have probably still commented “this sounds like Phil Collins”. I can’t say I’ve ever been the biggest fan of Phil Collins but I mean, he’s pretty undeniably talented. I kind of wish you’d posted the lyrics cause I’d say more about them, as this is a pretty purely instrumental affair. One thing that I may have done a bit differently is tweaked the guitar recording method...the pick noise in the strumming at the end is a little loud. Was that a super thin pick? Anyway, this whole thing was pleasant enough. Memorable, I don’t know, but pleasant at least and well performed.

Meruliaceae genus - I wrote a depressing sad song at 60 bpm several months back and that wasn’t slow enough so I’m at 53 bpm this week. Anyway, reflecting on 2000 led me to pondering the Elian Gonzalez case and how it turned into this complete international custody case shitshow, while really all I could think about was how horrible it must have been to have been a 5 year old boy clinging on for dear life on an inner tube after watching all of your boatmates, including your mother drown. Man, that gets me. Poor kid. I know SongFight usually hates metal and usually hates slow sad songs unless they’re written by beautifully voiced Wisconsinites, so I have a pretty good idea how this one is going to go over but if one of you gets REALLY SAD that means I did a good job. Anyway, if I had to name an influence musically on this one it would probably be Codeine. Or Thou. Kind of a mix.

Turdus migratorius/Thutade outflow - Oh man this is a jam. I have a difficult time saying anything negative about this because there’s so many good layers of vocal harmonies and it’s so mellow and groovy, other than *maybe* I wish you’d have added a few more subtle elements to the backbeat as the song goes on. Though admittedly I kind of like how it’s mostly stuck with just the drum and bass-line (a good one) until that plinky synth comes in. And then you layer in more synth elements as the song goes on, and it’s so subtly done I don’t really notice that it built up like it did. Maybe the vocal melodies in the verses need at least a few more change-ups to keep it from dragging a little bit, like the main melody line feels like it gets repeated a few too many times (I’d be a hypocrite to harp on that too much though). I feel like the panning on the vocals should stay limited to the harmonies...the lead bounces around too much. Okay, this was great, I’m just nitpicking.

PNTS - Oh hey Mike. A good riff! Good energy. Good vocal delivery! One verse! One chorus! And...it’s in and out. I know it’s a virtual drummer but it’s well programmed.

Strung out - I can dig these outlaw country vibes. Though admittedly I’m not entirely sure that can relate because I hate being on pain pills, they just give me these weird...vaguely moody numb vibes. But then again, I’ve only ever been prescribed hydrocodone. Perhaps if I’d been prescribed Percoset I’d feel differently...cause I definitely know a TON of people who’ve struggled with those little devil tablets. Anyway, this is well executed, and I love the guitar solo and the mandolin work and the subtle steel guitar and the delivery and the pacing of the lyrics and fine, this is great and definitely one of the strongest entries of the fight. I think my friend Dru would love this (we both went to college with Tyler Childers, but he knew him better than I did, which was just in passing).

Spleeney Load - Oh man, the most explicitly Y2K here! This is sending me on a pretty intense nostalgia trip. You know what I used to do with those AOL discs? Put them in the microwave for like 5 seconds. Bam! Sparks flying! Then a cool, fractal covered drink coaster. Even the kick drum rhythm of this reminds me of like Master P or something. This is so Y2K I can’t take it. I’m in my parents’ guest room playing the Sims and listening to Make Yourself on the radio again.

Top 3:
Gizo
Sober
Balance Lost

[WreckdoMelle]

Brown word and the big wine - are you from New Orleans!? I've been in the place before where I've huffed ether off of socks. It seems as though one of the unconscious subliminal themes this week was drug use and how it disassociate us for our material being. I'm going to have to go to Urban Dictionary to learn about this Mississippi Mud. I love the Allman Brothers Jerry Garcia Style Anthemy singing part in the middle.

Thank you for the kind comparison. I'm not from NOLA, been living in Austin, TX for 21 years. Mississippi Mud is a beer that comes in a large bottle that looks like a brown jug - I went to a convenience store on Canal Street and bought one to drink in the street

Brown Word and too much Wine - I was expecting a lot of drug songs this week given the title, (much like Liquid Starshine, which didn’t disappoint either). Having never been to New Orleans, done anything for Mardi Gras period, or huffed ether off of a sock, I can’t say I can totally relate to the story...and I’m not much of a lyrical reviewer but your lyrics are more front and center than usual! Anyway, I like the verses a bit more than the chorus in this tune, if only because the chords and melody seem a little generic to me. That said, I enjoyed hearing a more “normal” acoustic driven number from you, it’s kind of a cool change of pace! Plus when was the last time you overdubbed harmonies? I don’t recall you doing that before. A bit pitchy in places, but I often am too…

I'm glad you enjoyed the approach on this one. I was actually feeling a little pressed for time and slightly lazy, but not wanting to break my streak I took the most direct route I know - I like to often just play an acoustic and sing. I think last time I overdubbed harmonies was Mythical Creature. Pitchiness will surely follow me all of my days, I rely more on tenacity than technical skill in my singing Had I had more time (and Melodyne) I might've taken more care with the harmonies because I always like good harmonies when they're all in tune.

The episode with the ether is notable because never before and never since have I messed with the stuff, but one of our party had secured a bottle from a lab where she worked (big no no, she put it back afterwards, there's no way we could consume it all). I felt like curious George. I can't say it was my favorite drug experience ever but the absurdity of the situation lent it some definite novelty.

[Sober]

First listen through the lot in the car: rough fight. I'll listen again to the ones I can stand and write notes later.

[BoffoYux]

A reminder - The 'Floating Away' Listening Party is tonight (Monday) at 9pm EDT.
Drop in and chat with the artists!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_frTzJt208

[Toby Roktot]

SHRTS
hmmm, I usually gravitate toward this style .
However, the brevity has left this song as non-inspiring and non-interesting.
Maybe if the song is eventually finished, I may have an epiphany....

Philthadelphia Cthollins -
I like the Phil Collins vibe but, I think your vocals could be more significant if you sang in a lower register. When you do go lower, your voice expands into the song...
Sayin’

Balmark Productions-
Ok, I made it to about 2:30 into the ‘song’ and punched stop ...
Sober was right... (I’d love to hear his girlfriends’ comments)

Brown Word and the Big Whine-
You are prolific no doubt !!
This is not my favorite of your songs. I listened to several of your previous submissions and think you deserve a mulligan...

Sober-
This song is hilarious and soooo true !!
Love the everything about this song...Thanks Sober for giving me the wherewithal to continue to listen and hope ...

Balance Lost-
This is a very pleasing song IMHO. Easy to listen to, very soothing vibe and the chipmunks singing....what’s not to enjoy.... vote

Robyn Mackenzie-
The vocals and delivery are spot on. The chorus is well produced to add a little punch to the song. Overall, great submission and vote given ...

Cannibal Parrot-
First thought...you should collaborate with SHRTS....
While I would like to rip you for such a long submission, I actually came away enjoying the song. I would have shortened a few segments but, not by much.
Probably not a winner, but not bad.

Sweeney Toad-
One of the best raps I’ve heard on this board. Although, I’m not very sold on the intro and outro... the song stands on it’s own without these additions...
Sayin’

That’s all for now...

[crumpart]

I almost finished my reviews today then couldn't get into my drafts for a bit because the boards were momentarily not working for me. Went and practiced violin for twice as long as I planned to instead. Tomorrow!

[furrypedro]

Philthadelphia Cthollins: This has potential but I have a few problems with this recording. When almost every instrument comes in they're out of time or they miss the beat. I would recommend a few more takes to get that right. The vocals are mostly decent but sound terribly strained on the "floating awaaaay" bits. Dropping the key down a semitone or two would fix that. Apart from that the atmosphere of the track is quite good though, and the mix sounds crisp, so with those couple of issues ironed out this could be a solid track. Very 80s gothic kind of style. Pretty cool.

shrts: Beefy. Normally I'd like a short track but this is definitely missing a hooky chorus. It sounds like you made 2 different verse sections and then gave up. What's there is good, if not necessarily classic. The recording is great, and while the balls are near the wall they're not quite touching so it feels lacking. Either crank up the energy so it's totally all out for 30 seconds with nothing left in the tank at the end, or keep the current energy level and write a fully formed song. This is halfway between those two points.

Robyn Mackenzie: I'm digging the trip-hoppy electro style of this. The melodies and sounds are all tasteful, and lyrically it feels well written. I like how the end of the chorus slides comfortably back into the verse. There are a couple of minor gripes; I'm not such a fan of the way the hi-hat follows the kick in certain places, I'd prefer if it was more constant as it breaks the rhythm a bit. The backing vox in the middle are mixed too high. Also, I like how the synths subtly build throughout the song, but I'd also like to hear the drums beef up a bit towards the crescendo, so maybe adding another layer of fatter drums from the second or third chorus would sound cool. But these are all minor things and overall this is a really cool tune. Nice job.

Sweeney Toad: This is a pretty slick production, nice job there, and I particularly like the chiptune synth line. Trouble is there's loads that irritates me about it too, like how you say "ey" after every line in the chorus, and the drums sound like the "rock" patch in whatever sequencer your using when there's certainly better choices of sounds that would fit this genre better. That said, the y2k theme of the lyrics was mildly amusing and the delivery in the verses was tight so objectively the good outweighs the bad.

Sober: Right off the bat I knew I would dislike this because I'm a fan of neither country nor western music, and cos I'm an arsehole I listen to these songs mainly to pick holes in them. However, as I sat through this one I realised that not only was there not a single thing wrong with it, it might just be the best produced track I've ever heard on SF, but also it's full of admirable little flourishes and details that I intend to include on all my songs and then never get around to because of the looming deadline; for example, the little skips in the second verse. The different arrangement elements all come in at just the right moment, but without being predictable. It's just really impressively excecuted, everything sounds so clear and the effects are applied with subtlety, such as the delay on the rhythm guitar. The lyrics and melody are really strong too, crucially, I'm almost tempted to overlook my genre bias. It may not be for me, but either way very well done!

Balmark Productions: I've re-written this review 3 times now trying to find the most appropriate way to insult you, so I've already wasted too much time on it. Please don't ever do this again.

Deadnettlez: I'm not gonna pretend this is good, it's not. I went and listened to a couple of your previous tracks to be able to hear this in the context of your usual stuff and you clearly have a style and stick to it. The commitment to acapella is admirable in a way. There is also something interesting about the kind of ghostly choir arrangement and melodies. I feel like I can hear what you're aiming for and it's kind of cool so I encourage you to keep at it. This also seems one notch up in production quality compared to your other songs, a little less fuzzy, so that's also progress. Still a long way to go, but keep developing those mixing skills and this concept could become something compelling in the future.

Lichen Throat: The upbeat jangly fuzz of this tickles my shoegaze nerve. In the second section it loses it's way a bit and descends into a bit of a tuneless dirge but those verses are full of sugary energy.

Cannibal Parrot: I was hoping for some spacey instrumental shit this fight, so I'm glad you brought this. The intro is pleasant with a few hints of darkness. This is fairly well done and goes through a few moderately enjoyable movements. The more melodramatic sections are less up my alley, and I found myself checking the clock at around the 5.30 mark. I dig the 70s lead synth that comes in after 7 minutes. Obviously this is quite indulgent but kudos for your ambition.

Brown Word: There's a dirty Breeders-ish quality about this. Amusing lyrics, "huffing ether off a sock". It's a fairly solid album track. Decent but not mega exciting.

Ken: Cool intro, and the guitar tone is really great. I dig the synth action you've got happening here, and the lead guitars add some nice colour to the arrangement. I like the minor key tension in the verses, the chorus is quite nice but seems to slide into very well trodden territory. While the rhythm in both sections is the same, the verse had the melody to pull it in a new direction. The chorus needs something else to shake it up a bit. Overall I enjoyed this song though, and everything is well-excecuted with spot on production. Top tier for sure.

gizo (but not the 17455million miles): Very pleasant tune about acid. I like those Chris Isaak-esque guitar licks. Although it's understated I could imagine this on the radio. I think it'd be a good song to drive through the country to. Not much I can say (which is good cos I mostly say nasty things!). I like it.

Phlebia: Dooooooooooooooom. Is this what Tool sounds like? I don't know I've never listened to them. This is not the kind of jam I usually listen to, but it's easy to get lost in those hypnotic layers of distortion. Are they guitars, synths? Both? But I like the kind of shimmering distortion effect and the way it eventually falls away to the lone synth. At that point I almost wish that outro would develop into something else. Cool sounds, very atmospheric, and a fun change of flavour in the context of the fight. Yeah, that's right. Fun.

Hot Pink Halo: This brings the Robyn Mackenzie track to mind; one thing this does better than that song is the development of the percussion throughout the song to gradually build. Sadly, I failed to get much enjoyment from this tune, the 2 main factors being that it seemed to outstay it's welcome a little, possibly due to the slow tempo. Also it feels like the vocal struggles to find the melody. I am a terrible singer so I'm probably totally wrong about this, and also people in glass houses, etc. so you should probably ignore me.

[crumpart]

Balance Lost:
I enjoyed this, but it feels like you've written an anthem song and then done everything you possibly can to resist it being anthemic. The vocals in the first part seem a little drowned out by everything else going on. I feel like this does bring more focus to the rest of the vocals when they do amp up a bit, but I think this kind of impact could be better achieved by treating the chorus vocals differently, like adding harmonies or other accents that build the atmosphere. I agree that your singing sounds like it's improved here, so please add more more more! Embrace the anthem!

Balmark Productions:
Normally I listen to all the songs multiple times, but I just can't bring myself to go back to this one, which is going to make this review a little thin on the ground, sorry. This really grated on me. I didn't like the jokes, I didn't like the music, and I didn't like the fact that I had to listen to it for over five minutes. I could be wrong, but I get the feeling that's what you were going for.

Brown Word and the Big Whine:
In the past I've found your songs to be mixed at a much lower level than all the others, and I think you've definitely improved your mixing levels in this one. The music is still upfront above the lyrics, but that choice really suits the song and I can still hear and understand all the words. I really like that little break where the instruments take a step back and the harmonies take the focus. I think this is probably my favourite Brown Word song so far.

Cannibal Parrot:
My first thought on this was "ooof, eight minutes?" Honestly, I really loved the first two minutes and could have listened to a full eight plus minutes of just that. I enjoyed it on the whole, but feel like some of the magic was lost when the changes and pianos came in, as those sections felt less enigmatic and much more predictable.

Deadnettlez:
There's a lot I like about this. I think the lyrics are captivating and I enjoyed the vocal delivery. I feel like there are improvements that could be made in the mix to help with blending and dynamics. I recently had a go at beatboxing and a cappella in one of my Nur Ein tracks, and it's definitely the most challenging song I've tried to record and mix; this kind of thing is not easy. I feel like your mix needs more space in it: everything sounds like it's coming from the same spot at the same level, and some judicious panning and other experimenting with width and reverb could really bring out the best bits.

gizo:
I've listened to this so many times. It's so good. I love it all, but the "I'm floating, I'm floating, I'm floating" that comes in underneath at the end is my favourite bit. Occasionally in the past you've fallen into the hole of putting on an Americanised accent for particular words, and this song is all just your actual accent the whole way and it made me so happy. I've listened to this on both my headphones and our mono speaker: on the speaker the vocals in the verses are slightly too upfront, but in headphones it sounds exactly right. Toshiro also loved this and wants you to send him your files so he can have a go at the mix. You know, if you want to. He was like a proud dad the first time I played it.

Hot Pink Halo: It me. Read on if you're interested in context.

Spoiler

In the year 2000 I was 21 and in my first job after finishing my undergrad degree. I worked as a writer for an advertising agency in Melbourne, and our Sydney office had the Olympic Games as a client. Riding on their coattails, we all had our names put into a hat for free tickets to a bunch of events at the Sydney Olympics. I grew up in a pretty sporty family, and watching the Olympics on TV was the pinnacle of my childhood. Living in Australia, timing schedules were always difficult, so we'd either have to set alarms for ludicrous hours to get up and watch things live, or avoid all the news and watch replays later in the day. When Sydney won their bid for the games I mentally checked the box of "need to go need to go need to go", but when ticket sales actually came around I couldn't justify it. Then at the last minute this work ballot happened, and I won tickets to a football match. I thought at first that it was just one of the qualifying matches in Melbourne, then a lot of bros in the office tried to swap their tickets with me and I realised what I had were tickets to the Gold Medal football match in Sydney during the last days of the Games. Toshiro is completely oblivious to sport as a concept, so I left him at home and took my little brother. We managed to find flights (I had to book them at a travel agency because buying flights online didn't exist yet... imagine!) and beds at a youth hostel in Glebe to stay at, and it was just fucking magical. The match was between Spain and Cameroon and it was just so exciting. The match ended on a draw, and Cameroon won their first ever Olympic Gold Medal in a penalty shootout. I have a photo (taken on my film camera, lol) of the last goal being scored, and the ball is right on the line.

Anyway, this song is not about that football match, but it is about an event at those Games. Cathy Freeman, the first Aboriginal Australian to win an individual Olympic Gold Medal. I think every single person in Australia except Toshiro was watching this on TV. 49 seconds of wonder. I swear I could hear the cheering and shouting from other houses in my street when she won. It was the most glorious race, and I am not ashamed to say I still cry when I watch it. I especially love watching the camaraderie between the competitors after the race, and this video from that night talking about how that race lifted everyone's performance in all the events makes me cry like a little sentimental baby. Cathy's race starts a couple of minutes in.



All that aside, I'm super happy with this song. I started out with just a drumbeat and those single electric piano notes; I wanted to see where I could take it melodically starting with something so minimal. I was originally going to add more chord-like stuff later, but decided to go with some more single line instruments instead, and I like where it ended up.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff:
You're playing right into my wheelhouse here with songs about space. Every time I listen to this it comes in very loud and I have to turn it down a bit. I like the enunciation on the word "Moscow", and I enjoy the way a lot of the melody lines go up at the end. There are a few spots where the timing on the vocals is a little off, and overall it doesn't sound like there's enough energy in the performances. It feels a little safe in general, and while I want the space station itself to be safe, I personally want songs about it to take more risks and be a little experimental.

Lichen Throat:
Am I correct in thinking that your process is composing on a musical staff and then outputting the different parts to midi instruments, then singing over the top of that? Do you do stuff with a midi keyboard or anything, or is it all generated in the computer from musescore? This track feels super frenetic, and if I'm correct in my thoughts on how you make your musical decisions, I think that process is part of what's contributing to that feel. I'd be really interested to hear you experiment with different building blocks from time to time. Songs like this one sound like your main goal is to just fit everything in, and it makes me want reach in there somehow and just pull a bunch of stuff out after the vocal is done and either just get rid of parts or replace them with something more minimal to see what would happen.

Philthadelphia Cthollins:
This starts out so ominous sounding, which I like a lot. I think you're hitting the Phil Collins Cthulhu vibe pretty well. The noodly parts do go a bit too noodly for my liking, but then again, Chthulu's tentacles are pretty noodly, so it fits.

Phlebia:
I've really liked a bunch of your songs this year, but I must apologise and say I'm one of the people who doesn't go for the super sad slow ones. I think I do like this one more than the other really slow one you did that other time (I think it was Secret Handshake, EDIT: was actually I Used To Know You Better). I just don't like sadness piled upon sadness in general, and if something is sad and slow, I need something else in there to bring a different emotional facet. This song that I'm about to post is nothing like your style, but it's one that I thought of in terms of a similarly sad story. It's based on Raymond Carver's short story "So much water so close to home". There's a simplicity in it that, for me, makes the sadness of the story hit so much harder. There's a cover version of this sung by Kasey Chambers that I used to listen to a lot, but I've got to the point where I just can't deal with fake American country twang accents anymore, so here's Paul Kelly's original version instead.


Robyn Mackenzie:
This is wonderful. I think the lyrics are really evocative, especially in the chorus. The melody feels really familiar, but I'm not sure if that's because it's reminiscent of something else I know or if it's just really good. I'm a sucker for those twinkly sounds in the second verse, especially when they hit during the word "thunder" , which is a lovely contradiction. This is another one that I listened to on both headphones and mono speaker, and I actually liked this one better on the mono speaker. In headphones the processing on the vocals sounds a little metallic, and some of the panning is a bit distracting, but it all blends beautifully on the speaker.

shrts:
I like it.

Sober:
A couple of notes on lyrics before I get to the main points I want to make: I'm not a fan of the opening line of this song. It's very visceral, which in itself is not a bad thing, but I just don't want to hear about a neck being cut open as the opening line of any song, unless it's rephrased in a much more poetic way. If I was writing this, I might keep the line the same, but I'd bury it further in the verse, opening with the the details of the medication then moving into why it was prescribed. Second lyrical note: the chorus is really grammatically clunky. "If I had a single fewer thing worth living for" takes me right out every time I hear it.
Anyway, I was listening to my favourite radio show the other day (Mystery Train with John Kelly on RTÉ Lyric FM), and I really enjoyed the interview with harpist and sound engineer Una Monaghan, who has roots in Irish trad music and now also makes a lot of experimental music. I'd highly recommend having a listen. https://www.rte.ie/lyricfm/mystery-train/podcasts/
Also have a listen to the episode below it, which is with Ian Lynch from the Dublin-based band Lankum. Listening to their version of The Wild Rover made me appreciate how your song touches on themes of addiction, and that it's kind of a modern retelling of alcoholism-themed songs like The Wild Rover. I'm not sure if you've heard their stuff, but they get really experimental with both their own songs and the old trad ones, and I find it really invigorating, because I'm just a bit over the pub-style renditions, and I'm also trying to find ways of making the folk tunes that are part of my violin practice more interesting. When I have to focus on it, like listening here in Songfight, for example, I can appreciate the craft of it. Your song is performed and mixed really well, but I can also predict pretty much exactly where everything's going to arrive and land. At the end of the day we all make the music we personally enjoy, but I'd love to hear where you ended up if you pushed yourself to be a bit more experimental.
Here's Lankum's version of The Wild Rover:


Sweeney Toad:
My first reaction to this every time I listen to this is "oooff, that's stridently American". This is my problem, not yours, and I think in this instance it was exacerbated by having to listen to that Balmark Productions song with its talky opening earlier. Once I get past that I really quite enjoy this. I'm not really sure what "floating away" has to do with Y2K other than the rhyme, but I giggle every time the Clerks cartoon line comes up. We also have that on DVD.

[gizo]

Dear everyone. I should be writing performance reviews, but I'm here feeling chuffed about the nice things you've all said.


I started off trying to sound like the American Analog Set, but I think I ended up somewhere else, which is fine. Also tried to record my young fella blowing his trumpet, and Lollypops on the melodica, but neither of those tracks quite worked. It's probably me.

I bought myself a cheap condenser mic (a Marantz thing) somehwere in the lockdown, and swapped over to running Garageband on a 2009 iMac, and things just seem to be going well. I'm not sure why. I usually write and record the bulk of things in one sitting over a few hours, and then sneak back over the next couple of days to track a few vocals or an extra guitar, and then submit.

Anywho - I'm really glad you all like my tune, and that it sounds good on your ears. I must admit that I feel like it sounds sweet but doesn't seem to go anywhere or do anything, which is a shame. But I'm glad you like the niceness.

[crumpart]

I thought that might be a different mic than the USB one. Either that or you’d just learned how to use it really well.

[gizo]

Who knows Crump, maybe I'm even trying harder?

[crumpart]

Who knows Crump, maybe I'm even trying harder?

[sleepysilverdoor]

crumpart: Ha, I actually had you in mind when I submitted the song. I got to remembering your review of "I Used To Know You Better", which I think started off with "TOO SLOW AND SAD". I knew you'd probably not like it at all, but I'm glad you liked it a little bit more than the last one! I do see why you'd post that one song, as it's got the simple direct sad vibe down perfectly. On a related note, you really should (not) listen to the latest Bell Witch album if you think my song is too slow and sad. The whole thing makes my entry look peppy!

furrypedro: Nah, that isn't remotely what Tool sounds like, other than heavy. Most of the time they've got this kind of grooving polyrhythmic chug going on and kind of progressive song structures. Check out "The Grudge" and the title track off of Lateralus for good examples of what they're usually about. I do enjoy Tool, although they're a bit overrated imo.

[crumpart]

crumpart: Ha, I actually had you in mind when I submitted the song. I got to remembering your review of "I Used To Know You Better", which I think started off with "TOO SLOW AND SAD". I knew you'd probably not like it at all, but I'm glad you liked it a little bit more than the last one! I do see why you'd post that one song, as it's got the simple direct sad vibe down perfectly. On a related note, you really should (not) listen to the latest Bell Witch album if you think my song is too slow and sad. The whole thing makes my entry look peppy!

You should totally check out the Lankum album that I put a clip of above. The whole album is called The Livelong Day and I think it might be right up your alley.

[SweeneyToad]

Sweeney Toad:
My first reaction to this every time I listen to this is "oooff, that's stridently American". This is my problem, not yours, and I think in this instance it was exacerbated by having to listen to that Balmark Productions song with its talky opening earlier. Once I get past that I really quite enjoy this. I'm not really sure what "floating away" has to do with Y2K other than the rhyme, but I giggle every time the Clerks cartoon line comes up. We also have that on DVD.

The floating away thing was supposed to be about the rapture which I touched on at the very beginning of the track and then got bored of the idea very quickly. I remember theories going around leading up to Y2K that it would be the apocalypse/rapture. But yeah, like I said I got tired of my own theme/concept for this song almost immediately and decided to just make a bunch pop culture references from 2000. It was definitely the more fun route. No ragrets.