Come on, Pa! Tell me about those (Better Days Reviews)

[crumpart]

Moon Logic is me, JB, Lichen Throat and J$.

Reviews coming from me either tomorrow or the next day. I started yesterday, but my dad very rudely interrupted me with a FaceTime call from 17445km away one song in.

[sleepysilverdoor]

i'm halfway through mine, but it always seems like bad form to post them piecemeal. At least to me, some of y'all probably don't care at all.

[owl]

walrus volcano banker: Wow you have a beautiful voice. While it's very simple, the chord progression works perfectly for the song, and I love the interplay of happy instrumental with sad lyrics, always a classic. "Cranberries" vibes. And your homegrown percussion in particular is just fantastic, I think you could use it even more and put it higher in the mix though. VERY strong. Got my vote.

Welcome to Songfight and thanks for these very thoughtful (and prompt) reviews! Glad you liked our song.

Walrus Volcano Banker is the instaband with me, Lunkhead, Sober, and Caravan Ray (I edited the lyrics post to include credits for what we each did). I just got this froggy guiro at a hippie tapestry-and-crystals type store about a week ago and I’m ridiculously attached to it, so I’m very gratified to have gotten a compliment on the percussion, which I’ll take as license to litter absolutely every track with lots of guiro from now on, starting with the death metal epic I have planned for the next fight

33397B72-E19C-4DE8-A4DF-E3E187352D65.jpeg (87.82 KiB) Viewed 1407 times

Anyway since this fight coincides with FAWM, I may not find time for reviews this round and if so, sorry in advance! but I’ll try my best to find some time!

[Caravan Ray]

I’m in the one with the best song.

Oh, wow! I don’t think we’ve ever collaborated before this. Guess I should buy a new dress for the video?

Try not to wear the same one as me this time, the red carpet reporters will savage us

Amateurs. It’s not how you wear the dress. It’s how you don’t wear the dress that matters.

[sleepysilverdoor]

Dadgum, this is a lot of songs. Is this the biggest fight in years?

Brother Baker - Dig the random scream halfway through. Vocals are super strong. Guitar production sounds great, the multi-tracking in stereo gives it a good sound. Works well in mono too. The transition to the chorus is a bit abrupt, and the bridge is a bit more rhythmically simple than I usually like. I’m not bitter, I’m better is a great line. I like the vocal grit at times.

Brown Word - Bass feels kind of muddy. More present than it usually is in your tunes though! I really liked the rhyming of insurrection with erection. Way too political for my tastes, unfortunately. Musically, the sort of multi-part onslaught that I’m used to from you though. I swear your stuff feels like one long jam session in a DAW most of the time and that’s fine cause I like it that way.

Duncan Martin - This has this nice bounce to it and I like the harmonica and vocal rhythm. I’m not sure how much I like the slapback delay on the vocals. Drums are soft and functional but feel a little flat? More politics, but not the main focus so that’s okay. And the last line about the fossil fuels was totally funny and totally out there.

FireBear - Very short. The harmonies and synth string swells are rad. I actually wish this was longer. The horns add some great ambience and really set the mood. Real drums would be a plus, but that’s not always practical. Feels like it ends right before it gets really awesome.

Glenn Case - I don’t think I’ve ever heard a riff this rockin from you but I love it. Isn’t it fun to chug along and add it that distortion pedal. But you’ve still got those great Glenn harmonies going even in the guitar part. Do you have a formal music education or do you just have a wizard’s ear for harmony? 7ths everywhere!

Gross Tones - The glockenspiel sounds like it’s just playing random notes. Harmonies are very sloppy. Just a bunch of sanctimonious political statements over a generic reggae inflected riff.

The Idiot Kings - Great stereo imaging, and any time that I hear a reference to the Dark Tower I’m usually pretty stoked. Typically I’m annoyed by these sorts of vaguely political lyrics cause I swear the topic is just played out to death on SongFight lately...but this one is a bit more artfully done than usual. Again, the production here is just great. “CON-tag-eous” is a bit odd phrasing, but it works well enough. Really dug the instrumental here.

JP Nickolas - Ha, this is so obviously you without looking at the song title. I like the arpeggios on the guitar a bit. There’s a little bit of timing issues at times, a couple times it sounds like the beat is being rushed a bit. But that’s okay cause I like the riffing. Lots of notes in the vocals that sound kind of sharp or flat, to the point where sometimes the melody doesn’t sound that well defined. I’m tickled by the SHEER NUMBER OF -A rhymes. I did the same thing in Bent Straight and it’s super fun to try and keep a rhyme scheme of A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A up the entire song. Great jeoerb.

Kamakura - I am so sick of COVID songs. This is so slow it sounds like I drank too much cough syrup because I couldn’t stop coughing because of some respiratory disease. The panned synth makes me feel like I drank too much cough syrup. I also can’t relate to the lyrics cause I live in a place that only did a very short lived round of restrictions in the spring and is no worse off for it...I hope your government backs off and lets you do your thing soon..

Lichen Throat - This rambling spoken word style works so well with your voice, and honestly I think you could do audio books. Or podcasting or something, seriously you have a voice made for radio. I know you’ve been sort of relentlessly subjected to comments here about how your singing voice isn’t really the best in the world, but your *narration* voice is actually great. Maybe if you could do some kind of “speak-singing” where you sort of blend the approaches, you could be in this perfect Lichen Throated sweet spot. Anyway, I like the line about divining rods and the cynical optimism at the end. One of my favorite Lichen Throat songs.

The Magnetic Letters - Merle’s back! I’m loving this loopy theremin freak folk sound! Lyrically and sonically this creates a delightfully whimsical atmosphere that I’m digging. Maybe a little bit more complexity with the chord progression would have been nice for a change-up, but this is one of the most refreshing titles so far, so much less gloom and negativity, even though there are hints of it there (hanging tinsel on a guillotine? brilliant!).

Moody Vermin - I really really like the kalimba that’s running through this, and usage of the wild time signatures at times, and then it explodes halfway through the track with all of the crazy guitar work and the attack of the cymbal, and then there’s all that backwards stuff. Okay, musically this is BY FAR MY FAVORITE OF THE FIGHT SO FAR. Actually I could probably save this and periodically revisit it outside of the context of the fight which only happens everyone once in awhile. This is one of those instant band projects, right? Something about this is giving me Talking Heads vibes. Oh man that ending. Yeah I love this, loooooove this.

Moon Logic - I want some funky space boots. I like all of those astronomical references. And your name is moon logic so they’re definitely pertinent to the topic. The bridge is lacking a bit of strong melodic direction, actually I could say a lot of the song is. Nothing in here really grabs me or latches in my head. But I like the outer space sound effects a lot! Could use a more enticing groove too, it’s very metronomic.

Night Sky - This is really groovy and I like the sax a lot. Something about the mix feels a little far away but all in all I enjoy this groove you’ve got going. Every time I hear your songs I keep on expecting them to sound like Morphine but your voice doesn’t sound much like Robert Sandman’s at all and that’s okay cause he was a legend and hard to touch. Maybe goes on a bit longer than it needs to but it’s a great groove that I love hanging out in so hey, it works!

Oratoral0rator - This is nuts! I don’t know what’s happening but I like it! So much bleep! So much bloop! So much fun! I don’t really know how to review this productively to be honest but it was fun to listen to.

Phlebia (liner notes) - My cats meow a lot at night. I have a one month old baby. And lately my two year old has randomly started waking up in the middle of the night needing a cuddle. I’ve been drinking a shitload of turkish coffee. Gotta love that concentrated caffeine. Anyway, I finally(!) got an electric guitar and it has a whammy bar so naturally decided to MBV the whole guitar part because who needs pitch stability. My buddy Shea said it sounded like Weezer and I guess I hear it.

Pigfarmer Jr - This is some pretty technical guitar playing, and I like how this song turned out. Everything about the structure is generally enjoyable for the most part. I wonder how many songs you’ve started with an ascending pentatonic riff with hammer-ons. Probably about as many as I’ve started with a loud series of snare hits. Lyrics are evocative, kind of vague, makes me hope the protagonist feels better soon.

Seemanski - ¾ is always fun. The chorus with that melody that’s reaching for the higher notes is a nice touch. And I like the production and that heavy synth backing. I’d have mixed the vox just a hair higher. This is melodically one of the best ones in the fight. I’d have maybe picked some different voicing for the drum hits but that’s okay. The synths are tight. There’s a few notes that are a bit pitchy but all in all not that many and I like this, one of the stronger entries this fight.

ShoehornTC - This has a very ShoehornTC rhythm. I don’t know how to quantify that, other than there’s a certain folksy rhythm that you use it a lot of your songs that I’m not sure how to name. The shifting harmonies over the chord progression in the chorus sounds great to me, and I like it. A lot of this song is kind of going in one ear and out the other, not because it’s low quality but because it’s just so simple. But I really like the chorus!

Sly Eli - A gangster, huh? This song has a fun “don’t bring me down” inspirational feel. For the most part this isn’t gripping me all that much, but when the chord progression starts moving around a bit and things pick up for the instrumental break it starts to sound really compelling. I’m not entirely sure what to suggest there, it’s like the song is being held back by not taking any musical risks while the vocals are going on, and as soon as they stop you let the music get a lot more exploratory. I guess I’d like to see you keep the music as fascinating during your vocal parts.

Sumner Sloane - I like the rhyme of wine and turpentine. That chorus on the guitar sounds like the one used on a couple of different late 80s/early 90s albums I have, which one isn’t it? Bass is bouncing around nicely in a nice groove. Lyrically this is one of the more fun songs. I’d have maybe added some compression to the guitar and maybe drum tracks cause the mix feels a bit anemic. All in all one of the better ones this fight.

Sweeney Toad - I love how your tracks are always instantly recognizable within the first few seconds. Booty booty booty booty booty booty. Who doesn’t need an excuse to say booty over and over? The notion of a basedgod zangief made me giggle. And zero-leaf clover was a clever bit of wordplay. Narrative is kind of all over the place but that’s okay. This one is fun.

Thanks, brian - I’m a sucker for 7th chords and 9ths and this track is filled with them. And that’s highly satisfying to me! Vocal performance is just lovely. I saw this was posted by Evermind. I would have sworn this was Future Boy under a different name, which is also true for Wimpy Piano Boy. Regardless this is hard for me to criticize meaningfully because it’s just a solid, well executed track.

TimTomFlufKen - Another good instaband track. I’m liking how the the piano turned out. Drums are grooving well too. I’m always pleased to hear live drums on this website. All in all this doesn’t really have a hook that sticks with me all that much, while having an enjoyable musical backing. Maybe a stronger melody would work. Keys sound good!

Venison Rebels - Immediately recognized Robyn here. And also immediately recognized mholland here too. Of the collaborators this is probably the one that has the most immediately recognizable contributors. But then again, we only have so many sax players here! This is a good tune. It reminds me of something, but I can’t place it exactly. Something about the melody reminds me of something that would have been big when I was younger. The chorus chord progression is pretty much “Linger”, but obviously the melody is different. Very strong. Bass and drums are not the stars of the show, but they’re competently executed and anchor the song well and isn’t that what they’re for? Well done.

Walrus Volcano Banker - Another easy to recognize singer! The backing harmonies find me, cryyy both sound really well done. THis is well mixed, good use of stereo space. I hear that guiro. Am I crazy or is it panning gradually? I also recognized Caravan Ray’s voice there in the background during the chorus. The stylistic flourishes and presence of the mandolin make Sober’s contribution pretty apparent too. And the drums are well done too, if a little bit less obvious who’s doing them. I find it interesting how different sounding people’s drum recordings are between the drummers on this site. I assume most of it has to do with room treatments, mic placements, and tunings. Regardless, well done.

Wimpy Piano Boy - Okay, I thought “Thanks, Brian” was Future Boy but surely this one is, right? Well performed, pleasant, and I’m liking the chord choices, especially when you reach for thet vi right after the “deep inside our minds” line. I could just listen to this piano instrumental to study to. I don’t know why I think that, probably cause of all of those youtube playlists (x beats to verb to). A lovely ending to a morning listening session.

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Pigfarmer Jr - I wonder how many songs you’ve started with an ascending pentatonic riff with hammer-ons.

Ummmm, all of them?

[the idiot king]

idiot kings: cool chord progression! I like the up-an-octave vocals. The way "contagious" gets mispronounced syllabically (CUN-tay-JUS instead of cun-TAY-jus) to fit the rhythmic scheme bugs me though. And the selfie line is a little on the nose.

The Idiot Kings - Great stereo imaging, and any time that I hear a reference to the Dark Tower I’m usually pretty stoked. Typically I’m annoyed by these sorts of vaguely political lyrics cause I swear the topic is just played out to death on SongFight lately...but this one is a bit more artfully done than usual. Again, the production here is just great. “CON-tag-eous” is a bit odd phrasing, but it works well enough. Really dug the instrumental here.

Thanks for the reviews! I think I just got really into early to mid-aughts Interpol enough to stop giving a shit about phrasing sounding odd, haha.

[sleepysilverdoor]

Pigfarmer Jr - I wonder how many songs you’ve started with an ascending pentatonic riff with hammer-ons.

Ummmm, all of them?

I'll start calling that "The Pigfarmer intro" in all reviews henceforth. Even if it's someone else who's totally new so they'll be plenty confused.

[sleepysilverdoor]

idiot kings: cool chord progression! I like the up-an-octave vocals. The way "contagious" gets mispronounced syllabically (CUN-tay-JUS instead of cun-TAY-jus) to fit the rhythmic scheme bugs me though. And the selfie line is a little on the nose.

The Idiot Kings - Great stereo imaging, and any time that I hear a reference to the Dark Tower I’m usually pretty stoked. Typically I’m annoyed by these sorts of vaguely political lyrics cause I swear the topic is just played out to death on SongFight lately...but this one is a bit more artfully done than usual. Again, the production here is just great. “CON-tag-eous” is a bit odd phrasing, but it works well enough. Really dug the instrumental here.

Thanks for the reviews! I think I just got really into early to mid-aughts Interpol enough to stop giving a shit about phrasing sounding odd, haha.

Hey, I spent a while listening to a ton of Cocteau Twins who are just as guilty of exactly the same thing. When the lyrics are actually words, sometimes I can't tell...

[mo]

Ray, the real dress is the frenemies we made along the way

[mo]

I also love the Cocteau Twins; I just needed to say that.

[the idiot king]

Hey, I spent a while listening to a ton of Cocteau Twins who are just as guilty of exactly the same thing. When the lyrics are actually words, sometimes I can't tell...

Yeah to me pronunciation isn't terribly important. You're setting words to music and singing them, if you can have poetic license in how you write them, you should have leeway in how they're sung. My two cents anyway.

[Duncan]

Duncan Martin - This has this nice bounce to it and I like the harmonica and vocal rhythm. I’m not sure how much I like the slapback delay on the vocals. Drums are soft and functional but feel a little flat? More politics, but not the main focus so that’s okay. And the last line about the fossil fuels was totally funny and totally out there.

Thanks for the review. There's slight reverb on the vocals, but the effect is from me trying to double both parts manually (4 +1 separate vocal recordings). I watched a random how-to during that sea shanty craze that swept the world. It was all about doubling each part and wide panning. It was fun to try, but a bit busy.

I have to disagree in the phrasing convo above. I think a weird phrasing can work occasionally if it's intentional and well executed, but otherwise I find it distracting and forced. There's almost always a way to get the phrasing to sound natural with some lyric edits. I guess it depends on the song, but pronunciation and stress is part of how we convey meaning with words, so a good natural flow lets the words carry out their purpose. That's just me. Also songfight requires some sacrifices in the name of deadlines.

[owl]

Hey, I spent a while listening to a ton of Cocteau Twins who are just as guilty of exactly the same thing. When the lyrics are actually words, sometimes I can't tell...

Yeah to me pronunciation isn't terribly important. You're setting words to music and singing them, if you can have poetic license in how you write them, you should have leeway in how they're sung. My two cents anyway.

Hard disagree! I guess unless you’re scat singing or something. (Or if you’re Elizabeth Fraser... once you’re past a certain level of comprehensibility and your voice kind of just becomes an instrument)

Part of the craft of writing lyrics is expressing what you want, but part of it is also picking phrasing that sounds good and aligns with your melody and the rhythmic accents in the song. I think saying otherwise is just lazy. Like “I could sing on key but it’s not important to be on key because you can tell what my melody is supposed to be”, I mean, ok, but you’re holding your song back.

The reason a chart like this works is because words have particular natural stress patterns... when you bend them out of shape to wedge them into your song, it’s a noticeable flaw, it’s not really poetic license. My two cents.

[the idiot king]

The reason a chart like this works is because words have particular natural stress patterns... when you bend them out of shape to wedge them into your song, it’s a noticeable flaw, it’s not really poetic license. My two cents.

Agree to disagree. I think restrictions hinder creativity and can be broken when you want to, provided you know you're doing it and are doing so intentionally.

[mo]

why is it always two cents. how are you supposed to get rich off your opinions this way

[fluffy]

why is it always two cents. how are you supposed to get rich off your opinions this way

start a youtube channel, maximize engagement

[the idiot king]

First fight in over ten years, first reviews in the same.

orat0rical0rator - I really like this sort of oddball pop. It reminds me a bit of Jonsi's newest solo album. Lots of fun textures.The vocals are nice but definitely take a backseat to the fun production.

Lichen Throat - It took me a minute to get onboard with the spoken vocals, but the lyrics won me over. "Unless it was written by an eccentric British Professor" got me. The guitar tone is a bit thin but that's not what's really important here.

Lunkhead - Immediately got me thinking of Superdrag and that's never a bad thing. Great chorus hooks!

Timtomflufken - Nice and crispy lead vocals. Great energy and attitude on this one. Solid groove, fun guitar work, and snarky lyrics. It's got everything I'm looking for here.

ShoehornTC - Fun progression, but I'd love to hear the rotary stuff in the background a bit louder. Vocals are well done, a bit of Petty coming through there.

Phlebia - Noisy! I like noisy. I'd love to hear a shoegaze version of this where the only difference is like ten more guitar doubles. "My nights have seen better days" is a very good lyric.

FireBear - Oooh, vocal harmonies are very satisfying. The strings and brass are excellent!

Sumner Sloane - Solid songwriting but the mix feels a little small, if that makes sense. I really like the lyrics.

Night Sky - Ooh, I'm liking the horns! I want to listen to this like maybe one drink too far in at a smoky nightclub. Vocals are a little pitchy here and there but not offensively so.

Pigfarmer Jr - The best drum work I've heard yet today. I really like this sort of song, not sure if there's a genre to define it, but it's like that old kinda downbeat pop. Thinking like "Hit the Road, Jack" and what have you. It's a minor key song that doesn't feel aggressively sad or anything, there's still some pep in that step.

Kamakura - That gurgling synth arpeggio is gross sounding and I love it. Mentioning COVID time stamps this but the song as a whole does not suffer from it. A nice little funereal dirge to remind us that things still suck, haha. I'm into it.

Glenn Case - Ooh, what are you tuned to? I like that crunchy intro a lot. This is like the baby of power pop and Failure; I didn't think I needed a blend of old school Rivers Cuomo and Ken Andrews, but here we are. Cool solo!

Brother Baker - That's a hell of an opening line, haha. In case it wasn't clear from my track I love songs based around weirdo chords. Strong Dismemberment Plan vibes here and I am here for it.

Wimpy Piano Boy - I was hoping for something very aggressive given your name, but this is nice. Very pretty. That turnaround part is super cool. Have you ever heard the album Chilly Gonzales did with Jarvis Cocker? Some of the stuff on that reminds me of this.

Duncan Martin - "Toyota/Console ya" is my favorite rhyme this fight so far. There's good humor here that you don't always see on Songfight; it definitely works very well in this tune. My only complaint is I'd like to hear a bit more happening in the arrangement and backing vocals to differentiate parts of the song.

JP Nickolas - Oh hell yeah. Really solid guitar work! I think the vocals are a bit too upfront for metal, I'd love to hear a mix where they were more on par with the lead guitar. Slightly pitchy vocals, but I don't see a problem with that in metal.

Venison Rebels - I played bass and synth on this. As someone else noted, the bass is very basic. Just holdin' things down and letting the vocals take the spotlight. I also mixed it.

Sly Eli - Excellent chord shapes. There's not enough sixth, seventh, ninth and above chords out there. The chorus is really cool, the toy piano is an unexpected but welcome texture. Great arrangement. I'm really into this.

Moon Logic - This is the song to beat this fight in terms of lyrics for me. I like the arrangement quite a bit, and the general vibe is reminiscent of "Naive Melody (This Must Be The Place)" and that is never a bad thing. Who played what on this? Really fun track.

The Magnetic Letters - This is the kind of acoustic stuff I really like, where it's dense and layered. Adding saw never hurt anything. The vocals didn't grab me but they didn't bother me either, so a net win in my book.

Brown Word and the Big Whine - Spooky stuff. I like spooky stuff. I like it a lot. The whistling synth is really cool.

Sweeney Toad - Booty booty booty booty! This is a fun jam.

The Idiot Kings - It me. Got the acoustic and vocals done first which I never do for anything, and then layered on top. I wanted baritone guitar to propel the chorus but it was just too much. I made up for it by using it for the leads.

Moody Vermin - The percussion reminds me a lot of a sculpture made my George Rhodes called Archimedean Excogitation that's in the Boston Museum of Science (if you look it up hopefully this makes sense). I like your vocal tone a lot, it's a dash of Bowie with a bit of the guy from Placebo. Solid chords, solid melody. Great tune!

Walrus Volcano Banker - Always a pleasure to hear some guiro in action. The voices of the two singers blend very well together. Good songwriting, and the lead guitar stuff is very tasteful.

seemanski - Ok that synth bass has me bobbing my head already. The dynamics between the verse and the chorus are really cool. Between the instrumentation and melodies this is a song that seems like it was designed for me personally to really like, haha. Definitely getting a vote.

The Gross Tones - We need more glockenspiel in this world. I thank you for doing your part. The off-beat rhythm is a nice change of pace. I don't have a lot to comment on, everything is competently to well done, and the songwriting is solid. It didn't grab me but I think that's on me and not you.

thanks, brain - The last song in my order and it sounds very much like a last song on an album (right down to the lyrics). Don't take this the wrong way as I mean it completely as a complement, but you've a bit of a Neil Diamond vocal quality that really serves this song. I really enjoyed this, and it felt like I was being bid goodnight after listening to the rest of the tracks. What's the loop sound?

[mo]

why is it always two cents. how are you supposed to get rich off your opinions this way

start a youtube channel, maximize engagement

can I see your TED talk on this

[the idiot king]

why is it always two cents. how are you supposed to get rich off your opinions this way

Because if jerks like me keep giving out opinions at two cents a pop we can stay financially solvent. Any more and things get dodgy, especially if we start talking Star Wars.

[crumpart]

Moon Logic - This is the song to beat this fight in terms of lyrics for me. I like the arrangement quite a bit, and the general vibe is reminiscent of "Naive Melody (This Must Be The Place)" and that is never a bad thing. Who played what on this? Really fun track.

Thanks! Lichen Throat had the initial idea along with a few others, and I took this one and ran with it. I wrote the first pass, which ended up being five verses and no chorus or bridge. Lichen Throat did a second pass to get us a chorus and a bridge, then we both gave JB final say on the lyrics because he was the one who had to sing them. He did a fairly major rewrite while still keeping ideas, facts and the funtimes tone in place.

As far as general roles go, JB sang, J$ did bass, Lichen Throat did drums and I did keys, a tiny bit of guitar and mixing.

[Evermind]

thanks, brain - The last song in my order and it sounds very much like a last song on an album (right down to the lyrics). Don't take this the wrong way as I mean it completely as a complement, but you've a bit of a Neil Diamond vocal quality that really serves this song. I really enjoyed this, and it felt like I was being bid goodnight after listening to the rest of the tracks. What's the loop sound?

Thank you! The loop sound is from a video posted to Twitter by a comedian I follow: https://twitter.com/CoreyRForrester/sta ... 5883765762

Nice to see your return, by the way.