The government bail out won't (Break the Bank reviews)

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mholland
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Re: The government bail out won't (Break the Bank reviews)

Post by mholland »

Pigfarmer Jr wrote:
Sun Apr 04, 2021 5:54 am
Pigfarmer Jr wrote:
Sun Apr 04, 2021 5:48 am
mholland wrote: Everyday’s the same now
From my soles to eyebrows...
Is this in 11/4? Or... well, I'll not embarrass myself too much by explaining my other thing thoughts. *blush* At any rate, I liked it very much. I noticed an extra beat toward the end, but I'm listening very quickly and doing other things etc., so....
It's 4+4+4+3 isn't it? Sheesh.

It’s 11/4, but the subdivisions vary throughout the song. Intro is 3+3+3+2, verse contains 3+4+4 and 3+3+2+3, and chorus is 3+3+3+2, except for the bar of 12/4 leading into “and into my sheets.” Obviously I got really caught up in the optional challenge, and diagnosing the need for the extra beat in the chorus took a lot of iterations of trying to play the damn thing on guitar while singing and counting. Steve did an amazing job on the drums, especially since I changed the original feel from a swinging 11/8 when I realized that I couldn’t sing it with a swing.

I ended up being quite unhappy with the vocals, which sound sort of languid, bored, and out of tune to my ear, but I was late already and I had solved the rather mind-f#$< of a rhythmic puzzle, so I turned it in. I also hear the rhythmic issues that bothered thehipcola. I think that probably comes down to the guitar being a little loose and the bass being loosely quantized. Given more time and patience I could have cleaned that up, but I had run out of both.
Night Sky is Sally on lyrics, Steve on drums, and Matt on the other stuff
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Pigfarmer Jr
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Re: The government bail out won't (Break the Bank reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

I should have spent more time figuring it out, but like you said... "given more time and patience..." Regardless, I enjoyed it.
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MellyP
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Re: The government bail out won't (Break the Bank reviews)

Post by MellyP »

Brief reviews for Break the Bank.

Sewer People - Reggae sections are great and transitions into harder edge parts build and hit pretty hard. Would like to hear both vocalists in the verses as well as the chorus, but that's just a quibble. Nice guitar sounds at the end. Love the bass playing here. Well arranged song.

Brown word - Oh man, I hear a Lemon Twigs vibe right away here. (Check out their Go To School album if you want.) I like your heavy sound and the bonus is I can still hear the vocals and catch the lyrics. Having said that, I'm more a fan of the verses and other parts than the chorus on this one.

Library Dogs - Great guitar riff -- not really on board with the theme of the song but I like a lot about the arrangement. Doubling the vocal might have provided some punch at times in this one. Solo is nice and the quieter section ("Life Pod" section) helped changed things up. Nice job.

David Harrington - Love the vocals - echoing and powerful. Not a fan of the "whoa" start as executed and a cymbal crash is loud -- but there's a lot else to like here. Good mix between keyboards, guitar, bass and drums. Nice harmonizing. Guitar parts at the end add a lot.

Sir Chorizo - Brief and interesting. I really enjoyed the "I don't like you" bridge/outro. Note sure about the sound you chose for the guitar but that's probably personal taste.

Night Sky - Cool time changes keep you off kilter right away and then settle into place nicely. Vocals are cool. Love how the bass rolls through everywhere to brighten up the mood. Short but sweet.

Ken's Super Duper Band - Nice riff and great sound on the guitar. Definitely gets the party started for me but I wanted a cymbal crash or two at the chorus. Guitar solo surprised me - understated. Nice. Maybe drums could come up in the mix generally. "Are you ready to walk the plank" is a good line/hook.

Jeff DeSantis - I like the lyrics on this one. You painted a picture and it was a good one that kept me listening. Drums are right up in the mix for this one and I dig that. I'd like to hear guitar better at the start but they come in nicely during the outro/end.

Pannacotta Army - Nice all-round vibe. Great vocal performance. Airy feel to this one. Sweet harmony vocals add a lot. Seems like you took a lot of time to figure out our instruments and sounds. All fits together perfectly. I could have enjoyed it more if it was slightly shorter. But I could be wrong. Good work. VOTE

CazaroTaro - Interesting arrangement. Little XTC-ish to my ears and that's nice. The timing of the bass is off, leading in some places and getting behind in others. Good clear keyboards here.

PANOPLY - Long lyricless lead-in. Worked for me. There's nothing wrong with this vocal for me, just a preference thing that I'm not into the snarling type vocal. Maybe it could have been mixed up with other, non-snarl sections. When the hand claps came in they added some pop. The false ending surprised me in a good way. Good song.

truth - Yeah this is sweet. The gentle riff (good panning) and the way it fits together with the guitar (keyboard guitar?) arpeggios. That's the glue. Good vocals and lyrics. I may have missed the point but could you have said "Always happy to pay for our dates" to avoid confusion about a prostitution angle when it's a relationship song? Maybe I'm the only one who was temporarily confused. Good bridge section. Harmonies are perfect. VOTE.

Sweeney Toad - This made me laugh right "out of the gate" and to compliment you maybe, when something went wrong at work this week I took pleasure in, instead of swearing, uttering the phrase "my getaway car is a god damn horsey." Toe tappin' and fun. Hey. Today. I just may... VOTE

Gross Tones - Jazzy and cool to suit your old-timey lyrics and vocal delivery. Cool guitar solo and the bass runs are killer. Nice. Maybe could have raised this up into a higher key to change the urgency/emotion in your voice? Cool song.

Duncan Martin - Detailed story keeps the listener on board. I wanted to hear your vocals better cos I do like the voice. High harmony line could have helped too. A bit of a muddy mix? Good time changes work well. "Banner waves its stripes and spangles" is a great line!

Young Stroke - Funny. It's not my style of music but I liked a lot about it. Good groove. When "bank" rhymes with "think" near the end that's awesome.

Sumner Sloane - Love the Karl Wallinger-ish vocal delivery in this one. Verses kill. The percussion is a bit loud/clunky at times. Nice delay on the guitar solo and the piano works well. Liked it!

Heine - Guitar riff made me think of Jethro Tull a bit. Kudos on your harmonies here. They are very well done. Like your laughter when you sing "No one really cares." Good arrangement for this tune. I think I listened to every song about three times this week and this was the one that got better to me each time. The lyrics are good. How'd you get that steam sound? Anyway, nice!

Lichen Throat - Interesting rhythms here. Favorite section comes when you repeat "I'm gonna break the bank". This song might fall too low in your register -- although it's a haunting effect. Nice job.
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WreckdoMelle
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Re: The government bail out won't (Break the Bank reviews)

Post by WreckdoMelle »

Thanks for the reviews all! I think on this one I had the same problem I always have and that's the mix. I didn't want the vox too loud and I didn't want them buried by the competing guitar tone. So working on carving out a notch for vox, that's been the trick of late. At least (it seems) I hadn't succeeded in burying the drums as on tracks past.
PaulBoring wrote:
Fri Apr 02, 2021 6:45 pm
If I'm remembering correctly, you always seem to pull off the optional challenges.
With optional challenges I think I ignored it once, twice tops in my recent streak and secretly wished I hadn't. The shoegaze one was maybe the hardest for me.
Duncan wrote:
Sat Apr 03, 2021 2:05 pm
Is your band name an homage to Gener and Deaner?
It's actually not. I wish I would've listed to more Ween but never really delved into their stuff quite so much. The name comes from a fictitious kitty cat band, the brown cat being called after 'the brown word' which is what Kathleen Turner calls the S word in Serial Mom.
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Re: The government bail out won't (Break the Bank reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

Sweeney Toad wins!
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Re: The government bail out won't (Break the Bank reviews)

Post by SweeneyToad »

Lunkhead wrote:
Sun Apr 04, 2021 3:54 pm
Sweeney Toad wins!
NO FREAKIN' WAY! THANKS YA'LL <3
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Duncan
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Re: The government bail out won't (Break the Bank reviews)

Post by Duncan »

Well done Sweeney Toad!
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Re: The government bail out won't (Break the Bank reviews)

Post by SweeneyToad »

MellyP wrote:
Sun Apr 04, 2021 9:34 am
Sweeney Toad - This made me laugh right "out of the gate" and to compliment you maybe, when something went wrong at work this week I took pleasure in, instead of swearing, uttering the phrase "my getaway car is a god damn horsey." Toe tappin' and fun. Hey. Today. I just may... VOTE
lol i love the pun, and i'm glad I could make your work day a little better!
Duncan wrote:
Mon Apr 05, 2021 12:15 am
Well done Sweeney Toad!
ty!! that was a fun fight for sure!
Sober GF: I can't explain why but I hated it

Toby Rok: Sweeeney Toad...I can’t explain why, but I like it...

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daveyboy103
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Re: The government bail out won't (Break the Bank reviews)

Post by daveyboy103 »

I am very happy with not finishing last with my first entry.
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