On the Verge of (Reviews)

[chocolatechips]

Review thread.

[hillbilly]

Hoe the moe----nice change of pace, awl some, vote.
Boethin-----Great vocals, lyrics ect. That first guit. out of tune as hell, vote

[hillbilly]

stink- --you are wierd, killer guitar work . i still have problems with a b cord.

[LibraryDogs]

I don't see my entry amongst the roster...?

[Spud]

I don't see your entry amongst the emails...?

[LibraryDogs]

Hmm. I was afraid that was the case.

[reve]

My favvies were:

nobody et al
hate noise
balance lost
(first 30 secs of) fk muse

I apologize for asking you lot to listen to my crap track. In retrospect I shoulda kept that one to myself.

[LibraryDogs]

In related news, Spud rocks.

[ken]

Balance Lost
Classic BL. I like the kind of abrasive instrumental part after first of melodic vocal parts. Good contrast. Then I like how you mix it up the next time. Keeps things interesting.

Bandname
Interesting rhythm tracks. A little muddy overall, but not terrible. Guitars could be mixed louder. Thanks for keeping it short.

Berkeley Social Scene
A quick rocking ditty from BSS this week. I like the music for this, as well as the harmonies in the chorus. I think the vocal could have been delivered with a little more gusto, but Martyr had to do these as home, so he was probably concerned about the noise. This will probably turn into a favorite live song for us.

Billy & the Psychotics
You are conspicuously absent this week. What is up with that?

The Chocolate Chips
There is something very familiar about this song. Maybe it reminds me of a Beatles tune or something. Hopefully, it will come to me. I like the atmosphere and the vocals fit well into it.

DJ Ranger Den
Vocals are so much louder than the piano. You voice is nice, but with so little going on in the arrangement, you should give each element equal space in the mix. Both vocals and piano are nice though. Perhaps a little too dynamic for my taste, maybe try using more compression next time? This song strikes me a part of a cut scene of a movie where they pan the nightclub to get to the main character seated at a booth or something.

FkMuse
Interesting and unusual. Not sure what to make of it. I hope you had fun making this song. Two minutes in and I don't really want to listen to any more.

glennny
Swing it Glennny! I think your song might have been better in a different style. I like the chorus. The verse is fine too, but the jazzyness just seems awkward. Gets very Zipline in the solo. Transition at the end of the song is nice.

Gregg Boethin
Wow, this sounds pro right off the bat. Are you a professional songwriter or something? A really nice song. Maybe too slow to be the winner of this fight, but certainly a strong contender. This is like an album cut, but not a single.

The HATE Noise
Very cool. Like the timbre and the instrumental breaks. Good use of dynamics in the arrangement as well. Needs an ending.

hillbilly
Nice guitar playing. Vocals don't really need all the effects though. The whole track is a little quiet, and the vocals are even harder to hear. Also, dead air at the end. What's up with all that?

Hostess Mostess
Always good to see HM in the fight! I like when this song kicks in. Not loving the intro before it does. Gets a little repetitive and I start to tune out though. Feels like a blues song, which is not my favorite.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff
Always fun to have my own song in the fight. Had to be recorded quickly in a few different bursts. I wasn't really sure about the arrangement for this song and just went with whatever worked. It could have used some back up vocals, but I just never got to it.

Klownhole
So much rock! Way to bring it. This seems a little heavier than usual for you guys, but you pull it off.

meta4intercourse
Action in the back, take 1. Actually, this was take 2. Having JB and Mo visit the BSS studio is a hell of a lot of fun. We jammed this song out pretty quick and tracked everything live. There is a bit of extra vocals overdubbed at the end and a bit of editing on the intro. But really, it was just a bit of fun with JB, Mo, Lunkhead, and myself.

Nobody, et al.
This is a nice song. Feels like a demo because so much is low in the mix. I'm waiting for the rest of the band to kick in. Once they do, this would be a radio hit!

Paco del Stinko
Classic PDS! Love how poppy it is, just a fun song. Great ending!

Psychic Soup
Kind of repetitive and boring. Piano sounds nice, and I could see that as being the start of a very nice post-rock song that builds into and over a Verge of Tears. Sadly, this song does nothing and goes no where. Oh, I think the robot said tears. Also, it is waaay too long.

R. Mosquito
I like the OMD quality of this song, but the vocals are buried under the electronic snare drum. Really, everything is hidden behind that snare. The vocals sounds good, so I'm surprised you tried to hide them. Wow, this song really explodes around 1:50. This is a totally different mix and song. Maybe you should have just cut the first two minutes of the song and started here.

Sep
Mush mouth vocals that turn into a bunch of howling cats. Not much to say here. I'm not sure if there is a song in there beneath the distorted screams or not. There is some decent guitar work in there. This did not need to be 4 minutes long.

[Meatwad]

"Klownhole - So much rock! Way to bring it. This seems a little heavier than usual for you guys, but you pull it off."

It's the first time we've incorporated bird sounds into our werks. We strive to keep pushing boundaries and defy genre classification. Unless there is a post-bird-metal genre. Which is the astronomical horizon of our evolution.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Billy & the Psychotics
You are conspicuously absent this week. What is up with that?

This is my artistic expression. La Disparition

[Meatwad]

Balance Lost
This sounds good. I'm a little tired of this type of music, but I know the kids are into it these days. I can tell this is well done. Seems a bit long for this kind of thing.

Bandname
At first I was all "goddamit. Some bullshit iPad masturbation.". But after paying attention to it and let it play out a bit, it's actually pretty interesting. Some nice interplay and buildup. Like an outtake from Kid-A. Not really my kind of thing, but it's interesting and gave me an opportunity to say iPad masturbation.

Berkeley Social Scene
I think you guys played in Seattle this year, and this is a good representation of your sound.

The Chocolate Chips
This is also pretty generic and doesn't really stand out.

DJ Ranger Den
Holy shit. Nice voice. You sound a lot like Julie Christmas. Which is a compliment. This is like real music. Getting a vote.

FkMuse
Nope. Not my kind of thing.

glennny
This is awesome. Very well done. Chorus is a little rough, but that makes it charming.

Gregg Boethin
This is pretty sloppy, but it actually works well with the lyrics and subject matter. Hey, backup vocals. That's cool. Are you using USB recording equipment with a bunch of latency?

The HATE Noise
I hate it when people just say things like "Nope", or "not my kind of thing" as a review. But I have to admit I was tempted. There is some clever production and good ambiance here. And I say clever because I can't tell if it's actually accidental and minimalism, or a carefully crafted ambiance.

hillbilly
This sounds like your heart wasn't really into it. And for something as simple as this, that usually defines the song.

Hostess Mostess
This is what I was talking about regarding heart. This is a simple song, but you sound like you are into it.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff
This is pretty well done. But very generic, doesn't stand out.

Klownhole
I'm disappointed this isn't louder. But I like the vocals, birds, and keys.

meta4intercourse
Fuck yeah. Done and done. This is the best thing I've heard on Songfight in ages. Nice riffing and hollering. And solos. I actually hate solos, but in this context I'm really glad you did them.

Nobody, et al.
Nice chorus. But this kind of runs together with other entries.

Paco del Stinko
This is well done. For some reason I am reminded of old Blue Oyster Cult. But I think I may be mistaken.

Psychic Soup
I was ready to give up, but then the robot voice. Way to capture my interest.

R. Mosquito
This is a good example of why you should listen to the whole song. How did you get the drums to sound like that?

Sep
LOL. Points for buzziness and howling. Sounds like you are having fun, and that's great. It's not necessarily fun to listen to. But at least it stands out.

[chocolatechips]

Balance Lost - Interesting arrangement having the bass guitar double the melody during the verse. Overall you've got a nice feel/sound/vibe here. I particular like the little synth break as it's a bit unexpected with the rest of the track. Some really nice instrumental breaks throughout actually. The whole ending bit is great. I love the interplay between the different guitars. The weakest part of the song for me is the vocal melody, not that it's terrible - it sounds like it fits this style reasonably well but it didn't really grab me. VOTE.

Bandname - I had a hard time focusing on this track.

Berkely Social Scene - Some cool guitar riffs. Lots of personality in the vocals. I like the way you guys record/mix your tracks in general and this one sounds pretty good... although it does seem like maybe the guitars and vocals could be a bit brighter. VOTE.

DJ Danger Den - Great voice. A very meandering song structurally (or maybe the tempo is just so slow it's hard to know where you are...), I have a hard time following it but it has a really nice vibe and sound. I like the vocal effects that come in. Trippy.

Fkmuse - The kids are still doing drugs, aren't they? I dig. I made some things like this back in the day. Actually, hmm... See, I think now, I like the idea that.. if you're going to do something like this, it's more interesting in the framework of something musical. Man, I'm high right now? (just kidding, right? ...)

Glenny - The beginning of the verse is pretty catchy, although perhaps in a sort of "TV sitcom" way...? Although it seems self aware enough that it's gone around and become cool inspite of itself. I really like the way you stretch for "tears" on the chorus. The break at 2:13 is totally unexpected. Points for that. Suddenly I feel like I'm at a jam band show. I'm not actually a huge jam band type guy so that's 100% a compliment, but it kind of is. This is a pretty impressive track musically and there are some catchy things in it. But it's probably just too many disparate parts to really hold together for me... but I feel the same way about Of Montreal songs. So that's kind of a taste thing. I've started to grow impatient with songs that go a ton of places... yes, in some ways it's interesting, but it's also just hard to stay into it if it's changing style too often. VOTE.

Gregg Boethin - I appreciate the extremely slow tempo (it's probably a bit too slow, but I still dig that you went super slow with it) and the delayed guitar. The harmony vocal is real nice too.

The Hate Noise - There's some nice stuff going on in this track. You went with the really crazy effects which are going to put a lot of people off, but it's pretty neat how the track sort of morphs as you listen to it. I'm not sure there's enough song here to really hold onto - but I really dig the trippy production ideas.

Hillbilly - You're enjoying yourself, I imagine.

Hostess Mostess - This is pretty excellent on many levels. Cool unique rhythm/percussion sounds. Great melody & vocals. I love the harmonies. And a nice touch of trippy delay effects too. If I have a negative thing to say it would be that I thought the effect on the guitar solo wasn't quite right. VOTE.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff - Has a nice quirky vibe to it. But I don't think the melody is strong enough for it to really work.

Klownhole - Pretty nature sounds get eaten alive by some heavy sludge rock. At first I pictured a heavy metal band just playing out in the middle of a field. Strange. Then I thought; maybe it's more like the band is stomping on this nature deal. I guess I'm really caught on the field recording at the beginning. I just have a very hard time giving a useful critique of this kind of music because it's not the kind of thing I listen to. I just don't know if it's good or not for this style because I've heard really popular music in this genre and it does nothing for me.

meta4intercourse - Not too bad but it sounds pretty thrown together. I guess that can be a positive if you're a big fan of really loose rockin', but I tend to like more composed stuff. The musicianship seems pretty strong (nice guitar rockin')

Nobody - Very good. Great restraint with the arrangement, starting minimalistic allows the additional instrumention to sound more interesting. I love the harmonies. Chorus melody is catchy. I dig it. VOTE.

Paco del Stinko - Fun tune with some nice guitar leads. I think this is well done.

Psychic Soup - Bit of a Kraftwerk vibe. Not bad, but I do think the lead could be more interesting (melodically) and I'm not crazy about some of the sounds chosen. Robot voice is alright, but some of the other sounds are a bit too casio rather than that really early analog synth sound (which I think is much cooler .. but maybe that's not what you're going for)

Mosquito - Interesting sort of '80s electro-pop vibe mixed with some more modern production tricks. I just realized something... this is now. You know; I dig it man. You have to realize that it's happening *right now* ... I'm going to give this a VOTE.

Sep - Not liking that guitar tone; Too much high end. Not digging the vocals. Guitars a bit too muffled during the verses and the later guitar solo (and seems to have no relation to the guitar that started the song.) Rhythm is a bit shaky too. All that said; I dig some of the creative ideas I hear here. Keep rockin'

[Meatwad]

"Klownhole - Pretty nature sounds get eaten alive by some heavy sludge rock. At first I pictured a heavy metal band just playing out in the middle of a field. Strange. Then I thought; maybe it's more like the band is stomping on this nature deal. I guess I'm really caught on the field recording at the beginning. I just have a very hard time giving a useful critique of this kind of music because it's not the kind of thing I listen to. I just don't know if it's good or not for this style because I've heard really popular music in this genre and it does nothing for me."

This is probably the most thought anyone has applied towards a Klownhole song.

[chocolatechips]

Does that include the members of Klownhole?

If I remember correctly your song the previous week was a bit more Butthole Surfers style rather than the heavy metal type thing (I think this is actually some sort of sub genre, but it's .. not something I'm real well informed on so I won't try to guess) ... that sort of thing I can get into. It's weird man, with music. I'm trying not to get caught in my own frame, brother.

[furrypedro]

Bandname: I appreciate your mixing of electronic sounds and rock guitar, and you've got a pretty good voice. This somehow isn't doing it for me though. I do love the random cowbell hit at the end. Gonna go back to that for another listen. That's amazing!

Berks: Yeah, bass. This sounds a bit like Fugazi. With the mix of high voice and low voices. Martin reminds me of a more screechy Mark Gardener (of Ride fame). I dig this tune. Gonna vote an' ting.

Chthchipth: Yup, still can't figure you out. The guitar's quite nice and the arrangement is interesting once again. I'm just not sold on the song itself though, doesn't make a connection to me. I think I feel the same way about you as I do about Paddy McAloon.

DJRD: This is a delightful little tune. I did worry for a moment that you might attempt to develop the arrangement and I'm glad you didn't do that as the mood of the whole song is just right throughout. In fact when you do pull of a coupe of little audio tricks the come unexpectedly and are more refreshing because of that, like the moments when the vocal goes a bit Joanna Newsom and there's a Kate Bush style echo. I'd also like to take the opportunity to mention that your efforts in the last fight were spot on. [/arselick]

FkMuse: Soundtrack to a snuff movie. I didn't listen to this the whole way through. I hope you'll understand.

Glennneth: This is comical. It's sounds like, i dunno...A mix between Huey Lewis and Dexys. It's a catchy motherfucker. Nice tempo change. Wow, this is an odyssey.

Gregg Boateng: A worthwhile effort, bit boring.

The HATE noize: You made a really great track here. I like it because it sounds cool, but it also reminds me of nothing else that I've heard. It's so brooding and has all these subtle changes. You've got some intense reverb on those drums. How did you record this thing? It's got so much attitude and inventiveness, and I don't even have to pay for it! neat. What happened to the ending though? Or am I thinking too conventionally?

Billyhills: Y'know, when I clicked on your link I didn't think I was gonna be that into what I heard. That's prejudice right there. But this is a sweet little tune. The guitar playing and tone are all just right, never too much or too little. Fade out music to a film, but which film?

Hostmostsexual: Haha, I thought you were definitely gonna say "Built this city!" But you didn't, sad times. You made a compelling sort of samba-rock thing here. It's funky.

Kennneth: I'm sorry to say that I think you can do better than this buddy. You start well with the cute little uke riff, but the meter and melody of the vocals and banality of the lyrics seem to lack invention. I'm being a bit too harsh, but there you go.

Klownhole: Okay, so I listened to this a couple of times and, I don't listen to much metal. The most metal thing I own is probably a System of a Down cd. But fuck me, you've got some brutal low-end chugging going on here. This has so much atmosphere and it's seriously heavy. I like it.

eta4coursemeal: I'll be honest with you, I'm not gonna vote for this. However, I am moderately impressed with the tightness of the band (if it's real). Guitarist should play to his (not soloing so much) strengths. Probably a bit overlong in overlong in general but it's got swagger.

Naebody et al: This took a while to get much my attention but it held it when it did. Very minimal but altogether it works very nicely. Good performance.

Stacko: I've just realised who you remind me of! The Presidents of the United States of America! That band is freaking awesome. Not that this sounds like them but you share certain rock sensibilities and always appear good humoured, even at your darkest (or maybe, expecially at your darkest). Cool tune.

Psychic Soup: A Reason classic! It's sounds jammed, quite nice I suppose. Get some bass in there brutha!

R. Moskeeto: The Depeche Mode bit's cool. I like the bleak northernness of it. The one thing I'd change in the 1st half is the snare drum sound. That weird zapping gets annoying after a while. The electro freakout was unexpected but welcome and the variety of sounds is cool. There are some tiny little details that I think should be fixed, mainly in the delivery. Like the bit where you sing "disa-------ppear", I don't think you should have left the gap, just sung it straight. But like I said it's only little things, and the only reason I noticed them is cos I was listening closely since I liked the song.

Sep: So much of this is annoying. I should get drunk and listen to it in case it's hilarious.

Balance Lost: I did a song.

Gon' vote for BSS, DJRD and t'hate noise

[The HATE Noise]

You made a really great track here. I like it because it sounds cool, but it also reminds me of nothing else that I've heard. It's so brooding and has all these subtle changes. You've got some intense reverb on those drums. How did you record this thing? It's got so much attitude and inventiveness, and I don't even have to pay for it! neat. What happened to the ending though? Or am I thinking too conventionally?

Thank you.

It was mostly recorded on my 4-track cassette machine. Two tracks of acoustic guitar, bass, and drums. I also recorded the lead vocal there so it was easier to manipulate it with a delay guitar pedal. I only have one mic right now, a knockoff SM-58, so that's what everything was recorded on. Then, I dumped it in my computer and added a few synths and backup vocals. I purposely recorded most of it really late at night so I had to play extra-quiet in order to not wake up my roommates, and also to give it that particular vibe. Yes, the ending is (mostly) on purpose. The first track I recorded was the acoustic guitar, and I figured out right away that the tape cut off (or, more accurately, ran out) but decided to work with it. A trick I learned from listening to lo-fi legends Guided By Voices is that if you only do the catchiest part of the song once, people will listen to it twice as many times if they dig it.

I think somebody else said something about the vibe possibly being an accident, so for the record, there ARE accidents in the HATE Noise world, but nothing is presented as such. All unwanted recording accidents have been purged well before you hear a song.

[publicporking]

browser just logged me out and i lost all my reviews. so this is only the two best words of what i originally wrote.

Balance Lost
rainy day.

Bandname
dynamic voice.

Berkeley Social Scene
go tour.

The Chocolate Chips
favorite artist. VOTE

DJ Ranger Den
wicked antiquity.

FkMuse
fast forward.

glennny
chorus synth.

Gregg Boethin
backing vox. VOTE

The HATE Noise
don't get.

hillbilly
not genuine?

Hostess Mostess
performance. respect.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff
nerdy. empathy?

Klownhole
thanks. improve.

meta4intercourse
too long.

Nobody, et al.
harmonic. videogames?

Paco del Stinko
fun. nice.

Psychic Soup
so chesy.

R. Mosquito
totally delivers. VOTE.

Sep
cats. neighbors.

[lesChaps]

"Klownhole - Pretty nature sounds get eaten alive by some heavy sludge rock. At first I pictured a heavy metal band just playing out in the middle of a field. Strange. Then I thought; maybe it's more like the band is stomping on this nature deal. I guess I'm really caught on the field recording at the beginning. I just have a very hard time giving a useful critique of this kind of music because it's not the kind of thing I listen to. I just don't know if it's good or not for this style because I've heard really popular music in this genre and it does nothing for me."

This is probably the most thought anyone has applied towards a Klownhole song.

I have to assume you are including Klownhole.

Seriously, i had the same thought. What a fair appraisal. Kind, even. Thx

[lesChaps]

Does that include the members of Klownhole?

LOL