I'll be your (Go Between reviews)

[Pigfarmer Jr]

but I want 10%

[Pigfarmer Jr]

(pretty) Please post your lyric here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12055

[Lunkhead]

Songs posted!

[Chinballs]

What a fight to come back for! The standard here is exceptionally high and I would have voted for most of these in alternative fights.

Well done everyone, a really solid set of tunes.

Brown Word and the Big Whine

Big powerful intro and driving groove.

Good chorus and especially like the synth hits in place of cymbals at the end of some lines.

A bit Joan jet in places.

Goes on a bit too long for my liking. Would have probably been better if it ended after the 2nd chorus.

In any other fight, this could have been a contender.


Joy Majestic

Nice bouncy intro

Reminds me of early sultans of ping, but that’s no bad thing.

Vocals sound a bit out of time on the chorus, which might be deliberate.

Nice guitar solo. Not bad at all!


Night Sky

I quite like this it’s very jolly, if a little odd.

They might be giants influence by any chance?

I’m reading into this that the verse lyrics are deliberately unfathomable to anyone but you and the subject of the chorus. If that’s the case, nicely done!


Ween Bet, Go!

Instantly likeable, sounds like 90s radio jam, perhaps teenage fanclub influences?

Really good songwriting and vocals, love the backing vocals and switches in the drum builds.

Excellent work!

Voted


Jeff DeSantis

A bit sweet home / werewolves of London for the intro.

Slow and plodding but in a good way.

Could do with some harmonica maybe?

Like the pad / oohs in the chorus and inventive chord changes.

Seems to be a bit long.

Quite like the guitar solo / build at the end. Nice alt country feel to it.

Not bad at all.


Sly Eli

I heard this before the fight and instantly loved it.

Great jazzy chords, excellent vocals, great lyrics. The full package.

Reminds me of Jonathan Coulton, which is definitely not a bad thing. He’s one of my favourite artists.

Only criticism is it could do with a bass to round it off.

The ending was very surprising!

Voted


Tomdg

Very unsettling musically and heavy subject matter.

Good performance, not sure that the chorus fits well with the verse. The fake ending and then the outro was very unexpected.

Not sure who your influences are, but would be very interested to find out.


Corgi Wearing Sunglasses

A bit muddy in the mix

Nice harmonies, good energy and performance. Great big guitars at the end.

Almost a The Darkness quality to it and that’s not supposed to be an insult as I really like some of their stuff.


heine

When it started I thought it was a bit ‘weather with you’ on the guitar. Kind of a bit like the chain in structure with the solo kick drum.

Nice harmonies.

Love the guitar slide solo.

Vocals are bit low in the mix.

In another fight this would have been closer to getting my vote.


Sweeney Toad

This is very odd. Vocals remind me electric six.

I’ve got no idea what’s going on with this lyrically, I’m sure I’m missing some reference.

It’s interesting when the drums kick in though and strangely captivating.

Thanks for all the bandwidth, much appreciated!


Vermillion

Great vocals. Sounds awesome, a bit 80s influenced. Like the rhodes.

Nice chorus and excellent guitar hook out of it.

This is really solid.

Voted


WreckdoM

I thought this was going to be an instrumental with a sampled vocal at first, by then after about 1 min the real vocals come in. Is that a sample from South Park?

Reminds me of something by primus or DVDA.

I’m very confused, but highly amused.


What Larks!

Bouncy, nice harmonies.

Good sound and like how it gets big at the end of verse line.

Great use of brass. Almost Burt Bacharach in sound.

I like it.


Duncan Martin

Very odd lyrics, which wins points for creativity. Like the overall vibe of this but not really my style.

Feels like it goes on a bit too long.

The go between bit feels a bit tacked on at the end.

[fluffy]

Incredibly unhelpful reviews in no particular order aside from the front-page shuffle order:

tomdg: I like how this starts out. Then the rapping starts and I'm just like... meh. But then the rapping gets decent. Then the singing starts and I'm just like... stick to rapping. The vocals never sound like they're really part of the same song, as opposed to just sitting on top of it somehow. A little reverb on them would go a long way, or maybe do different treatment for the rapped verses vs. the sung choruses? Oh and then later on you do put a little reverb on the vocals and then for that part it does indeed sound a lot better (but then it kind of gets lost in the mix too). The rapping would also benefit from some tighter timing. And that sung outro is just... well, meh.

sweeney toad: This reminds me a lot of Starfinger's stuff. I wonder what he's been up to. I actually ran into him during an online game jam a few years ago. I like the minimal instrumentation and production on this. I'm not entirely sure what this song is about but it sure sounds like an epic fight song from the perspective of some lunchmeat about to be eaten. Also I'm hungry now. (v)

wreckdom: I'm having a hard time making out the vocals on this one. So, it's a WreckdoM song. About sandwiches.

sly eli: Dig the jazz guitar at the beginning. Nice arrangement and production overall. Also this song sounds a lot shorter than it was. (v)

joy majestic: Is this an instant band with J$ on vocals? Love the production and guitar and the feel overall. Vocal timing could be a bit better but whatevs, I enjoyed listening to this. (v)

what larks!!!!: Oh man I am such a sucker for this genre of music, with the nice jazzy swing and the big brass accents and basically the 1960s-style swing-rock production. Vocals seem like they could be a bit more confident, but minor complaint; I can't not vote for this. (v)

brown word and the big whine: when this song started playing my cat came into my office and started meowing loudly at me. I don't think she liked it, but her taste in music has always been pretty lousy.

vermillion: I'd type a more detailed review but now my cat is sitting on my lap and keeps headbutting my hands as I type, because I'm not paying enough attention to her or giving her pets. This reminds me of some of the best of the 90s. Getting a strong Alannah Myles vibe from this in particular. If I had a complaint about it, it'd be that it's a bit long and it feels like it could have ended like three times. (v)

ween bet, go!: remember Josh Woodward? this is totally a song Josh Woodward would make. It's technically very competent and well-produced but it also completely fails to grab me at all.

boo chin balls: staying on the topic of songfighters of yore this reminds me of, this reminds me a lot of Deshead. My cat left my lap. I feel like this song has a lot of good elements to it but that it's somewhat paint-by-numbers. I like the choruses, at least. Could use a bit more variation in the instrumentation and tone.

duncan martin: I like the lyrical and rhythmic structure in this. Instrumental bits feel a little rambly to me. Now my cat is back to annoyedly meowing at me. (v)

heine: this is the sort of country music that made me realize that I don't hate country music as a genre, just the country music that was very popular on the radio growing up. If I'd heard this as a kid I'd have probably been much more into country earlier. I like the way that this song builds. The panned, layered vocals is a little bit gimmicky for my tastes but that's a minor complaint. (v)

jeff desantis: 6/8 always makes me feel better somehow. More Song Fight! music needs to be in 6/8. I also like how chill this song is, and how the energy level varies (but never gets so intense that I feel like it's gonna wear me out). The chord progression in the chorus is also just unpredictable enough to sound fresh and interesting. Reminds me of Black Muddy River by Grateful Dead, which is a song I like a lot. (v)

corgi wearing sunglasses: wow those drums sound so janky, who did them, anyway? ... oh, it was me? Huh. Anyway. Really good guitar work and vocals and mixing and so on (i.e. all the stuff everyone else did), and good angry subject matter about a thing that happens a lot these days, especially in Seattle, and I'm very guilty of this stuff myself. I love the chord progression in this and this song's been stuck in my head even when I haven't been part of the production process. I guess now that I'm listening to it afterwards, the bass and guitar solo feel a bit hot to me, and the vocals could probably be turned up a skosh during the second chorus. But all around a great song. (v)

night sky: Without the vocals this would be the background music for a quirky puzzle-platformer game on Newgrounds where it has some weird gameplay mechanic like you have to blow your nose to launch baseballs at geese to scare them away from the picnic baskets or something.

[slyeli]

I normally listen to the songs multiple times before doing my reviews but I thought I'd try getting them done sooner this week. Generally I think this was a really strong fight with every song bringing something different to the table.

I'm not sure who I'm going to vote for yet. Boo Chin Balls and Duncan Martin definitely get my vote but there's others that I think deserve a vote too so I'm going to have to listen to them some more before I decide.

Boo Chin Balls - this is brilliant. I straight away listened to it again. I'm never brave enough to do the long intro thing but you pull it off perfectly. The rough edge to vocals is just right for this style. If you did an album of this stuff then I would happily buy it.

Brown Word and the Big Whine - I really like the riff in this and the chorus too. I think it's the catchiest chorus that I've heard you do and I like it. I'm not too keen on the synth, it sounds slightly out of time with the other instruments. The main guitar sound is a little boxy and I think would benefit from equing out some of the lower mid range and boosting the highs. Nice tune, I enjoyed listening to it.

Corgi Wearing Sunglasses - I like the singing, your melody and phrasing give this a spooky feel. Combined with the arpeggiated guitar it's really cool. The harmonized vocals on the outro are a really sweet way to end too. The thing that puts me off is the timing of all the instruments. It sounds like the drums are lagging behind the beat and struggling to keep up which, combined with the loose timing of the other instruments, gives this a disjointed feel. The snare has also been compressed so much that it sounds like you're hitting a stack of wet newspapers.

Duncan Martin - great intro. This is a strange song but I like it. It's like George Formby joined a space Jazz band. You have a knack for combining things that shouldn't really go together, it doesn't always work but when it does, like this time, it's great and something unique. I listened to again to see if it was as strangely good the second time. It was.

Heine - ooooh I was not expecting that guitar playing from you. Nice. The timings a little shaky but you pull it off. The bits where you rock out are my favourites, especially when the slide guitar comes in. I'd like a bit more fire in your vocals to go with the heavy guitars, they were a little too clean for my tastes.

Jeff DeSantis - the laid back style in this is really well done. I think it works best with the verse melody. The start of chorus melody reminds me strongly of the "man in the park" bit of Miss Misery by Elliott Smith and it throws me when you go in a different direction with it. That's not your fault but I think it's why I'm less keen on the chorus than the verse. The guitar solo in outro is the high point of the song and a really nice way to end it.

Joy Majestic - I love the guitar playing in this. I'm less keen on the vocals. It sounds like something went wrong in the mixing and they've been delayed behind the other instruments. They sound a bit flat to me too but that might just be the lag messing with my perception. I think there's good song in here it just needs a bit more work doing on the vocals to let it shine.

Night Sky - I like the bounce in the verse and the sax stabs. The singing is a little inconsistent as you seem to hit the notes sometimes and hit between two notes others. I enjoyed the verse and bridge sections but not so much the chorus.

Sweeney Toad - I was expecting you to yell at me and at first I thought you'd disappoint but then you you hit your stride and went on the assault. I like this more than the other songs of yours I've heard. The aggression is more subtly used (slightly) and I enjoyed the flow.

Tomdg - I'm not keen on the spoken word intro but when you start rapping it gets better. The chorus doesn't do it for me though, it's too out of tune. I liked the verse but not the other sections.

Vermillion - this takes a while to get going but when it does it's great. I think the chorus could do with some heavier instrumentation to make it stand out more and punch harder. The vocals kick it up a gear but the instrumentation doesn't seem to follow. The guitars get heavier but I think it needs more. It's a good song but I think it could be better with a bit of trimming and more emphasis on making the chorus stand out.

Ween Bet, Go! - there's lots of things to like in this, everything's well performed and the music is strong, but I leaves me a little empty. I don't think I connect with the sentiment, it comes across as a bit whiney to me and I don't feel sympathy for the protagonist.

What Larks! - the trumpet sections are great when they come in but I find the other sections emphasis of every quarter note gets annoying quickly. The backing oohs are a nice touch but they're not enough to save this for me.

WreckdoM - I'm not sure what to say about this. It's unusual and I can see you're going for the humor angle but it's not doing it for me.

[slyeli]

Sly Eli

I heard this before the fight and instantly loved it.

Great jazzy chords, excellent vocals, great lyrics. The full package.

Reminds me of Jonathan Coulton, which is definitely not a bad thing. He’s one of my favourite artists.

Only criticism is it could do with a bass to round it off.

The ending was very surprising!

Voted

Thanks. I'd not heard of Jonathan Coulton before but I'm listening to his music now and it's great. I've just found out that some of the songs I love from the Portal series of games were written by him so I've been enjoying his work without knowing it.

I really wanted to add bass and piano to the song but I ran out of time to do it well. I figured it was better to leave it minimal than rush something and ruin what I had. I'm definitely planning on going back to it though.

[crumpart]

Sly Eli

I heard this before the fight and instantly loved it.

Great jazzy chords, excellent vocals, great lyrics. The full package.

Reminds me of Jonathan Coulton, which is definitely not a bad thing. He’s one of my favourite artists.

Only criticism is it could do with a bass to round it off.

The ending was very surprising!

Voted

Thanks. I'd not heard of Jonathan Coulton before but I'm listening to his music now and it's great. I've just found out that some of the songs I love from the Portal series of games were written by him so I've been enjoying his work without knowing it.

I really wanted to add bass and piano to the song but I ran out of time to do it well. I figured it was better to leave it minimal than rush something and ruin what I had. I'm definitely planning on going back to it though.

I haven't listened to JoCo for a while, but Siri has been throwing some my way this past week and I've been loving it. That song about his wife's tattoo is beautiful.

[Heine]

Here are my thoughts about the Go Between fight. It seems like we've got a very fine Jukebox this time. Great songs everywhere!

Boo Chin Balls – This is a solid song, I like. Very catchy. But the lower frequencies (bass/kick drum) are a bit too prominent in the mix.

Brown Word and the Big Whine – A very strong one. This rocks and even has some interesting synth sounds, kind-a New Wave style. I really like the vocal delivery this time. Great!

Corgi Wearing Sunglasses – This one rocks too! I like the Russel Mael approach in your voice. Cool.

Duncan Martin – This comes along quite easy. I also like the lyrics, they are critical and even funny. Great.

heine – Finally some guitars again. This one came pretty easy to me. The music took me about five minutes to write. The chords are all the same throughout the song but the vocals change from minor to major. I'm a bit proud of the slide solo. (And it was the first time I submitted cover art.)

Jeff DeSantis – This would be fine on Neil Young's Harvest. (The funny thing about it is that the verses are close to Sweet Home Alabama. – Was that intended?) But anyway, it is great. I love the slow, relaxed feel. But there are also a bit too much of the lower frequencies in the mix.

Joy Majestic – The timing of the voice is not quite on the spot. But the instrumental is very fine. There are some great guitar lines in it – very well played! The solo reminds me of Uli Jon Roth's work – and that is very cool!

Night Sky – A slight reggae feel. I read that someone suggested you should use the sax as a rhythm instrument. And I think it works fine here.

Sly Eli – The music comes quite easy. But this is a nice contrast to the story within your lyrics. Maybe it sounds a little underproduced. And again, I really love your vocal performance.

Sweeney Toad – This is the most songlike track I've heard from you. The minimalistic approach is very charming to me. Your voice often sounds a bit overambitious but I really enjoyed the way you sang the first four lines each verse here. (I want more of that!)

Tomdg – I really dig the lyrics. They are great. I like the contrasting parts of the music. I thought the A-Capella part was the end but then the music set in again. That is great. The vocals could be a bit more confident and in place.

Vermillion – This one grabs me! I love the composition, the instrumentation, and the vocals. Reminds me a bit of All about Eve. Close to perfection! Great!

Ween Bet, Go! – Well done. It has everything. It could be a nice song for the radio.

What Larks! – Do you like Pet sounds? Okay, this seems to be a rhetorical question. I really appreciate the unusual instrumentation. Very well done. The instrumental part at the end is very charming, too.

WreckdoM – This one is funny. And left me a bit hungry. Have to make an appointment with my fridge... What is the sampled voice at the beginning?

[Duncan]

Thanks all for the reviews up until now. I had a fun time doing this fight and the entries are inspiring.

Vermillion: Starts out with a really well-produced and played intro that reminds me of the Alan Parsons Project. The vocals are really well executed throughout, and the harmony accents in the chorus are a great touch. Your note changes mid-vowel (whatever the musical term for that is) really make the vocals memorable. Something to strive for. The lyrics are solid and tell enough of a story without laying it all out, the way some of us tend to do…

What Larks!: Echoing what’s been said already, very fun retro sound. Some Blood Sweat and Tears (Al Kooper years), and Beach Boys, and Small Faces, among others. The bridge gives a good lyrical assessment of what’s said in the verses. Really enjoyed this one. I’d encourage singing louder and then lowering the volume so you get a stronger vocal attack -- but that’s just to make a cool thing cooler.

Sly Eli: The jazzy chords and sparse guitar intro works well with your vocals. Phrasing sounds great, and the high notes are executed well. I think I want “between” to have the sound like “bee-tween”, not “buh-tween” for more dramatic effect. Very creative melody.

Joy Majestic: Nice intro. The different parts give the song a good progression. At the end you want the listener to tell you that we know what you mean. I didn’t understand what the “all points north” referred to, since you’re at home. Overall a fun listen. I like how it takes a slight turn toward chaos before a very enjoyable solo. Probably a bit long and repetitive by the end -- could end with the solo.

Jeff Desantis: Great classic sound in the verse Dead/Skynyrd/Allman Bros. sound (or Ween from their “So Long Jerry” cut). But I think the chorus is where you really give the song character. Love the way it opens up for the mellow guitar solo at the end. Might benefit from a slightly faster tempo.

Wreckdom: Delicious -- the intro is very long, but it’s a great ditty otherwise

Night Sky: I like your bouncy quarter notes. At first I couldn’t tell what you were talking about, then realized that’s the point of the song. That’s a great take on the theme, and you express it well with the lyrics. It is a bit hard to hear what you are singing -- it sounds like the vocal is competing with the bass frequencies somehow


Boo Chin Balls: Good pop sound, and reminds me of those episodes of The Office where Gervais/Carrell gets wasted and makes an ass of himself at some pub, and everyone is just embarrassed to watch it happen. It has a year 2000 vibe to it. The telephone effect works well for the sarcastic bit “well I think she noticed”

Corgi Wearing Sunglasses: I really like the vocals and their melody, but I think they get too drowned by panning. The solo rocks, and the a-cappella at the end just reiterates how your vocals sound really good and deserve more in the mix. Nice -- we both referenced MTV in our songs this week. Is this a dad singing to his daughter?
Sweeny Toad: You really lay it all out here with gusto. I love the bit about stealing bandwidth from the mansions! The rising rap sections are fun. Something else recently reminded me of “the rowers keep on rowing”, and this one did too. Fun song

Tomdg: The transition to chaotic rhythm toward the end of the rapping verses is cool. Creative lyric I feel like this narrator is sort of in the same situation as the narrator of my song. It’s a solid prayer and a comprehensive list of grievances delivered well. If anything, I would say the vocals could use more tone work on the melodic breaks. In a couple spots it sounded like you werent decided on what note to sing.

Duncan Martin (me): This was meant to be a song about a person who is “going between” their faith and agnosticism (not autobiographical, but my dad and a few friends of mine all left the church at some point in life and it’s interesting to hear about). Anyway, toward the end I hadn’t actually said “go between,” so I ended up using it to describe the priest’s claims of being a heavenly conduit. Some of the Canterbury Tales really take aim at the clergy in this way, I enjoyed it. My friend John sent the sparse guitar notes down from up north. Felt good to get the clarinet out again. Andy Shauf has been putting it on his records and I just love the sound of layered clarinet.

Heine: Great concept of a go-between-for-hire. The panning works well to signify a conversation, with the go-between centered. The rhythm guitars have a cool 70s rock sound like BTO or the retro Sheepdogs.

Ween Bet go!: Nicely done -- the chorus is really full and sounds like the kind of new country that I will linger on if I hear it on the radio. It’s a really catchy hook, and the verses carry the song really well. One note: “indiscriminately” seems like too long or technical of a word for the chorus, depending on the desired effect. It sort of sounds like a Barenaked Ladies lyric, which is cool if it’s meant to be sort of joking, but then you manage to keep a pretty sincere tone throughout so it’s almost a shame to break that. I always have so much trouble writing sincere stuff, so I admire when others can. I was trying to think of something instead of indiscriminately “You can throw pearls ________ at swine”. It’s too late for my brain to work. Something more conversational.

Brown Word and the Big Whine: Another fine track from BWATBW. I just love the attitude and the volume. If I could change anything, I’d just say bring in more variation throughout, double the vocals for a while, or have volume changes or a defined solo somewhere. Unless that’s not your style. As-is sounds cool too.

[BoffoYux]

I'll be hosting the 'Go Between' Litening Party on Monday March 22nd at 9pm EDT. Drop in and say hi!



https://youtu.be/lEI5gZfnFV8

[jb]

One tired middle aged middle class cis white dude's opinion below:

Joy Majestic
Well produced verses. Gets sloppier on the chorus. Too many words per line on the verse for this vocalist to keep in rhythm. Not a fan of the guitar line on the chorus. I really like the guitar solo. Drums are a bit static, mostly because no variation in the volume of the snare sample.

Corgi
I’m in this one with fluffy, Sam, and Evermind. I am to blame for the vocals and any of the lyrics that you don't like. Evermind wrote the rest.

Duncan Martin
Kind of nice plaintive opening with everything fading in. Well, I don’t like that noodle electric guitar. I like the vibe. I don’t like the constant falsetto harmonies in the background. Decently crafted lyrics for singing. But yeah ditch the backing vox and any guitar lines you didn’t specifically write out.

What Larks
Nice adherence to the optional challenge. Arrangement overwhelms the lead vox.

Brown Word
I like the opening. I like the synth brass line in the background. Vox need to be more up front to be as strong as the instrumentation. I’d double the vox throughout and put harmony or gang vox on the chorus. Vox is too dry, need some delay filling the space out.

Wreckdom
I dig the bass tone. Dunno if it needed the doubled dry. Dunno about the spoken word, mostly because I have too much pandemic brain and it's hard to concentrate. I think I might have been more into this if it were like 2/3 faster.

Sly Eli
Kinda cool guitar tone on the opening, and I was worried it’d fall into the ol’ Song Fight “good music bad vox” trap, but no! Pretty singing. Maybe a little heavy on the autotune? But really who cares, because you gotta get really really close to the pitch to make it sound this smooth in the first place. I think the drums don’t fit— maybe they shouldn’t swing? I dunno. They just kinda ruin the vibe. The melody on the chorus is sweet. The melodies throughout are nice for that matter. Nice work.

Vermillion
Not a fan of the drums with that snippety dippers hihat pattern. Vox are great. Feels a little noodly? Is that the right word? I dunno. Something’s not gelling for me with this one. I like the doubling and harmonies on the chorus a lot.

Sweeney Toad
We’re kind of in WreckdoM/Ween/Tom Waits territory for that beginning, which is good though I’m in a different mood that prevents me from appreciating it as much as I might at other times. The rapping kind of reminds me of Adam Sandler.

Night Sky
Vox are out of tune a lot (usually flat), but they need to be more up front anyway. The very square instrumentation that’s dead on tune doesn’t fit with janky vox. Needs more of a back porch vibe.

Boo Chin Balls
Trying a song fight listener’s patience with two reps of that opening bass progression… and now more instrumental, phew what are you… ok there are some vocals. Heavily squashed vocals. Definitely striving to fit into a genre with this, though I’d say you need some delay on the vocals and maybe a reverb send for every track, it’s all sooooooo dry. All this commentary on the production reveals to me that I don’t hear a hook, for me for you, dawg. I mean, I hear what I think is intended to be a hook, but I don’t personally find it very hooky.

Ween Bet Go
Man I wish this had more evocative vocals. I kinda like “Get a clue” as a phrase. I don’t like the “OOOOOOH” beginning, it feels super pop country and bugs the heck outta me for no good reason. All these vocals are nicely sung, the instrumentation is well performed and produced. Well “you or bust” reveals a bunch of autotune, and there’s another moment where it peeks out as well. Mostly not super noticeable but occasionally the “set it and forget it” nature of the plugin sabotages the listening experience. But yeah, I’d forgive it all if the lyrics knocked me on my butt, but they’re pretty meh IMO.

heine
Second guitar line maybe needed another take? Heh, I dunno why but the chords and instrumentation make me feel like you’re about to bust out into the theme from Firefly. You’re really insistent upon adhering to the rhythms you have in mind for the melody, even when it screws up the natural feeling of the words you’re singing. Prosody is the term for that, and I think your prosody in this song needs work. The slide solo is nice.

TomDawg
Probably should have screamed the verse through a megaphone. Ok that chorus is so heartfelt, lyrically, but the vocal performance is just not serving it well. Also, it’s very dry. Process the hell outta that. All of the music is well done, and there’s that heavy guitar going on there, all of which is just betrayed by vocal chords. I like the whistle thing.

Jeff DeSantis
Jerry? That you Jerry? Bit of a throwback to my ears, but a nicely done throwback. The lyrics aren’t super evocative or twisty though, so it’s nice but forgettable. Need some tattoo lines in these lyrics, and folks wouldn’t forget it. A little slow-acting autotune would’ve been well placed here to nudge up those long notes that are juuuuust under the note. I like the guitar tone on the solo, and the lines are simple but soothing in a way.

[jpnickolas]

Joy Majestic – ...The solo reminds me of Uli Jon Roth's work – and that is very cool!

Thanks! I spent all week listening to Scorpions because of this and take it as a huge compliment!

[SamECircle]

If anyone's interested, Vermillion was Erin D, Wayne G, and me. Not sure what the corresponding screen names are, if those folks are active on the forums. Erin took lead on songwriting, and I came in to add to and revise the chorus; Wayne took lead on instrumentation and mix, with Erin on vocals and me on keyboard. (thanks for the compliments on the midi Rhodes.) Shoutout to my excellent collaborators who made the song what it was. If I have a chance I'll sneak some under-the-wire reviews in before next week's contest.

[Heine]

Joy Majestic – ...The solo reminds me of Uli Jon Roth's work – and that is very cool!

Thanks! I spent all week listening to Scorpions because of this and take it as a huge compliment!

Yes, indeed it was a huge compliment! I really love all the Scorpions-LPs with Uli Jon Roth on lead guitar, especially the live Tokyo Tapes. Matthias Jabs is a very fine guitar player as well (and sure a good team player within the band). But Roth's playing has something special you can put your finger on.
I saw Uli Roth live some years ago, playing a lot of good old Scorpions stuff - but it was way too loud which really ruined the sound. (I remember having a beep in my ears for more than a week even though I used earplugs.)

[Pigfarmer Jr]

...

Wanted to mention that I liked the art work for this fight.

[Heine]

...

Wanted to mention that I liked the art work for this fight.

Thank you very much! It was a very quick idea. Only after submitting I realised that there are different ways how to get it. Funny!

[Lunkhead]

Wow, this is a really solid fight! I wish I had time for glowing praise for everybody individually but I just have time to say that these songs are all pretty good.

[Smalltown Mike]

Wow, this is a really solid fight!

Agreed — a lot of high quality stuff here. I'm working on my front porch, and Jeff Desantis is perfectly capturing the mood. A lot of great stuff.

[SweeneyToad]

I’m back with another Switch Bowling score style review, let’s get into it!!

Ween bet go: so first of all I just have to ask why did you rearrange the song title and make it your band name? Is it because you were embarrassed about making a song about being a total simp? The song as a whole is well executed but I’m just not feeling it all, it has the vibes of the theme song from ‘Friends’ but way way cringier. If this song is about a real friend of yours I hope you never let her hear it because you’ll never make it out of the “friend zone” with this one. Bowling Score: Double Gutter Ball 0/0

Joy Majestic: I like your accent. You kind of sound drunk and I think it just works. I really like guitar solo part. Idk this like a drunk punk brit song but not very abrasive at all but that’s ok. Maybe like if the subhumans were just in a really chill mode or something? Idk whatever, I dig it either way. Bowling Score: Strike

Brown Word: I like the garage punk style. I like the chorus better than the verses. Idk the verses were just kind of boring or flat or something. Not my favorite track of yours but not bad either. Maybe it just has a more demo feel than a finished track? Bowling Score: Strike

Night Sky: I like the horns on this. It’s kind of like ska but not. This song is funny, idk if it’s really exactly a comedy song but the whole vibe is just kind of comical and I dig that. Idk what this song is really about but I guess that is the point? Inside jokes right? Bowling Score: Strike

Boo Chin Balls: I like this bass line, yes the guitar comes in and I’m really liking this. This is pretty great. I feel like it could fit into the third wave emo genre, maybe like a jawbreaker song? Idk but whatever it is, it’s good. Pls keep entering Songfight, I want to hear more from you. Bowling Score: Strike

Tomdg: I like the guitar intro. This lyrical content is pretty heavy and kind of depressing. Vocal delivery wise it could use some tightening up. At times it reminds me of the “choose life” monologue from Trainspotting, which is pretty cool but I’m glad you didn’t do that for the entirety of the song. I guess ultimately this still sounds like a demo but it has potential. Bowling Score: Strike

Heine: intro sounds familiar, like some 90s alternative song. Your singing voice does not sound like an alternative 90s song, at least not one from America. But that’s ok, because frankly, I like your accent, it has a charming quality. I like the “well educated man” bit, it’s catchy and memorable. I feel like this was a little short, it could have used a guitar solo at the end maybe? Bowling Score: Strike

Wreckdom: I saw your lyrics in the thread and I thought it was neat you had the same sandwich idea as me. Idk what this sample is, is it from a movie? What ever it is I approve of the salami in the butt parts. It shows you are a refined man of class much like myself. This was a cool song. Bowling Score: 9 / Spare

Jeff desantis: the drums sound nice and well mixed into the beat. Chris Isaak mixed with Neil Young and Beck Sea Change vibes is how this makes me feel. So basically, this pretty damn good. Bowling Score: 5 / 4 = 9

Corgi wearing sunnies: love this riff straight away. The singing is fun but it’s a little to understand at times, maybe a little bit buried in the mix just a tad here and there. Wow that solo is hype af. This is quite a good song, I guess my only critique is the vocals could have been mixed in a little differently. Bowling Score: Strike

What Larks: this kind of sounds like a tv sitcom theme song from the 70s. But like the rare extended full version you never really hear. This has a nice catchy riff and overall I liked it. Bowling Score: Strike

Vermillion: this starts out pretty good and gets even better for the chorus. I like the little bridge solo and when it goes into the middle verse where the vocals seem to be the focus it sounds pretty neat. That second little bridge is pretty cool. This was a good song. Bowling Score: Strike

Sweeney Toad: this is my sandwich deathbed song. It’s about sneaking around and living off the grid to stay off the radar from the mafia or something? But then going back to see the woman you love but then she kills you, maybe she was working with the mafia too? Idk, nobody will ever know either. My main inspiration behind this was when Bruce Willis goes back to get his grandfather’s watch in Pulp Fiction. Bowling Score: Strike

Duncan Martin: I really like the instrument in the beginning? What is that? It kind of sounds like a flute. Is it a mellotron? I like your lyrics and the way you sing them. This my favorite song I’ve heard of yours. Speaking of Pulp Fiction this kind of sounds like a song Bruce Willis would have been listening to in his car right before he encounters Marcellus Wallace. This is one of my favorite songs of the fight. Bowling Score: Strike

Sly Eli: your singing is pretty good on this. It keeps reminding of something but I can’t think of what exactly. I feel like this would be a really good song for kk slider from animal crossing to cover. This was pretty good but kind of ended abruptly. Bowling Score: 8 / Spare

[Duncan]

I’m back with another Switch Bowling score style review, let’s get into it!!

Duncan Martin: I really like the instrument in the beginning? What is that? It kind of sounds like a flute. Is it a mellotron?

This bowling theme is pretty great, and the enthusiasm is top notch, but I think it needs more nuance. Too many strikes IMO (nothing's perfect), plus Ween Bet Go has some redeeming qualities. Maybe it was an unfinished split. That's impartial opinion; I don't know them. But many a Billboard topper has been achieved through simping.
To your question, that's just a basic Bb clarinet, but I noodled through it twice in the intro and tried to do a roughly similar part to give that unison harmony sound. I want to try doing that with a sax mixed in really low.

[SweeneyToad]

I’m back with another Switch Bowling score style review, let’s get into it!!

Duncan Martin: I really like the instrument in the beginning? What is that? It kind of sounds like a flute. Is it a mellotron?

This bowling theme is pretty great, and the enthusiasm is top notch, but I think it needs more nuance. Too many strikes IMO (nothing's perfect), plus Ween Bet Go has some redeeming qualities. Maybe it was an unfinished split. That's impartial opinion; I don't know them. But many a Billboard topper has been achieved through simping.
To your question, that's just a basic Bb clarinet, but I noodled through it twice in the intro and tried to do a roughly similar part to give that unison harmony sound. I want to try doing that with a sax mixed in really low.

Ah clarinet, well it sounded really cool, your track & boochin were my top 2 favorites this fight! And I guess I was a little hard on WeenBet, I was mostly being sarcastic, but I honestly wasn't feeling the lyrics, and I put a double gutter as a joke. All the other scores were literally the score of each frame while listening to each song. I'm just pretty good at Nintendo Switch Bowling, I had a lot of practice with Wii Bowling back in the day I guess.