Grumpy Mike - SOLID!
The humming and claps opening is instantly engaging. The almost-metal arrangement is tight and clean. Vocal performance spot on. This is the chorus I had in my head much of the last 4 days. Very catchy! Sorta missed the prompt, but exceeded its spirit.
"The more you keep, the less you can give" rings true. Wraps up nicely.
Berkeley Social Scene - NOVEL!
Love the opening and its energy, but the verse melody and rhythm pattern becomes super repetitive and more a treadmill than a sustained rocker. Strong refrain though, feels one round too long (gotta find my way out...). Slide solo absolutely soars! I do dig it's an author speaking to/about his characters. Very novel
Max Bombast - FUN!
Claps and snaps are driving it me forward. The sly solo is sweet, appropriately simple. Cute premise and your delayed reveal works really well. Solid wrap up. Though those 16th note kicks at the end are a bit much (maybe a bit lower in the mix).
"If they go outside wear SPF 99" is highly recommended.
Sober - SWEET!
This lyric is one of the best this year. A deep dive into the decline of lighthouses. The dark cove was simply a result, a symptom of how society is changing. Claps and snaps are core within the mando, and that subtle fuzz guitar way back there is so warm.
“Is GPS and satellite the only thing to trust?” Really stood out for me.
This is outstanding songwriting. Sorry to see you leave.
Not only was my dad a big lighthouse fan, but we canoed thousands of miles together, including the St John and Allagash rivers in Maine, the Yukon and Saskatchewan rivers in Canada, backwater lakes and swamps in Minnesota, Georgia and Florida. The culture in these isolated places is heavy and the dissonance when they’re hit with modern technologies is intense.
The Friends - SUPER INTRIGUING!
The textures you cycle through are each such gems and they compliment/contrast each other enough to not feel disjointed. The chorus is such a solid hook. The lilting bridge is like gravity pulsing horizontally. Just like that. So Beck (sorry, but really...omg)
"I wanna be where there's no phone" speaks to me.
Oops wrong title
Good job regardless.
I suspect maybe you also misread the title as "Dark Cave"? The chorus is super duper 90s sounding. For me that works. I think some of the transitions between parts, particularly in the first half of the song, feel a little clunky and could be smoother. The bridge breakdown is maybe a bit long. I think there could have been some additional instrumentation there, maybe a pad of some sort, or something with some movement, like a slow arpeggio or something. There sounds like there is some kind of drum mistake right in the beginning of the chorus after the bridge? The ending feels a bit abrupt, a couple more "chugga ... chugga ...." might have been nice.