Nada < Todos (Nothing Less Than Everything Reviews)

[Bolio]

Moe es muy guapo

[Tonamel]

Adam Dachis:
I like the writing in this a lot, but the balance is quit a bit off. The low end of the piano is overpowering everything else, and your voice can barely be heard. If that was fixed, this might have been a shoe-in for me.

Desolation Radio:
Too much reverb/delay on the voice. I can't quite understand you. Unexpected tempo change. I can't quite tell if it works. The backing instruments are simple, and work.

Hans Gruber:
Cute little intro. The voice needs to be brought forward in this mix, too. I like the writing, though. The mix seems to improve in the second verse, though I can now hear tuning issues in the vocals.

Kapitano:
The beginning of this holds a lot of promise... and it seems to be coming through on that promise! Very nice production work.

Steve Durand:
I like the jazz, but the vocal is miles away. You might want to try making the voice about half as 'wet' as it is, I think the mix would improve signifigantly.

[Poor June]

WTF?... i could've sworn i sent my song in... did y'all not get it?

edit: i sent it again... it said it was successful so sure y'all got it now... don't have to add it if you are really opposed to it... i thought it went through the first time... guessin' my stuff messed up durin' the send or somethin'...

anyways i haven't messed with it in quite a few days... if anyone cares to hear it... it's the first song on my soundclick page right now... link is in my signature... (can't remember if i should pm spud... or jb?)

[Kapitano]

This is a very strong fight. Only five songs, and they're all good, even though most of the things I can think of to say are criticisms.

Adam Dachis
Productionwise, the piano is much too bassy, and the vocal too quiet - not unclear, just faint.

The piano seems to have lots of bass notes, a few high tinkly treble ones, and nothing in between.

I like the sound of the voice, and the melody it sings. The piano melody is a little cliched, but good. It could also be maybe 30 seconds shorter.

Desolation Radio
Grungy guitars and goth vocals about death and decay. I love this kind of thing. Though 'everything is dying' and 'all that stuff will be ashes' is a bit over the top.

I don't think the talkover at the 1 minute mark helps - it feels superflous.

Hans Gruber
There's crashy drums, a disco synth bass, chiming guitars, nice pads, and a memorable vocal melody. It just somehow never comes together. It's like the various elements are all in the same room together, but they're not interacting.

And that right-panned bassline - good sound, but there's too much of it, and the panning is giving me earache.

Your vocal delivery reminds me of David Bowie in his 80s pop phase. And it's a good voice for the genre.

I like what this could have been, but not what it turned out to be. Keep at the music - you've got plenty of ideas and ability, they just need more practice.

Kapitano
Me. Erm, can I say I really liked the way this turned out, though it took three completely different backing tracks and a week of trying different singing styles to get it to work.

Though I'm the only one to include the Clearmountain Pause.

Steve Durand
Ooh, smokey jazz! This puts me in mind of the lounge bar of a cheap run-down cruise liner. The band are playing, and the crooner is crooning, but both have played these numbers so many times to so many apathetic audiances, that all the soul has faded away.

They just don't care anymore, and all that remains is a plasticky slab of sonic cheese that ought to have passion and speak of heartfelt love. But instead broadcasts hope that is long-dead.

It's extremely well done - especially the muted trumpet - and I hate everything it stands for.

[Poor June]

thank y'all sooo much for puttin' my song up... \m/...
you don't know how much that means...

[jack]

hey kapitano, i totally dug your tune alot! great production on it. very pink floyd sort of arrangement. good job dude.

[desolation radio]

Desolation Radio
Though 'everything is dying' and 'all that stuff will be ashes' is a bit over the top..

150 thousand+ acres were lost in the fires here. before that the bugs came and were killing the trees without any end in sight. a dying forest ready to go up in flames. my home. anyway, that's what the words are about. things are getting better now but i can't forget so it's in a song. didn't want to come on like you wrote but i guess i did. at least i stayed away from die for me.

[jb]

thank y'all sooo much for puttin' my song up... \m/...
you don't know how much that means...

As repayment you can stop using so many ellipses. Full sentences with punctuation would be great, thanks.

JB

[nyjm]

adam dachis
- pretty piano, but not so pretty that it should overpower the vocals in the mix, which is what it does
- take the piano WAY futher down in the mix and i can tell you about the rest of the song, because all i can hear is the left hand over and over and over again with whispers of your right and some singing

desolation radio
- good rock out beginning; but never fulfills its promise; and after a while, it just become droning
- badly mumbled lyrics
- forced use of the title; you need more prosody

hans gruber
- i like the music; there's some nice texture and interesting ideas here
- the vocal harmonies are just off enough to hurt my teeth

kaptiano
- reminds me of good coil: a non-standard song with progression
- good use of sample quotes
- oh... there's a clearmountain pause for you. nice. ah, but it still just ends.

poor june
- i really like the bells.
- the title in the lyrics lack prosody
- the breakdown near 2:10 just seems disjointed

steve durand
- you you you... are are are... singing singing singing... from from from... the the the... back back back... of of of... a a a... cave cave cave...; come closer: we don't bite. much.
- nice trumpet
- just kind of ... stops

[Kapitano]

Poor June
Nice piano sound, and your mixing and production are much better.

There's an edgy, uncirtain quality about this track, as though heard through a haze. The rolling, arpegiated melody fits with that 'unsteady' quality.

The other side of this coin is that the song seems to meander around, plus it sounds a bit bare for a 3 minute piece.

The result is that my mind kept wandering as I was listening - like there wasn't enough to latch onto. Maybe all it needs is more strings, or a quiet rhythm track.

After seveal listens, a great overall sound and I might wake up tomorrow with it running through my head.

[EightLeggedOedipus]

Adam Dachis
+++ Nice piano. I almost thought it could be Deshead for a second. +++
--- But you slopped it with some vocals. ---
/// maybe that's just your style, I guess it's kind of charming. ///

Desolation Radio
+++ RRAAWWKK!! +++
--- Zoloft karaoke! ---
/// Tempo chaneg is much appreciated but teh talkover kind of warps it. If you were going for White Zombie style, stick to film samples. ///

Hans Gruber: Ultimate Villain
+++ We're groovin' +++
--- Oh but why did we have to sing liek that? Did you imagine a melody and then sing blindfolded. Er. Deaf-folded. Earmuffed?? ---
+++ I still liek the ska-syncopated guitar. And the "Electric Chair" line +++

Kapitano
/// Moody and atmospheric. Samples or cut-ups? Nice delay effect ///
+++ OK, the monotone actually really works here. I might vote for this. I like this break with the panting in it +++
--- I could do with somethign else inplace of the chorus. You either to stay on that same chord from the verses, or provide more variety. The two-chord thing only kind of reminds me that everythign repetitive. ---
+++ Bonus points - Clearmountain pause +++

Poor June
+++ Eddie vedder and Scott Stapp have finally vanished into obscurity and stopped haunting you! +++
--- "Die for me" in lyrics, point loss. Not sure why. i just made that rule up. ---
/// Not album-worthy vocals, but I'm still just really impressed that is actually PJ. Good job, lots of progress ///
+++ The backwards sounds here are so working. Way better than the ones from two weeks ago! +++

Steve Durand
+++ Sweet jazziness. +++
--- Accountant Christmas Party Karaoke! ---
+++ Holy shit is that a clarinet solo on SongFight? This track shoulda been instrumental +++

I love reviews becasue I can play asshoel producer and tell everyone how their music is supposed to sound.

Vote -> Kapitano

[Steve Durand]

Steve Durand

+++ Holy shit is that a clarinet solo on SongFight? This track shoulda been instrumental +++

It's a trumpet with a Harmon mute.

[MintyHandy]

From my San Diego hotel room at 11:33pm at night -- you'd think I'd be asleep prepping for tomorrow's workload, but this is more fun.

Steve Durand

Nice intro, unexpected and unique. Wow, what's up with the vocal treatment? Someone throw a rope into the well! The horn is really good. The piano is not nearly so. Overall, it's like something halfway between Michael Nesmith's bad lounge singer in Elephant Parts and Marty and Elaine on a good night. If that's intentional, and I suspect it is, bravo. You went too far on the vocal, though. Never ever do that vocal treatment again, and you'll be leagues above next time. And...

...no clearmountain pause. Just sayin'.

Poor June

Another unexpected and unique intro, excellent. Once you start singing, there's a Coldplay vibe creeping in here. I would love to hear your voice "pop" more into the foreground. From a songwriting perspective, it doesn't have a solid structure, something to grab onto and run with. That leaves me enjoying the parts when you don't sing, and losing my way when you do. I feel like this kind of disjointed, depressing piano piece can be gotten away with at times (Fiona Apple succeeds more often than not) but it's not working here for me. And...

...no clearmountain pause. Oh well.

Desolation Radio

Typical guitar intro here, but solid. Ah, another echofest, but this one gothic. I personally find the chords uninspired, the arrangement average and the vocals typical for bad goth music. Which, I guess, is the point -- "everything is dying" and such, and the spoken word -- so if you were going for a themed piece, you hit the nail on the head, and well done. You also have solid timing on the instruments, and decent production quality. But as a good and entertaining song, this one leaves me flat. And...

...noclearmountainpause. AndIsoundlikeabrokenrecord.

Kapitano

Oh, I like this. I'd love to know where those quotes come from, they're well chosen and well handled here. Now this is inventive goth music. I like. Vocally your accent detracts a bit; I think I'd like to hear this with your voice pitch-shifted down two steps (but sung two steps up so it's at the right pitch afterwards). I like the breathing, as well. It's missing some kind of hook to make it truly compelling, but it's eerie and substantial. I like. And...

...a clearmountain pause! Albeit without the necessary tension. And a bit long; I had already decided you'd punked us with a fake pause and just ended the song instead, and started typing a comment to that effect. Three beats sooner, and it would have kicked back in right when I'd decided it was never going to, which would have been perfect. Ah, well.

Hans Gruber

Typical club opening, not special but not flawed. Ah, what's this? Hmm. I like the vocals. I can't put my finger on why, but I feel like they're mocking Soundgarten a bit. Not enough "song" here to really make me like it, though; some of the best techno-melodic music is in my mp3 collection, but this is too much techno and not enough melodic. I want to sit you down with Arling and Cameron for about an hour, then have you do the song over. The chorus gets old quickly, as well. And...

...no clearmountain stream. Er, pause.

Adam Dachis

Fiona Apple, I found your missing piano (that's a complement). Here's what I have to say about this: musically, this is exquisite, well-structured and delicious. Absolutely love it. Lyrically, this is forgettable, but that's forgiveable with the quality of the piano arrangement. However, vocally you missed an opportunity here. People like Fiona Apple and Ben Folds and other piano-driven folk can get away with singing not because their voices are good, but because their voices are compelling. Yours is just ordinary right now. Work on two things: One -- improve your production skills to separate your voice from the piano, as it's currently getting lost in the keys. Two -- learn to trust your voice, flaws and all, so that you can wring some emotion out of it. Remember, none of us (as far as I know) know who you are, what you look like, or where you live, so you should vocally let it all hang out and see if we like it. Worst case? We don't, and who cares, because who the hell are we? Dylan's high school population hated his voice when they first heard it, and he's never had a good voice, but it's unforgettable, and that's what you should strive for. I look forward to your next piece. And...

...no clearmountain pause, but who cares?

- - -

Tough call here; if I could judge on music alone, it would be Adam Dachis, with Steve Durand and Poor June tied for most compelling intro. On overall song listening experience, however, I'm giving it to Kapitano. I'm a sucker for sample-driven stuff, and yours is very well done.

[Niveous]

Niv's Review Paragraph

I'm going to take a break from listening to So So Many White White Tigers and do my last reviews of the week. Hans Gruber is first. And he's bringing the Howard Jones this week mixed with a little Peter Gabriel. I'm digging the 80's new wave today, so this is a contender. All this needs is a grainy music video with imagery that doesn't make a lot of sense. But why make such nice music with a name of a movie villain? Poor June is next. Sounds like you have cotton in your mouth during the choruses. The song shows off your skills at the keys and isn't half bad. But it doesn't grab me. Weak verses are a flaw. Adam Dachis has just turned this into pianofight. While PJ brought the Tori thunder, Adam brought the Fiona Apple. But this needs some punch. You can make a soft piano tune like this and still give it some punch (see: "That's Just the Way it is" by Bruce Hornsby & the Range). Definitely, there needs to be more feeling, more punch, more striking notes, more, more, more....Next, Desolation Radio are bringing the rock. This needs keys ala Faith No More. The bridge on this is very bad. I was digging everything up to that point. Your lead singer needs to have a strong presence. End needs work. Kapitano is next and this is reminding me of the Phunt song. Not good. OK. Here's the real tune. Clearmountain Pause! Wish that would've been an ending. This is boring darkwave. That's never good. Last up, The other Durand. Maybe Ross Durand should be the other Durand since I dig Steve's music more. Not saying that I diog this week's entry which is sleep-inducing, I just meant in general. Vote time. Easy win for the Ultimate Villian. Poor June gets the silver. Desolation Radio get the Bronze. Back to So So Many White White Tigers!!!!!

[desolation radio]

hans gruber:
fun sounds and mix, oh so light and fluffy. it's making me hungry.

desolation radio:
how can one seriously rock out to a drum machine?

kapitano:
my only dis is the beat. i know yer from england and trip-hop and the like might be old but something a bit heavier or aggressive would be good.

so that's a clearmountain pause.

poor june:
this is cool. sorta androgynous. maybe some directions are in order towards the end.

adam dachis:
some musical theater kid could be playing this on the piano as i walk by. i wouldn't think much of it but for all i know it could be from the biggest hit on broadway.

steve durand:
i'm in no position to rip on someones vocals but oh how it'd be fun! the song for songs sake is decent enough. cool horn.

[Kamakura]

Kamakura would like to doff his hat in congratulatory style to the mightyness that is Kapitano!