Is It In Yet? (I'm Not Impressed Reviews)

[Fusty Nut]

Nobody's going to arrest you, but .. uh.. I am going to.. molest you... Yeah.

Molest me?!? Daddy, is that you?

[Fusty Nut]

I thought I would offer up my impressions of your songs. I listened and typed them out at the same time, so some of it might approach a stream of (un)consciousness feel. It was really fun to hear everyone's take on the theme.

Ross Durand— This sounds like the fight song for the downtrodden and passive aggressive members of the service industry. I do like the musical portion of this piece. I think the tempo of this song was too slow, leaving the listener (in this case, me) alone with her thoughts. This can be dangerous, with the time for reflection, I felt like you going to belt out a chorus of Poison’s “Every Rose Has its Thorn”. And just like every cowboy, you sang a sad, sad song. The lyrics were too cliché in some parts.

Sonicblocks – The vocals are catchy. I enjoyed the beat, as well. However, the amount of times “I’m not impressed” gets mentioned started to get a little annoying.

Sandcastle Surgery – The opening. I’m not a huge fan of soundbites. Politically, I dig it. But I don’t often like to hear news reports with music in the background. Furthermore, being compelled to think about Palestine and Isreal distracts me from listening to the music in the background.

Cavalry – The first thought that came to my mind was “Violent Femmes with food poisoning”, valid or not. It’s a fun song, but it came across to harsh, and not catchy. Or perhaps I just wasn’t in an intense, seething mood required for this song. Then again, your lyrics contain your disclaimer. Fair enough!

Songfight Orchestra – I like the opening. It was way too short, which is rather funny, and sad, because it would have been nice to hear a little more, minus the baby cry.

Puce – A fun, rockin’ opening. Intro felt a little bit too long. The irony is, of course, that your song reminded me of an amalgamation of different songs I’ve heard on mainstream alternative stations. Still, it was enjoyable.

Ken’s Super Duper – There was a bit of the “Don’t Fear the Reaper” cowbell in here. Your song is very well put together, though. It flows smoothly.

Ryan Rickenbach – Another member of the cowbell brotherhood, I see. I really found it beat catchy. You sounded a bit fuzzy. I look forward to hearing more!

B. Ellison -- I liked the energy of the song. I had trouble hearing some of the lyrics. I got a bit of a Cure vibe off of your tune, as well. It kind of sent me (way) back to my high school years to relive those angsty years

[catch]

Puce, your whistling exploits won my vote. The guitars in the verses are appreciated, too. Brava!

[Nut #2]

b. ellison

I wish you'd posted the lyrics for this. I hear the vocals, the high
hat and the high end on the guitar competing for the frequency range, so
I find the vocals hard to understand, but I do hear a lot of emotion.
Personally, I think some bass would have really filled this out, but
otherwise it's great. I love the guitar melodies.

cavalry

Going on a dennis leary rant here? personally, i think it would have been
better if you miced your fuckin.. fuckin.. fuckin.. fuckin.. guitar..
fuckin.. better..

ken

This takes me back to Peter Murphy (Deep-era) solo stuff. I really like the
vocal effect, whatever it is. You've got a really good texture here, I just
wish the lyrics were a bit more engaging. There's a story here, and I feel
like there should be more to it..

nutwalls

us.. on a funk odyssey..

puce

great production, this is very tight. musically, this is definitely
radio-quality, but personally, i like lyrics that have a little more
depth. the vocals sound a bit mechanical in the chorus to me, too much
effect or pitch processing or something.

ross durand

I really like the guitar and the vocal sound on this. The lyrical theme
is fantastic, but I hear "I'm not impressed" too many times. Replacing
a few of the "I'm not impressed" lines with additional lyrics would have
really filled this one out for me.

ryan rickenbach

mix is quiet, we've been fighting that particular issue as well. This
reminds me a lot of some of the later Everly Brothers tracks with the
cool vocal harmonies. This is another one I wish the lyrics had been
posted for. This has a nice straight up late 60's vibe to it, and I
really like it. It seems to end early, on a chord that builds tension,
but there's no release.

sand castle

this isn't my thing. i've heard some songs with political sound bites,
(skinny puppy) that I like, but the news at 10 over a meandering
(mandolin?) track doesn't grab me.

SFO

This has the building blocks of a HUGE stadium prog rock ballad, but it
kind of wanders off into psychedelic land, then just.. ends..

sonicblocks

That is a very very cool bass track intro with the high hat and the guitar.
The bass continues to be cool throughout the song, but, while technically
excellent, the vocals/lyrics didn't grab me. I kept getting this mental
image of The Clash meets Right Said Fred. Musically, this is awesome.
Lyrically, it's not my thing.


Tough to vote on this one. Lots of good stuff here.

-Nut #2

[roymond]

Songfight Orchestra – I like the opening. It was way too short, which is rather funny, and sad, because it would have been nice to hear a little more, minus the baby cry.

SFO
This has the building blocks of a HUGE stadium prog rock ballad, but it
kind of wanders off into psychedelic land, then just.. ends..

I'll finish my reviews (including of your INI) later today, but it's great to get some more critical responses from folks like you nuts. The SFO concept is a side-fight within a fight, so not many people follow it other than those in it (speaking from experience). The idea is to contribute 30-45 seconds that carry on from the previous week's SFO entry. Mine is longer since I bring back a 15 second reprise from the very first entry. At least that's my excuse. Thanks for the positive feedback. I also felt it could go much farther and I am in a prog-head these days due to another side fight along those lines, so maybe (not) it will get expanded (not likely) as such.

[Fusty Nut]

I'll finish my reviews (including of your INI) later today, but it's great to get some more critical responses from folks like you nuts. The SFO concept is a side-fight within a fight, so not many people follow it other than those in it (speaking from experience). The idea is to contribute 30-45 seconds that carry on from the previous week's SFO entry. Mine is longer since I bring back a 15 second reprise from the very first entry. At least that's my excuse. Thanks for the positive feedback. I also felt it could go much farther and I am in a prog-head these days due to another side fight along those lines, so maybe (not) it will get expanded (not likely) as such.

You know, after I posted my review, I then went back and read a reply where you mention that yes, this is merely a small part in a much bigger project. So now I have the memo! I'll go check that out.

[Adam!]

Woo hoo!

Now comes the backlash.