Charles and Pierre Etienne: Good rhythmic interplay as always, and tasteful playing on all the instruments. The singing isn't quite as strong as on some other tracks, but given the subject matter, that may just be musical illustration at work. Pretty good composition, nothing spectacular except for the rambling vocal effect, but very comfortable and listenable. Clear, well-balanced recording and production.
Charlie plays guitar: Good lyrics, expressed simply and effectively, with a down-and-out feel to the vocals. The cadences and melody, if you can call it melody, suggest a grizzled, bent old singer with a crumpled face and a squint, grunting bitter memories from some low perch. On the other hand, the backing music suggests a scene from
Forbidden Planet, which is fine, but apart from filling an otherwise silent background doesn't really add to the song.
glennny: A busy track with a low buzzing energy, interspersed with somewhat more spacious interludes, but with an overall closeness and denseness that is slightly claustrophobic. The cymbal seems too high in the mix, and the vocal recording is too subdued and has a muddiness that might benefit from equalization. The music carries the lyrics like flotsam on a fast river. This song has much interesting instrumental work.
inflatable vegetables: The guitars and vocals take centre stage to lend a strong "cool" factor; the drums and bass are also doing a great job in the background. The musical changes and interjections fit together well, everything working toward a unified effect. Stays interesting throughout, and feels like the right length. A very strong entry in the fight.
James Owens: I had no plans to enter, but then one evening this happened. I needed one of those grindy percussion instruments that spins around, but had to settle for some vaguely similar noises on the Portatone. The "Meat Grinder" shout was not inserted arbitrarily, contrary to rumours you may hear. It was added for the goofiness.
Jerkatorium: The harmonies remind me of the happy Whos of Whoville in the original animated version of
The Grinch, and the lyrics are reminiscent somehow of a children's book or song, benignly naming the things you might find in a kitchen. This is interspersed with an emotional complaint that seems distanced from its own pain. Everything drifts along in this pleasant condition of disassociation, only to be disturbed by a heavy interlude, which I guess represents the meat grinder and perhaps the hidden anguish. The music is too vanilla to be captivating (not that there's anything wrong with vanilla; I love vanilla ice cream), but the song is interesting precisely for its absence of mood.
Jim Fallope and his Fallopian Dudes: A fun tune with a bouncy rhythm, entertaining lyrics, and an endearing if occasionally pitchy vocal, this suffers in the production: the percussion is buried, the instruments feel weak and thin, and the reverb on everything causes a certain blurriness. If your intent is to introduce some air into the sound, you could do worse than explore some presets on the free Ambience plugin.
Omega Unstroppable: This song stands out not just for its boldly comedic vocal delivery, intricate and varied arrangement, imaginative melodic turns, clean and well-balanced mixing and recording, and assured playing on a variety of instruments -- especially the impeccable drumming -- but also for its needle-pegging levels. It might be too weird for some, but it shows no shortage of talent. You bring this one off, if I can put it that way.
Pigfarmer Jr: Plenty of grunge energy, with a good hammering beat, badly in need of a driving bass. The vocal seems to be completely dry, and would benefit from some subtle spaciousness; even a straight slapback would help. The lyrical scan is often forced, which defeats the sharp rhythmic definition of the song. The genre doesn't demand sophisticated composition, and I think with the right production and a more crazily aggressive vocal this would be entirely convincing.
Sockpuppet: This is attractive for its bizarre quality. It has the right mix of spooky amorphous backgound, deadly serious riffs, disembodied vocalization, and absurd rambling to fascinate for the full two minutes. The repetitiveness is an architectural asset.
toby roktot: The song has a thoughtful, pensive feel, underscored by gentle, insistent strumming. The drums feel mechanical, as I think fluffy mentioned; one simple way to alleviate the monotony is just to drop them out sometimes, or overlay some inexpensive percussion like a tambourine to add life. The lyrics are dark, but I know where they're going. The melody and vocal delivery suit the sad banality of the situation, but with a small range and limited movement that makes it hard to capture the listener's imagination.
[EDIT] FULL DISCLOSURE: I forgot to vote for one of my picks, so I performed a work-around to vote for that one song. Another entry that was reasonably worthy picked up the extra vote. I didn't vote for anybody twice.