TAKE SOME PEPTO, FARTY (ease your storm reviews)

[AJOwens]

OK, OK. What's supposed to be the etiquette of Song Fight anyway -- you review the fights you enter, at a minimum? I never really noticed. . .

I'll assume it's not too late to vote.


TheArmiesoftheWorldMarchAgainstUs - Moody and dramatic, but more of a teaser than a song. The vocals sound sinister, but I can't make out the words. For all its romantic classical overtones, this reminds me of Robin Trower, believe it or not, for the horse-tranquilizer consciousness it ultimately evokes.

Dan the Man Band - Like your noteworthy Robot Ninja Zombie Bear (which sometimes plays in my head), this has a Beatles influence, but not nearly as conspicuous or deliberate. I'm guessing you know the Beatles catalogue pretty well. The lyrics take a noticeably long time to unfold, which drags the song out a bit. Three minutes is supposed to be the magic number. Quite likeable though, and well done. Vote.

Enter It in the Art Show - Eccentric in many ways, but especially in the rhythms, which must have been difficult to pull off. For the most part you've succeeded. The song has enough variation to stay interesting, but I don't get an overall sense of what's going on. That splash cymbal sounds distractingly like a pie plate -- anything that distracts needs work.

Herbitis billahhweetig -- Don't be upset if the music press doesn't spell your name right. This is a pretty song, with a warm, intimate feeling. The arrangement seems to build around the 2:50 mark, but the volume stays constant so it doesn't quite work. The reversed tracks add effective contrast. Good vocals. Vote.

Hostess Mostess - Very evocative and moving at first, but then there is a harsh, somewhat monotonous interjection. The first part has a natural structure that reminds me of many fine songs, and nothing wrong with that -- it's memorable. But the extension of the word "calm" over twelve notes or so draws attention to itself and, for me, breaks this effect. The end is good in its way, but the jingle-like repetitive quality but doesn't fit with the broad emotional gestures of the beginning. (I have that problem with Hey Jude too.) In all, you have the core of a very fine song, surrounded by extraneous stuff.

Jeff Robertson and the neo-Candylanders - A good sound in the direction of commercial radio. You do unexpected things with the chords, and it works in an idiosyncratic way. A what-the-hell toccata at the end, not without precedent in the records I grew up with. Pithy words. With that fast fade, the length is right. Vote.

The New Original Titans of Song Fight - An approachable song, with strong singing and effective arrangement. The playful rappish interlude adds character, but introduces a "novelty" element to what is otherwise a straightforward good tune. Vote.

Ross Durand - Solid recording, good dynamics. The words are simple and effective, as always. The music is serviceable, and most people would be more than happy with it. As you probably know by now, I prefer more adventurous composition. I suspect the lyrics are your main interest when you write a song.

Rycehat - A fun synth-pop diversion that just about gets started and then stops. No lyrics. Were you just trying out some new toys or techniques? It's pretty good for what it is. Very happy-sounding, with calming sustained notes.

Steve Durand - I never held much truck with brass back when bands like Chicago were using it, but when you play it, I like it. It's somehow more tasteful and -- well, less brassy. Sounds realy sweet. But I'll level with you: your singing on this track is horrible. I love "harsh my mellow" as a well-deserved response to "calm your storm." As for the song, it's catchy and well-arranged -- nice use of the Lady in Red-style guitar plunk. Vote.

Stucco Lobster Breadbox - OK, I could get tired of this. Your lyrics are well-handled, and I usually like them. In this case the humour is a bit crude for me. (I know, I'm such a priss.) As for that squeezebox-style keyboard, it's starting to lose its appeal. Is there a button other than "Waltz"?

Stu Jordan - The genre is not my favourite, but this sounds like a convincing example. The chords and structure rub me in exactly the wrong way all songs of this type do, so you got that right. The instrumentation is suitably mellow, both in timbre and manner of playing, The wah wah is genius -- evil genius, mind you. To bring it together, the vocals need some bleary reverb or something. And songs like this don't end like that -- you should fade out grooving. I'll vote though -- good work.

The Weakest Suit - That's some sad lyric. I admire the way you evoke odd little things that seem insignificant and yet mean so much. The music could very plausibly have been written by someone in a deeply depressed state. Unfortunately the apathy and aimlessness don't make for interest. Even a full production might not be able to change that.

[Ross]

Herbitis - I really like this. I am a bit distracted by how much your singing sounds like David Wilcox. The arrangement change into and out of the chorus is great, after that it gets a bit samey. But everything in place. The words and music compliment each other well. Vote.

Clubs -
This is very sweet, in a good way. Well delivered for the sentiment. Nothing wrong at al, nice changes and tune. High on my list of suit songs possible vote.

Superstars and such - very effectively poppy. I didn't find the substance especially intersesting and am often rubbed wrong by rap interludes, although this one seemed well integrated and flowed well. What was with the panning vocals. Very listenable!

Stu - probably the fourth in a row that I think did exactly what it set out to. This is right in the pocket it is in, nice jazz guttering, appropriate theme and performance all around.

Armies- ok, this may have done exactly what it set out to do, too. Butmit went past me. I do like the long piano fade at the end, and couldn't tell a single word. No vote.

Dan the man - I'm not sure I think there is anything wrong with this, but there just isn't much to it. It starts out nice and has some ce sentiments, but it just doesn't go anywhere, and i got a bit bored.

Hostess -really nice, you have a way of doing drama that is just so not drama. Passionate and warm. Best rehab song since "cold turkey?" reminiscent of mid 70s don henley in composition. Vote.

Steve - the voice really make a hard filter to get past here. I like the take, but some the lyrics are a bit trite or cheesy rhymes - this may be intentional based on the protagonist, but it still was a little tough. Musically well put together and brass great as always.

Rycehat - I have no context for this in terms of the title - I'll have to trust you.

Art show - this is pretty good, even though i have genre bias against this style it still worked pretty well.

Jeff robertson - I love this. I think it is my favorite in the fight. Something about the simplicity and elegance. And the music adds just the right F U! Vote.

Stucco - I think you meant to send this to Penthouse ForumFight!

[Mike Lamb]

Enter it in the Art Show - In a word, eclectic. I didn't think I'd like this at first, but I ended up being very pleasantly surprised. Great lyrics, great instrumentation, love the harmonies. Really unusual rhythmic composition. I thought it was going to be loose and all over the place, but it turned out much tighter than I expected. I think this could have benefitted from bass. If it was in there, I didn't hear it, and I'm on fairly bassy headphones. I also didn't really see what it had to do with the title, and I didn't see your lyrics in the Lyric forum so I couldn't verify, although I think I heard/understood all the lyrics.

The Weakest Suit - Love the lyrics, but I found the whole track to be a bit dry, sonically. I assume you were going for that thin tone, but I found myself wishing for some more instrumentation to come in, as though the high-pass filter was just an effect for an intro or something. Upon a second listen, I think perhaps the song wouldn't retain its charm with full instrumentation, but I could see it working with a full-spectrum piano part.

The New Original Titans of Song Fight - The floating head singing in a circle around the stereo spread kind of bugged me. I really liked the harmonies on this one, and the rap interlude was very well done. The production was great, but for some reason it was coming out panned heavily left. The lyrics were fantastic, and the instrumentation was spot-on. Great track! Vote.

Jeff Robertson and the Neo-Candylanders - I like the dual guitar lead interplay. The whole mix, IMO, is a little heavy on the treble, there seems to be a lot of competition in the sonic space above 2k or so. I like the changeup into the solo part, that was unexpected. Solid track.

Hostess Mostess - Wow, another Hostess song after quite a lull, cool! I love the composition on this, it's just tremendous, and the performance is clearly soul-felt. The transition at 1:20 is phenomenal. I wish you had posted lyrics, and the outro went on a little long for my taste. Fantastic track! Vote.

Steve Durand - Uh.. what happened to your voice!?!? Are you ill? OHH, Barry White. Shower. Gotcha. This is almost a great Steve Durand track, but the vocal really fell short. That's a real shame, because musically and lyrically, this is really good.

Dan The Man Band - This is really repetitive, and doesn't have much of a hook. I like some of the lyrics. It feels like it was written from the heart, but the casio drums kind of kill the mood for me. The oompa bassline started out ok, but really kind of dragged the song down later.


Stu Jordan - Uhoh.. rain effect, this better be EPIC F'IN METAL. Hmm. Ok, jazz odyssey. Ok, click track in the mix and kind of ignored is like a needle in my eye. I can literally feel the click track in the back of my eye. Did anyone else notice this? Is it me? I can't get past the errant click track. Good jazz guitar licks, total Steely Dan feel. Smooth. You should have helped Steve deliver some shower-Barry-White. Good track! Except for that infernal clicking!

Stucco Lobster Breadbox - This recording is terrible beyond belief, and I've produced some pretty terrible recordings.. Between the weaponized treble and the hissing, it's hard to focus on the casio preset "beat" and the lyrics. The lyrics are worth a smirk at least. Nice take on the title, honestly.

TheArmiesOfTheWorldMarchAgainstUs - Is this going to be an emo anthem? A Tori Amos-like ballad? Some massive Finnish goth-metal prelude? It has those qualities... Oh.. I think you were going for something supremely awesome here, and I think it really could have been, but the vocals just didn't happen at all. Take a look at our Help and How-To forum at http://songfight.net/forums/ for some tips on recording vocals.

Ross Durand - Love the lyrics. You really brought the 90s alternative to this track, hehe. I can totally see this as an alterna-rock soundtrack on one of the modern hospital-based TV drama series. I think the only real suggestions I'd have would be to either pan the acoustic and electric farther apart, or bring the acoustic down in the mix when the electric kicks in. Vote!

Rycehat - Thought this was going to be a Nintendo mix, but the instrumentation was better, I was just waiting for it to go somewh

Herbitis billahhweetig - Ok, as soon as I heard the guitar in only the left ear, I almost dismissed this track entirely. When the guitar came in on the right, I had to re-evaluate. When the lyrics came in, I was quite impressed. I'm starting to wonder if something is wrong with my hearing though, because this is another song that is really heavy in my left ear. Pan less!! Or fill in the spaces. This is an f'in awesome track. I love the reverse effect. Are you a new fighter? Great job. Great track! Vote.