Look at these cool (Secret Handshake Reviews)

[Æpplês&vØdkã]

This fight had a lot of songs that sounded really high quality but didn't really do much for me. I hate it when that happens. Expect a lot of "this is obviously a decent track but meh" comments. Also spoilers for the lulz.

Berkeley Social Scene -

Spoiler

This one I do enjoy for the most part. Production is tight and crisp, I enjoy the way that you managed to get the bass to sound on this one. The spoken word? Sounds good! In a throwback, kind of 90s kind of way. Points for using the term lactic acid in song lyrics. When the drum beat switches up to the 16th notes in the chorus, I really think it adds a nice dynamic, and that descending little III-II-I guitar riff in the spoken word bits sound really good. I’m sort of with the reviewers who aren’t following the story super closely, but then again I’m also kind of trying to finally cram in reviews last minute before the next song gets posted. Anyway, this one’s probably a vote. Great jeorb.

Evil Grin -

Spoiler

I like this more than your usual fare. I’m not sure if it’s the production value, the fact that I’m just in a pretty good mood right now or what, but maybe it’s the idea of a secret handshake as a signifier for a once-suppressed adoscelent that works well for me? Or just the overall melody, which I find to be pretty strong. Usually I’m not super huge on these kind of “generically strummed” acoustic songs, because there’s a certain commonly used strumming pattern (think: 4/4 with emphasis on the 1, the “and” of 2, and the 4) that just gets old for me. But for some reason it’s not bothering me here? A well composed little ditty and I’ll give it a vote (finally, I feel like I never end up voting for y’all)

Gizo -

Spoiler

I really like this a lot. There’s some of the reviewers that have been saying that this track in particular has way too similar of a melody between the verses and the chorus. They’re not wrong at all, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. This is another song that you’ve written that falls into that zone of “tracks that remind me sonically and rhythmically of tracks off of the Lost In Translation soundtrack”. Which is always a good thing because that remains one of my favorite soundtracks. Except this isn’t shoegazy at all. I think it’s the beat? Or something? I’m a sucker for sustained 9ths. I think it’s the sustained 9ths in the chords. I abused the hell out of 9ths in my “The Password Is ______” entry. I reckon you’ll be subjected to that soon enough. I dig the backing vocals too. Vote!

Glenn Case -

Spoiler

This is good, you know this is good, your melodies are strong, your composition is strong, your execution is strong, your voice is good, your production is top notch. So many of your songs evoke a very particular era in rock history (namely, 70s soft rock) in a way that goes far beyond a simple style pastiche. You’re distinctively you and that’s perennially good. Why aren’t you like super famous? Vote!

Hot Pink Halo -

Spoiler

Drums are too soft! I don’t know why they’re so soft! And I’m not sure why that bothers me! Maybe it’s just that they can’t decide whether or not they want to be there or not. Your vocal performance is stronger than usual, you sound confident and you’re not really as quavery. I like it! You made a reference to getting back into violin a few prefights ago, and it shows! Nothing flashy but your intonation is way better than someone who hasn’t been playing a whole lot of violin for a long time. Either that or you did like 50 zillion takes haha. There’s something about this track that leaves me kind of cold so I can’t really find myself wanting to vote for it, but this among the best executed of your “non art-school” entries.

James Owens -

Spoiler

Oh god that “down on your knees” line sounds slimy. Your vocal delivery doesn’t sound super slimy with it, but I’m not entirely sure how to say that other than “you aren’t greasy enough!” The overall musical track fits that vibe pretty well. The guitar that comes in at 2:20 sounds a little off-pitch in a few places, I’m not sure if it’s the guitar itself or the tuning thereof (my old electric had serious intonation issues in the upper registers) but it bothers me. Maybe it bothers me more because it’s really high in the mix. All-in-all this is a nice enough tune that doesn’t really make me want to go back and listen to it beyond that one super greasy bit halfway through. Have I said greasy enough? Greasy greasy greasy greasy.

Jim of Seattle -

Spoiler

I did not pick up that the pitches in your recurring keyboard ostinato were the same as the tone of your voice in secret handshake. I’m not entirely convinced that they actually are, but they certainly mirror the pitches pretty well, if not exactly. Anyway. This is basically a nod to Phillip Glass and Steve Reich, and two of them are composers that I really enjoy. Whether or not I find this track to fit the theme in any substantial way other than the sort of tenuous connection that you pointed out doesn’t have much bearing on the fact that I like it, which I do. The fact that you never return to saying “Secret Handshake” at any point in the composition partially makes the connection to the theme fele a little bit more forced. Like if you somehow tied it back to the title later on it’d work better for me. But those (synthesized) muted trumpets. Ahhh. I’m going to listen to some Jon Hassell once I’m done typing these reviews up. Vote.

King Arthur -

Spoiler

This song is one of those songs that I hear, recognize as being a decent song, but it doesn’t really do much of anything for me, to be honest. I’m not sure if it’s the production, there’s osmething about the guitar tone that’s really trebly that I don’t like that much and the bass is really buried in the mix. I do like the chorus, it’s nice and catchy. And the lead electric guitar (the one that gets the solo) has a nice tone to it. I hate not really having anything productive to say about a song other than just “that was okay I guess”.

Lily Plus Martin -

Spoiler

This is the least ornate thing that I think I’ve ever heard y’all submit. You’re never this stripped down! But I like it in a very minimal type way. The vocal overlays sound really good, and it really helps that both of you have great voices. Once the “just when I learned the moves” part kicks in, it gathers a bit more steam...but never too much. Which is good! Cause this song works well hanging around in its sedate, non-flashy manner. I like the vague flute that begins to come in after the first verse. I was beginning to wonder if you were just going to fade it out there, given the short runtime of the track. Perhaps the only thing I really have to say is that I wish the ending was a little more fleshed out. As it is it just kind of stops. Oh well. Vote!

Magnetic Letters -

Spoiler

I found this song entertaining, though like so many others it isn't really sticking with me. I enjoyed the story aspect of the song, but I don't know, the instrumentation was nice for what it was but it doesn't have any particular oomph to it beyon just being like the sort of music you'd hear as the backing to some kind of fun song you'd hear on sesame street or something. I keep on mentioning all these shows I watched as a youngun and I'm never sure if you had them in Australia.

Megadank vs the Bloke Explosion -

Spoiler

there's something about your vocal delivery that I don't really like all that much. Like it doesn't really a strong melody at all, it's just staccato and kind of tuneless during the verses and I don't like it. And I don't know why but something about all the penis lyrics doesn't trip my trigger at all. Like maybe if it was delivered more strongly I'd like it. Wait, is that Pete in the chorus? Well, I like the chorus sort of. They don't really flow together as well as I'd like them to.

Paco del Stinko -

Spoiler

Your style is super recognizable and theatrical in a really good way. I suppose it's probably a maybe bit of style bias that I don't really like this song, it's got this kind manic all over the place nature that I don't feel like coming back to. But when it slows down and gets to the part about the bunker I really thought that bit was pretty neato. And the the ending too! Starts out well executed but not my thing then turns into my thing by the end.

Phlebia -

Spoiler

At various points throughout the track I fade in the sound of my food dehydrator drying some shiitake that I grew on a dead oak in my yard. It completely overwhelms the vocals at times, but this was deemed to complement the lyrics, which are basically about being a workaholic with ADD.

Pigfarmer Jr. -

Spoiler

The “I feel like a ghost” line sits well in the song, and is delivered with maximum impact. I slightly preferred the Evil Grin song this week, but I’m not entirely sure how much of that is style bias, as compositionally speaking I find this one to be a little bit more interesting. The recording, production, and guitar work in this are all well executed...but I don’t know. Chalk this up to “yet another track that doesn’t really speak to me”.

ShoehornTC -

Spoiler

Well, it’s happy. And I like the tambourine. And I like how the verses occasionally add an extra bar for the sake of space. And the melody is catchy. I don’t find the chord progression super interesting. Mostly because I don’t usually like the I-IV-V progression as it’s occurred in so many songs that it never manages to linger with me. Like I know a lot of people who would really dig this. In some ways it kind of reminds me of “I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning” era Bright Eyes. Which is a good thing. But I dunno. This is doing nothing for me.

Third Cat

Spoiler

- One thing I usually appreciate about Third Cat songs is that you’re very economical with your lyrics. You don’t write more than you need to, which works out more often than not. The compositional changes in this make me happy, especially when it drops down to that great groove at 1:14. It kind of reminds me of Beck a bit at that point. I think it’s the abrupt funkiness, but you’re not really doing it in that self-conscious way. So I like that. I like the way your brain works and this gets a vote. And the sort of floaty ending? It’s delightful!

Toshiro -

Spoiler

Mmmmmm that bass. Mmm that bass combined with you sticking primarily to a baritone vocal register it sounds great! The chorus doesn’t really do much for me, even though it sounds good. I like the verses a lot more. I think it’s that downward chord modulation and what you do with the melody on top of it. The backing vocals in the chorus are remarkably pleasant though, and I really don’t have anything bad to say about them. And the instrumental after the first chorus? Yayyy. This is great in an understated way and it gets a vote. I kind of wish it had a more satisfying ending, as it just sort of peters out.

Bonus review: Glennny -

Spoiler

SYNTH! SQUELCHY, BEAUTIFUL SYNTH. I’ve been listening to a crapload of new wave inspired music lately and this is really speaking to me in that regard, though admittedly the wavey vibes die right around the time that the chorus comes in. If I had to criticize the chorus it’s that it’s just a little too busy compared to the other bits of the song. I’d turn the acoustic guitar down in the mix a little bit, as there’s so many other things in the mix that are competing with it for space and to me it’s just a little more prominent than it needs to be. But this would be a strong vote if I had the ability to vote for it.

[crumpart]

Artfight! reviews!

Songfight coverbot: Not your best work, mate. I do like a good Malevich reference, but the typography needs a little more thought.

Jerkatorium: This is fun! I like how you've flipped the hands from The Creation of Adam, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who did a double take with a "wait, that's that, but it's not that, but is it that?" Again, the typography needs a little more thought (this is a general theme across the board; more on that in a minute) but it's a good idea.

Jim of Seattle: Again, this is a fun idea. It's similar to a thought I had, but I couldn't figure out a way to execute it well. Hands are very, very difficult to draw well, so top marks on that; you did a really good job.

Pigfarmer Jr: Of the two entires here, I prefer the one with the sperm and the ovum. It's a clever take on the theme, the colouring is excellent and the image itself is really striking and pretty. I love a good microscopic image. It's interesting that you mentioned the typography being too difficult to read in mine, because I have the opposite problem with the type in everyone else's entries. It seems that people in general are using text for utilitarian purposes, and for the most part that makes it really stick out for me in a not great way. I actually don't always use the title on my covers depending on what idea and image I go with (sometimes it doesn't need it and would be too distracting), but when I do, I want that text to read as part of the image and not just as a label. I try and choose my ideas and images to be strong enough to stand on their own without text, and if I do put the title on, it's to emphasise the image. Check out some of my favourite artists and typographers if you're interested in learning about type design: Corita Kent, Saul Bass, Jan Tschichold, the Bauhaus movement in general. For the record, I think you did an excellent job of the typography in your Try Me cover.

Crumpart / me: This was a fun one to do. Once I had the idea locked in, I decided it would be better if it used a photographic image rather than something drawn or painted, which is my usual go to. So I grabbed a generic handshake stock photo, adjusted the levels a bit, added a dot screen and colourised it. I used a paper texture for my black square, put a dot screen on that as well and colourised it. The last thing I did was the text, so I went through my fonts and chose one that screamed "secret government files". I would normally pay very close attention to things like kerning, but I left everything on auto for the type for that "secret report" feel. The dot screen texture is supposed to feel like the patterns in the guts of envelopes, which are there to obscure the information inside so that people can't hold your envelope up to the light to read through it, and I wanted the text to bleed into that, so that you'd have to work to read it, especially on the small versions (like a presenter talking really quietly so that you really have to lean in and pay attention if you want to follow what's going on). Overall, I'm pretty pleased with it, especially the bit where Toshiro accidentally paid it a compliment out loud to my face before I told him it was my work.

[Adnama17]

King Arthur: My favorite part of this is the chorus. Very catchy. And the jangly guitar tone is great! As a whole though, it leaves me a little flat. I want it go somewhere else, somewhere further, angstier maybe. It just needs something to make it pop more.

gizo vs. the 17,455: Powerful and important message to this song. I agree with all of these lyrics. Not much else to say except I really like it.

Megadank Vs The Bloke Explosion: I really wanted to write a song for this one about masturbation, so I’m glad someone sexed this prompt up a bit. Rhyming ‘penis’ with ‘Kleenex’ is AWESOME! Love the overall vibe of this.

Jim of Seattle: Dude, this is 5:20 long. Not sure I have the attention span for that, especially without any lyrics. My reaction surprises me, as this would normally be something I dig A LOT. Not feeling the prompt beyond the intro either, so shrug. Not sure what else to say, so I’ll just shut up now.

Phlebia: Drums are cool. Not really following the rest. I don’t get the lyrics, and the vocals are too low for me to follow easily.

Shoehorn TC: Fun! This is my kinda song for sure. There’s just something raw and real about folky, bluegrassy music. Makes my day! And real phone number. Lucky guy!

The Magnetic Letters: Interesting story. I keep rereading it, and pick up something new every time. Good write for sure. Music is fun and upbeat. Dig the clarinets.

Hot Pink Halo: I like these lyrics a lot, but for me, the secret handshake section doesn’t fit in with the rest of the really solid lyrics. I know the point is to have that element in there, but it seems like you shoved it in there as an afterthought b/c you had to. But in reading the other reviews, that might just be me being weird.

Lily Plus Martin: Fun round there. For me, the “Just when I learn…” section is too hot compared to the rest of the song. It needs to come down or everything else needs to come up just a little. Or you could make it stick out differently than just making it louder. I like the plunking sound you put on the guitar plucks. That’s cool.

Berkeley Social Scene: Thought provoking lyrics. I like the spoken sections a lot. The “We’re waiting for you/” sections could use some distinction from the rest of the “I didn’t know what road to take” sections. They sound like the same person, probably b/c you’re doing both parts , when we all know it’s supposed to be two different people. They should sound distinct from each other.

Pigfarmer Jr: Lyrics are good. Poor guy… Needs something more musically though. A ‘fuck you’ style outro maybe? Something you can sing along with in your car at the top of your lungs b/c you completely relate to the entire song and now you’re letting it all out. “Done being your ghost!!! Done being your ghost!” Something like that.

Evil Grin: what Pigfarmer Jr said.

Glenn Case: Too much synth for me. I just might not be in a synth mood today though. (I told someone else the same thing, so who knows?!) “I belong where I am” is a GREAT line. Yeah, just need less synths and I’d be happy. Well done all over otherwise.

Toshiro: The parts are all separate from each other. It never feels like they come together and gel. Keys seem to overpower everything just a little bit. Lyrics are nicely vague, intriguing. I want to know more, but you’re not going to tell me, are you? Hmphf.

Third Cat: The synths, when they’re in the main parts of the song, aren’t doing much for me. They distract from the other parts. Lower the level a bit maybe? Not of fan of the lyrics. It seems like he’s just complaining a lot.

James Owens: Not sure what the point of the piano intro was. Doesn’t fit with the rest of it. That bass line is tons of fun though, as is the funky vibe. The fuzzy guitar in the back ground seems out of place to me. I like this, but it seems like you tried too hard. There’s a lot more going on than there needs to be for me. Sometimes less is more.

Paco del Stinko: The “bang bang”s could be louder. I didn’t notice them until my second listen. This is one of those songs that you love and hate all at once. It sounds great!, but the content is super intense. Emotionally exhausted now.

[Lunkhead]

Berkeley Social Scene: The “We’re waiting for you/” sections could use some distinction from the rest of the “I didn’t know what road to take” sections. They sound like the same person, probably b/c you’re doing both parts , when we all know it’s supposed to be two different people. They should sound distinct from each other.

It actually is two different people. Geech is doing the spoken word verses and singing the choruses and I'm singing the pre-choruses. Maybe I gave all the vocal tracks too similar a mixing treatment though.

[crumpart]

Short reviews FTW! Going to try and be better about doing earlier reviews for the next one.

Berkeley Social Scene:
I loved this. I love the rap parts, and the whole thing has a fun sense of urgency to it. The repetition of words and phrases is really successful in adding to that vibe.

Evil Grin:
The lyrics in this remind me of the song When I First Met Your Ma by Paul Kelly; it's a nice take on the prompt. I'm not sure which of you does the mixing for your songs, but the vocals always seem to be mixed really low and I always struggle to hear them. I appear to be one of the few people here who likes the vocals to take more of the weight in a mix (probably comes from the lyric writing part being my strongest skill), but I really think your songs would benefit from some more oomph on the vocals.

gizo vs. the 17,455:
I can't review this objectively. I love it. I'm glad you changed up the solo part from the first time I heard it; the guitar works much better. Is that K on the backing all the way through?

Glenn Case:
I'd forgotten momentarily which song this was just now, and as soon as I hit play my brain went "oh yeah, the Greatest American Hero song!" There's something very heavily "80s TV theme" about this, which I love.

Hot Pink Halo:
I think I've written enough about this already. I really enjoyed making this one and am probably going to rerecord the drums as percussion made using the violin at some point. I'm really happy with the lyrics in particular. I had my idea for the song and a structure all laid out, but didn't do the lyrics until just before I sang them, as I wanted to focus on recording the violin as well as I could. I originally wrote the lyrics to the first verse and chorus as the chorus, but realised that was Too Many Words, so split them up and had the idea to do the metaphors for the verses and literal descriptions for the bridge. I've been working on trying to make my different sections more distinct, and I feel like I'm starting to get better at that.

James Owens:
I'd be offended by the lyrical content of this song, except that it's pretty clear that finding it repugnant is the point. There's always the risk that people will take the lyrics at face value, but the delivery in this is strong enough that it's clear that the protagonist is a terrible person taking advantage of a position of power (aka Weinstein). Musically this is right in my ballpark.

Jim of Seattle:
When I saw this was so long I went in with some caution, but quite enjoyed listening to it all the way through. It didn't pull me in enough to really be memorable though, and I don't really find myself retaining any of it. I picked up on similar rhythms used throughout from the speaking at the start, but am not musically literate enough to have picked up that the same tones were used throughout. I hoped that was you singing opera in the middle somewhere, and am disappointed that it wasn't!

King Arthur:
This is really well made, but like with a few of the other songs, I can always see where it's going. I like some more surprises in my songs, so Genre Bias?

Lily Plus Martin:
This is my favourite Lily Plus Martin song so far. Your voices working together like this works much better for me than back and forth tradeoffs; I think starting on the same phrase makes it more successful as a whole. The sparseness of the instrumentation is beautiful, and reflects the "come undone" line perfectly.

The Magnetic Letters:
There was some details so specific about this that stood out to me because I couldn't quite match them together, and as soon as you said it was a true story that all made sense. I love that shift from "it's possible the stranger was just messing with....WAAAAYDE with the secret handshake".

Megadank Vs The Bloke Explosion:
I love this. It's super fun. The vocal delivery is great. I love the line about the cooker, and as someone else mentioned, rhyming "penis" with "kleenex" is genius. The "gyah" right at the end is golden.

Paco del Stinko:
Good to hear someone else touch on a different facet of the hand shaking theme. I think this is an interesting song, but something something Genre Bias. It's not really my thing but I can appreciate it.

Phlebia:
I currently live on a farm in the country, and it's generally very quiet. I was out walking in the back field the first time I listened to this and had to do a double take to figure out if the bird sounds were from my headphones or the flock of crows that were in front of me. Suddenly they flew off, but I could still hear the sounds. This is one of those ones from this round that I enjoyed listening to well enough, but kind of left me as soon as it was done. I think probably genre bias.

Pigfarmer Jr:
I enjoyed this. There's something a little repetitive in the melody through some parts that feels like it could do with a shake up, but I really like the "I feel like a ghost" line. In particular, I like that it stands alone and doesn't follow a rhyme.

ShoehornTC:
This is quite cute. I think it doesn't quite surprise me enough to really hold my interest (I can always see where it's going), but it's enjoyable to listen to. Can I claim genre bias if I do actually enjoy the genre?

Third Cat:
This one stood out to me on every listen. I like it a lot. All the phrasing is perfect. I love the chorus in particular. The whole thing is nicely understated and I really enjoy it.

Toshiro:
This is hands down my favourite song from the fight. For someone who hates writing and listening to lyrics, "the bolshies on the bridge, they never saw it coming down" and "lions all awake" are pretty top notch phrases. Thank you for handclaps.

[Lunkhead]

Toshiro wins!

[vowlvom]

Congrats Toshiro!

[Adnama17]

High five Toshiro!

[Adnama17]

Berkeley Social Scene: The “We’re waiting for you/” sections could use some distinction from the rest of the “I didn’t know what road to take” sections. They sound like the same person, probably b/c you’re doing both parts , when we all know it’s supposed to be two different people. They should sound distinct from each other.

It actually is two different people. Geech is doing the spoken word verses and singing the choruses and I'm singing the pre-choruses. Maybe I gave all the vocal tracks too similar a mixing treatment though.

Hahahaha! Oops... Yeah, they sounded very similar to me. Contextually, making them sound different would help a lot I think.

[owl]

Congrats Toshiro! I never actually got around to writing up reviews or voting, sorry, but I did at least listen to everyone's a couple of times

[gizo]

TOSHIRO for lyfe!!!!

[crumpart]

Woohoo! I’m married to a winnah!

[thirdcatmusic]

Congrats Toshiro !

[Æpplês&vØdkã]

Hey, I voted for that song! Good job, TOSHIRO

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Congratz, Toshiro.