The Song Fight Bulletin Board

The rest of my reviews:

paco del stinko: Another really solid track from a very solid songfighter. I’m not sure what’s up with that intro (testing out your spatialization?) but other than that this is great. I love the dynamic range and the fact the drumming keeps things interesting and the vocal harmonies work really well for this and this is just all around great. Gets a vote from me.

pigfarmer jr: It feels like you’re trying to cram too many words in at once, which is funny and charming. This song was perfect for the live fight. Doesn’t quite do it for me in a non-livefight context though. I really dig your guitar playing though, nice use of double-stop in particular.

sockpuppet: learn to play mandolin properly, jfc

next door neighbors: I like this, don’t love it. For such a vocals-heavy track it’d be nice if the vocals were a bit punchier and clearer. But the subject matter is great, I love that you’re focusing specifically on how ridiculous humanity is for still being so racist and not, like, coming together with everyone helping each other out. So, it gets a vote.

tim hinkle: Right off the bat this sounds like David Bowie. Is that purposeful? I’m not a fan of the voice and organ being in unison. Subject matter is pretty much what everyone else’s song was about so I won’t comment on that.

phlebia: Oh, this was the source of most of the noise when I listened to everything all at once. This hurts my teeth and my head and probably my speakers. I’d enjoy this a lot more if the audio levels weren’t slammed. YouLean says this is sitting at -5.4LUFS integrated with a peak of -0.1dB. Turn it down, jeeze.

charm offensive: I like the old-timey singalong goodness going on here. Needs more G though. (The person, not the note.)

miscellaneous owl: This song is really pretty. I could fall asleep to this. And it gets a vote from me.

tomdg: This is like The Clash but really chill. I keep expecting it to build to something with drums and more guitar. But I enjoyed it all the way through all the same. Voted.

glenn case: As always a really solid, catchy tune with great production, and an excellent rhythmic structure. Relatable lyrics too. Voted.

gwazi: This seems like it’d be one of the songs Aggretsuko “sings” at karaoke. Bring the guitar levels down a little bit so that the vocals can be heard a bit better, I think? Also there’s not much to it aside from pure, unbridled mood. Which is absolutely valid as far as writing songs for this fight go, but I’ve now spent longer writing this review than I did listening to the song. Really makes you think.

No time for reviews with such a big field but Swampy Nethers, Glenn Case and Future Boy all endeared themselves to me enough to prise a vote out of my sticky fingers

Some short reviews / comments. It's really hard judging the live / live-ish recordings against the non-live ones! I'm wary of making mix-related comments when the songs were recorded live but without that I don't have a whole lot to say about some of them. Urgh anyway I wrote some things, they are what they are, I hope they make sense.

add: I like the bounce / swing to the drums, and I like the way you vary things up with the shimmering wave of synths and the addition of some fuzz, which does a good job of keeping the live / one-take recording interesting.

Balls To Monte: solid rock song. I really struggle with this kind of strained rawk vocal but you seem to be doing it well, I admire the energy of the performance.

Brown Word and the Big Whine: some extremely chunky guitars in here, and it feels like there's some interesting stuff going on lower in the mix, which isn't always easy to pick out but fills things out nicely. It's a little short on hooks maybe, but plenty of energy.

Cavedwellers: this retains that nice live energy from the stream but the lead vocal sounds too dry and clean for the fuzzed up vibe of the song, I want some room in there. It's a good song though, and your Rock Chops are impeccable as ever.

Charm Offensive: your voices sound great together, and I'm glad the online nature of this SFL allowed me to hear your stuff. I really like the harmonies later on, and the lyrics are strong.

Future Boy: loved seeing / hearing your Rhodes playing on the streams. Such a lovely instrument. The keyboard melodies in this are really fascinating and striking, you've conjured up a fascinating atmosphere and I really dig it.

gizo: I really like the way this builds towards the end, with the extra layers joining the stop-start guitars and exploding into that noisy outro. The distorted vocals are effective, too.

Glenn Case: I think this is the most earworm-y of all of these songs, it's the one I have found myself singing around the house and finally dislodged Hardmonica's "Let's Call it a Draw" from my head. Really strong vocal(s) and I like the melancholy vibe a whole lot.

Gwazi: 2020 is, indeed, fucked. Kudos for getting a guitar solo into a 65-second song, and the high-energy hardcore punk vibes.

Hardmonica: this is full of great ideas, the fuzzed-up slide guitar sounds great and that L-O-L-O-L-O-L line sticks in the head. This isn't quite as much to my personal taste as the last one of yours that I heard (see entry for Case, Glenn) but it's superbly executed.

Hot Pink Halo: love the Casio basslines, I used a keyboard from the same range on a lot of my early four-track recordings 20+ years ago and it brings back memories. The melodica and boxing gloves are inspired additions, too. The song itself is pleasant, but doesn't capture my attention as much as some of your stuff.

Ill Cricket Crew: this sounds like it was a lot of fun to make. I had more fun with some verses than others, it's pretty well done but felt like there was a bit... too much. Give me the radio edit.

Johnny Cashpoint: the chorus is catchy and fun but I didn't really get on with the repetitive verses. Maybe if I'd actually played Among Us then I'd appreciate the lyrics more. But I haven't, yet.

Lichen Throat: I like the composition, instrumentation and vocals here. There are a few LT songs I've enjoyed more but I'd definitely put this in your top tier. The rhythmically odd chorus, with that odd break between lines, didn't fully work for me. But generally this is good stuff, and the "six horses" / "two divorces" couplet might be my favourite lyric of the fight.

miscellaneous owl: this is a gorgeous song, and your subtle post-livestream additions are perfect, adding a ton of extra Quality without spoiling the spacious vibe. Love the open tuned guitars, the verse picking reminds me of Nick Drake's sparser stuff.

Next Door Neighbors: this has a fun vibe and some sharp lyrics and rhymes (fat stacks / backpacks / fast tracks!), but the chorus gets a bit repetitive and strays off the beat a little later on which ends up being a bit distracting.

Night Sky: this is pleasant but kind of gets lost in the pack a little for me, it has a nice laid-back vibe and the harmonica sounds good, but the song doesn't really stick with me.

Paco del Stinko: love the intro and verses, chorus don't quite do it for me as much for some reason. The build-up is great but I want something bigger at the end of it, maybe? But the bits that DO do it for me, really do.

Phlebia: this is pretty cool, I really like the gritty sampled drums and the huge bass sound (once I've turned this down a few notches from the comfortable volume for the rest of the fight ) and the Grey's Anatomy synopsis lyrics are weirdly entertaining even though I've never seen the show and probably never will.

Pigfarmer Jr: this makes me smile every time, and I'm glad you didn't tidy it up from the live version because the exasperated breaths and messed up second verse are super-charming. Excellent guitar work too.

Robyn Mackenzie: really solid, catchy pop-rock, although something about the mix keeps the vocals a little too separate from the music for me, I want things to blend a bit more for that full-band feel. Other than that though, good stuff.

Shade & Honey: definitely picking up the Sparklehorse vibes from the vocals and mix which is always welcome, I was a big Mark Linkous fan. The lead guitar feels a little busy to me and the solo comes just as I'm starting to get into the song.

Sockpuppet: these lyrics are great, and when I properly picked up on the twist at the end it was a bit of a gut punch. Nice writing, nice mix, good performance.

Swampy Nethers: I never could resist a Casio beat. Your voices sound great together and I like the guitar tone, but this doesn't really click with me until the organ comes in, it really ties the song together somehow. Your year sounds a whole lot better than mine.

Sweeney Toad: I like the way you change up the vocal rhythm halfway through. This is atmospheric and nicely produced, without losing your lo-fi edge. Good stuff.

Tim Hinkle: this is really nicely written, I like the lightly psychedelic vibe, reminds me of the Zombies or someone like that? The school verse loses me slightly in terms of the story you're telling, but I liked this very much. Top tier Tinkle.

Tomdg: bold choice to make your live song so bass-riff heavy! It's a good riff though and makes this stand out from the guitar-heavy songs. Interesting lyrics for the most part although the over-emphasis of "obviously" towards the start struck me as odd. I really like the way the title line falls in the chorus. Nicely done.

Vom Vorton: hey, it's me. This is the music from my live video version but with the drums stopped at the right time and re-recorded vocals. It was a bit of a rushed write but I think it turned out pretty well. As others have picked up on I was inspired by the people saying they wish they could just skip to 2021, in particular a sleeping-pill "wake up next year!" meme that pissed me off because why the fuck would anything get any better? Urgh everything is so fucking terrible all of the time.

For everyone talking about the high levels: the drums (as seen played on the keyboard in the video) were deliberately boosted well into clipping range on my audio interface (not the DAW itself) for the sake of lo-fi ridiculousness. The bass wasn't, I just distorted it. And the vocals were way too high in the mix as well...I will happily report that I spent approximately 1 minute mixing everything and paid zero attention to the levels.

Also Grey's Anatomy is absurdly dramatic and I have a running challenge from my wife to keep writing songs about it.

vowlvom wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 11, 2020 6:41 am

Tomdg: bold choice to make your live song so bass-riff heavy! It's a good riff though and makes this stand out from the guitar-heavy songs. Interesting lyrics for the most part although the over-emphasis of "obviously" towards the start struck me as odd. I really like the way the title line falls in the chorus. Nicely done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pismg8l57Rs

I didn't deliver it particularly well ... but then again, who else could?

Aha, I thought there might be something there I was missing.

Scribbled down my thoughts while working. Votes are inconsistent and have more to do with taste than quality of the song. Feel free to ask if you can't read my handwriting.

Anyone who was inspired to go to Iowa by our Swampy Nethers' song, can learn more about our friends' farm here: https://www.iowa-farm.com/

Checked it out and looks awesome. I still have one daughter in Iowa. The other one just moved to California (1.5 hours from SF, actually) at the end of August. Strange.

Pigfarmer Jr wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 12, 2020 12:34 pm

The other one just moved to California (1.5 hours from SF, actually) at the end of August. Strange.

Which direction?

She’s in Tracy.

Oh hey, I wrote some reviews and boy it's been a long time since I have done that and am reminded how challenging it can be to review all songs. I hope they are nice and/or helpful and not too terse.

Robyn Mackenzie

The energy of this song feels like it's supposed to be right in my face, but the guitar and bass are mixed kind of far back. I do like that the lyrics are very clear as a result though.

Cavedwellers

Give me more bass guitar please, I feel like there's definitely room for it in the mix. Love the sound and panning of the guitars on this. Vocals are good and crisp, feel like I had a hard time staying with the lyrics.

Balls To Monte

I really like how hard you lean into this style of music. The recording feels intensely mono, even though I can hear little wisps of reverb out at the margins. I wonder if just a little bit of separation off center for the instruments would help. That said, ignore my opinion if it was a very intentional aesthetic choice. Vocal performance on point.

Sweeney Toad

Love the wide piano plucks and the bit-crushed drum. This is a really lovely dirge with lots of great sounds in it and I enjoy the lyrics. Vote.

gizo

Not sure what it is that comes in on the chorus, but it fills out the space in a really nice way. I like your vocal delivery a lot, good amount of distortion effect without destroying intelligibility. Drums feel a bit far back / weak, but I have no good advice on how to improve that.

Swampy Nethers

Straight to my heart with that casio drum beat. I do feel like the drum beat fights with the vocals and makes them harder to follow. Might be good enough to put one vocal slightly left and the other slightly right, or to just lower the drums in volume slightly when the vocals come in. Organ sound is great. Really you're doing all the things I love doing with Casios in this arrangement so it is hard to find fault with anything. Bravo, vote!

Tim Hinkle

Church organ, ok, you've got my attention. I would pan the toms on the drums super wide. Put the vocals more upfront with a touch of (more?) reverb, your voice is really superb and deserves the spotlight. Lots of good layers in the arrangement. Vote.

Glenn Case

Man I love a good hard-panned doubled guitar part. Great song-writing, you hit a lot of the same kind of loungy chords I love to throw into my own material. I want a Glenn Case album that is produced like super slick 80s soft pop, which bits of this make me think of. Vote.

Lichen Throat

This is very in my wheelhouse with all the general midi instruments, although I'm not sure if that's an aesthetic choice you are making or not. I would pick a different drum kit, the kick sound is a bit too "whumpy" and the toms are really thin. I love how deep your voice is and only wish you could be a little more accurate with pitch and that I had a clearer sense of a melody, even if it was a simple one. I'd go to early Magnetic Fields for inspiration on melody in this vocal range and general midi instrument arrangements.

Pigfarmer Jr

This is really charming, love the guitar twangin. Vote.

Charm Offensive

This was indeed offensively charming and got even more so when Jeff started harmonizing. Only critique is Leah is mixed a bit too loud for my taste, at least in the context of this particular arrangement. I really wanted drums to kick in on the second verse. Vote.

Ill Cricket Crew

Oh hello slap bass. Vocal on first verse was too quiet. And then I kinda lost interest around 2:30, which I think is not coincidentally about how long a lot of the previous songs have been. I don't feel much emotional connection to this Aussie that is being sung about so I'm not very motivated to follow along with the details. If the rapping was higher quality that would help, but there's a pretty stark contrast between that and the quality of the arrangement.

miscellaneous owl

So so lovely, I have long loved airy female vocals. The addition of harmony is really nice and the subtle held tone throughout. I have a hard time catching some of the lyrics, which is a shame because what I can understand is all really nice and poetic. I like that there is a gentle, positive aspect to this song, wanting to be hopeful about the future. Vote.

Brown Word and the Big Whine

Whoa synth thing at 1:20 is great. Really enjoy your vocal delivery. And the meedlies, the meedlies are great. I can't explain why exactly, but I am going to vote for this.

Phlebia

Respect for going hard with the concept here. I like the bass part a lot, the drums get a bit difficult to listen to after a while, although generally speaking I really like the extreme distortion you have on the toms.

Next Door Neighbors

Enjoy the pointed lyrics a lot, less so the vocal affectation (if it is one).

Gwazi

I feel like you accomplished exactly what you wanted to accomplish with this song so I won't suggest that you change anything. It's ok to be this angry sometimes.

Hardmonica

Louder vocals please, especially the harmony at the beginning. Feel like overall this is very competent for this genre, but I don't listen to this kind of music really, so my ability to notice details is limited.

Sockpuppet

Really love the arrangement on this, so many good plucky sounds. I really like your concept of writing the song from the perspective of 2019 and I'm pretty torn on whether it's important to push that joke by including more explicit reference to 2019 events in the lyrics, because the irony that both years sound about the same in the general sense is also important here. Vote.

Shade & Honey

Vocal feels strained. Guitar soloing is pleasant. Weirdly specific, but the snare sounds great. Vocal works better for me at the end of the song, somehow, not sure why.

Johnny Cashpoint

Arrangement feels both dense and chaotic, which makes it a bit difficult to sink into. Just one of those two things would probably be OK. The a cappella vocals at the end with the very hard 'k' are great.

Paco del Stinko

Nicely impactful when the full band kicks in. Bridge vocal line is a bit too fuzzy on pitch for me to follow, feel like it's the weakest part of the song. The chorus is solid though.

Add

Have long been a fan of your lyrics and this song doesn't disappoint. The synth pad is great but needs to be super stereo I think, feels like it's stuck in a box. Vocal performance needs polish, but I know you've got it in you. Vote.

Night Sky

The main riff with the harmonica feels like it's lifted out of some classic rock song that I can't place, which like I almost certainly do this sort of thing too so don't mean to knock it, just to say that it jumped out at me. Feel like there is a decent song in here that just needs a better vocal performance to sell it.

Vom Vorton

So catchy and well-produced. Chorus made me think of "I Melt With You" but is different enough I think. Same energy tho, for sure. Really enjoy the lyrics on this one and the synths. Vote.

Tomdg

Still love the persistent bassline here and the guitar you've added is nice. Feel you on these lyrics. Vote.

Hot Pink Halo

I want the effect on the vocal to be a little less lo-fi. The little bassline is lovely. It's hard to follow the lyrics, but I was able to concentrate and do it, I like the message. Probably also doesn't help that yours is last of many songs.

Getting started early on these because there’s so many. They’ll probably so be pretty short. I predict lots of draft saving in my future. (Edit: I did it! I got all the way through!)

add:
I LOVE the swoopy synth. The melody and lyrics are pretty straightforward and familiar, so I think bringing those other sounds in was a good move to bring a bit of magic in. Drawing the word “stop” out for so long in that one spot is pretty fun.

Balls To Monte:
I think this song could benefit by bringing in some different instrument layers into different sections. I imagine you were probably keeping the instrumentation simple because it was a live recording, but I think even in that context there’s still room to bring in some highlight instruments, or even some variation to the guitar rhythm.

Brown Word and the Big Whine:
I love it. There’s so much happing in the music and it brings a lot of interest. My two suggestions would be to cut 30 seconds and make it really punchy, and to mix the vocals more to the front because they’re a bit buried.

Cavedwellers:
This is pretty enjoyable. Occasionally it feels like the guitars on the left and the right are fighting, which is a little distracting. The vocal delivery is excellent, although the melody feels on the edge of too familiar.

Charm Offensive:
For a long time during our first phase of lockdown we were only allowed to travel up to 2km from our house for exercise, and along one of the walks we’d take is a house with about 20 rose bushes along their fence line. Seeing those roses looking so lovely always gave me a little bit of hope. I’m tempted to write those people a thank you card. This is a sadly sweet song and I really enjoyed the harmonies.

Future Boy:
I don't think I fully appreciated this the first time around. The "silent shout" is a very nice moment. The stripped-back feel is perfect for the content.

gizo:
So glad you changed the chorus and added those harmonies and spaces in the second verse (although I would have made the second last or last harmony go down instead of up). It's good I like it.

Glenn Case:
This was enjoyable to listen to but it's not sticking around in my head. I'd like some more atmosphere in the sounds, I think.

Gwazi:
Short and straightforward. Not my cup of tea personally, but I can't really fault it.

Hardmonica:
The lololol line and delivery is top notch. The snatches of harmony are working very well.

Hot Pink Halo:
This is me. I didn't want to write a super sad song about 2020, so I wrote about my goodreads challenge instead, despite the fact that this is the first year in forever that I'm actually on track to finish the challenge without my usual bout of December panic reading. I'm very definitely a glass half full, extremely stubborn person in general, whether I like it or not, and I can neither confirm nor deny that this song was a reaction to hearing the first draft of Gizo's song. I tried and failed at not writing it in 3/4. Pretty pleased with my key change in the choruses.

Ill Cricket Crew:
Oi oi oi. Reading everyone else's reviews, I thought we had another Aussie in the mix, and I'd somehow convinced myself that this was going to be a sequel to Howzat so was a bit sad when it wasn't. I'm sure your Australian friend has told you we don't put "shrimp" on the barbie and we go to university, not college. Apart from that, I quite enjoyed it, except it's a full minute too long.

Johnny Cashpoint:
Dropping all the instrumentation for those last two lines works well, and I'd like to hear more of that kind of changeup through the other sections in the song, as overall it feels a bit shambolic. There are some nice lyric lines in throughout, but they're a bit buried by everything else.

Lichen Throat:
I love the verses. I like the instrumentation changeup in the chorus as well, and would like to see it drawn out a bit more with some melodic or harmonic vocal changes to bring some space in.

miscellaneous owl:
Your songs are always like a breath of fresh air, even when you're singing about 2020. The melodic change on the last line is perfect, as is the long reverb tail.

Next Door Neighbors:
I feel like this doesn't need the second verse at all. There seems or be a natural ending point right after the first chorus finishes. Verse, chorus, out would've been perfect.

Night Sky:
The melody and pacing in this is a little too predictable for me. Nice harmonica playing.

Paco del Stinko:
That opening is beautiful. You tried and succeeded. This is just perfect.

Phlebia:
I think about you every time I add a gain staging plugin to the top of all my tracks. As someone who's never watched Grey's Anatomy, I'm enjoying learning about it through all these songs. (I also enjoyed seeing your local cows in the video.)

Pigfarmer Jr:
This is pretty fun. The fakeout ending is great.

Robyn Mackenzie:
Top notch as always. This is a perfect battle cry song, and I love that it sounds super fun and poppy.

Shade & Honey:
That guitar solo is really nice, and I love where you stop everything then start up the next verse. The lyrics are a bit predictable, but I like the delivery of the "better luck next year" line to end.

Sockpuppet:
I have the same note with this that I've had for a few songs. I don't think you need that last chorus. Ending right on the 2020 line would have been perfect.

Swampy Nethers:
Well, that opening sound is one I know very well! I can't remember if you used the Casio in the live version. "Watching Netflix til we thought we'd turned to stone" is a really nice line.

Sweeney Toad:
That's a great opening. I'd have liked to hear a changeup after about 30 seconds. The Fox Mulder line has made me smile every time. Overall I really like this.

Tim Hinkle:
The mix/master on this feels a bit quiet and shambolic, but the song itself is really enjoyable. Church organ was my second instrument not that far behind plastic recorder, and I shunned it for a long time as a result, but I've gone back to full Team Church Organ in recent times. This song is crying out for layers and layers of harmonies.

Tomdg:
Excellent opening line. And I'm still sad about Alan Rickman. The sprinkling of guitar really works well.

Vom Vorton:
What a closer. It's true, life as an existential humanist optimist is tough sometimes. At least we've got songs to help. The fuck next year twice as hard line is gold.

Third Installment:

Sweeney Toad - Moodly. The plodding quality has some pros and cons to it. It builds a nice atmosphere. The bowling alley and beer line seems like a bad tonal fit. Switching to the other vocal style is smart for variety's sake.

Hardmonica - Thick sound. There are a lot of good vocal moments like the "keep away from windows" and "any old sparrow" lines. The guttural stuff isn't my thing. I like those sliding high notes from the guitar part in the chorus.

Swampy Nethers - Love the rhythm section. The chorus kills. I wonder if the verses could use something a little more desperate to work up to "fuck the rest", which (having lived through the BS) my heart feels very much.

Night Sky - The harmonica is a pleasant touch. The rhythm feels tenuous in parts. The melody/chords on "Working hard is the easy part" is my favorite part of this.

Hot Pink Halo - It took several listens until I realized the song is about... Goodreads? It seems like the song is fighting against the mix. The lofi quality sounds intentional. I like this chorus, and I think the lyrics here transcend the mundane nature of the verses. Maybe that's the intended effect?

Balls to Monte - Catchy riff. The vocals are a bit thin, and some of these lines need some more power behind them. I wonder if a lower backing vocal in the leadup to the chorus could solve that. "By September, I've been clawed in half" is a good line.

Gwazi - Not really my thing, but the guitar playing is tight. The drums sound robotic, but there are some good fills. Way to get in and out.

Phlebia - Cool bass line. It really works in this repetitive mode. I like your signature percussion. I wonder if a delay effect could make the vocal part sound as cool as the instruments do.

Jefff wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 13, 2020 11:58 am

Hot Pink Halo - It took several listens until I realized the song is about... Goodreads? It seems like the song is fighting against the mix. The lofi quality sounds intentional. I like this chorus, and I think the lyrics here transcend the mundane nature of the verses. Maybe that's the intended effect?

Correct and correct. It's about Goodreads, but at the same time it's also not about Goodreads.

I was feeling anxious about whether I'd get my votes in before the new fight goes up! Phew, I made it. Lots of good songs, and that's impressive in a fight this size.

add: Uptempo and peppy! I love the synth bubbliness in this song over the acoustic guitar. “I hope the king goes and I hope the plague passes” and “breaking like a fever” worked really well lyrically for me. An excellent listen.

Balls To Monte: Good grimy classic rock feel to this song, I like the guitar riffage and the chorus is really catchy. The “Ruth Bader Ginsburg” lyrics kind of stick out against that background--they kind of feel like they belong to a different genre. I like the writing and structure of this song, but the mix feels a little thin, would like to hear it embiggened a bit.

Brown Word and the Big Whine: Whoa, that’s an AWESOME intro. I love the melding of shimmery pretty elements like the la la las and synth whooshes and the aggressive feel of the rest of the song. The spoken word part went on a bit long for my taste, but the song did keep me interested all the way through. This is one of my favorite BW&BW songs I’ve heard so far.

Cavedwellers: This is a great song, I like your melodies and the arrangement sounds full but not overcrowded--lots of lovely little ear candy moments in the guitars/bass. At moments this reminds me of “Shine” by Collective Soul. Some awkward phrasing to my ear in the lyrics in that last verse, but I really dig the imagery.

Charm Offensive: Your voices sound wonderful together, really charming (haha) and I dig the classic folk arrangement. I like the sunny feel and warmth of this.

Future Boy: Ah, really lovely. I love the complexity of your lyrics and the performance sounds great, a nice vulnerability in your voice and the e-piano sounds so mellow and pretty. I don’t love the echo on “silent shout” personally, I think it works nicely as a super simple piece production-wise.

gizo: I really like the aesthetic of this song and your vocal performance. It’s not showy or anything, but it just works right for the song. “Shuffling deck chairs” stuck out to me as a really cool line. I think I would have liked the arrangement to be developed a bit more; it felt a bit first-drafty (although the part where it opens up into noise at the end is great!)

Glenn Case: The chord progression feels pleasingly off-kilter behind the poppy melody. Nice bass and excellent harmonies. “The calendar is stuck” is a nice line. Good stuff!

Gwazi: Love the juxtaposition of Glenn’s smooth-ass song going into this aggressive track. Despite my track having totally the opposite vibe to yours, I definitely feel this hard. Enjoyed all 1:05 of it.

Hardmonica: This kind of teeters on the edge of a few different genres, kind of grunge but then your vocal reminds me of the B-52s in the talk-singy place and then... not so much in the metal growl part. Wonderful harmonies in the chorus, and some really cool rhythmic and lyrical things going on. Quirky, interesting, really enjoyable.

Hot Pink Halo: Very pleasing little guitar intro, the tone sounds amazing where you’re strumming those single chords at the beginning. Most interesting instrument choices of the fight IMO (and there were a lot of interesting arrangements this time around!)--I love the boxing gloves! Also, lyrically, I love that you pulled out a kind of plaintive, hopeful narrative from a Goodreads email.

Ill Cricket Crew: Great production, this sounds fabulous even on my crappy little Bluetooth speaker. It’s a bit too insular lyrically for me to really get into it, but good musicianship and production, so it was still fun to listen to.

Johnny Cashpoint: I’ve never played this game before, so this didn’t have a lot to offer for me as far as the lyrics go. I also wasn’t really in the right place to appreciate the frenetic carnival funhouse vibe, unfortunately. The a cappella ending works well.

Lichen Throat: I really like the intro/main riff thing, drums and synths both, it reminds me of some early Magnetic Fields. As a whole, this is one of my favorite arrangements of yours I’ve heard, although the drums lurch a bit, the chorus drums in particular feel kind of chaotic. I would like to hear the key brought up a few steps, I think it would sit in your vocal range better… there’s an impression that you’re constantly bottoming out. Nice evocative lyrics, particularly the first verse.

miscellaneous owl: I spent way too much time trying to figure out my DAW/driver issues and not enough time mixing, I think I could have done those layers better and in general the audio fidelity sounds like it went downhill compared to my raw phone video track, oops. But I’m pleased to have gotten a chance to use my guitar to make stupid whale sounds. Anyway, this was supposed to be about memory and art and how we process and record our lives in difficult times--are we documenting our overarching existential horror, or our little personal pleasures and hopes? Oh and here are some pics of what I’m talking about in the eclipse verse.

Next Door Neighbors: Fun wordplay and vocal rhythms! I like the party singalong feel of this song, but the choruses could have been half as long and kept the same vibe--by the end of the song I was tired of hearing the chorus.

Night Sky: I enjoyed the storytelling, and the harmonica sounds really nice. I found the melody and phrasing in the “better luck next year” in the chorus really compelling. I’m not sure all the lyrics hold together that well when I read them more closely, something feels either unfinished or unclearly expressed to me.

Paco del Stinko: I really enjoyed the mix and arrangement on this one--it sounds amazing! (Note to everyone--sorry, but some songs got listened to/reviewed on a crap Bluetooth speaker, some got the real headphones treatment and Paco’s was one of the latter…) Feels super present, and I love how tense and close and sparse that intro is. Great dynamics too, it’s so satisfying when drums kick in. One of my favorites of the fight.

Phlebia: I love those ominous riffs! I found the mix kind of grating to listen to, though, I think I would have liked this more without the super-harsh tones and distortion in the production. I don’t know anything about Grey’s Anatomy so I have next to nothing to say about the lyrics, but I’m impressed at how much mileage you’re getting out of this project.

Pigfarmer Jr: Lovely guitar playing, and the song is really charming and funny, I’m glad you left it as the “live” version. I enjoyed the super-long rhyming lines a lot.

Robyn Mackenzie: This is great! Reminds me heavily of the Go-Go’s. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The drums sounded kind of awkward/fake to the point where it was distracting to me at certain points (not sure if it was that the fills were in awkward places, or that the cymbals/fills sounded identical each time, or what… kind of in the uncanny valley) but your harmonies and melodies are awesome. This is one of my favorites from this fight.

Shade & Honey: I like the lead guitar, everything else in the song almost seems like it’s supporting that one element. Nice little fakeout pause there before going into the tail end of the song. The vocal sounds a little strained or affected to me, not sure if the range is maybe just in an awkward spot. Good atmosphere and mood.

Sockpuppet: I love the lyrical concept for this song--didn’t quite click when I was hearing it in the live fight, but when I went back and listened more closely I was like “damn, that’s a great take.” Sweet melody, nice vocal, I like the arrangement but it felt a bit loose and chaotic at times, I think the uke and mandolin parts are kind of competing with each other.

Swampy Nethers: So heckin’ cute and catchy! Your voices sound great together, although I would have liked to hear more variation in the arrangement--taking turns on the vocal and/or dropping into harmony parts here and there would really elevate it; there’s not a lot of dynamic movement in the song as a whole. Nice mix, I love the cheesy drum machine and lo-fi organ, and I can hear each element clearly.

Sweeney Toad: I love that crunchy drum sound, enjoyed the mix in general, and this is really effective at creating a mood. I’m not a huge fan of the main vocal style, I think the rap part works better but I wanted a stronger beat and energy in that section for it to really pop against the chanted parts. I liked the colder/Mulder rhyme and the opening line really grabs your attention, but the lyrics weren’t quite enough to keep it from dragging a bit for me.

Tim Hinkle: I love this, it has an excellent 60’s psych feel--really delicious melodies and the organ is great. The mix is a little odd, I think your vocals need to be a lot louder, and the drums feel excessively loud to me. Wonderful performances on everything. I like the lyrical idea. One of my favorites from the fight.

Tomdg: I really like the repeating bass figure, plenty of interesting stuff to listen to between vocal lines despite the sparse arrangement. I was also mightily impressed at your ability to play it while singing in the live fight! I can’t really do melodic things and sing at the same time unless I’m playing the exact same melody as I’m singing. I’m kind of a sucker for very specific stuff in the lyrics, so I especially liked the first verse with all the namedropping. Nice work.

Vom Vorton: So catchy! I love the synths and the arrangement in general--the way the instruments/backing vocals come and go is great. An excellent 2 minutes of depressing pop, this was one of my favorites as well.

owl wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:21 pm

Phlebia: I love those ominous riffs! I found the mix kind of grating to listen to, though, I think I would have liked this more without the super-harsh tones and distortion in the production. I don’t know anything about Grey’s Anatomy so I have next to nothing to say about the lyrics, but I’m impressed at how much mileage you’re getting out of this project.

If it matters, the drum production values and style was pretty heavily inspired by . Specifically the bit that starts around 3:45...if you note the "drum rolls" that are completely overbearing in the chorus, that kind of over-the-top assault is what I had in mind. That aside, the song kind of deliberately sounds like shit. Don't worry, I actually tried to make the mix next week sound like a mix properly should after my past few fights of being consciously blown-out and lo-fi. It's still gonna be about Grey's though. Wife and I are in season 13 now and hoo boy so many over the top dramatic stories!

sleepysilverdoor wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 14, 2020 5:13 am

owl wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:21 pm

Phlebia: I love those ominous riffs! I found the mix kind of grating to listen to, though, I think I would have liked this more without the super-harsh tones and distortion in the production. I don’t know anything about Grey’s Anatomy so I have next to nothing to say about the lyrics, but I’m impressed at how much mileage you’re getting out of this project.

If it matters, the drum production values and style was pretty heavily inspired by . Specifically the bit that starts around 3:45...if you note the "drum rolls" that are completely overbearing in the chorus, that kind of over-the-top assault is what I had in mind. That aside, the song kind of deliberately sounds like shit. Don't worry, I actually tried to make the mix next week sound like a mix properly should after my past few fights of being consciously blown-out and lo-fi. It's still gonna be about Grey's though. Wife and I are in season 13 now and hoo boy so many over the top dramatic stories!

I found the example also kind of hard going tbh
But I think there’s also an extra harsh high frequency or something in your track relative to that one that comes across as almost painful. Maybe try eq’ing off some of the highs on the drums? (Edit: if you want to address that critique, that is—I’m probably not really your target audience so this might be exactly what you were going for...)

Heh, the likelihood of me ever revisiting this track to touch up the production is pretty low. But yes, I hear the "harsh" hi frequency you're talking about. If I ever do "harsh overdriven keyboard drums again" I'll keep that in mind!

miscellaneous owl wins!

Woooohooooooooo(t)

Yay Owl, and yay everyone!!!

Well deserved!