melvin wrote:Ross Durand: This is really sweet. Outstanding performance of a cool story. This may be an obvious comment, but this would fit well on a Tim Burton soundtrack. Evil April – just what the hell IS she anyway?! I’m guessing that’s Steve playing the solo?
First off thanks for the compliments. Second, That's not Steve on the trumpet, it's just little ol' me. He's much fancier than this
Sorry all, but I'm still working right now, so I'll listen to all the tracks and give you some very brief impressions:
dB Collective: Fun, well-produced track. I liked it.
Biharmonic Plus: Vocal were a bit spacier than I would have liked, and I wasn't too fond of the hackneyed drum programming, but a nice effort nonetheless.
Ben Foxworthy: Another well-recorded track with good duet vocals. Liked it, but would liked to have seen it take a turn somewhere, rather than keep the same theme all the way through. Good lyrics.
The Hell Yeahs: The best 2 minutes of punk so far. How do you sing like that? I liked it, quite fun.
Wages: Good composition, and well performed. One of my favorite Wages tracks yet! Didn't really need the cricket in there, but otherwise, quite good.
The Weakest Suit: A good effort, but this song doesn't really go anywhere adventurous, and I was hoping for a refrain or some kind of breakdown in the middle somewhere. Still a decent track.
Signboy: Kind of like the groove, lyrics and vocals, but this is another track that stays with the same feel and would benefit from some variation. Also a good track.
MC Eric B: Sounds like Weird Al in Junior High with only one drum and rhythm track to work with. Good effort, but just not enough there for my ear.
Hamnoburger: Sounds like something I might even hear on Live 105 today. I would have liked to have played drums on this track to give it a bit more kick. Otherwise, I really liked it. One of the better tracks this week for me, even though it faded out!
Renwick: I liked the heavily overdriven guitars and the arrangement. vocal were ok too, perfect for the genre. A solid track. One of my faves for the week.
Zipline: I think martyr and glenny summed it up well. I really like our track, but this was a total group effort, with each of the four of us having written some of the music. I do have to say that even though the cymbals (this is how you spell that word) were criticized earlier, I like them in the intro. I think we gave a really good effort this week, as we reamain one of the few fully live bands on Songfight.
URBANmail: I liked the grooves. Good work for the style, and an intersting arrangement too. Very nice.
Antisoc: I have to admit I'm a sucker for the Depeche Mode bass line, but the drum programming was not so good. Rap was interesting and quite solid. A good track, and a cool story too.
Ross Durand: Always well sung with thoughtful lyrics. In this case, the percussion which was sometimes off beat distracted from the song for me a bit. Still solid, but maybe less would have been more on this one.
Hostess Mostess: A Beatlesque track with Crimson overtones. Progressive, gritty, well sung and recorded. A damn good track, and a contender.
Melvin: Good rock track. I liked the minimal refrain in middle that set up the rockin guitar solo perfectly. A really good track. Could be there.
Fart: Get Minnie Mouse away from that keyboard, or was it teh sampler! Spacial, track that didn't really go anywhere with a pretty mundane beat in teh backgroud. Still there were moments in there, but not enough of them strung together.
Jolly Roger: I liked the metal riffs, but the vocals weren't quite there for me. And the bass came in way to strong in the mix after be non-present earlier. Needs a bit more work, but has potential.
Tam Lin Music: Intro reminded me of outro to Epic, but still unique. I'm not enough of a note-oriented musician to know this, but I think I like the minor progressions in the verses. I hate to make another reference, but at least its to songs I really like, but I also heard inspirations from Sewing the Seeds of Love in the middle of the tune. One of my favorites this week, and a contender.
Kill Me Sarah: Had the right idea, but didn't go far enough. Verse and chorus need more development, and would have sounded nice with a bit more thought to the drums. Needs work, but a decent cut anyway.
Destruction Enterprise: I remember those Casio tracks. Still a bit too raw and underdeveloped to compete with this crown of excellent musicians, but you have potential.
gammaman: You've got a nice guitar and vocal idea, but then you toss a boring as hell drum track in there. The song has potential, but the arrangement is too fomulaic for my taste.
Back Street Blumpkins II Men: I liked the arrangement, but wish the drums were as funky as the guitar and vocals. Hey, who doesn't like titties spalling against one's temples! A fun track, but got a bit monotonous for me.
An interesting week, with some real gems. Good luck to all!
Sam
Zipline drummer, Minty Handy drummer (live), Tiny Robots drummer (live) and Ken's Super Duper Band N' Stuff drummer (live)
The Mumbles top 3 are as follows:
Coming in at number three-Antisoc
Love it. The beat wasn't that hype, but clean. Nice flow.
Runner up we have-Tam Lin Music
Very inspirational. This track is itching for a kick ass remix.
First place is -Melvin
Yes. Need I say more? I will.
This is a song that makes me want to go grab my skate and tear it up. Brings me back to the good ol days of Deftones and such.Gold star my friend, gold star.
the_prisoner wrote:
Biharmonic Plus: Vocal were a bit spacier than I would have liked, and I wasn't too fond of the hackneyed drum programming, but a nice effort nonetheless.
thanks, i'll keep practicing.
melvin wrote:
Biharmonic: There’s a certain charming naiveté to the vocals on this. Having said that, they probably could have used a little more work. Still, there are some pretty nice harmonic occurrences in this track. Keep practicing.
thanks. i'll try to make my next song ... better.
martyr wrote:
BiHarmonic Plus – The drum machine is too loud in the mix I think. Let the guitars carry this and tune up the singing. Add a second guitar for texture and pan them hard left/right. The composition has potential – you just need to tighten up the execution. Actually there is a really tight, beautiful song hidden behind a struggling young vocalist on this track. The bass is pretty muddy when it kicks in – not sure what to advise there, but I think the bass should be on more of this track if you can figure out how to adjust its timbre to give it space in the mix. Reminds me of Magnetic Fields.
thanks for all the advice. i'll try to apply all of this to the next song. that middle part of your comment made me happy hahah. thanks.
How many N's in glennny? How many! HOW MANY? 3 damn it! It's alright from everyone else, but you and Martyr are in my band. What the Deuce?
and further more when you address me as such on stage or in person it's best to pronounce all 3, if not more superfluous N's
thank you
Phillipso, Older Brothers, Semolina Pilchards, Zipline , Thank Glennny for the Frisbee, The Odoriferous Valley, The Worldly Self Assurance, Berkeley Social Scene, Very Gentle Knives, Daddy Bop Swing Set, GUNS, The Kraken Lives, Cavedwellers
the_prisoner wrote:Wages: Good composition, and well performed. One of my favorite Wages tracks yet! Didn't really need the cricket in there, but otherwise, quite good.
I didn't know what to do with the "cricket" (which is actually just me making a beat with my mouth then processing it with an effect), so I thought I'd leave it in to see what kind of reaction it received. So far, I think I counted two negative comments about it and no good ones. But it is all in the name of experimentation, and it gives me ideas for the future, like maybe an accapella song or something.
I'm thinking to make a new change to my entries starting with this song. I'll focus more on performance and melody rather than production. We'll see how that works out for me.
Wages - Hoglen & Wages - The Affirmative Mention - Gawking Urethras - The EAF - and more
i had a spare hour at work so i thought I'd give it a listen. Don't worry - this doesn't precursor a return to 'fightin'. Listening on pretty cheap headphones so comments on mix should probably be taken with a pinch of salt. Written as I listen. unspell-checked and un-proof-read. If I didn't review your song, it's probably because I didn't want to listen to it.
Antisocial – great backing track – although perhaps mix-wise it’s a bit thin? Could do with being dirtier. Don’t like the nerdcore much generally, and also lyrically not really engaging. Also not sure that organ patch is the right one, although I do appreciate the attempt to change it up a bit. Altogether for me, OK.
Back Street Bumpkins – I like that vocal affect on the first verse. Once it starts getting all harmony I lose interest. It’s very well done, but as soon as we hit strap-ons and more self-referencing lyrical shit, it’s just boys showing off again. No shit the song isn’t over – can I be so presumptious as to quote Talking Heads - “Youre talkin a lot, but youre not sayin anything. When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed”? No, I didn’t think so. Especially as anyone will tell you, the second half of that statement is far from true.
Zipline – this is a mess, although it has a certain mid 90s rehearsal room charm. It’s a little like everybody’s trying a little too hard to make the most of their parts at all times, rather than concentrating on the good of the song, IMO. I like it when it sharpens into focus after 2.00 but when it slows back down into the slightly flatulent main groove I drift away on memory bliss.
Destruction Enterprise – Oh dear. This is a bit dull - like watching drizzle. I do like the synth & drum tone – it reminds me of early Human League. Hmmmm.
Wages – nice acoustic tone. I don’t really like this very much, I’m afraid, although the crickets are worth a try, as you said above. I appreciate the attempt to break out of the mould. That aside pretty much any review of mine of any Wages song applies here so I will not go on.
Renwick – great opening. Has a feeling of Kasabian or Kaiser Chiefs or some other band beginning with K. I’m struggling to hear the vocal past the not particularly appealing Soundgarden style guitar tone. Oh yeah I like the pre-chorus with the kick! Oh now the chorus comes along and then the verse again and ho hum I can’t hear past pearl jam / soundgarden. I’m sorry that’s probably really unfair but it’s what I hear. Damn! Who let the 90s back?
DB Collective – heh – that’s a cool opening! I wonder what, if any, bands you think you sound like? Just of curiosity – because I like this despite the overly bluesy vocal performance – it’s a good voice – but (especially the backing) vocals are over-the-top – to the point that it sounds like you’re screeching ‘evil empire’ over and again. The guitar is a bit silly as well, but in a funky, toe-tapping way so I like it a lot, although I wouldn’t necessarily want to hear it all that often.
Tam Lin Music – I really don’t like the way your picture comes up in WMP. It’s unneccessary and vaguely creepy, like a perv peering in through my window. I digress. This is a good song, I don’t like your voice – it’s strong, in tune, and characterful – just not for me. I think it’s the dragging out of Evvvviiiiilllllll AAAAAppppprrrriiiiillllll. Or maybe it’s because I just want to hear Scott Walker sing this song, which I suppose is a compliment. Otherwise this is pretty nicely done, and deserves to do well. A good 1.15 too long as well, I feel. Your falsetto sounds like you are choking on your own false teeth. Please don’t creep up on me with that again, and I will listen further!
Urban Mail –The bad kind. Nice grimey backing groove. Nice-ish flow, I feel. You could maybe getting away with compressing the vocal, a few words/phrases get mashed into the mix. Not sure about the chanty bit, although it makes a nice change, it goes on a bit. I think overall if this was my style of music I would probably dig it. Maaannn. Oh gratuitous use of the word ‘Bitch’. -500 points.
The Weakest Suit – Nah, I don’t like this too much. Or rather I like what it could be very much – at the moment it sounds like a ‘before they were famous’ from Athens, Georgia – which is no bad thing per se, although it’s crying out for a drummer in the rockpop ilk. Also the voice is a bit irritatingly loose – nothing that a bit more confidence wouldn’t distract from. Overall I think my only real problem is that it’s a bit flat and plodding – if you picked it up 10 bpm or so that might take care of that problem. Anyway it’s only my opinion.
Signboy – I like your voice. The lead guitar is a bit prominent. I would bring the bass right up – give it a bit more bite. It could do with another instrument – a keyboard or a second guitar line. It ambles along very pleasantly as it is, but it lacks that punch in the goolies which is only ever good when it is music supplying the figurative blow.
Fart – oh too much reverb. Too much time, both in this song and on your hands. Although the experimenter in me finds this reasonably harmless, I just find myself thinking one day you might accidentally stumble across a really interesting avant garde song by taking this approach. But only Might
Ben Foxworthy – You sound 15. Which is no bad thing if you are. (Intentionally?) crazy lyric performed with utter serious conviction, which I adore. Oh no, it’s crazy, it’s about TNTM isn’t it? Twee vomit. It’s a close line with me, see? Nice voice, mind.
Hamnoburger – See my review for Renwick – bit about opening but + pretty harmonies. It’s all a bit boy-sey for me.
Gammaman – the vocal is a bit choked. Let rip! At the moment the lack of involvement in the performance is sucking out the pleasure for this listener. I like the efficiency involved in ending when you did, mind.
Kill Me Sarah – What is that synth kicking off in the background – I like that so much, especially against the drums. When it goes boy rock 90s (like just about every other f**king song this week) I lose interest. But the arrangement under the verse is pretty cool. Is the lyric about massacres at schools? If it isn’t, then it should be, in a ‘jeremy’/’I don’t like Mondays’ way.
Bioharmonic Plus – the harmonic in the name is ironic right? IronicHarmonic? I can’t actually get through this – it’s all ovah the place, and not in a particularly appealing way. Also drum machine is weak. Guitar sounds OK – what can I hear through the ugly screeching.
Ross Durand – Very nice chunky lead guitar when it arrives. I can’t decide if this should be a little faster in general or just take a little less time getting to the truly great bits towards the end. I think it should swing a little more – it’s a little rigid. But a great tune, especially if everyone involved got stinkin’ drunk before recording it, it could possibly be a classic!
Jolly Roger – indulgence, pure and simple indulgence. The crazy pink floyd feel of the vocals is probably co-incidental, right? I mean this is so pretentious that it’s almost dumb, but hey I enjoyed listening to it once, so job done!
Hostess Mostess – maybe my problem with this fight in general is that April isn’t a very evil word so when people try to emote it, it just sounds dumb. For the first minute it sounds like Steve Miller to me. then the lovely piano tone, and then crazy 60s zombies style keyboards make my heart go a flutter! 1.30 should have had bass and full on drums …. but then again it doesn't still long enough to have such stuff thrown at it. Ah mini popera I have missed you! Now this is incredibly dumb and incredibly clever at the same time, but it needs a rock-out section rather than the cheers style r’n’b attempt at the end to complete the ELO / Supertramp feel. (how may 70s references can I get into one song?) everything said, a strong contender if it weren’t for:
Hell Yeahs – hell yeah. None more joyous. If I heard this on the radio, I would want to be in this band straight away, which is the sign of true masterfulness. Vote -of course.
Urban Mail –The bad kind. Nice grimey backing groove. Nice-ish flow, I feel. You could maybe getting away with compressing the vocal, a few words/phrases get mashed into the mix. Not sure about the chanty bit, although it makes a nice change, it goes on a bit. I think overall if this was my style of music I would probably dig it. Maaannn. Oh gratuitous use of the word ‘Bitch’. -500 points.
thanks i did the mixdown on a br1600 .im still trying to improve on mixing vocals over heavy base. -500 come on, she so evil you cant help but to call her a bitch. what song did you do?????? or band
I've given it a lot of thought, and my final top four are:
4) Melvin - so much good stuff there, not quite as catchy or memorable as the others
3) Tam Lin - if only it built up a little more, added electric guitar, a beat, or something
2) Ross Durand - if only it was a little creepier
1) The Hell Yeahs - the combination of catchy lyrics, great singing, and top notch instrumentation and production makes this my vote
j$ wrote:What is that synth kicking off in the background – I like that so much, especially against the drums. When it goes boy rock 90s (like just about every other f**king song this week) I lose interest. But the arrangement under the verse is pretty cool. Is the lyric about massacres at schools? If it isn’t, then it should be, in a ‘jeremy’/’I don’t like Mondays’ way.
The synth is a Rhodes VSTi that comes w/ FL Studio. I could hear a rhodes in every song and be happy. Sorry you (and a lot of others) didn't like the chorus. I'll try something different next time. If anyone has appealing suggestions for a better way to arrange the chorus, I am planning on re-doing this one.
The lyrics are about the school massacre. It's kind of about how a parent or other loved one might be scared to send people they care about to school (or anywhere) in the aftermath of tragedies like this last one.
"[...] so plodding it actually hurts a little bit" - Smalltown Mike
I wonder what, if any, bands you think you sound like?
Honestly, I wouldn't know, Brenda comes in with some words a rough melody and a style idea. I play a rough guitar part and we kind of bounce back and forth. This week we're doing opera.
jackfrost - Don't worry, I appreciate any feedback, good or bad. My "Ran Away To Paris" is very different than my "April" song, so let me know if you like that better.
jackfrost wrote:
MC Eric B – You are one of the artists I listen to first every week, because you seem to try different things all the time. But I’m sorry to say, that this one does not do it for me. I’ve listen to these songs all week, and your voice just sounds out of tune throughout the whole number. It also doesn’t have the lyrical one-two punch that your Ten Lies song had. I applaud you for trying something different every week. I liked the Clause 5 experiment in country quite a bit. I am not listening to your songs to hate on them. Actually, I am hoping to like them each week. I’m looking forward to what you’re going to give us for “Paris”.
jackfrost - In regards to the plural of Ninja, I am no expert on the topic, and am not especially good at grammar, but according to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ninja "ninjas" seems to be acceptable, even if it is not the preferred was to say it. I think part of the confusion has to do with the Japanese vs. English plural forms of the word.
jackfrost wrote:
Ben Foxworthy – ... Oh, and the plural of “ninja” is “ninja”, not “ninjas". Nitpicky? Yeah, sure, but that pulled me right out of the song.
Glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing!
