Amby Moho: Oh hey! I missed having you around, your entries from last fall were delightful. So about this one, you’ve got these wild shifting vocal harmonies that sound super warpy and weird in the best possible way. Have you ever heard of the band “Applesauce Tears”? They’re an Atlanta area group that mines similar sonic territory, and you may enjoy them. This song has springtime written all over it. The lyrics are kind of hard to make out, partially due the warpiness, but I don’t care because the texture is doing it for me. I’m curious what the half spoken robot-y sound is. Is that jangly thing in the back half a heavily pitch shifted guitar? Nice harmonies throughout. I like the change up around the 2:25 ish mark. I’m trying to find something to seriously criticize here and I’m coming up short. Maybe the ending seems a bit abrupt -- it doesn’t really have much conclusion? I don’t care though, VOTE.
Berkeley Social Scene: Bass is a bit loud in the mix, drums are a bit soft in the mix, I’d bring the guitar up slightly and turn the vocals down slightly. But that’s my “mixing criticism” that I seem to unleash on everyone, and then submit super muddy weirdly mixed entries. I like the synth sound that’s moving around in the vocals. Wish it was slightly louder though! Oh well. The false ending is a bit unnecessary. I kind of wish the song ended there but it keeps going? Anyway. I like the melody, and the chorus is pretty strong. I read through the lyrics and they’re decent, but not super memorable (I like memorable). I still get your “Four Corners” song stuck in my head, by the way. Damn good tune.
Brown Word and the Big Whine: For one, I really like the percussion in this track. And the horns are a nice addition, and definitely something new for you! I’ve been thinking about cults a lot lately, what with this whole “new comet by the end of the month thing”. Actually just yesterday I read through the transcript of “Last Chance To Evacuate Earth Before It Is Recycled” by Do/Marshall Applewhite. It was weird because it spent so much time being *almost* coherent. I could see how someone who may be a bit impaired in their critical thinking skills could listen to that and end up putting on their Nikes and drinking phenobarbitol so they could get on the spaceship. Or something. Oh yeah -- the song. It’s good! Probably not the catchiest thing in the world, I enjoyed your last two songs a little bit more, but this is a maybe vote.
CazaroTaro: CazaroTaro is back with more bouncy robot new wave jams! I can’t help but grin whenever I heard these songs. Though admittedly I wish the chorus did a little bit more than just sing the title over and over, and the transition into “everything” seems about a measure premature. But that’s subjective. I do find the insistence on sticking so strictly to the I-IV-V melody in the verses charming. And there’s a synth solo! Woohoo! I feel like this song is missing some special ingredient to really be awesome, but I can’t tell you what it is? Hmm. Maybe a stronger chorus. I think that’s it. Another “maybe vote”.
Evil Grin: This sounds a lot like one of your previous entries but I couldn’t tell you exactly which one. The lyrics are good at evoking the “sad breakup falling apart” vibe. I like the bit about the puddle. One thing that I would change in a song like this is make it sound a little bit...sadder. Cause the music sounds pretty happy, and the vocal delivery sounds fairly upbeat. You don’t sound sad at all singing about all this sad stuff! I feel like this kind of break up song would have benefitted from a part alternating male lines and female lines or something. Compositionally it’s decent and I like the little guitar solo runs.
Gaping Maw: Okay, the drums in this are all shuffly and bouncy and going nuts. Which is a thing that usually makes me happy. I kind of wish that the vocals were a little bit higher in the mix when they come in cause they’re kind of buried by the bass. Though maybe my ears are a bit too waxy. I kind of wish that there was a bit more deviation variation. Oh right when I start wanting a change, you deliver. Another laid back groove of the type that you seem to do the best! I dig the harmonies with “I can’t wait for the sun” bit. And the kind of free-flowing rhymes that follow sound terrific to my ears. Wait, another change up? This is like three songs thrown together. But it all seems to work together to me, and I dig the overall vibe so much! The funky guitar rhythm and vocal stylings of the second half is working well for me. I like this a lot. Vote!
The Gross Tones: Another kind of laid back song with the synth oscillator note duration being tweaked and beep beep beep boop boop boop.I find this song rather pleasant. The tambourine is nice. The general vocal delivery seems to be a little bit flat in the bit preceding “better than everything” the first time that it comes around around the 1:10 ish mark. Is your guitar a little bit out of tune? It sounds like it’s a little out of tune. I feel like this song lacks a certain amount of ...oomph? I think it’s the lack of melodic range in the vocals and generally noodliness. Like during the extended improv sections it’s like it’s the synth and the guitar kind of noodling away at the same time and it kind of clashes. I enjoy the slide work on the guitar. All in all this one felt a little unfocused.
Hot Pink Halo: A slow, simple drum beat. This is another one in this fight where I can’t figure out if my ears are gunky (they are) or if the guitar is slightly out tune. But I think it is -- which isn’t really the worst thing in this world, but it usually grabs my attention (I used to tune pianos for money). There are a few timing issues here and there that crop up. Most obviously in the strumming, which seems to rush ahead of the drum machine. I like the switch up in beat that goes on in the chorus. And I’d have mixed the vocals a bit higher in the mix. Now, I say all this realizing that your strong suit is lyrics -- I love them. One, because I love floral imagery. Two because I love springtime imagery, and I love the general hopeful tone that underlies the whole thing. I’m puzzled by the tiger bit though. Still, great lyrics!
James Owens: This one has this kind of sunny 60s vibe to it, like something by the Byrds or something. Which is probably what you were going for. The organ is a great touch. While perhaps not the most original song in the world -- and really there’s only so much you can do with the limited palette of chords -- I do enjoy it. Some of the backing vocals are a bit pitchy and perhaps a steadier falsetto would have benefitted things a bit. I like the stylistically appropriate guitar solo. As for the lyrics? Well, they’re certainly scathing. The Donald has not handled this well at all, has he? So inconsistent! So bombastic! So contradictory!
The Lowest Bitter: I feel like I said “this sounds like something that the college radio station I used to work at” is something I said last week but it’s definitely true this time around. Personally I’m not super huge on the repeated “oh no” bit. I don’t know if it’s the vocal timbre adopted for it or just the melody. Or maybe even the way that it’s mixed. The synth is pretty cool, but it feels kind of muddy. Lyrically I like the juxtaposition of the guided meditation bit with the musings on pandemic anxiety. Though while the lyrics suggest anxiety, nothing about the track suggests anxiety at all! So I’m not sure how this one is to make me feel. I want to like it more than I do. I feel like I’d like this more if it made me anxious, but it doesn’t make me feel anxious at all.
Mandibles: This is produced a little bit better than the previous entry, and everything is way clearer. I like the chord changes a lot during the “Better than everything I’ve known til now” By and large I really can’t fault this. The vocal harmonies are well executed and are better than most of the falsetto that I hear on SongFight. A sweet poignant, love song. I feel like the arpeggiated acoustic guitar could be just a little bit higher in the mix once it comes in -- it’s kind of buried under the vocals. I like the restraint in holding off on inserting the cymbal crash until the very end of track with the “as long as we’re here”. I can’t not vote for this, even though admittedly it’s not something I’d ever really listen to.
The Pannacotta Army: You know how sometimes you hear a song and you can’t unhear a different song that it sounds like? This sounds a LOT like Weezer’s Island in the Sun, mostly the chord progression and rhythm in the verses. Not that that’s a bad song. The chorus is strong and the lyrics are sweet, especially in the chorus -- but there’s a certain vagueness in which I can’t figure out really how the verses and the chorus fit together in terms of meaning. I guess I like lyrics either really to the point and on the nose or so abstract that all I get is impressions, and this is kind of in that middle ground that doesn’t work for me. The mix is good, the vibe is good, and it was performed well. Maybe it’s just not my thing.
Phlebia: When I wrote this, it was originally a lot slower and had a slightly different bassline. But then I realized I’d accidentally written a “Boys Don’t Cry” soundalike so I sped it up and tweaked the bassline a bit and distorted it. I thought about adding more layers, but the stripped down fuzz bass + drums + vocals seemed to work just fine...and kind of gave off Blink-182 vibes. Not intended, but hey! Seriously, my yard grows some awesome lettuce and spinach. It’s delicious!
Pigfarmer Jr: That soaring “you” in the chorus is well executed, and this is another good, potent breakup song. I particularly like the line about “thinking back I don’t know the straw” bit, it works very well and I’m glad that you repeat it twice. The bit about facebook doesn’t quite flow, but that may have been intentional. I like the slightly higher level of overdrive present on this one. You’re spending more time hitting those more dramatic notes in your upper register than usual and it sounds great to me. Something about the end doesn’t really work well for me, maybe it just feels like it drifts towards the resolution. All in all a solid effort and a maybe vote?
PJ&A: Wait a minute, three entries? But this one is a lot like my (primary) entry this week! Short and to the point! And honestly probably my favorite of the three, if only cause i like the more intense, edgy vibe to it. Where it’s more uptempo and such? And I like how we both talk about pulling weeds, though yours are metaphorical and mine are literal. Yeah I dig the pissed off defiance of this one, vote.
Seaweed Delete: Everything said in this song is something that my son loves. Except for washing dishes, NO IDEA what he’s talking about there. My music tastes have rubbed off on the kid. He really only likes one Deftones song, and that’s their cover of Wax and Wane by Cocteau Twins. It’s a shame that he can’t go to the gym with me anymore. Stupid pandemic. Anyway, he loves playing around on my Volca Sample. And the meowing is a slowed down sample of our cat.
ShoehornTC: Oh hey, 6/8, there’s a chance coming from you. Right away I kind of wish that the vocals were a little bit higher in the mix cause that guitar is kind of drowning them out. Which makes it hard for me to critique your lyrics cause you didn’t post them. I like the melody you use when you shift the song up to the V chord in the progression (blink of an eyeeee). I don’t know exactly what it is about this song, but it’s not really doing much for me. Part of it may be the mix, part of it may be that the guitar is entirely too loud and dominant. Like maybe if it did a little bit more other than drone on that one major chord, I’d like it a little bit better. But by the time it gets to the third chorus, I’m kind of getting bored with the track -- it’s just not an exciting enough musical backdrop to vamp on for that long.
Vom Vorton: The reverb in this is tastefully applied, and makes for a great juxtaposition with the bleary-eyed reflections of a wild night as viewed through a horrid hangover. By the time that it starts and I start to enjoy it, it’s over. In fact I may play through it again because I really enjoy it. You, me, PJ&A -- lots of super short songs in this fight! I hate being hungover, though I do enjoy a stiff beverage every now and again. Did you know alcohol sales are up over 50% as a result of this lockdown business? I worry about my recovering alcoholic friends who can’t go to in person AA meetings. Vote.
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And now for ratings:
1. Amby Moho
2. Vom Vorton
3. Gaping Maw
Runners-up. Mandibles, PJ&A