The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Where else can you practice your review skills? Write 'em up.

Please post your lyric here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11797

And you can read everyone else's as well.

I've been listening to mine a lot and it's great!
All those others...meh...

Strange, I had the inverse reaction

j$

Songs posted!

15 entries! Looking forward to listening.

I'm sorry I don't word well. These are more reactions than reviews. Thank you all for submitting!

Brown Word + Big Whine.
I dig the 80s/90s vibe. I wish I could rock like this. Alas, I cannot.

G. Sorensen.
I'm listening in headphones. I think the panning / doubling thing actually detracts from an otherwise excellent track. Your slide work is so buttery I slipped.

J. Gilespie.
Dude, I wish I had an emotionally rich voice like you do. Now, I know that some people feel that shakers are like cowbells (i.e., more == better), but... if I were doing this track I'd probably turn the drums up and let the shaker rest for a verse or so.

Ken et. al.
This was almost the best track in the fight. It made me want to go listen to Barcelona's first album again. I AM READY FOR THE FUN!! Maybe some harmonies? I have no constructive criticism.

P. Del Stinko.
"Reaaaady for loooove" lol. Nice breakdown in the middle there! Very Minutemen-esqe. You continue to crank out the most consistently pro material.

Phlebia.
This was the best track in the fight (though it is mastered a bit loud). Please tell me about how you did everything. SLEEP IS THE COUSIN OF DEATH.

Roymond + mo.
That was a crazy great build up. You could sell that.

Seaman Ski
If Bob Seger were dead he'd crawl out of the grave and tip his... beardstache to you. I don't think he wore a hat.

SHRTS.
SHiRTS? SHoRTS? You're the only one who really shut the song down properly. We kinda tried but you did it better.

Sober.
Ooo, yeeeaaah. I've totally been using the pandemic to avoid my mom. YOUR MUSIC MAKES ME CONFRONT MY EMOTIONS. What are you using for drums?

S. Toad.
Man, your lyrics are gold. These last few fights you've dropped some really clever stuff.

S. Toad + J. Cashpoint
Man, your lyrics are gold. These last few fights you've dropped some really clever stuff. Mr. Cashpoint's production brings extra fun!

Tom D.G.
As I previously noted, I'm listening in headphones. This makes hard pans hard. I really like the chill ending, though.

WreckdoM.
IIRC, this is not the first time you've channeled late-era Butthole Surfers. Or maybe it's just the anal connection. Regardless, fun times!

reve wrote: ↑

Sun May 24, 2020 10:23 pm

Phlebia.
This was the best track in the fight (though it is mastered a bit loud). Please tell me about how you did everything. SLEEP IS THE COUSIN OF DEATH.

Well the truth of it is mostly that I never shut down. It's mostly just two bass tracks, one higher register one upper register, except for the second verse where I add a third that's run through iZotope trash on one of the more severe settings so it sounds like a crazy noise feedback. Other than some VST synth that's about it. Really it's just me trying to sound like Pornography-era The Cure but sounding just generally post-punky as a side effect.

Brown Word and the Big Whine: Still quite the bass heavy mix, but in 6/8 time, woohoo! Except for when it stops being in 6/8 time. I’m generally a fan of time signature shifts so that works well. Topically I’m kind of happy to see you write a song that isn’t about COVID, it’s a nice change of pace! This has a nice stomping rhythm to it and doesn’t quite take itself too seriously which is fun! Plus the chord progression is based heavily on diminished fifths in the verses...and I almost always like that.

Chthonic Chthock: I am very glad that you did this because I was initially going to write a song like this but decided against it. So yay, New Wavey shutdown song! THe production on this is really rich, the synths fill out the stereo field well. And I love how you have the echoey warped stuff going on toward the end in the vocals. Perhaps if I have a complaint it’s that I wish it was longer because I really enjoyed this one. The fact that the drum beat is as minimal as it is works great for the style.

Geech Sorensen: A bouncy uptempo number with a somewhat predictable but effective chord progression. Well recorded. I’m not huge on the choices of harmonies, if only because parallel fifths for vocal harmonies just don’t quite sit right to my ears. I like the guitar work in the b section where it’s got that soft reverb on it. I like the keyboard that’s panned hard right that comes it, that’s a neat little riff.

John Gillespie: Wait, this is the same dude as Absolutely Credible? I wouldn’t have guessed it from the first verse but this is good and your composition skills are good and your singing voice is good and welcome back to the party! Your last entry was dope. The drums in this are giving me kind of bossa vibes in the verses...though admittedly I like the verses more than I like the chorus, which doesn’t really stick with me. Maybe cause it breaks the vibe a little bit? Anyway, it’s a pretty good song! I especially like that instrumental break after the second chorus -- very fresh. This is also really well produced. As for the topic - maybe it’s where I’ve written a lot of reviews for SF over the past few months, but to my ears it’s a little played out. But I’m also in a low-incidence county in a state where half of the people are pretending like nothing’s happening, and my kids aren’t in summer day camp this year because of it, so I’m definitely feeling the impacts. Anyway, good one!

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff: I think I said it last week but I’d have bumped up the drums a little bit more. Topically, this is yet another COVID tune, which as I mentioned in my last review is starting to feel a little played out but I’ve also been writing reviews here every week for nearly 9 months now so maybe “topic fatigue” is kicking in. Are your vocals really that pitch perfect or are you tuning them? They sound a little artificial to me. Anyway, this has a nice mellow pop-rock vibe that I don’t actively dislike but it doesn’t do anything for me. I wish I had more enthusiastic things to say, I feel like a downer.

Paco del Stinko: Oh I like those chimy guitars in the verses, they’re so clean and hefty composed. I feel like you use way more chords than most of the contestants here and it’s definitely part of your charm. Why is your win percentage so low, you’ve got some serious chops. As for the topic on this one -- wellll shucks. Don’t you just hate that!

Phlebia: C’est moi! Well this marks the second time that I’ve thrown random other languages into my lyrics, though last time it was Spanish and this time it’s German. I accidentally misgendered Leben though. Oops. I hadn’t entered in a gloomy post-punk entry in awhile, so I did this one. As for the cleaner than usual production, thank that awesome iZotope bundle they have for sale, iZotope products are all over this!

roymond feat. mo: Oooooh man that intro. This is ticking a lot of boxes for things that I enjoy. Kind of skittish rhythm tracks in half time, intense builds. Major 7th chords, experimental vocal production. Artsy as can be. And I married a Mo, so points for being a Mo. The lyrics are very terse and to the point, and I like the general vibe of them. The build reaches a certain point and just kind of stays there, like once it gets going there’s not a lot of forward motion...but I’m not convinced that’s a problem.

seemanski: This has a good stomp to it! And I like the swagger in the chorus for sure, though for some reason with a rhythm like this I want to hear something with a lot more...country-fried sounds? My wife commented from the other room that this sounds like a song that would be in a commercial for a Ford F-150. And I totally agree with her. But yeah, like this needs like wide open spaces and a huge cowboy hat and a tight plaid button-up.

shrts: Oh hey, another super short song from shrts. Which HAS to be a shortened version of shorts, since you’re always so short. Anyway, this was a pleasant...short song. Do I wish it was a little bit longer? Maybe, cause I know you’re capable of writing awesome longer songs!

Sober: Okay, this delivers on the country vibes that seemanski’s song got me wanted. Damn good vocal performance, and it’s well mixed. That very stripped down tremolo guitar has a great vibe to it. Where seemanski’s song makes me want to test drive a 2021 Ford F-150, this makes me want to hung my friends and family at a memorial service because half of the memorial services I’ve been to recently have involved slideshows of sentimental pictures while some sentimental song that sounds like this plays over the PA. Maybe it’s cause nearly every one I’ve been to in the past several years has been in Kentucky for whatever reason. WAIT YOU HAD A LYRIC IN THERE ALLUDING TO THAT VERY SCENARIO. And reading the lyric sheet this matches exactly which what it conveys in my head so well-played. Very well played. Best song of the fight so far.

Sweeney Toad: I didn’t know Pachycrocuta was a word, but now I do. This is definitely my favorite beat you’ve produced so far, so high five for that! This chorus is ridiculous, but I love it! You said this was inspired by Jack Hartmann? I mean...kind of? But if that led you to write a song about dinosaurs hunkering down for the end of days, then dadgum listen to more of his stuff haha. And it really kicks into high gear by the second verse, kind of has some cloud rap vibes. Like if Yung Lean did more but mumble about pokemon and hennessy and had a different voice. Maybe use a punchier snare? Whatever this is awesome.

Sweeney Toad x Johnny Cashpoint: Hello again! Mix is a little too bass-heavy, it kind of drowns out the other layers in the mix. This takes a really dark turn in that third stanza, geeeeez. I will say I liked your other entry a little bit more but hey this was entertaining in its own right. Minus J$’s contributions, that turn gave me pretty intense Eminem vibes...Sweeney’s gone horrorcore on all of us!

Tomdg: EQ out some low mids in your vocals, they’re kind of buried, which is odd because this song is EXTREMELY hard panned, and I’m noticing this even without having headphones on. But yeah vox up please. I like the tremolo’d guitar when it starts to pick up a bit. This song is sad and makes me want to mope. Think I’m gonna go cry now.

WreckdoM: Thank you for lampshading “oh another COVID title” at the beginning of the track, cause yeah I’m kind of waiting for some titles that I can’t tie to current events at all! But this is tremendously entertaining and rates up near the top of the WreckdoM entries. I like the beat. I kind of wish the mix was a little bit less compressed. As the last reviewer said, yeah I’m getting Butthole Surfers vibes...the shared hometown helps that too. One time I went to Austin and the traffic was bad, then I went to some hippie chicks house with my friend john and she gave me a purple sweater and offered me a basil plant but I said no to the basil plant cause I didn’t have anywhere to put it. Then we went up to that one big hill with the rocks and the awesome view. I forget what it was called. Then we went back to John’s place and I think we all drank too much. I love that sweater it’s awesome.

Top 3: Sober, Sweeney Toad's solo entry, Cthonic Cthlock/John Gillespie tie.

reve wrote: ↑

Sun May 24, 2020 10:23 pm

Sober.
Ooo, yeeeaaah. I've totally been using the pandemic to avoid my mom. YOUR MUSIC MAKES ME CONFRONT MY EMOTIONS. What are you using for drums?

Drums are the NI Vintage Drummer, specifically the ivory kit set to brushes. Used the same setup on Mythical Creature. Wish the other kits in the series had brush articulations, but they don't.

sleepysilverdoor wrote: ↑

Tue May 26, 2020 5:33 pm

Sober: Okay, this delivers on the country vibes that seemanski’s song got me wanted. Damn good vocal performance, and it’s well mixed. That very stripped down tremolo guitar has a great vibe to it. Where seemanski’s song makes me want to test drive a 2021 Ford F-150, this makes me want to hung my friends and family at a memorial service because half of the memorial services I’ve been to recently have involved slideshows of sentimental pictures while some sentimental song that sounds like this plays over the PA. Maybe it’s cause nearly every one I’ve been to in the past several years has been in Kentucky for whatever reason. WAIT YOU HAD A LYRIC IN THERE ALLUDING TO THAT VERY SCENARIO. And reading the lyric sheet this matches exactly which what it conveys in my head so well-played. Very well played. Best song of the fight so far.

Thanks! I've been playing a monthly set of classic country for an old folks home in south Houston for about three years. Never missed a month til this all started. They quarantined back in December due to a bad flu that killed a couple residents. They told me how depressing and hard it was. That was only three weeks; they're at about ten now. I think about them a lot. Thanks for the kind words.

Seriously, Sober, that is deeply intense. My mom died Dec 28 in a VT nursing home at 92. They had specialists in dementia and were otherwise insanely attentive. I was there the week before, though she didn't know who we were. Weird to say, but I'm glad she didn't have to live through this. And I'm glad we didn't have to deal with that flavor of uncertainty and separation. Really heartfelt song.

roymond wrote: ↑

Sat May 30, 2020 12:01 pm

Seriously, Sober, that is deeply intense. My mom died Dec 28 in a VT nursing home at 92. They had specialists in dementia and were otherwise insanely attentive. I was there the week before, though she didn't know who we were. Weird to say, but I'm glad she didn't have to live through this. And I'm glad we didn't have to deal with that flavor of uncertainty and separation. Really heartfelt song.

Dementia is tough. My grandmother passed in a very similar manner December a couple years ago. I got the "shufflin' to the time of Blue Eyes Cryin' line from my grandfather's wake, where that song played on loop for hours. It's one of the few slow songs the old folks like to hear when I play. Thanks for listening, Roy.

Oops. Can we not delete our posts? Is this 2003?

Highlights for me were seemanski and Sober. I also liked Ken's song. Several others were decent as well.

How many OG's do we have in this fight? Ken, Roymond, j$, Wreckdom, reve, me.. Paco kind of counts

Listened to everything earlier this week on speakers, going through in much more detail on my mix headphones. GF only was around for the first few tracks, so most of you are spared her abuse.


Brown Word and the Big Whine: First note and tone reminds me of CKY's Knee Deep, but is gone just as quick. Wish again that the vocal effort was balls to the wall. Could be a dead ringer for the Sex Pistols if you did. Won't say much in the way of production notes, as it seems like you're more or less nailing the sound of the genre you're going for. Would be nice to get a little bit more stereo spread by playing the power chords again and panning them. Neat going from the 3 to 4 feel and back. Neat stuff, but it still feels like you're holding back.

GF: The intro was fun, reminded me of the Darkness, then it sounded like Joan Jett getting a root canal. She has an interesting voice, but I don't like what she does with it

Chthonic Chthock: Feels very Flight of the Conchords. I want heavy gated snare. I appreciate the effort you put into arrange the different vocal parts, and putting them into pan pockets, etc - very effective. The syncopated break at 0:35 feels like a dropped beat - I rewinded and counted to make sure it wasn't a 7/8 measure or something. Maybe that's what you were going for. Don't know about the V ending. As 80's-inspired songfight entries go, this is very well done.

GF: This would be my roller derby anthem

Geech Sorensen: Fun! The pan automation is a bit too stark - expanding the stereo field for choruses or other effect is great, but it shouldn't be so conspicuous, and you shouldn't give the game away in the first 8 measures. Trim the buzz on that electric a little closer to when it actually comes in. Heads and tails of clips all around could use a closer trim and crossfade; extra obvious at the end of the track. Points for use of "bullshittery," but watch your prosody on words like "worry" - the emphasis on the second syllable there feels wrong, unless you make it a feature of every stanza. Would love to hear this done up with a full band treatment; the energy is here. This didn't do it for me earlier in the week, but I'm liking it better tonight on headphones.

GF: If there was a challenge to only use the title of the song he'd win it

John Gillespie: Very Foo Fighters. Oh man, switch out the snare patch. I want a big, roomy snap, and you're giving me a coffee can being tapped by a baguette. Would also like full kit programming with lots of cymbals all over. I appreciate all the clean guitar work, but a layer of thick power chords under the chorus would be awesome. On speakers I wanted more dry vocal, but on headphones it feels good. Vocal performance is obviously stellar. Hammond is my primary instrument; I'll let a "meh" suffice on it here. I think my overall feeling is that I'd like for you to squeeze as much out of your virtual instruments as you are your real instruments and voice. The "performance" of the vst's are the only thing holding this back. Great stuff.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff: Mix super brittle in the intro. Automate out the midscoop on the acoustic before your vocal comes in or something. The balance is much better from there. The clean-ish strat (?) sounds out of tune, especially in the second verse.. None of the drums are cutting through the mix - the snare is super squashed. I haven't heard you in quite a long time - vocal delivery is still very Ken, but you've really settled into the feel, and I like it. Your layering and harmonies are really well executed too - I'd love for my harmonies to be this transparent and seamless. Maybe back the lead synth off by 3db. Going from the solo into the bridge is a big step down in energy, and having that synth lower to begin with + drop down rather than totally out might help. Did you try any vocoder on this? I think that would have been really fun, and it would have been more interesting that a straight synth patch with no filter automation, etc. I don't mind how on-the-nose these lyrics are; it's on brand and fits. Lots of good sounds here. Great to see you still around, Ken.

Paco del Stinko: Feeling a bit of Mighty Mighty Bosstones here. Maybe that's what I feel is odd about your music - your backing vocals, while well done, seldom seem to fit the mood. Maybe they just need to be a big fat horn section instead. What uh... what is the accent about? Sorry if that's your real accent ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I do like the delivery - unlike anything I've heard on songfight before, and it suits your voice. The ride bell or whatever is verrrry pingy. Felt like things nearly fell apart in that transition into the bridge. I do feel like the solo or the third verse could have been cut (or both!). Lyrics are meh, but more than serviceable for the genre. Good bass performance, and the sound is about right. Fun stuff as usual.

Phlebia: Crush those bits, baby. 30 seconds is too long an intro - cut it in half! Sorry I thought of the South Park Goth Kids. Your voice and melody writing reminds me very much of Deron Miller (second CKY link this fight!) when it's on pitch. You seem to lose diaphragm engagement or otherwise drop intensity at points, and it's in those spots your tone and pitch wander. But when it's on, it's superb. I get that this is supposed to sound like a bitcrushy mess, but something like a clean sub sine patch as your bassline, even if only during the chorus, would provide a solid foundation to support this wonderful tower of trash. Oh, and during the chorus, either give us a little space in the frequency of kick drum hits, or give me another big boom sound on every beat one (listen to how much space there is in the chorus drums of this). Maybe that wouldn't work at this tempo, but I want more push and pull from this, rather than the consistent driving I'm getting. Anyway, this is really fun, and I'd like to hear what a few years of workshopping does to what you're doing. Keep it up.

roymond feat. mo: Roymond! Neat soundscape. Hate the plugged in acoustic sound! The further back it drops, the happier I get. Hm. I don't know how I feel about this. The doom-Loreena McKennitt vibe gets bumrushed by a Hobbit-y strangeness that I can't reconcile. Run the vocal through an amp simulator with some heavy burn, maybe a leslie. Maybe try the reverse>reverb>reverse trick. As it is, it's too dry, and too close (also, watch your breath sounds). Could use more bottom end on the track, too. Y'all are weird AF, and I appreciate you for it.

seemanski: Slick as hell. Best guitar tone of the fight so far. Very Gary Clark Jr. with hints of Lenny Kravitz, especially with that guitar tone. The long vocal sustain into the solo cries for some kind of reverb automation push, if not a phase crash. Good arrangement all around, though I'd be interested to hear this with a more complete kit. Probably the most impressive thing about this is how much restraint you show throughout. The vocal treatment is really well done. Would appreciate a little less of that Voxy guitar in some places, and maybe a couple extra db on the drum bus, but these are nits. Slick all around, my friend.

shrts: These are so good. Simple, well-executed, fun. Could scoop out the boxy mids on the bass. I will say that the 'oomph' factor on this one feels like an 8/10 on all instruments and voice, at least compared to your Mythical Creature. Still, very happy to see y'all here.

Sober: Did a full mix on this, spent a full day reading and watching videos, and restarted the mix from scratch. Very glad I did, though this is by no means perfect. Dobro is hard. The antique string sequence was something I tried as a placeholder for a proper solo, but it grew on me, and I'm happy with it as is. I had Jason Isbell in my head while writing this. He has a way of writing tiny details that tell a whole story, and I admire that a lot. Big improvement from my Mythical Creature on most fronts imo, though the style of that one is more fun to me.

Sweeney Toad: The stereo split on the drums is almost too much on headphones, and it's made more jarring by everything else being dead center. Overall feels a bit lackluster. A bit more oomph in the vocal, a few more takes to clear up a couple flow spots, and a little more programming work. Also, there's virtually nothing in the high-end; a couple shaker samples. Give me a hat tapping away on 16ths or 32nds way back in the mix - that'll give the slow, sparse beat some cohesion and fill in the gap up top. Good work in the genre by songfight standards, but I think you can aim higher.

Sweeney Toad x Johnny Cashpoint: Aggh, there's a sub punch with every strum. Please please cut like 60-80hz. "I’m riding dirty with weed in my car" - redundant, yes? The syllable density seems like this should be like 20bpm faster. This is so bonkers. I love that I haven't heard j$'s voice in seriously like ten years, but I can 1000% pick him out doing the 'oohs.' Was there a conscious decision to do the push-beat snare on the 1 thing? Like, were the drums done first thinking the rest of the track would have a reggae feel, and then everything else assumed a straight feel? Anyway, again, this is bonkers. Classic songfight. I miss this place.

Tomdg: Not a fan of the hard panning. There are better ways to use the stereo space. Watch your recording levels, got some clipping in both the guitar and the vocal tracks. Bass tone is yuck. Synth pad is yum. You don't have a bad voice; I'm at times reminded of Alexi Murdoch. Still, even the "unpolished, lazy affect" sound does take a lot of effort to work, especially in as naked an arrangement as you've got for 90% of this song. Trying to think of what the melody reminds me of. Kind of this, but I don't think that's it. Nice little tune.

WreckdoM: I love the kick sample. I'm not up on my Wreckdom lore, but if Animal is not a recurring character, he needs to be. Titty twisting time. My GF finds fake vomit sounds hilarious. I am absolutely going to play this for her tomorrow. Production-wise, you've done a good job keeping everything intelligible, which is about all that matters here. Would like to hear some clean lows from the fuzzy bass cut through a bit. This might be my favorite Wreckdom track.

Great fight! For me, seemanski is the clear standout, with honorable mention to John Gillespie. Lot of good stuff this week y'all.

Sober wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 02, 2020 1:42 am

How many OG's do we have in this fight? Ken, Roymond, j$, Wreckdom, reve, me.. Paco kind of counts

Phlebia: Crush those bits, baby. 30 seconds is too long an intro - cut it in half! Sorry I thought of the South Park Goth Kids. Your voice and melody writing reminds me very much of Deron Miller (second CKY link this fight!) when it's on pitch. You seem to lose diaphragm engagement or otherwise drop intensity at points, and it's in those spots your tone and pitch wander. But when it's on, it's superb. I get that this is supposed to sound like a bitcrushy mess, but something like a clean sub sine patch as your bassline, even if only during the chorus, would provide a solid foundation to support this wonderful tower of trash. Oh, and during the chorus, either give us a little space in the frequency of kick drum hits, or give me another big boom sound on every beat one (listen to how much space there is in the chorus drums of this). Maybe that wouldn't work at this tempo, but I want more push and pull from this, rather than the consistent driving I'm getting. Anyway, this is really fun, and I'd like to hear what a few years of workshopping does to what you're doing. Keep it up.

To answer your first question, I've been here as long as Paco but prior to this year only contributed VERY irregularly and rarely used the same band name more than once... So I almost but don't quite count.

I'll take the South Park Goth Kids as a comparison, though my dancing is a bit more animated and I don't have a taste for cigarettes.

Anyway, thanks for the solid advice! Mixing and composition advice is always welcome, and I'm still trying to figure out exactly where my tessitura is. Regarding "workshopping", I know via outside correspondence I've mentioned my recording setup -- it's basically carrying around my Tascam DP-006, recording vocals in the car, recording drums in a non-soundproofed garage by lying the mic on the floor, recording acoustic by laying the mic on the table or something, and recording bass through a direct line, sometimes using my Dimension C chorus (for gothy goodness). And to get the tracks off of my Tasccam I have to render them, take the batteries out, pop the memory card in my laptop, save them to a project folder My kids turn 2 and 6 this summer, and so at this point my workshopping pretty much consists of figuring out how I can get an idea from conception to execution in as little time as possible while still sounding decent cause it's damn near impossible to get actual quality recording time!

Good idea on the sine wave, I'll try that under my fuzzy bass tones some time.

Sober wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 02, 2020 1:42 am

Anyway, again, this is bonkers. Classic songfight. I miss this place.

Bonkers - I'll take that. Plus ca change and all.

j$

votes get bold/underline:

Brown Word & the Big Whine - Dig the sludgy Butthole Surfers type vibe. I like the guitars and the vocals work alright for this kind of garage rock/punk style.

Chthonic Chtock - '80s as heck. I think this is pretty well done but subjectively it's not quite my thing probably not quite a vote, but thinking about it. I like the little breakdown at the end with the delay. Pretty catchy song.

Geech Sorensen - I like the energy in the main rhythm guitars and some sweet little riffs. Vocals sound quite good. Kinda missing the drums/bass although it sounds good as is.

John Gillespie- This one reminds me of '90s alternative. Maybe the vocals could be a bit higher in the mix. Some catchy vocal bits and well performed. The vocals have a lot of personality. In places it reminds me of early Radiohead. I really like the instrumental breakdown. Some tasty guitar bits. There's enough cool stuff in this one I think it has to get a vote.

Ken's Super Duper Band N Stuff - this one reminds me a bit of a band I quite like (Grandaddy) and it grows on me the more I listen to it. vocals sound good. pretty awesome synths. vote.

Paco del Stinko - So much going on, love the vocal harmonies. High energy. Tons of personality in your vocals. Great guitars. This is a fun one. Vote.

Phlebia - Love the atmosphere here and the song is catchy. Love the release on the chorus. Definitely in the running for my favorite of the fight. Vote.

roymond feat. mo - I love this kind of widescreen psychedelic production/mix. Lots of cool sounds in here. Another vote.

seemanski - This one is impressive, great sounding instrumentally and the vocals sound really good. Great groove. Great mix. I have to vote for this one too even if this kind of classic rock-ish riffy blues rock thing isn't quite my thing, I think objectively it's really good.

shrts - Sounded really good for the 33 seconds that it lasted!

Sober - Really nice sounding. Gentle. Great vocals. I've got genre-bias against this but I like it nonetheless. Have to vote for it, just too well done not to get a vote. Good stuff.

Sweeney Toad - I like the trippy synths but I'm not a big fan of the vocal approach and with something like this that's a huge part of the song so it's not totally working for me.

Sweeney Toad x Johnny Cashpoint - I think I can kind of copy/paste my review from the previous Sweeney Toad song, the instrumental is pretty cool but I don't like the vocals.

Tomdg - the wide panning isn't a total deal breaker how I'm listening (on my studio monitors) - the total separation can be a pretty cool effect really. but on headphones I'm betting this is a bit hard to listen to. still, I really like this song. it has a kind of gentle melancholy that really works for me. and there's some lovely stuff going on in the arrangement. voting for this.

WreckdoM - This is absolute madness and when I'm in the right mood this could work for me, but Tomdg had me in a mellow place man.

Sober wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 02, 2020 1:42 am

Trim the buzz on that electric a little closer to when it actually comes in. Heads and tails of clips all around could use a closer trim and crossfade; extra obvious at the end of the track.

Sober, Can you clarify this point? Are you saying there is noise or something that you hear before and after the guitars that should be removed? How are you saying the song should end?

Geech wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 02, 2020 11:09 am

Sober, Can you clarify this point? Are you saying there is noise or something that you hear before and after the guitars that should be removed? How are you saying the song should end?

Hey Geech. Yeah, the single coil buzz is audible for a half second before the guitar starts playing - trim that clip right up to the attack. Some people might try a noise gate or to eq out the noise, but I always trim my heads and tails anyway so this isn't a problem for my noisy strat.

On that note - your ending as written and recorded is fine, I'm just saying spend an extra minute in post cleaning it up. Trimming the tails, especially at the end of the song, means cutting the last second or two or every track, and fading it out. As it is, I can hear mouse clicks, shifting in chairs, etc in the end of your recording. It's ok to have some ending sound that indicates a sense of your recording space, but that kind of thing is usually on a solo guitar-and-voice track, and it's meant to imply that it was all done in one take.

Sober wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 02, 2020 12:14 pm

Geech wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 02, 2020 11:09 am

Sober, Can you clarify this point? Are you saying there is noise or something that you hear before and after the guitars that should be removed? How are you saying the song should end?

Hey Geech. Yeah, the single coil buzz is audible for a half second before the guitar starts playing - trim that clip right up to the attack. Some people might try a noise gate or to eq out the noise, but I always trim my heads and tails anyway so this isn't a problem for my noisy strat.

On that note - your ending as written and recorded is fine, I'm just saying spend an extra minute in post cleaning it up. Trimming the tails, especially at the end of the song, means cutting the last second or two or every track, and fading it out. As it is, I can hear mouse clicks, shifting in chairs, etc in the end of your recording. It's ok to have some ending sound that indicates a sense of your recording space, but that kind of thing is usually on a solo guitar-and-voice track, and it's meant to imply that it was all done in one take.

Oh, ok, I understand now. Thanks. FYI - the major noticeable thump you hear at the end is my right hand hitting the acoustic guitar, which was mic'd.

Wow there were a LOT of well-done entries this time. Sober though, you legitimately moved me emotionally, so I definitely gotta give it up for that. Really well-done lyrics and production. My Shutdown, a couple things frustrate me. I mastered poorly, way too quiet. Then I never got around to actually writing or editing a drum part throughout, so that's mostly one hastily-done drum machine pattern and one percussion loop, nothing that really adds to the song. Tried to do better this week in both regards (mastering and programming drums decently), with mixed success!