These reviews are mostly written on a first pass. For context, I'm sitting at my studio desk, listening on my nice budget monitors.
add - Your voice is as lovely as ever, and seems to have just gotten better with time. Slow country-esque strumming isn't where I imagined this title would go, but I like the lyrical approach. Daring to do the whole thing with just you and the guitar, but it's well-sung and well picked. I'll vote for this. Strong start to the fight!
Brown Word and the Big Whine - Really intense intro! I'd like to hear the drums more present in the mix somehow, more thump from the kick and more of the snare cutting through the rest of the mix. Melodically, the verses seem a little formless, but that complaint might fade on future listens. It tightens up a lot in the chorus, and the harmony lines are really helping in that regard. A couple of the notes are a bit pitchy; might want to consider re-taking them or fixing them up with some pitch correction software. It feels like the song is ending, but then it goes into a long quieter bridge section.
Clover Dance - Why is the snare so far left? Going for a vintage early-stereo vibe? It's not really working for me. I do like the psychadelic solo, which does suggest that the drum panning was a choice in keeping with that aesthetic. In that spirit, it might have been cool to add some more effects to the lead vocal, like an EQ sweep or just some more reverb. And some backmasked sound effects or something. As it stands, this doesn't change enough between verses for my liking. It's not long so it doesn't overstay its welcome, but could have been jazzed up by introducing and dismissing other arrangement elements.
Conspiracy of Joy - Opera/Classical style vocals like these are usually a hard sell for me. Is that Abigail singing? If so, I think I may have mentioned this about your voice before. I can't tell if that's a second singer, or if you're just accessing a different timbre of your own voice, changing to head singing or something. I like the second voice better, though it could have used some EQ cuts to avoid burying other parts of the mix. "And you whisper / Never ever again" is worming its way into my heart. I'm singing along by the third time it comes around. There are some cool bits of tone color hiding in the background. Is that an accordion used for a pad instrument? Pretty. The harmonization around 3:30 seals the deal for me. It has some mix issues, but I'm voting for this. Ooh, and then that nice expressive guitar solo is just a cherry on top. Well done!
Evermind - Really long fade-in. About 20 seconds in before I hear a distinct note, then about 15 seconds of bassline establishing the groove. This could have been tightened a bit, I think. I like the harmonics that come in around the one-minute point. Kind of feels like post-rock lite. I'm hearing some built-up freuqencies in the mid-range or maybe upper-mid range? There aren't
that many pieces of the mix at the point when I'm hearing it, so I suspect that might be the kind of thing you could fix with an EQ cut (maybe around the 8k-12k range?) in that warm synth pad? You nailed the minimal lyrics challenge, and your vocals are well done. They could sit a little better in the mix, but that's not a dealbreaker. For the mellow ambient mood, maybe just pulling the fader down 2-3db on the voice might have suited the piece better. Wanna let me remix it?
Future Boy - Starting right off with that fun little synth line! I dig it! Ah, the fake vinyl scratches! The groove and the instrumental mix are unimpeachable here! Love the tone colors and arrangement choices! Where my complaints come in are with the voice. This is a song about anxiety... and schizophrenia, I guess? Anyway, given the tension in the lyrics, I'd like to hear that reflected more in the vocal performance. I'm thinking of someone like David Byrne who made a real art form of letting his tight-wound persona loose in Talking Heads songs. I also think you used a little too much reverb, where the anxious nature of these lyrics would, in my opinion, call for something more immediate and in-your-face. I'm nitpicking a bit, but it's the main thing "wrong" with this song, everything else about it works for me really well! Also, sorry if I sounded flippant about the lyrics earlier; they're really good too! I love the part about fishing the voice out of the folds in your brain with a piece of gum. The bridge at 2:00 is a wild change of pace, and I'm not sure I like it, but that might just be because I miss the groove from before. It's a great moment when that groove comes back, and then the challenge comes in with the repetition of "Medicore middle-aged white dude." You're getting a vote, but I'd love to hear this covered by someone with less restraint in their voice.
Future Proof Theories - Are we going for, like, a "found recording" vibe? At first I thought the background noise was, like some kind of intentional soundscape, but the more I listen, the more inclined I am to think that you just let it roll on a laptop mic and I'm just hearing whatever was happening in your room at the time. The rustling, the whirring noise in the background, they're all actually making it more difficult to hear your musical idea. I think it's mainly because you're kind of quietly singing to yourself, instead of to us. Without instruments or multitrack recording, a song like this will always only sound like a little scrap of an idea anyway, but we might have a better idea of what you're going for if you can project more, maybe give it a dozen more practice takes, get more comfortable and confident with it, and really try to
perform it.
Hostess Mostess - What was up with that voice before the lead vocal and electric piano come in? Was that the "disembodied voice" or just a radio that was on in your studio? I like that whining guitar in my left speaker during the voice, but I wonder if the tremolo on the piano is just a little TOO much. When the guitars and harmonies come in, you've found a really nice groove (oh, and now the whining guitar is in the right channel!), and I like hearing the action of the pick on the strings of the electric guitar. There's a lot of intricate detail in the recording and arrangement here. Oh, and there's that radio again. I don't know, I don't think the radio is adding anything, to be honest. But I'm voting for this.
J. A. N. - Some of these synth sounds are kind of harsh on my ears. Maybe that's what you were going for, but it's not winning me over, sorry to say. Also, that buzzy sawtooth sound is throwing off the balance; it (and consequently the whole mix) feels a bit too far left. There's a melodic passage that comes in around the same time the rap starts that I like, but also I feel like it reminds me of something in particular that I can't put my finger on. The rap is perfectly serviceable for this kind of thing, but I'd prefer to hear the lead vocal blended a little better with the instruments. Dang, "Be a martyr for a week or two / But the news cycle has to move." That lyric hits hard. I was going to type that the song needs a hook, but then you included a lyric about that, how it's "not a sing-along." Well, ok then. I still think some kind of repeated structural element summarizing the feeling of the song might have helped... Well, it would have helped
me like it more, but that's not really the advice you're after, I guess.
Jon Porobil - If I'd had more time, I would have included a lead guitar lick over the count-in and another as the vocal breaks down at the end. Maybe I left things a little muddy in the mix, too. Mostly it's fine. I'm happy with that slidey gutiar lick I wrote echoing the verse lines, and I'm happy with my structure. Lyrically, I think it's maybe about God? I dunno, this is one of those ones where I was trying not to think too hard as a I wrote. I only rewrote one part when I found it a little awkward to sing. The rest is first-pass. I did wonder if the snare intro was a little too long, but it's a short song anyway, so I figured it wasn't hurting much. I vote myself; hope that's not gauche to admit.
Nick Hilton - It's not you, it's me. Gotta claim genre bias here, as speed metal isn't my thing. I'll give it a try again. The vocal on "Unrelenting" reminds me of Bon Scott. That fast riff is played cleanly. It might work a little better with more expression in the drum part, but that might not be anything you're able to fix with your setup. The more this plays out, the more it makes me think of Paco del Stinko. I think you might be off-pitch in some of those melodic bridge sections, but it's hard to tell what the melody was supposed to be there, so maybe work a bit more on that. Okay, here's something I can sink my teeth into - I
really like that guitar solo that starts around 2:40. It's well-paced and perfectly balanced between melody and impressive flair. Then the vocals come back in and I'm struggling to find a toehold again. Sigh. I don't think you're doing much "wrong," per se, at least not that I can tell. I just can't get into this style.
Ken's Super Duper Band n Stuff - Going in with the challenge right off the bat, I see. I love the drums here; they're not even doing anything complicated, but they're so much more expressive and well-recorded than most of the other entries. I wish you could play drums for everyone here. I also like the melody and harmony here - you're evoking Tom Petty a little! The guitar-harmony lines coming in around 1:50 are a nice choice to keep the arrangement involved. I also like that you subtly built out the harmony point on the repetitive chorus at the end. There's not much in the way of ambition or innovation to this track, but I like it all the same. You get a vote.
[Taking a break so I can come back fresh]
Lichen Throat - There's an offputting quality to a lot of your music, such as in the intro to this song, you've got a guitar that sounds close to realistic for a couple of notes, then enters the "uncanny valley" as it plays intervals that don't come naturally to a guitar. Your voice, similarly, is not a precise instrument, but I think you're on the right track with trying to make it sit better in the mix. It's not too loud, and the delay is helping it stand out. The biggest problem is still the pitch. Maybe try having a temporary instrument track play the vocal melody for you to sing along with, and then remove that instrument after you're done? Maybe some pitch correction software might help, though I'd recommend caution there, as it can come out sounding even worse if you weren't close enough to begin with. Over on the lyrical front, I like the idea of connecting explorers and frontiersmen to the title, as they're following a "disembodied voice," but it feels like it comes a little out of left field each time it comes up. Perhaps it would have struck me better if you'd incorporated the idea of their motives into the lyrics beforehand? Emphasizing how irrational the decision must have been, or even using subtler language like "they heard the call" first or something? Just something to make the ideas flow more naturally from one to the next.
luntar - Well, you win the "beat Jon at his chosen genre for the week" award. Kinda-sorta. I did rockabilly, and this is more straight-up country. Anyway, it's short, snappy, good guitar playing. I think the amount of reverb is a bit much for your genre, and the fadeout is a little too fast for my taste, but those are VERY minor quibbles. This is otherwise pretty much perfect. Got my vote.
Night Sky - I like the bass and lead synth tones. The lead vocal is a little shaky. I'm also not crazy about the lyrics in the chorus, as I don't find the list of abstract nouns "pain, sorrow, loneliness" evocative or memorable. From an arrangement standpoint, maybe some spot-harmonies might have add some interest to the arrangement? The melody and synth timbres are working, which is a good foundation.
Paco del Stinko - This reminds me of Nick Hilton.
Kidding aside, I like that random sharp in the repeated lick, and the sound in the background that at first I thought was a flute, but now I'm starting to think might just be a guitar with a long attack envelope? Your vocals sound weirdly muffled, like you were singing into... Wait, were you wearing a mask while singing this? Whatever's going on with the voice, it's not working much for me; maybe some other effect to convey distance might have worked better for me. The brief instrumental passage at 2:00 is really killer. In spite of the vocal effect not selling it for me, a lot is working: the structure/brevity, lyrics, arrangement, and above all the guitar playing. Just amazing stuff. Voting for it. (P.S. I'm still using that bass you sold me!)
Tim Conway/The Pannacotta Army - Ooh, this is the stuff. I like that echoey guitar in the background, and then the shaker comes in halfway through the verse. Strong vocals, well performed, sitting really well in the mix. I like that you added that new synth around the 55-second mark, but I'm not crazy about the timbre of that synth. I think a mellower sine-wave style with a longer release might have worked better. There's that other synth that comes in (with the lovely syncopated handclaps!) later on that works better, with the LFO sweep. The drop-offs are good for dynamic range, but slightly jarring. That sudden climactic synth solo works really well for me. This is ambitious, sonically interesting throughout, tons of great tone color, well performed... Best of the week so far. Voted!
Phlebia - Well, I would claim genre bias on this one, but I did do that remix. And full disclosure, I still think my mix was better than yours. The drums were the hardest part, so I'm looking forward to hearing what you can do with a multiple microphone setup. The bass and "guitar" (which is also a bass) work well and create a menacing gutteral tone that suits the genre well. The vocals are more of an issue, as your dynamic range means that the lead vocal is buried in some spots but uncomfortably clipping in others. Even when you're screaming, it's best to leave a little headroom in the mix and introduce distortion later in the mix if that's the effect you want. I personally could have done without that final growl, also. The song was done at that point, and I'm not sure what's added by that.
Pigfarmer Jr. - Getting "About a Girl" vibes from that intro. I like the middle-of-the-road arrangement. There's some distortion, I think it might be the bass, that strikes me as just slightly too much. I'm hearing bass in some other parts that sounds clean, though. Are you using automation on bass distortion, or is there an electric guitar part in the lower end as well? I'm spending too much time trying to figure this one little thing out. I like the filter on the spoken-word part on the bridge. In fact, I wouldn't have minded that part being a little bit longer. Nice lead guitar noodling, doesn't get too distracting.
seemanski - Better vocals than I remember hearing from you during Nur Ein. I'm getting Nine Inch Nails vibes off this one, which... I mean, well-executed, at least, but they're really not my cup of tea. The literal question-and-answer structure of the verses serves well to built and maintain interest. One synth sound, the higher, bouncy one, is mixed a little hot, and overwhelms the vocal when it comes in. Besides that, the mix is solid! I was enjoying the groove shift when the accelerando comes in, and then it falls apart in a way that I really didn't see coming. Ah, heck, you've won me over again. You get a vote!
Sweeney Toad - The elements of this arrangement never really gel into a proper mix for me. The use of NES Mario fireball noises as a percussive element is kind of distracting, and then when it becomes clear that your lyrics (such as they are) are about
Her, I start thinking that bringing in retro sounds clashes with the future aesthetic of that movie, but an allusion to the movie doesn't mean you're trying to ape the aesthetics of the movie anyway. Hard to really figure out what you're going for, though... aha, that's the crux; I can't really place the emotion. Since the lyrics are just "Her disembodied voice" without really saying anything
about the disembodied voice, I want to take emotional cues from the music, but the music is constructed such that I'm not getting a clear emotional vibe from that either. Sorry, I guess this didn't connect with me.
Third Cat - Getting some Wilco vibes off this one, in how it starts out like a normal midtempo acoustic song and then kind of goes off the rails a bit. The early warning not to get comfortable results in a track that stays tense even when it goes back to feeling euphonious. I like the synth in the background, but I don't like that it's pulsing with the guitar; I think it would add more contrast and sound if the synth were allowed to sit lushly behind the mix at a steady volume throughout. But overall this is solid and will get a vote from me.
Tim Hinkle - I can't make out any of the lyrics in the verse section. I do like the percussion elements introduced in the chorus, the artificial handclaps and whatever that other thing is in my left speaker. I have to admit, I'm looking at the track length and I'm a little nervous. Maybe I'm not listening close enough, but I didn't hear much change or momentum between the first verse/chorus and the second verse/chorus. I like the whistle synth in the background near the end, and overall it's not
bad, but it's a little static and runs long.
So that's 11 votes out of 23 songs. A little too generous? Maybe, but I can't force myself to hate on something I'm not actually hating. Mellowing out with age, I guess? If we still had the old one-vote system, my vote would have gone to Pannacotta, no question. I'll probably listen once or twice more later on and let you know if my opinions on anything change.
