Don't tell me (I Only Imagined It reviews)

[furrypedro]

Favorites are probably Magnetic Letters, Making Sparks, Colicky Zebras, and Scene Therapy. Honorable mention to Heine and Balance Lost. These instant bands churn out quality tunes...

You chose all the Instant Bands! Go Instant Band!

What is Instant Band?

[fluffy]

What is Instant Band?

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=12171

[mo]

It's kind of like Instant Pot, but even more so

[theleahkitten]

Man, I listened to each the songs several times and I know it’s not “Song Love” it’s Song Fight, but this was a terrific set of songs! I’m struggling to do the individual review thing when I heard echoes of Black Crowes (first album, come on, I’m not a monster) Tom Cochrane (OK maybe a little monster, but somehow I mean this as a compliment), Belle & Sebastian, Of Montreal, Gorillaz, Giorgio Moroder, two songs with Magnetic Fields feels (but not on the song of the similarly named band!) and two more songs that both had slightly different New Order feels. Lots of 1980s and 1990s arrangement, vocally or otherwise; loved that both New Wave and Post-Punk were represented, too. Clearly many of us had retro vibes on the brain.

I am the masked singer of Making Sparks and normally only perform at and write one song a year for Song Fight Live under the name Charm Offensive. Since I didn’t do the live fight this year I guess this is my one song. HA. Tom’s initial guitar sketch reminded me of New Pornographers, so I initially was writing lyrics for an AC Newman song but one that Neko Case would sing (e.g. Mass Romantic, Letters from an Occupant, etc.). After JB zhuzhed lyrics a little and added drums, plus Paco’s bass, the overall sound evolved with more of that synth 80s goodness, which made me just sing a straight up rock style. Wasn’t thinking of a specific voicing but I’m blushing from the Blondie, Chrissy Hynde, and Patti Smith comparisons, so thanks for making my first SF website entry in NINE YEARS (oop) made of sunshine and unicorns. Final band thoughts: Vom was a dream of a group project leader.

Final final thoughts: Thanks to Ken for reminding me every time there was an instant band. 47th time is the charm I guess?

[lichenthroat]

I'll sneak in with some eleventh-hour reviews.

Balance Lost—I like the delicate line of the guitar. Your gentle vocal fits well with the rest of the song. This isn’t the most memorable thing I’ve ever heard, but in this genre is well-suited to a more ethereal feel that evaporates from the mind, so that’s not a problem. Definitely enjoyed.

Berkeley Social Scene—Top-quartile BSS track. Nice solo. The vocal fits well with the rest of the song—kind of a late 70s hard rockin’ feel. Solid overall.

Caravan Ray—This establishes an effective atmosphere; I could easily see it being used in a film soundtrack or something like that. Strong rhythm. I can’t tell if I’m a little genre-biased against this or not. That last section, with is more prominent melody, is my favorite part. Well done, in any event.

Colicky Zebras—I can see this being popular on a radio station that I never listened to. This seems almost calculated to be contrary to several of my preferences (sorry!!), but that’s my problem more than yours. I actually think this is a good exemplar of this style of music, and you’ve all done a good job making it.

Duncan Martin—This might be my favorite of your tracks. It feels somehow more soulful (almost spelled that “soleful”), even though it’s not a huge departure from your usual style. I like the specific imagery in the lyrics and the clever rhymes. I don’t know if this really happened or not, but it sure feels like it did. Nice melancholy vibe. This is exactly as long as it needs to be.

FireBear—The drums sound great, especially the toms. I don’t quite know what to make of this. I’m not sure what genre it fits into (and of course you’re free to transcend genre as you see fit). I don’t dislike any part of this, but it didn’t really seize my attention. I like the experimental quality.

heine—This reminds me of something I can’t place. In a good way. I like it. Nice vocal melodies, which you need, singing in a language most of us don’t understand. I wish I could identify what this reminds me of. Anyway, thumbs up!

Lichen Throat—I’m mostly happy with this, though I wish I could have gotten a more confident vocal performance on the chorus (but, oh boy, I’m glad you didn’t have to hear how much worse the early takes of it were).

The Magnetic Letters—If someone described this to me, I’d expect to hate it, but I actually kinda like it. I think your vocal performance and melody are strong enough to break through my usual preferences. Vocal really sounds good.

Making Sparks—This is one of the most confident-sounding vocal performances I’ve heard from anyone, ever. Completely blows me over. The comparisons to Chrissy Hynde are apt and were among my first thoughts. The backing vocals are done well, but I’m not sure you need them; the main vocal is so strong that I don’t even want to think about anything else. This was my clear favorite this fight.

My Social Uniform—This is a song that teenage me would have liked but been embarrassed to admit. Middle-aged me likes it too. Great melodies and commitment to concept.

Phlub—This is not my brand of granola bar. Nevertheless, it seems like you’ve done a pretty good job. The production sounds good; all the instruments are distinct and clear. I appreciate the unrestrained vocal, which seems appropriate to the genre.

Scene Therapy—This sounds like music that everybody but me liked in the late 1990s. I can’t fault the production in any way. The sax hook is well done, and the vocal is interesting and stylish. This is another one that I think aficionados of the genre would enjoy a lot.

Toshiro—I’m a sucker for this kind of atmospheric chord progression. I liked this and wished it was longer. Good stuff.

[lichenthroat]

Lichen Throat: he's found the distortion patch in his software! I'm still digging the post punk vibes your throwing out. Your sounds are still improving and starting to sound better than the average indie band.

Thank you for saying this. It makes me feel like I'm finally making some progress toward how I want to sound.

[Lunkhead]

Making Sparks wins!

[furrypedro]

Making Sparks: Sounds like we have a winner.

Called it. Wish I hadn't voted for you now congrats!

[vowlvom]

Very cool, cheers voters!

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Congratz!!

[Heine]

Making Sparks – I like everything about it! ... Well played and well produced. My number one this fight!

Not only my number one it seems. Congratulations!

[owl]

Congrats Making Sparks!