Help me name my new cocktail (Blood And Fire reviews)

[Pigfarmer Jr]

It really burns on the way down.

[Pigfarmer Jr]

The words to your song go here: viewtopic.php?t=12590

[Lunkhead]

Songs posted! Slightly smaller turnout this time.

[ken]

BSS is in with a late track. I came down with a cold and needed a couple of extra days to be well enough to sing and mix. Please be gentle.

[Lunkhead]

Late BSS song added.

[AJOwens]

Basal Bark Band: Apparently mixed down from individual tracks, this song nevertheless has an extemporaneous quality, with its overdriven, off-the-cuff, seemingly impaired vocals ("Bud and Flyer"), disorienting guitar pattern, random swoopy siren synths, and cut-off beginning and end. The main charms for this listener include the arbitrary turns of the short chord sequence, the utter dissoluteness of the singer, and, it must be said, the overall length. Apart from that, it's an opportunity for the performers to have some fun.

Berkeley Social Scene: This has an instantly recognizable BSS sound, with the parallel distorted guitars, so present in the mix as to give a direct-to-board feel; the angular musical riffs; and the chopped, percussive rhythms. Crisp, sometimes muscular, but never overbearing drums; a solidly supportive bass; an angry hornet lead guitar. The chorus stands out for its tuneful, tight harmonies.

The Freezing Hands: Cross-rhythms, low-bass harmonic conflicts, and insistent drones drive the uneasy energy of this track. The vocals seem to be made up on the spot, and their flailing narrative soon gives way to a frenzied trance of "fire and blood," unquestionably inspired by this week's title. Good sound treatment on the singer's voice.

James Owens: This one came together when I added the dreamy, reverb-drenched lead guitar that drifts complacently through the song. It trades on that cheap effect, so often exploited by Tarantino and his admirers, of layering some bland, soothing fifties tune over explicit violence -- but in this case, without the explicit violence.

Jeff DeSantis: This makes me think of John Cougar Mellencamp, for some reason. A good driving beat, interesting rock-pop chord changes, a bright commercial sound, engaging raspy vocals. The harmonies are good, but a little weak in the production; they need to have the personality washed out of them. The guitar solos are crisp, melodic, and tastefully short. Maintains interest throughout. Seems like a possible vote.

Joy Sitler: Lovely work on the stringed instruments, a gentle 6/8 lilting mood, good slow build in the arrangement, somber strings adding gravitas, coupled vocals heightening the intensity, strategically placed inversions in the bass, dramatic use of the relative minor. Good work, and the vocals are delivered with intensity and conviction. The story is empowering. I might dock a point or two for what is in my opinion a tenuous connection to the title, but everything else about this deserves a vote.

Pigfarmer Jr: Loving the open-fifth guitar lick that drives this tune, and the way it's played. I am completely weirded out by the way you sing sharp when you head down to the VI chord. The song needs bottom -- why no bass? -- and the range of the composition is somewhat confined, but the beat is straight-ahead hooky, and the guitar solo has a fiery quality. I think this one should do more, but I like what's there, so I might vote for it.

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Pigfarmer Jr: Loving the open-fifth guitar lick that drives this tune, and the way it's played. I am completely weirded out by the way you sing sharp when you head down to the VI chord. The song needs bottom -- why no bass? -- and the range of the composition is somewhat confined, but the beat is straight-ahead hooky, and the guitar solo has a fiery quality. I think this one should do more, but I like what's there, so I might vote for it.

Thanks for the reviews.

The sharp note is a result of poor singing, poor ear training and a spike up in tinnitus. But mainly, I just couldn't hear the right note so I sang the wrong note as on pitch as possible and, more or less, got used to it so much that I never fixed it in the mix. (I have been doing some interval training with guitar and voice and I think my pitch is getting better, but....)

The lack of bass is for two reasons, I think. I'm Fawming so some of it is not spending enough time on things and the other reason is that I'm very unhappy with the bass in my mixes (even though I haven't received a ton of complaints.) I put it off and then, again, got used to the mix. While I got the basic guitar riff on the Tuesday before the deadline, everything else (and a surgical rearrangement of the acoustic) was written the day after the deadline, so I definitely didn't spend the proper amount of time on the song. I apologize for that.

Thanks again, for reviewing. I appreciate it. I'm hoping to get to some reviews this week.

[BoffoYux]

'Blood and Fire' - SongFight Listening Party
Monday February 12, 9pm EST. Drop in and chat with the artists! If the new SF is posted I'll do them both.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgnE3Uc_-E0

[Lunkhead]

Through the blood and fire Joy Sitler comes away with a win!