Roasting chestnuts ̶a̶n̶d̶ with my (Family By The Fireside reviews)

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Family by the fireside
Telling storiеs through the night
I can't sleep, tomorrow's Christmas Day
So I made a list, I've chеcked it twice

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Please place a transcript of your vociferation in the appropriate thread: viewtopic.php?t=12798

[Lunkhead]

Songs posted!

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Brief notes, blah blah, etc., and all that.

Berkeley Social Scene: The barely out of tune guitar in the intro set this song up nicely, it's a deft touch. I liked the fuzzy guitar on the right but it go a bit much, seemingly unbalanced and continuous, after a while. Yes, the guitars are on opposite sides, it seems, but unbalanced, if that makes sense? Still, I like the energy of the chorus, the contrast with the verses and the live but still clear feeling in the mix.

Johnny Cashpoint: The mix, while a little darker than some, seems more balanced and clear than some of your entries. I like the arrangement of instruments. The repeated bassline riff works well, the two guitar lines are balanced nicely but maybe a bit too close in tone for full separation. Still, I like this. The atmospheric transition going into the last verse is effective, too. A nice touch.

Phlim: I like the vocal harmony/doubling quite a bit. A fun story done up in a nice little alternative pop rock suit (with some roots accessories, maybe?) that fits just right. My only quibble is that I don't know how this will stand up on repeated listens, at least for me.

Pigfarmer Jr: BJ Barnham (American Aquarium) has song/story about his grandmother turning 98 or something and that completely influenced this take on the title. This was supposed to be sung by an old lady but I changed it to something I could sing when all my AI voice attempts failed miserably.

V4nnim3l: That's a cool intro. I expected something more acoustic based with the vinyl pops but that's just my Father getting drunk and putting on his roots music when I was young. I love how that synth bit feels a bit like the record is speeding up to full speed at the very beginning. The longing/reminiscing is appropriate. I couldn't really hear the lyric completely (seems by design) but I like what I can make out. The tuned vox works really well here. Such a downbeat tune but it works for me really well. Might be my favorite of the fight.. maybe.

[Lunkhead]

The results are in and the fight has been won by ... Berkeley Social Scene!