Although I was away for about a week and didn't have time to submit something, I'm happy to listen and review. Thanks to all of you for submitting some awesome songs!
Barkley's So-Called Need
Very big impact right from the start. There are some things I don't like about the sound of this and they are things like "the synth thing", the hard-to-hear vocals, and the sound of the snare drum. But from a song perspective, it seems pretty solid. I just can't hear the vocals clearly and there aren't any lyrics so I can't properly judge this as a full song. It sounds cool otherwise!
Berkeley Social Scene
Way to slow it down this week and have a cool backbeat. I kind of feel like the drum beat during the chorus should be used more for building tension in a prechorus or bridge. In my mind, the chorus should be the relief to any tension previously created lyrically or melodically. In the first half of the bridge and the short verse 3, you do a good job of building that tension. Overall, I like this - very cool!
Caravan Ray
I was not expecting this and I am surprised how much I like this. It does get a little repetitive lyrically but I do like how you vary it instrumentally and have a lot of great harmonies between the vocals and the instruments. I do think you shared a very important lesson with the lyrics, for sure!
The Chadderandom Abyss
I would consider this a very good example of lo-fi atonal music. In lieu of posted lyrics and some background on the song, I can only say that, while I appreciate the experimental nature of this piece, there aren't any points at which it comes across as much more than a stream-of-consciousness recording. Could you share anything additional about your approach, or perhaps the lyrics, or anything? As it stands, this was hard to make it through, but I did, and I feel like some of your thoughts could shed some serious light. Thank you!
The Chocolate Chips
Cool swell and sitar-style effect. I'm used to your vocals being very precise and that's not reflecting in this recording. They're not very present, either, which I find to be a fairly common complaint of mine. Although there are a lot of mix things I would personally like to see resolved, the song does seem to do a good job of building and seems to have a clear instrumental theme. I also like the fade-out at the end.
Cookie Blue
The tough thing about live recordings can be the balance between instruments. In this case, the vocals get lost a lot, and that's a shame because this is a pretty strong vocal performance and I get the sense that there is some clever wordplay here as well. Because I can't hear it that well, and you don't have lyrics posted, it's tough for me to accurately review it. I get a sense that you could do some really cool stuff and I am looking forward to hearing more!
Foobar
I love that piano melody right after "unbreak a leg". I like most of this song a lot but I echo some of the comments about the "unbreak a leg" lyric. I think you could have come up with something stronger and I hope you do. This has a huge-sounding low-end boom to it that I love, too. The vocal performance is good, too - I sense that you are getting better of setting the vocals in the mix. Whatever you're doing, keep it up!
J.A.N.
I'd recommend a shorter intro and bumping up the vocals, especially with the distortion effect. You're beating something into my head, and it's actually pretty cool sounding, but I can't hear what I should be thinking. Until the last 45 seconds or so, and then I love it with that really aggressive delivery. It work perfectly there. I think turning up the vocals could have a big impact.
Jeff DeSantis
This is a good song. Good arrangement and construction and simple, but good performances. You don't waste time getting to the point of the song and you get to the bridge really quick, too. Nice solo. Overall, this seems a bit muffled. I think some slight subtractive EQ in the low-mid range would benefit this a lot. Nicely done, sir!
Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff
I love that opening guitar riff and the sound! I'd like to hear this with a better balance, though, especially becase there doesn't seem to be much of a low end. I hear a lot of guitar and vocals, which is good but bring up the low end if you can. The synth solo is a great departure but might come across a bit long. I do like the return to that riff afterwards, which I feel is the strongest part of this song. My brain imagines the song ending with it also, to really drive home the thing and get that stuck in the listener's head.
Klownhole
Super loose at the start. I keep expecting this to come back together and be really tight. There is a Doors feel to this despite there being nothing stylistically similar. Overall, it sounds like some really awesome mud. I think if this were tightened up rhythmically and had a little more definition it would be super cool. And I'll also mention the length of it being an issue. Live, this could be an amazing jam but for this audience I tend to think that even getting to four minutes can be a bit long. I find that to be a good challenge (as I can sometime ramble on) and a good rule of thumb.
The Magnetic Letters
Very sweet, memorable melody, with a great balance. I like the contrast between things musically and lyrically and I think this is a strong contender for "victory" this round. It's very clever, too; could you please post the lyrics? I love how bitter the lyrics get as the song goes on, too. Super awesome!
MMMC
You're obviously very talented and I appreciate greatly what you're able to do vocally. I think there are some basic things that could be done to really improve this from an editing and mix perspective. In this groove-oriented style, a consistent rhythm is key, and that's something I think was missed here. Spend some time getting things to line up properly (whether that happens during recording or mixing is up to you). There's some really cool stuff going on here - just tighten it up and I think you'll have something even more cool.
New Image
I like this. Bring up the drums, please! I think that would also add to some textural contrast during parts where the rhythm section isn't playing. I think there's some great sounds and performances in this. As strong as those are, I do sense it dragging in the last 30 seconds. I don't have any specific constructive criticism; I would just suggest revisiting that part if you plan on revising this at all. Thank you for sharing this!
Paco del Stinko
Although the vocals sound low in the mix, they are very well performed. The guitar harmonies are a great addition throughout the song. Really great guitar solo and great instrumental balance. Wait, my stream just cut out at 2:30. Oh wait, I restarted the stream and it works now. Great job at keeping that energy throughout the whole song - that, to me, is the mark of a good arrangement!
Rio Mondo
Reminds of a Massive Attack or Sweetback jam. Diggin' it. Look up how to do a high-pass filter (HPF) on the vocals if you don't already. That would benefit the verse vocals a lot. The more spoken vocal does seem to lag a bit timing wise. There is a very sudden change around 2:30 and I'm not sure if it fits. It's also around that spot that this song seems to drag and, although it does need a change, the one at 2:30 doesn't - oh wait, that one at 3:25 is perfect. I'd move that back about a minute and really shorten this because it's got a cool ending from there. In my last song, I chopped off about 30 seconds right in the middle of the last half and it made the song flow a lot better. That might help you in this case, too. You've got some great ideas so keep it up!
Scott Gesser
There's some cool stuff going on here. The fact that it is mostly acapella alone gets bonus points from me. And then the "you suck" lyrical theme is wonderful. I have been in this situation before and I can totally relate. I've also been on the other end of it and totally deserved it, too, but let's just say I dig it.
