ST16R1 REVIEW - Russ Rogers

REVIEWS

In Submission Order

Jocko Homomorphism - John Goodman's Crowbar 

A Gary Numan/Cars Vibe. Big Lebowski Theme. I bet there will be a LOT of those. Begins with what sounds like 30 seconds of Metal Machine Music. I've never seen Big Lebowski. That's on me. I own Metal Machine Music on vinyl. Dear Lord, trim that intro!

The Quantifiers - Dining in Dictionopolis 

Cello. Needs ukulele, even if that's a DoubleClicks thing. Wear your influences on your sleeve. CLEVER lyric!!! Lovely, innocent vocals. The melody runs up and down the scale like Gilbert and Sullivan or a Children's Song. But, that's what it is. I'm only two songs in, and this is one of my faves.

Ominous Ride - Running 

Great Production. Piano gets buried after the intro. That's too bad. Dark lyrics. Journey meets Toto thing. I can't tell what movie or book inspired this. But I like it.

Caravan Ray - A Soul as Light as a Feather 

Drums, Bass and Vocals. Huh. Capt. Beefheart? Do these people even know of Capt. Beefheart? Nice Production. Who is Miss Watson? (Mary Jane?) I want to know. Great vocals. I don't know the book or movie. I just don't care!

Steve Stearns - The Doctor Has No Time To See You Now 

Piano and Melodica? Neil Innes-like. Funny title. Funny punch. Great Piano HOOK! I'm hooked. I was expecting to hate this (don't ask why--no good reasons) and I loved it instead. WOW! What a pleasant surprise.

OutLyer - Take Me Away

Theme: Peter Pan. This sounds like a rough draft. It's got a chorus and ONE rap break. Then it repeats. It needs a verse. I needs more. Who had the recent pop hit with a Peter Pan Song. My daughters sing it all the time.

Jordan Carroll - WALL-E Meets Eva 

Chip Tunes, cool. Minimalism with Vocoder. Clever. I get it. But I never need to hear it again. The joke gets stale before the end of the song. It needs more. Less Minimalism, I guess. I don't hate it. I just wouldn't put this in a playlist.

Temnere - Amplified 

Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto. Styx meets TR-1. Robots...IN SPACE!
"Feast on your misery"?
"All Pain Amplified"?
I'm too depressed. It's too much winter for this dark stuff right now.

The Brewhouse Sessions - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of It All 

America vibe to the strummy-strum guitars. Strained vocals. Even more strained rhymes.

"BucketHat" Bobby Matheson - This Aggression Will Not Stand 

Buried Guitar. Odd Vocals. Another Big Lebowski song? Fame is double edged. I was hoping for more Accordion.

Boffo Yux Dudes - Logan's Run 

Bad synth patch. Very 70's Sci-Fi. That's probably intentional. But, that is an angry wasp in my ear.

Rob from Amersfoort - How to Stay Afloat

Why is his voice in a well? The song is only two minutes, but I'm drowning.

Vowl Sounds - Squid Linguistics 

Hypnotic Vocals. Why did I write that? I will have to listen again. Great production.

Faster Jackelope - Scotch and Soda 

Swirling guitar intro. Cool sound, but too long. Everybody's intros are generally too dang long

Mike Lamb - Falling Down

Full production. Shaky vocals. People. It's rock and roll. You don't have to sound good. You just have to sound CONFIDENT. Don't bury the vocals with effects. Don't sound like you don't know your own melody. Dive in!

Timothy Patrick Hinkle - Sorcerer's Son 

Mandolin. Ren-Festy! Jethro Tull's step-son.

Governing Dynamics - Chiba City Blues

Great Production. Buried vocals.

Nick Work - All Kinds

It's a Tom Petty song! Seriously, that's a good this. Nice, classic pop/rock! I needed this right now.

Jeb and Iwa - Memory Thief

Witchy vocals. Like Maleficent is singing. Not enough melody. Needs more memorable tune in a song called, "Memory Thief."

Good Guy Sôjàbé - Into the Maze

Peter Gabriel Vocals...no, wait. That's BOWIE!
Nice production, but there's a weird vocal effect. Weird vocals are just weird, not creative. The voice is great. Put less junk on it.

Ross Durand - Back to the Beginning (The Ballad of Inigo Montoya)

YES! YES! YES! Clever lyrics and a meringue (some Latin Rhythm). Fun. I expected more Princess Bride this round. This stuck to one scene. Very nice. And a real chorus!

Lichen Throat - Clear Sky and Cool Water

Two notes on a Bass is not a hook or an intro. It's Tom Sawyer! Another Capt. Beefheart guy. But the vocals are more confident. Poetic lyrics that do not scan. Rhyme needs Meter as much as Meter needs Rhyme. Neither has to be perfect. But don't break the Meter or Rhyme just to pack in more words. Hey, on the bright side, there's a real chorus and it's upbeat and catchy! Kudos for a happy chorus.

Menage a Tune - Peter and... 

Peter Pan should have been avoided as a theme. It's a bigger cliche than The Big Lebowski. I LOVE the harp accompaniment. The woman's vocals are buried. The harp should not be louder than the vocal. The duet part is cute, but it just repeats the first two verses together. There should be more payoff there. The straight repeat makes the song too long and too ponderous.

Glen Raphael - Right As Rain

Great guitar. Perfect. Glen's vocals have a jingle -jangle quality that is distinctive.  A REAL CHORUS! A BRIDGE! YES! And. Yes. Bang. Bingo! Packs a punch. I want to learn this song!

Mandibles - Rock Beats Paper

Another D&D Jethro Tull, Magic the Gathering thing? No. Wait. The distorted guitar kicks in and it pick up. The chorus is very cleverly worded. And here's a guitar solo that I can actually stomach. Kudos.

PigFarmer Jr - They're Here 

Poltergeist. Into is too long. Into is WAY too long. I command thee song, begin NOW! More than halfway in, still no song. Melody is swiped from somewhere. I'll figure it out eventually, if I ever get back to this song. 30 seconds of song for something 2+ minutes long? Nope.

Jerkatorium - In the Future 

Funny, punctilious, pedantic, redundant lyrics. These guys like They Might Be Giants. Nice dragged out....
...pause. Funny. I wish it rhymed and had a more memorable melody. I will listen to this again, but I doubt I'll be humming it tomorrow.

RANKINGS

1	Ross Durand
2	The Quantifiers
3	Glen Raphael
4	Steve Stearns
5	Nick Work
6	Mandibles
7	Jerkatorium
8	Lichen Throat
9	Good Guy Sojabe
10	Ominous Ride
11	Vowl Sounds
12	Jocko Homomorphism
13	Governing Dynamics
14	Boffo Yux Dudes
15	Caravan Ray
16	Faster Jackelope
17	Mike Lamb
18	“BucketHat” Bobby Matheson
19	Timothy Patrick Hinkle
20	Rob from Amersfoort
21	Jeb and Iwa
22	Menage a Tune
23	The Brewhouse Sessions
24	Temnere
25	Jordan Carroll
26	OutLyer
27	PigFarmer, Jr