ST17.1 Rankings and Reviews - Denise Hudson

Now updated with Denise's reviews!

1. Also in Blue
2. Sober
3. Cavedwellers
4. Governing Dynamics
5. Jealous Brother
6. See-Man-Ski
7. Vom Vorton
8. Hot Pink Halo
9. Jon Porobil
10. Boy on the Wall
11. Ominous Ride
12. Regis Michelena
13. Pigfarmer Jr
14. David G Harrington
15. Night Sky
16. The Dutch Widows
17. Giraffes for Wings
18. Rackwagon
19. Little Bobby Tables
20. EmKayDeeBee
21. Lucky Witch/Niveous
22. Lichen Throat
23. Boffo Yux Dudes
24. Dented Bento
25. Mystery Science Creator 3000
26. Good Guy Sojabe
27. Buku Chauney
28. Melody Klein
29. The Brewhouse Sessions
30. Hand Hammered
31. Menage a Tune
32. The Wizards of Vomit
33. Keen Observer
34. Declan IOM
35. Yo Mammy and the Fuzznuts 

DEAR SPINTUNAS—

Many apologies for my lateness in these run on, gramatically chaotic and overly whimsical reviews. It's been a zoo at my house for various random reasons but I won't get into it so here we are. I also had ended up writing you BOOKS and had to CUT CUT CUT down. A good many of you had pages or more of my inane ranting and philosophical nonsense. This was not what I was meant to do as this is not my personal blog. So I spent a LOT of time editing down, fretting over whether I was giving people equal attention in each review. I became an obsessive emotional wreck and these are now late so excellent job there, Den. Some of the reviews still ended up in rank nonsense anyhow and for this I add only the excuse that I have spent far too much time in various sketch troupes. All these shenanigans are why I did my rankings themselves early ... so my idiosyncrasies and generally being Neurotic wouldn't hold up the main show. Presumably this will improve as the contest progresses and I will not be a Ruiner of Things.

My rankings did not deviate much starting from Early Friday onward as I whittled them down. I stand by my choices and can discuss them further if need be because I have MANY more opinions where these came from and I probably did more listening than I should have for a spread of this size.

I also want you to know that this is one woman's vague-minded opinion and if you are ranked low or eliminated entirely this should have no bearing on how you think about your song or (more importantly) on you yourself as a musician. I don't have any moral musical authority to tell anyone how to do anything, and it doesn't really deeply matter WHAT we think--it matters what YOU think and what you do; and no one can define who you are except for you yourself. Listening to this music was very inspiring to me and particularly how some of you chose to reveal yourselves. It was also weirdly inspiring (and sometimes hilarious) how some of you chose to avoid revealing yourselves by what you did choose to reveal. You are all certainly characters, at any rate.

One last thing. The first time I listened to these songs, hours later--I remembered only three things.

• The phrase "JELLLLLLous BROTHER"
• The phrase "we are RACKWAGON"
• The number 252.

There were other catchy songs--but for me, these were the earworms of the round.

Without any further ado, and with sincere apologies again. ...

Also in Blue - PLEASURE TO MEET YOU

This is lovely and very emotionally evocative; the sort of song I stay on when the radio hits it. It's smooth and expertly mixed and manages to stay firmly out of my Dentist Office Waiting Room Songs playlist even though other similar songs back-date themselves into an era of nostalgia and miss the point of highlighting themselves and the message they are giving. It was hard to even make this observation because in that casual way of good recordings where you're not over-analyzing the process or thinking of it as a written song because it is just an emotional entity floating out there in space--this just has *that something* about it. The words fit beautifully around the music and nothing over-the-top is being done to them. You almost aren't really

listening to it even though you are. It's difficult to explain. Also, this stands as a song by itself, apart from the challenge--which I Iove. Well done.

Sober - EVEN IF IT'S DIRT

The time shifts, expert picking and gummy harmonies make this REALLY juicy to listen to. Your voice brings honesty and passion and you really hear and feel the words. A pleasure not to need reading of lyrics while listening to the song because your performance itself carries the language so beautifully into the ear and you're not using studio tricks and bits of lyrical cleverness as unnecessary fluff to bolster a point or hide problems (envy). This is casual rather than virtuosic. The fills and inner voicings you add between the parts to give a real ensemble feel also serve the tone and content meaning of the song rather than being an instrumental distraction, so I appreciate this as an orchestrator--and I absolutely love this sort of instrumental arrangement.

Cavedwellers - DISJOINTED BUT WITH PORPOISE

These lyrics feel like they were written to me. Mayonaise? "with porpoise?" (I love that!) Also, big fan of the in the pocket drumming and that rainy guitar. Well laid out parts, tho the texture starts to feel a bit ear-thick sometimes. You do a good job of clearing this up with variety and good arrangement and intelligent building/subsiding. Creative solo and guitar work in the bridge--nailed it! (Here's where the "it's not you it's me" part of the review comes in) Even though the bass is good at taking care of me, I feels this is an experience of musician's musicians and I get a bit emotionally and intellectually lost in the sheer technique of all this because I am a lazy child who wants a hard beat. But even that is hilarious because following along with the lyrics I see that this WAS written to me and there is much pleasure to be had in the paying of attention and in particular the lyric "must cut and paste the charts to unfold a star" make a pythagorean sense (whatever that means! #imsuchasquare).

Governing Dynamics - DON'T COUNT ME OUT

You have some wild sonic elements that you manage to tame into beautiful submission in your mix. This song has phrases that maybe would come off cheesily  in a more produced setting (hard rock slow bluesy groove introducing "outlaw" character), but because you have given this a sort of live feel they just sound f-ing cool. I think it's because you are not rushing to fill every moment of silence with noises and wankery. Again you have mastered the difficulty of sounding really Live but not at all to me like a jam band. This is not just Dude With Reverb--you're singing your emotion with a believability of feeling behind the words and I don't have to lyric follow them. A compelling contradiction, the line "laugh if you like" kind of explains this better than I do, juxtaposed against the cool bravado of other lyrics. You're pulling it off and I fully

identify with this musical quest to ride on the edge of expressing oneself.

Jealous Brother - WE'RE JEALOUS BROTHER

I really like this song. Although ...there is something about the mix of it that doesn't live up to the sheer groovability of that damn catchy tune. Maybe the guitars and the drums are a bit much? I don't know. I do dig that cymbal switch in the chorus. I do like the rhythm section choices. It's as bouncy as a good toothpaste commercial! or a cereal jingle! It's just real real FUN. This is probably one of the catchiest songs in the whole contest actually. I'm a sucker for this kind of catchy ass tune. The stops and the way that your drummer handles the pauses and shifts and accent moments.  Your bridge is chaos of course, that's fun in a different way. But that melody is SO DAMN CATCHY--goes REALLY WELL with the guitar. Oh-and the chorus and verse are absolutely made for one another--which is crack songwriting that should be remarked upon because sometimes just one or the other thing is catchy and hooky and not the verse AND chorus. Even the funny stuff at the end about song length and the "this is a song" corny lyrics contribute to this greatness.  Anyway, I've said it--catchy, catchy, catchy ... but this is seriously

now my official theme song of round one.

See-Man-Ski - LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF

That reverse-y mellotronesque sound and the dramatic percussive stops and your sassy vocal with mouthy inflections really make this thing STRUT. Heels and bustier type sass or pin stripes and canes and poles and feathers! This is pure theater and one I literally booty shook to. You didn't take too long to do it though and this was not one of those numbers that really needed to be this short. Disappointing--this was a really great date and now it's like you're not texting me. Can't you just TEXT me, See-Man-Ski?!?!? We jammed WAY too hard to end this way ... There was LOTS of room to develop and slow-reveal here. I suspect that you have a lot of tricks and ideas up your sleeve. I do wish this one had taken a lot lot longer, and I NEVER say this about songs because I have the attention span of a lima bean (trust me, they're very distractible). I am here to formally request you do a dance mix to this later. Just for me. Because I am Selfish.

Vom Vorton -- FORGET ALL YOU KNEW

This song makes me want to exercise, but in a way that doesn't make me feel guilty. It's very motivational. The sounds are really neat and your vocal is one of my favorite in the contest--the sort that I like singing this style of music and I like the rhythm of your lyrics. This is the kind of song I would choose for something as a music supervisor and the layering and arrangement is really tasteful. There's not a whole lot wrong with this song, but more than that--this song philosophically gave me hope and I felt a kinship with it. It's really appropriate pandemic anthem to my mind, and I could really use a song like this in my life right now so thank you. Solo blows many amazing bubbles for me and is interesting ... and the phrase "I'm taking your ass to the dance floor" -- yes please! God I hope it IS true. Fake it till you make it, right? Lie to me if it's not real, okay? I would for sure put this on a mix tape.

Hot Pink Halo - HOT PINK HALO

When I heard this song I had to listen to it in chunky bits of time and not like I did to the others. Originally, I wrote you a disjointed treatise on synesthesia but I really tried to focus in and say meaningful things about your song other than "it is giving me the neck pricklies." I did notice it as a beautifully effective production. I especially like the double-timed drum parts that give it a sensually rolling sort of gait and the marimba sound that makes it even more watery under the soft choruses you are using vocally. I just have to be careful listening to those vocals or, much like how Ben Harper's vocals make the left hand side of my body tickle weirdly, this song will also drive me a bit mad at the back of the neck (this is too much information about my weird body ...). These lyrics are delicious and sumptuous. It was curious that it was your song that was the one I had my weird synesthesia response to seeing that it was all about color bouncing off and having an affect on the edges of things. You couldn't have known, but it's kind of a fun coincidence that you set off something around MY edges, and it was deeply appreciated. What a beautiful piece of sonic poetry!

Jon Porobil - MY NAME IS JON

Right away this song is confusing because it is bouncy and yet still touching and sad. It's a tick-tock kind of sensation in the synth for me, like taking a test or waiting for your driver's license giving you too much cold hard sterile time to think about the implications of things. Your lyrics set an uncomfortable mood well. Your mix and instrumentation/synth decisions were great at scene setting of this with understated contrast and a strong vocal performance nuancing emotion to great effect. You laid some guts down in this reveal of yourself. You are very good at opening yourself up and bringing a listener in at almost alarmingly high levels of intimacy, and no matter how polished you manage to get a mix your displays of emotionality make things feel a little bit breathless and taken-aback somehow. Here I feel as though I'm spying on a meeting I wasn't invited to, stealing the donuts at the back of the meeting hall where people have gathered to share their secrets. It's very intimate, and this shows honest vulnerability in some rather unconventional sophistication.

Boy on the Wall (ft Parle G Baby) - PLEASURE TO MEET YOU (I AM YOUR HUSBAND)

Is that orchestra hit from 'My Prerogative?' Doesn't matter, the New Jack Swing and particularly bringing in your wife to spit rhyme in the bridge (VERY smoothly I might add) was a fun choice. Plus I just really like a jammy track. This tune pulls it off casually without too much fuss (a good thing rather than a lazy choice) and you're endearing and sweet without taking yourself at all seriously (which is something I appreciate). You could have maybe done up your vocal a bit more in the mix with some more corresponding effects and perhaps been a bit less heavy handed with your bassline--this may have matched what you did with your rhythm tracks/samples a bit better ... but who doesn't love a song about the boring bits of marriage. It was smooth, and again, what a nice job your wife did. Thanks for writing one for us drama free sleepers out here!

Ominous Ride -- THE GUY BEHIND THE GUY

This mix is really good but nothing really popped out as memorable to me besides the skill and balance and this being a really good example of "Here is an example of a perfectly satisfactory song which there is nothing wrong with."

EXCEPT: Your lyrics in the first verse are REALLY good poetry. The phrasing of the lyrics though, might have been a bit awkward but mostly, you sold the song well. It grooved when it needed to. You were a cohesive band and mostly just had a good sound. Maybe that IS the whole point of the plot though, you're just a dude that gets shit done and some of the beauty kind of gets understated back there in verse 1 and if you don't really listen you might miss it ... so this is also a song that shows up and does the work -- holding up the scaffolding and not getting the credit that the skills deserve. Hmmm. Something to think about. You did do good enough and are way better than great.

Regis Michelena - THE OTHER REGIS

1. You are a terribly interesting fellow.
2. You used the word 'bison' in a song. That is my favorite word. Also your bass boogies real hard.
3. You rhymed Luna Calrissian with mixolydian. You are now a word god.
4. Actually playing your accordion rather than just riffing on a scoff at in in bios was a slick move. You really did literally wait until the last minute though (the line before the solo)
5. You dropped things here and there that totally kept bumping up this song in value and uniqueness until you became a veritable emperor of cool. Shame on you for making me love you, Regis. Jeopardy doesn't know what they've lost.
6. You have made it so that your vocal cannot be critiqued with your sheer amount of Character. You do say the word Regis a lot. I suppose that is the damn point. I bet you have never said your name this much in a song--and never will again. I wouldn't put money on this though. No matter. You are now the only Regis. You are OUR Regis, Regis.

Pigfarmer Jr - MIDDLE AGE ROCK STAR

This is cool--you start your phrase in the middle of a measure on the second beat and emphasize the word STAR on a strong beat ONE and it's HUGELY effective. So your lyrics are hilariously deadpan and are maybe poking fun at the Concept Of It All, but yet you aren't even close to sloppy enough not to sell your rockstar tickets. Maybe some of your vocal chorus effects could be cleaner, or tighter. Maybe you could clean up the production just a tad--here and there (but couldn't we all clean it up?). And maybe you are not taking any of this too seriously; after all there is that bit at the end where you seem to have stopped--and then you have a bit of gratuitous splendid guitar wankery as though this is a live show and not a recording. And maybe that's just fair enough. But all this distracts no one from the fact that you have written a catchy and endearing tune that is still solid, showing you can slay the music thing whenever you truly wish. You are always more than meets the ear. We, and your honey, all know this. So maybe there WILL be reporters. You don't know.

David G Harrington - DAVE IS OK

This is very thoughtful. I am really liking the non rhymes. But the verses are so strong they outshine the chorus.In fact, with such a strong prechorus, I wanted what finally got delivered to have a much stronger punch. Maybe if you used an effect in your chorus that was a little tighter in the harmonies? It's hard to critique you on this because this is the exact same sort of critique I get where I make a build-up and then just don't quite deliver in some way. It's a phenomenon I am sadly familiar with because I can crank out a bonkers verse and the chorus sinks like a stone. So I feel sort of bad noticing this. What a thing to say to someone--oh, too bad you wrote such great verses. So maybe never mind? This is a really great idea and a solid message. I love this thought of reconciling yourself to your normalcy and learning the peace of just being acceptable--I am struggling with this so this is a resonant concept to me. And with a great performance of emotion behind it by the end of the song the chorus goes get at least a little bit of a chance to shine after all, it just takes a bit. Also--your piano sounds fantastic--and this is win with me.

Night Sky - CELESTIAL NAVIGATION

This is a great premise for a song and very plot-ty. I like stories for songs! You have what I think of as extreme panning, where everything is sitting so tightly and exactly put into its spot that it kind of hits my brain a bit. For a more groovy and reflective feel fitting subject matter, I prefer a more gauzy feel--which is presumptuous of me seeing as I did not write the Song. Here it sounded like a tight jazz number rather than a sober starlit reflection of a quietly pondering dude. But all this is primarily something noticeable in headphones--it sounds just grand on my living room system and opens right up and I just have to say something because I just mastered a podcast theme song that sounded so amazing on a couple of my great systems and so stupid on the iphone (which is where the majority of people are going to listen to it, or thru headphones). This is a complete mystery to me, but this is not your problem. Regardless, this is such interesting instrumentation. So jarring and percussive! Lyrics like "coxswain of the fall" and really juicy bits like "heady nights in hindsight" are entertaining me and keeping me stimulated. A real brain treat in sound and story!

The Dutch Widows - THEME FOR THE DUTCH WIDOWS

This is sassy and tight and kind of slyly funny. It's a real ear worm--with that hook and those syncopated lyrics and well laid harmonies. Great rhythm section!  Transitions on modulations between verses and choruses are a little shaky and you're relying on effects to get you through it. Love the grungy lick and the back beat. Why do I think this is so damn hilarious that no one is Dutch and no one died? I rewound that several times. 'The making music why' line feels like a bit of an awkward phrase, just shoehorned in for purposes of rhyme. In fact, I love the chord progression in the chorus, but wish that the words and melody were made as tight and perfect as the verses. Verse 1 in particular is perfect. As well, the guitar solo could have ended a bit more cleanly since it played out just as cooly as the rest of the song. Basically, this is a super cool song with a ton of personality and a few oddly chunky bits.

Giraffes for Wings - SCREED OF THE TOOTHPICK MAN

Well. This is adorable. It's all very exact and diorama--a cute and wistful sound-poem though brief and fleeting; maybe informal and a bit non-structured ... and yet we see it takes quite a bit of effort to do the production level that you get for this super short thing! It's actually very taxing to do something musically surreal or to tell a story in abstract terms where you slam into a declarative summing up your plot at the end...as though you are the person sitting in silence at the party who then has to bring up the awkward Room Elephant topic and then slowly escalate your volume until you say the Shocking Thing that quiets the entire gathering (been there).  You did take quite an epic sonic journey in 1:43 seconds with boisterous and well balanced arrangement and I really liked your vocal doing this sing-reading. The end phrase DID function well as a hook and repeating it over and over with a rousing chant was absolutely the right decision.

Rackwagon - WE ARE RACKWAGON

this feels large and atmospheric with bits of understated drama and surprise. It makes y'all look cool, although the treatment and performance on "now you know who you are" coupled with the sudden drop of ending seemed a little unhinged compared to the smoothness and subtlety of the slow build you had going, like you just decided 'hey, F----this song.' But maybe that's the point. I really enjoyed the Wallabies in the bracken lyric and also, I still feel the haunting caress of you telling me that "we are rackwagon" so you have also made a sound memory for this contest that will last for a while.

Little Bobby Tables - I'M THE ONE

oh wow your band name lol! This song definitely introduces who you are, and it IS charming. Feeling of phone recorded with school-age children in background playing and family style tasty harmonies all gathered around a piano is homespun and lofi nostalgic--this singing is rich and retro in a kind of vintage-vintage way, like you're doing an early 2000s style that is in itself vintage of something from 1970. Telling this elderly judge how aged you have become didn't quite land because to me most of the people I work AND make music with are a bunch of young whipper snappers and I aged out long ago. But your singing is really so yummy and the way the melody glides within its gorgeous chord progression is classic and comforting and moves along nicely. It's all VERY touching and the lyrics are heart tuggy and all of this together even makes the "this is a song" stuff at the beginning play off okay.  AND you get this done neatly in 1:50 minutes. Delightful.

EmKayDeeBee - PLEASED TO MEET YOU (INTROVERT IN DISGUISE)

I think you managed to move the needle on Twee solidly over to Tasteful Earnestness. You kept simplicity on your side and brought in tasty harmonies and harp embellishments that could rival the acoustic guitar licks of any strummy G/G song in similar settings. The choice of your minor mode against a clapping beat holds up your vocal patter. And I think it would have been far cheesier with a more complicated or slower arrangement because this swingy one sounds super mature--almost gospel-styled when your voice soars up in a successive chorus. Choruses aren't super tight though and get a bit lengthy, you could maybe do with saying the same thing in fewer words and tighten up your prose at least in choruses--the phrase "an introvert in disguise" is ironically the only thing about the song that crosses only a toe into (perhaps) too-muchness. Speaking of disguise though, your lilt and well applied effect makes any vocal tuning questions a matter of taste and up for debate (which I love because I think vocal tuning is often subjective!) Also your voice is just so charming! And the ending is super classy!

NOTE: It was around this time that I began to REALLY lament that it was getting to be time to eliminate people soon and I really struggled over this next part for several days. So really take what happens below to mean this could have gone many different ways because some were stronger than others there were definitely good things about ALL these songs and not a flagrant flaming turd in the bunch (not even the one about poo).

Lucky Witch & the Righteous Ghost - HELLO

Brookes' voice is such an entity in this with the pitch bending and the strong theatrics of her powering out the phrase. I almost wish the sudden attack of things had been emphasized with either the vocal just coming RIGHT in or right in after that drum pattern on the pickup. Like: drums----"MY NAME..." ...like that. I really like this melody though! The chorus is really perfect as well and just so sing-songy and simple and weird as hell. The noise is kind of anti-horrible and this is so comical to me (wouldn't it be funny if Cthulu's name really sounded like that sound?). It's just so bubblegum! The lyrics page is a chance to do a bit of judge homework and making us feel a bit compelled to google search all the language things you put in. (With the help of trusty google, one of the words I looked up revealed a site that told me all about Lilith! https://mr.wikipedia.org/wiki/लिलिथ in what is presumably Nepali? cool.) This is all a pretty campy production, which as we all know is super cool if done well which this is. The band is just right for this kind of music and this song and it's all kind of amusingly horrific in a Barbarella, Monster Mash sort of way. Maybe a bit between 'The Fly' and 'The Blob.' Good weird fun.

Lichen Throat - KING OF THE GNOMES

This song never resolves, which is I suppose the point of your mode and of gnomes in general. Gnomes lurk and are famous for things like stodgily singing about being known for their mirth. I did feel like the admonition "don't let your words be too bold" was a convention meant only to rhyme with old, and this felt unnecessary considering all the very interesting harmonic decisions you made. This sounded to me like several songs thrown into a cauldron and stirred up really fast because they don't quite come together in a traditional sort of way--or they really do but it's just ... weird. I liked the abrupt end but you could have let the note ring out a bit more for my tastes. I suppose much of this is a matter of preference. You have a good gnomey song voice for which it is fine to look tuning squarely in the face and say "BAH" to it; and for that to then be joined by unconventional instrumental modal/harmonic decisions. The soundscape reminded me of that game dig-dug that I used to play as a kid. For some reason, the harpsichord sounds tickled me to death, and I really loved the "bridge" (if that was a bridge) KING OF THE GNOMES ... KING OF THE GNOMES .... But this did go on a bit (much like this review) and could have been a bit tighter lyrically.

Boffo Yux Dudes - HALF STEP AWAY

I really hope you don't get eliminated because your mix, though ridiculous is actually weirdly tight. You have written better songs than this but you have also written much, much worse. All the sounds you choose go well with your sterling personalities and the famous Boffo Yux Dudes squishy wall of weird sound that you slowly deteriorate in this song with ever more inappropriately placed pitch effects (which you are doing on purpose to be silly). I looked up 'lamitude' on the internet and came out no smarter than I was before. But that sound that you hit in the chorus is YOUR choir of unholy comedy angels so again, as always and as usual Boffo Yux Dudes sounds like a fun party. I think

you guys are funny.

Dented Bento - SPARK JOY

A song about Marie Kondo. Ugh. Cleaning. Okay, right away I really like this chord progression. The way you made item lists in the song with your weirdly earnest voice was kind of maudlin but funny. I love the scoop up of "alone in YOUR room..." and the singsong dance-y melody. This is a scrumptious little tune and kind of makes itself both joyful and useful. Arrangement was methodical and stacked up neatly against the subject matter of the lyrics. That bass running all the way through ... I always think of that as the fat squirmyworm sample. The long forlorn guitar solo with the cool refreshing tone said loudly "keeeeep meeeeee." I am a pack rat myself, so every little extra thing that you put in this fairly straightforward arrangement actually made me feel a lot of joy.

Mystery Science Creator 3000 - AWAKENINGS

This takes a long time to develop and I really love the story telling / duet aspect of it. It doesn't go in a direction though harmonically and if it did--it could have made an even more massive impact. Perhaps during or around the brilliant line "They're carving out your innards / I hope that that's okay" which is great. I think I wanted more of a reaction from Astronaut Dude, despite relied on texture and guitar and vocal effects to do the drama build for this, he seemed far more resigned to the concept of cannibalistic smurfs than he perhaps should have been? I have always had a wonder over extremes in lyrics being sung in Normal Singing Voice and here is an example of this. This is maybe another shout to the skies moment, I don't know. Maybe everything is a slow build and sing-song inevitability in the coldness of space? I almost wanted a key change or something. Something even more dramatic than the harmonization at the end. What I do agree with in a huge way is the slow development and the beepy/breathing start-up. I guess getting me over-invested in this story was a bit of a success so good there.

Good Guy Sôjàbé - Hey Sôjàbé!

"Eight beers later nearly finished one song  / Then we panic when we see it’s less than 2 minutes long." Uh. Been there though. Your lyrics are funny and clever. The "yeah ands" and vocal back up-drop ins are fun. Guffawed at the "ladies" lines. This seems like a lot of shtick but it has a really great beat and extremely fun guitars and gets broken up with enough variety to send it along. The song seems planned out well structurally. Lyrics are clever and by the end we know how to say your name because the refrain is quite memory friendly. Somebody waited until the chant-bridge to really belt though didn't they? You've got a NICE set of pipes! Had a slow buildup and kept me fairly interested. It was fun. Kyle did crack me up.

Buku Chauney - ABOUT ME

Like I have said before, I am a sucker for a good melody. There is not much to this tune except for some simple instruments: a plinky piano, smashy cymbals, and a lot of chorus/doubling on an interesting vocal. You even phoned in the first verse a bit and went meta, talking about the BS songwriting you'd rather be doing. But the melody and the way you phrase the question "Do... you like me Now....." and the 252 bit is really well constructed as a lyric. It earwormed into my brain. In fact, I think if you had sprinkled as much magic on your verses even keeping that same production value with now up in the game you would have catapulted up my rankings. This was so fun and reminded me of a 70s tv theme song or something. I listened to it--once--and I remembered your song and two other things before I made my second pass. This screams success to me. Catchy and accessible is my favorite thing.

Melody Klein - MY NAME IS MELODY

There is a huge amount of frank self disclosure in these lyrics and you went the very literal autobiographical route which is super interesting and admirable. There is a lot of really compelling thickness in the arrangement which suits your personality but I want more from your vocal--more featuring rather than more performance. Your voice felt really low in the mix, like a throbbing pulse below that I wish I could catch more of and bring up through the sexy fog. I wished it were less obscured because reading the lyrics I wanted to hear more of the inflections on how you were saying it and I just got it in a kind of wrapped in gauze sort of way. Maybe you meant for it to be mysterious and atmospheric. It is also quite long and there is not a lot of structure in it for me, or if there is I kind of get lost in the length of it. I did really like some of the rubbery bass synths you used and you did make changes sectionally with synth useages and texture decisions. And this would be a great soundtrack in a club or in something cinematic or in one of these scenarios that you put in your verses. This is something that one could write stories to, as it plays like a soundtrack.

The Brewhouse Sessions - I AM BEER

That poptop opening sure was fun for a theater tech to start a song to :) Makes me miss tech improv. This is a pleasant swingy song and it's hard not to dig a song about beer anyway especially one so swishy and congenial that gives such fun detail about the brewing process. There's nothing that punches out as legendarily catchy about this tune but there is nothing boring about it either. It's nice and pleasant to listen to which is a great setting for beer and your vocal feels familiar and like a good delivery device for your message of introduction. There is something almost too smooth and hazy about this though, to the point of it starting to feel too background after a while and perhaps a bit somnolent. But maybe again, so is beer after you've had a few.

Hand Hammered - I DREAM

This is an epically moving string of concepts that feels very atmospheric for such a lack of layering. You did a lot with not much. I kind of want more development besides a subtle uptick in tempo and intensity but it's really strong as a campfire feeling song. You mentioned being a performing rather than recording artist and I can hear your strong performing chops and charisma coming through with minimal word choice and a total lack of clutter. REALLY good use of space.

Menage a Tune - MOSTLY I'M JUST ME

This is a really endearing picture that you have painted about your life and one of the more comprehensive sights I've gotten of any of the contestants. It's deeply detailed and wistful and sweet. There's something very reminiscent of radio shows about it. Also, your voice is nice and you've kept a structure. The production is not flashy but I'm sure you know this. This might suffer from being a bit long and a bit repetitive and if there were some way that it could have built up a bit with the addition of some variety or parts then this might have helped you at least rankings-wise. Kept short it would have just come off as theatrical, and just a piece of this would function for you well as a podcast theme or any sort of introduction in any kind of setting--the recording is a good stand alone. So rankings aside, there is absolutely nothing amiss with the performance or the concept of this charming song and it could be developed into something really well layered with some tasteful instruments and a few little decisions here and there--if you wanted to.

The Wizards of Vomit - THE THING ABOUT ME IS, WHO I AM

If you wanted to get around a deep reveal of your heart and soul to the Spintunes community by adopting a fictional persona to represent yourself, Perd Hapley from Parks and Rec was a fun choice because it says 'This song is a song about a character that is singing a song about a character." It does feel a bit Anti-fun for me to wish that your vocal was more audible over the mix. I wanted it to be cleaner and cooler like your guitar in the mix, which seemed to outshine your melody in overall energy. That guitar is real fun; it had some of Perd's exuberance and energy while the vocal had some of his quirk--I just wish the two lines played more seam-fully together in this song because it was very evocative of the pacing of Parks and Rec. Your melody was pleasing--I didn't really get a sense of memorably strong chorus--but melody continued to hold song together. This could have been a lot shorter for what it was. When you said 'repeat until infinity,' you really meant it. Nevertheless, the concept and the statements regarding your facts about the identity you included in the contents pertaining to yourself were well done in a good way.

Keen Observer - P.O.S.

It's difficult for me to think about kinkiness, poo, and distortion in the same context, but maybe this is a common feeling? As tickled as I am that you referenced the Bristol scale (which perhaps every human being beyond their 40s has referenced) I wish that you'd done it without that high ... urgent ... guitar alongside it. Reminds me of my more shameful moments, and this song is meant to be about YOU. This topic is one that promotes some ... urgency I guess. Your lyrics are very funny, particularly when one is in this more scatological mindset. Farts are funny. Poo is funny. Why does shit promote so many good rhymes? Points for gusto for sure, if not for elegance in your mix or concern for my delicate ears or sensibilities. Arrangement is fun though and well played, and the kid at the end saying your butt stinks is a great button.

Declan IOM - I AM YOUR ROBOT

To me, this was not a song so much as it was provocative, mildly-discomfiting spoken word set to an interesting soundscape. The concept felt evil in a weirdly compelling way and I imagined it swirling around me in some kind of sex dungeon. It's like an 8bit gamelan orchestra and my first modem are having a tinder date that is going surprisingly well. I have often thought of a post apocalyptic hellscape in which our erotic needs were outsourced to precise, uncaring AI that knew our physical proclivities better than we did ourselves, you know ... uh.. as one does. ANNNNYway, I feel like I was gently tricked into a long time thinking about awkward sexy-techy stuff, but I was sorta okay with this and felt only mildly weird about it.  After all, there was tea and I did consent to judging this song contest.

Yo Mammy and the Fuzznuts - YO MAMMY AND THE FUZZNUTS

This was a delicious mess of swirly sound and thumpy distractions with a coffee-shop style introduction. I think the amount of distortion bothered me and I wish the words offered more insight into YOU but I guess the gauzy misty fuzz(nuttiness) brought into reason the point of all the mystery. I do have to say that I did really enjoy some of the guitar slides and I am actually very sorry I had to low-rank this but it is more a reflection on the quality of entries than anything you did. If things had been a little bit cleaner with less distortion, perhaps a different effect on your vocal and just a bit more form to the lyric, you may have come up several in the ranking. You certainly did succeed at making a mood.

SHADOWS SHADOWS SHADOWS

(the briefest of superficial comments)

ALL THE ROBOTS - ALL THE ROBOTS

You know .... I have been WARNING the populace of just this VERY THING for YEARS and YEARS and your pleasantly wormy yet ominously foreboding tune is a timely reminder of This Fact. Crimson Lake ... *shudder* I don't really enjoy a lot of vocal distortion, since I started getting into more electronic music I have learned to like distortion on things but here it works really well with your concept, and is strangely effective with your drums. Clever use of your name too. I love a good creepy robot song even if it is terrifying.(*CRIMSON LAKE.....*)

HUTCH - MOUNTAIN HOME BLUES (SHADOW)

I have a cat named Starsky. I just thought I would mention this.

1. I love a nice blues tune.
2. I love the I've got the "insert long phrase of things that you've got the blues for" blues convention. Cool.
3. I support yodeling hard core.
4. I wish I had time to talk more about Hank with you in this review. I dig the sound of your strum. Consistent and comforting.
5. It IS good to keep your fragments, isn't it. Thanks for this shadow! :)