Read on for Gray Porter's reviews!
Welp, this is it, boppers. Another strong group of songs that have been a pleasure to listen to. A lot of good songs about the homeless this round, that’s a sad reflection of our society.
The Alleviators - Stone Lions: Great take on the escapism of books that resolves into a determination to fight, bringing the lions into the fantasy works well. Love the dynamics and structure of the piece, how it ebbs and flows, the tempo change is fantastic. Beautiful layered vocals are the standout and take centre piece, the accompaniment is strong when it needs to be.
Ironbark - Thorn: There’s a lot of beautiful poetry in the lyrics, the motif of the lion is super powerful, it s a touching and sad story that offers a strong emotional connection. The music is delicate and fragile, the lovely picked guitar line compliments the soulful vocals well, the melodica(?) solo is simple and strong, the pizzacato banjo(?, maybe just more guitar) adds subtle detail.
The Pannacotta Army - The Baglady Bossanova: Impressed by the specific details you’ve picked out from the photo. The character building in the lyrics is excellent, it’s reflective and descriptive without being sad. The music reflects the words perfectly, it’’s a danceable beat, there’s some delightful guitar work, was that some ebow dancing with the slide? Excellent all round.
Sober - A Place in the Choir: This backing is lively and vibrant, the mandolin(?) intricate and gorgeous, the bridging riff in particular is awesome, it’s a strong melody with a great chorus, the community choruses give good variety. The sentiment of the song is beautiful, the simplicity and warmth of the song shine through. The take on the challenge is interesting but a little too broad compared to other songs this round but whatever! This is another excellent song. :)
When ranking these songs I have attempted to strike a balance between how strong a take on the challenge the entry was and how much I enjoyed the song. I have attempted to temper my own musical preferences with how well I felt the artist executed what I thought they were trying to accomplish. Of course, the whole thing is subjective regardless.
For this round I thought all the songs pulled off what they attemped, I enjoyed them all very much so and they were all very different which is cool. There was no real difference in quality musically or lyrically, any minor flaws in production aren’t significant enough to affect the ratings. To rank them, I think Pannacotta, Ironbark and The Alleviators had stronger takes on the challenge and of those three, I think Ironbark and The Alleviators gave me the most emotional connection. There’s nothing really in it but in this case my slight musical preference will give it to The Alleviators. However, the contestants rightly pick the winner so we’ll see.
Cavedwellers - I Can Explain: I wondered how you were going to make this a cricket song out of this and you turned in a clever take. It’s a good story with a decent melody, the bass has a good bite. Musically it’s a little undeveloped up until the bass fill before the bridge, at that point it picks up with interest and variety. Overall this is a good song that could do with tightening up.
Hot Pink Halo - Our Missing Hearts: This is an interesting perspective on the challenge. The layers of synths are cool and engaging, the repetition in the lyrics builds off an insistent beat. It’s a good melody and I liked the harmonies, I think the production doesn’t do the vocals justice. Some parallel compression would go a long way.
Mandrake - Long Walk Home: This is a wonderful soundscape, there’s a blissful tone throughout and some evocative imagine in the lyrics. The 5/8 beat is cool and sparse, the synth are graceful and light, the vocal performance is good, liked the touches of harmony and pitch jumps in the melody. Everything is cohesive and all I enjoyed all of it, good jorb.
Phlub - The Hobo's Hideaway: This is a charming song through and through. I enjoyed the character portrayal, sweet and sympathetic, the rhymes were fun, an excellent chorus. The upbeat 6/8 music reflect the lyrics well, the harmony on that one long “hobo” is a nice touch, the guitar was good but the production on on the solo felt thin.
See - Man - Ski feat. Sam Hemsworth - Where I Belong: I liked the melody, vocal performances and harmonies. The distorted guitar solo version of your anthem sounded cool, would have like to hear more of this throughout. Confused by the ideas in this one and felt too long for the scope, the dramatic piano feels like it belongs in a less minimalist arrangement.
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