Here are your rankings from Phlub:
Read on for Phlub's reviews!
Before I go into the reviews, I love love love love love love love Pannacotta Army’s song and have listened to it unprompted at least 20 times cause I just think it’s the swellest thing ever. It far and away my favorite song of the round by a huge margin.
There were a few songs in here that I thought sounded decent as songs, but didn’t really meet the spirit of the challenge. These are all sadly ranked in the bottom tier. Some of these tracks I very much wanted to rank higher than I did, but by and large people brought their A-game this round so
That said, let’s continue onto the rest of the content.
Reviews are in order of submission, including shadow entries.
Falcon Artist - Up the Hill [SHADOW]
Singing is pretty decent, and the recording is a step in the right direction compared to last week. Guitar is still pretty notably out of tune, especially on that droning B string which is quite flat. Do you have an electric tuner? Or any other sort of way of getting reference pitches? Still a step up.
As for the lyrics, I find this story kind of amusing. Namely because it’s so mundane! They’re walking up hills that are far away and they are…pondering if they can walk up one particular hill that they’ve come a lot way to see and after a moment of fleeting doubt about this hill that is one of the many hills they’ve walked over, they decide to walk up the hill and hooray, they are on top of the hill. What is so special about this hill? Is it just that it is a hill, and the sergeant and the captain are out exercising? How steep are these hills? You’re Irish if I remember correctly, and I’ve seen photos and there are some nice green hills there. My college was on a very steep hill, which is reflected in the sports teams all being called “The Hilltoppers”. It was a lovely hill, and those years resulted in me having some very toned calves. I lived in Alaska for a bit and was commuting 8 miles round trip my bicycle. The trip started with going about ⅓ a mile down this absurdly steep hill and boy would I get some speed going down that thing. It took me about a month of daily conditioning to get to the point where I could ride the bike UP the hill on the return trip. Goodness it was a steep hill!
While I feel like this song would be much more epic if you described a little bit more of how the hill was difficult to climb, it was entertaining as it was.
Jeff Walker - Such Good Friends
I’m somewhat confused by oh ay oh as a “call and response” element. What does it mean? How does it connect to the lyrics? I mean, it sounds cool. On the first few listens that I did of this one I wasn’t looking at the lyric sheet (instead was shooting hoops in my driveway with this playing on speakers nearby) and I was extremely confused, thinking it was an actual word and I just couldn’t make out what you were saying. (“overkill? Why is he leaving out the ‘k’?”) Anyway, challenge met, I guess. The main challenge element being a mondegreen does give this those memorability points that I crave as a judge.
Lyrically a relatable topic to many people, sometimes you get a thing going for someone who you think is hot stuff despite the fact that they’re obviously not a good choice. I like the rhyme about the match, but like oh ay oh I’m not really sure what that simile is actually saying. Still sounds cool though. Sonically, I really love this one, but as I’ve mentioned I’m a sucker for great slide work. Mix is great, recording is great, this is a very solidly produced track! I have absolutely nothing critical to say about this recording. It’s terrific.
Siebass & the Fingerlings - Bowser and Kirby Got Married [SHADOW]
Is the Kirby verse supposed to sound a lot like We’re Not Gonna Take It? Cause that’s immediately where my brain went. This is fun and very catchy. I hadn’t thought about where Mama Bowser was. I don’t have a clue if Bowser is actively raising them still. They seem pretty self sufficient in the games at least. But Kirby doesn’t even have kids? Why are we asking about Mama Kirby? Wait, they got married, does that mean that Bowser is a single gay dad with 8 kids? I guess he must be bi or something, cause he’s always infatuated with Peach. Am I thinking too hard about this song written by kids? Probably.
Phone elements were super charming. Anything involving the Koopalings as a major element gets points with me. When I was 5 I was gonna marry Elizabeth (from my class) and we were gonna name our kids Roy and Morton. Fast forward 28 years later and my 5 year old is obsessed with the vintage SM64 era mario beanie baby-esque plushies I gave him. He is completely obsessed with Yoshi. Meanwhile his 9 year old brother has matured to the point where he makes some legitimately entertaining Mario Maker 2 levels.
Since this is a review, I suppose I should criticize something. Drums feel overcompressed and too prominent in the mix, and the 8th note chugging gets off beat a time or two in the phone recordings section. There I said something critical. This made me grin.
Stacking Theory - Marco Polo
Immediate takeaway from this one is that the harmonies sound terrific. Some of that classic Gizo IV-I action going on…I know that’s your favorite chord progression and you use it well. Interpretation of the theme works, and the way you emphasize it in the stereo field really draws my attention to it so challenge is definitely met. This is undeniably sad pool music, though it’s really nostalgic pool music as it were. I love those long drawn out chorus-ey guitar chords that are panning around. This song really has a lot of layers to it. Like at first I didn’t notice the organ that comes in for the chorus, though now that I listen it’s hanging out back there for awhile, reinforcing the chordal textures. Speaking of those chords, when you deviate from your IV-I some of these changes are unexpected, especially in the chorus and bridge. The ending is a great touch. One criticism of this one is that it may be overcompressed? Or the vocals are a bit too hot in the mix? Something about it feels “spicier” than it needs to be and the dynamics don’t really breathe all that much. Perhaps the other judges will provide more useful criticism than that.
Lyrically, this succeeds in evoking fun memories of pool parties from summers past. I love me a good pool party! I’ll be spending a lot more time there in a few years once my younger two children have the ability to swim without it being extremely nervewracking. Years pass very swiftly so I presume they’ll be good swimmers in no time at all.
Menage a Tune - Little Red Antiphon [SHADOW]
This is cute. Definitely meets the challenge, and I would have a similar reaction of annoyance to the child. The fact that this is totally a capella is charming, and reminds me of a song that someone would have taught me as a kid. A particular friend of my parents, specifically but you didn’t know Patti so I guess that’s a moot point. Anyway, I suppose that there are some times through this song where you could refine the meter a little bit better…”our friendship I begin to doubt” comes to mind. There’s an audible page turn at one point as well. The audible spite in “Forget it!” is a nice touch, and about how I’d want to react to someone this unhelpful. Little twerp ought to help you out!
Berkeley Social Scene - I Need a Vacation
Pre-chorus one and two both check the box for the challenge, so congratulations on that! So does the twin guitar/bass solo. Mix and recording is a big step up from your round 1 song, this sounds much better. The trailing “...away” at the end of the first chorus was an inspired compositional mix. I really dig the background kind of psychedelic guitar tone that makes an appearance for the last chorus. One thing that docks this a little bit is just that nothing really sticks with me after the song is over. Maybe cause I just keep wanting it to pick up…and for a song about being super stressed, it doesn’t sound very stressed, it’s just kind of relaxing and vibing along the whole time.
I really want to tell you to add more of that spacey cool vibe at the end of the song, but I also just said that all this vibing was at odds with the stress filled lyrics…so that would make my advice contradictory! Hmm. I’m having difficulty coming up with much else constructive to say. I wonder how this one’ll do on SongFight!?
Joy Sitler - First and Prospect
Mix notes: Drums sound way too squashed…ease up on the compression! The pumping on that crash cymbal when you’re playing that fast beat with the snare on the downbeats is really noticeable and in a way that doesn’t sound great to my ears. With the mandolin and the guitar holding the rhythm down there, the drums REALLY need to back off a bit cause they’re drowning out the delicacy of the mando especially. The guitar needs some EQing.The attack on the guitar chords is coming through way more than the body of the tone. Get some more mids on that guitar to bring out it’s body more!
The composition here is actually pretty good. You have a great grasp of dynamics and, you never lose the momentum at any points…it keeps going and never makes me want to hit fast forward. The gang vocals that come in periodically are well executed, and the call and response with yourself in the “where are you” chorus is definitely well executed and tastefully done. The chordal textures you work with on the mandolin sounded great, and I hope you keep that mando player around and work with them some more.
This track is memorable and there are several moments that grabbed my attention as well done. The chorus lingers in my head when it’s done, and this passes the “several hours later can I remember anything about this song” test. 🙂
Glennny - The Alaskan Camper
Sorry about your dad. I can relate, lost mine abruptly-but-not-really a year and a half ago so I totally get it. Do you still have the camper? We had a boat when I was little that I rode a lot in when I was little. Then eventually my parents split and we sold or gifted the boat to his friend Mark, who then died and it wound up living at Mark’s niece’s place in Michigan. We’d get together in the summer and catch whitefish on Higgins Lake in that thing. Was always a great time!
Musically this is well done, and you fulfill the challenge both in the “conversation” part with the car dealer scenario and several times over with the instruments echoing each other in the intro and during the “solo” or I guess “duet” part of the song. It’s pretty simple storytelling lyrically, and who doesn’t love a sentimental family vehicle? It reminds me of my dad’s Toyota Paseo just as much as his boat, come to think of it. What kind of envelope filter is that on the bass? It sounds fun. I hate to criticize anything too much but melodically there aren’t any moments that really stick for me…after a bunch of listens I’m hard pressed to remember how this goes melodically. What I do remember is the sentiment and those tasty licks!
West of Vine - (Baby I’m) Drunk [SHADOW]
Would have been nice if you’d still remained in the contest, cause this song is fun. I will critique the mix a bit – the guitars are a little bit heavy on the mid range and it makes the whole mix sound kind of boxy. And the kick kind of melts into the bass guitar in the mix, maybe some strategic EQing or side chain compression could resolve that issue a bit. The tempo change is brilliant, and this chorus is one of the more memorable things I’ve heard in the line. The lackadaisical drunken honky tonk vibe is very charming. There are some times where it sounds like you’re overselling the twang, but you do it less as the goes on. A bit pitchy at times, but it’s a drunken honky tonk tune so it kind of fits. Solo is well done and sounds good.
If it weren’t 3 pm and I was in the mood for a beer, I’d crack open a cold one to this. Maybe I will later. Meets the challenge in the chorus. Fun tune!
Cheslain - Stranger Danger
This has a hell of a groove to it, and I played it through a few times without really paying close attention to it cause I wanted to do something other than type for a bit. Slide guitar work sounds awesome. The vocals either have a little bit of distortion on them or they’re recorded too hot, but I think it would sound a little bit better without it. It kind of over saturates the whole mix since you’ve already got so much fuzz on all but one guitar track. It’s especially present on the “how do you do?” line which comes in way too hot in my opinion.
But yeah, this is a great vibe to get lost in. Challenge is met via the back and forth vocals in the “one, two” section. Lyrically there’s nothing that really WOWs me, but it’s just a bunch of cool vibes about that sketchy stranger that you don’t wanna mess with. The melody doesn’t really move out of a relatively narrow range throughout most of the song, and I feel like you breaking out of the same few notes more often (maybe pushing a little higher, or maybe lower) would really liven this up a bit! Maybe the song would be better served if you sang more aggressively? As it stands, it’s still one of the more enjoyable listens just cause I love the backing music so much.
The Pannacotta Army - Can’t Do Nothing
AAAH HAAAAAA! This is so extremely up my alley in terms of my current listening habits. This instrumental is sublime and exactly the sort of stuff I’ve had on REPEAT the past few months. That guitar solo, those call and response backing vocals, oh my goodness yes, I love it! That bounce! I can’t criticize this at all and I listened to it about ten times in a row because I love it so much. Funny, catchy lyrics with chops to back ‘em up.
Also it clearly meets the challenge in about 5 gazillion different ways. You can write swing bangers with rad guitar solos, that’s one thing you know how to do! A+, phenomenal.
See-Man-Ski - All For You
Is the call and response in this between the piano and the vocal melody in the chorus? That’s really the only thing in this song that jumps out at me as having any “call and response” character to it. There’s noticeably two vocals in the chorus but they’re singing harmony parts so that wouldn’t be it. I feel like the fact that it’s this ambiguous whether you actually met the challenge or not should dock you a few points. I suppose it’s got a “back and forth” in the backing track between the guitar and the organ? Maybe, I don’t know, it doesn’t feel like a strong answer to the challenge to me.
The song is pretty upbeat, well executed, though I can’t help but feel like it kind of drags. The melody in the chorus would be a lot stronger if it wasn’t muddled by the presence of the harmonies that are in basically the same vocal range. Normally I’d be more about harmonies but here I feel like they betray the overall simplicity of this song…the rhythm is very bare bones and the harmonies make it feel too complicated. Nothing really grabs me though – the simple rhythm starts to feel plodding well before the song is over. This would have probably worked better with only two verses and maybe a short instrumental solo.
Ironbark - LastCall
Interesting call and response between the two vocal parts and the piano during the “the end, the end part”, definitely meets the challenge. The “call and response” between the piano message and the static message was super cool and creative, and you get bonus points for such a wild interpretation of the challenge. I’ve been judging songs to one extent or the other based on how much they stick with me after the challenge, and once this ends, I have a booger of a time remembering how the melody went, but I remember that lovely slight accelerando calling into the void and the poignant sentiment of the whole thing. Piano work is super well done, everything is well recorded. A minor nitpick, but I wish you’d have cut the faint chorus wobble in the guitar track when that solo piano sends the message out into the void. It’s just there as faint noise that doesn’t contribute much, and is a slight blotch on an otherwise well-executed track.
It’s kind of bleak, kind of hopeful, very floaty, with a certain melancholy. There is a clear vision here and you went all in and nailed it.
Chamomileon - Cool Kona Breeze
Not a lot of call and response in this one. I guess there’s the alternating instruments that periodically come in as an instrumental bridge, but also not one that serves as much more than a transition periodically. I’m not sure that I would count that as a proper call and response – would have been better if the instruments had at least mirrored each other’s melodies. On further investigation, you seem to be using different vocal tracks for “mediation”, “not quite”, “empty hallways”, but it’s really easy to miss that it’s two different vocals, cause really it just sounds like a harmony vocal coming in since they’re in exactly the same range. I suppose that makes it count, but I dunno this doesn’t really make “call and response”, it makes me think “intermittent harmony”...
The “Compromise means…” stanza has some timing and scansion issues. “Throat dry from the AC” is awkward, and you rush ahead of the beat when you say “consequence remains”. Melody seems kind of unsure at a few points as well. I wish the rhythm switched up on that electric piano patch you’re using a bit more to maintain interest. Overall the vibe is kind of plodding. But meetings are plodding. It should loosen up a bit rhythmically during the chorus so I feel like I got out of the meeting, but really the only time it feels “breezy” is on the “cool Kona breeze”. Otherwise there isn’t much breeze, I want some breeze!
▷ - Brain Brain
Is your medication Adderall? When I was taking it I would occasionally forget to eat. Also I would end up with the classic insomnia and being wide awake beyond when I was supposed to be after not really eating all that much. Though just as often it would just lead to washing my car very thoroughly and then sweeping and then alphabetizing my vinyl records and then practicing scales for awhile and then cleaning the windows.
Anyway, these are some very good bloops, and I like your usual sound design. The conversation between you and the synth brain was an inspired way of meeting the challenge and got a chuckle out of me. The arrangement here is fun. Something about it reminds me of a TED talk, maybe it’s the narration style and the bloops! The difference in production and reverb levels between the normal voice and the brain voice really emphasized the difference between the two so I’ll give you a big fat check mark.
The “woo’s” in the beat are great. Your standard rhythmic shenanigans are extremely charming on this go round. And the chromatic shifts in the chorus are memorable, there’s a lot to latch onto with this one! The syncopation is completely on point and I love it.
The Moon Bureau - Never Know
Something about the drums is off, but they just aren’t fitting. I can’t tell if they’re too compressed or what, but the rhythm with the open hi hat and the ride just does not fit the song to my ears. And in the “did I imagine the connection” part they just sound distorted and way too crunchy. Keep it simple, this kind of romantic jangly new wave post punk whatevertheheckyoucall it does not benefit from excessively busy drums! I’d spend more time on the closed hat and less time on the “rides” and open hat. I think it’s the syncopation on the rides that isn’t fitting for me. They’re too loud and fake sounding in the mix and it breaks the dreamy immersion.
As for meeting the challenge, I noticed fairly early on that you were spending time alternating between your lower register and your higher register – I didn’t initially realize that that was you fulfilling the challenge, and was confused as to where it was at first. I feel like it was met better in the stanzas “did I imagine the connection/You know I felt the same as you” than with the later stanzas where the pace of the exchange slows down (“Knew me better than I knew myself/that still wasn’t very well”). When the call and response gets that slow my brain doesn’t really parse it as a call and response? But I suppose it fits.
I still like the soundscape you have going here. What chorus effect are you using? You’ve got the guitar tone and playing style absolutely down for this genre.
The Dutch Widows - Johnny Roadhouse
Regretfully, this is another entry that I don’t feel met the challenge. Without seeing that you’d put certain sections in brackets in the lyric sheet, I would not have interpreted this as call and response at all. You don’t change register at all, and other than adding in a harmony track, it just sounds like one continuous stream of lyricism instead of a dialogue.
The performance is pretty good. I would like a bit more dynamic and melodic range in the vocals overall – it would keep the track a bit more interesting to my ears. “Johnny, speak to me” is a melody line that is probably the hookiest thing here. I would add some higher harmonies on it to make it pop more, I feel like so much of this song stays in such a narrow melodic range it would shine more with some more dynamism.
I like the lyrics, though the talk about the vitamin loop and circular feeling didn’t make a lot of sense to me, it’s a very cool image. Just the idea of this broken guy who it turns out murders people is a classic murder song if there ever was one. Plus it’s so breezy, I like the juxtaposition.
Chewmeupspitmeout - Nobody likes a Purist
The organ riffs are fun, and I love the back and forth between the organ and the bass. Very clear and prominent use of the prompt, and the nobody (nobody) is a good vocal example of it. There’s something catchy about this tune, and I think it’s the descending organ runs. The transition between the guitar solo and the back and forth organ/bass bit back into the chorus feels…awkward? I guess that’s how I’d describe it; the solo just kind of stops, then it’s an organ, then a bass. And then back into the chorus? An element of this song that bugs me is a performance element – the sung minor thirds on the final note of the parenthetical lines in your chorus are so sharp of what I presume is their intended target they almost sound like major thirds at times, and I’m fairly sure you’re not deliberately aiming for microtonality so…you should probably fix that.
Lyrically incisive, though it’s been a long time that I’ve encountered anyone like this in real life. Probably for the best. I associate folks like this with high school. I’m curious if this is based on someone you know in particular or just a negative stereotype. Could go either way, really. I do have a friend that judges guitar based music almost entirely on how well they can shred. I find most of his music recommendations kind of blah.
The Alleviators - Hear Me Out
I appreciate the highlighting of the call and response nature, though to my ears it’s pretty obvious and unambiguous! Beka’s higher vocals especially in this are a highlight, and the contrast between both of your voices really makes this a highlight (male/female vocal harmonies are almost always a winner in alternative music and this is no exception). The change ups in the rhythm between each section of the song are well executed. Are these human-played v-drums or ezdrummer (or similar)? They sound really organically played. The back and forth on these vocals is great, as is the bass playing!
Not much to criticize on this one. Much like your previous entry, you knocked it out of the park. A creative song that makes an impression. I guess the lyrics aren’t really the sort of thing I find myself particularly drawn to, but that’s a matter of taste, not that they aren’t well done. This is in the upper echelon of this round.
Hot Pink Halo - Looking At You
The “call and response” wasn’t immediately apparent to me on the first listen…the “TEDIOUS TEDIOUS” bit is clearly it, but I would have liked to hear the transition and the back and forth nature of it be highlighted a bit more? As it stands it kind of feels more like a shift into a bridge section rather than what I’d traditionally think of as “call and response” from a musical standpoint, but I’ll check the box anyway.
That being said, the “TEDIOUS” and the “MY HEART IS RACING” lines are definitely memorable and that breaking ending little drum fill going into the “crack me open!” part is an inspired choice. And also I like the super high end of your vocal range at the end. You should sing high more. Lyrically this is a pretty decent concept…the dialogue between artist and audience. It’s not immediately clear what you’re talking about at the get-go, as I start off thinking that this is gonna be a space probe song but then it becomes more immediately apparent that it is about making your space art and how it goes over with different people in the audience.
Compositionally it’s alright. The beat gets a little samey after a while, I would like it to switch up more, maybe make more rhythmic contrast between sections? Recording quality and mix are pretty good, good marks there.
Governing Dynamics - Feverishness
Guitar production is immaculate! It often is with you, you have the production side of your genre down pat, but it’s worth noting that this song is no exception. Challenge is definitely met, and you make a point to really point out every time where they call and respond. A lot of the challenge-meeting of this tune gets kind of lost if you don’t listen to it in a setup with a good stereo field. I didn’t find it immediately obvious until I listened with headphones that it was two different guitar tracks calling and responding, just that it was a really cool guitar line. I’ll approve it, big check mark there.
I also like how the drums briefly move out of triple time right there at the end for that last field. I had a blue screen of death on my computer earlier so the line “windows bricked” resonate slightly different for me. I don’t really find most of the melodies here to really jump out at me, but it may just be that the vocals are kind of low in the mix and my ear keeps watching to latch onto those sweet guitar lines instead . The “maybe it’ s better we don’t dwell…” stanza into the solo is some excellent composition that I can’t argue with at all, it sounds terrific. I like how you up the intensity of the vocal performance going into that final chorus. Outro sounds great, and really I’m just a sucker for dreamy textures and forced harmonics.
Eric Baer - We Work Together
I’m happy to hear some banjo playing here. It’s a bit sloppy and all over the beat though, with very uneven accenting on the picking. It’s almost there, I just think with really refining it you could get that banjo performance sounding pretty great. There are also some points throughout the songs where it doesn’t sound like the bass guitar knows where it’s supposed to be going. The lyrics are pleasant enough, I like the community aspect of it. It’s an inspiring rally call, recalling some of the sentiment of the 60s folk scene.
Nothing about this song strikes me as call and response though. I hear harmony, I hear some repeated lines that are sung twice with hardly any variation between the first and second takes. But harmony and repetition alone don’t really meet the definition of call and response. With so many other songs in this fight meeting the prompt unambiguously, that really counts against you. The transition between the verse and that banjo solo is kind of abrupt…maybe pick up the music or give some kind of variation in the vocal melody or a brief spoken aside to lead into the banjo solo, otherwise it just sort of arrives with no fanfare. However, when you get to the “when it’s hard” part, that melodic lift is much welcome and overdue.
I’d sing this song in my backyard with friends, it’s a good backyard singalong.
Sober - The Morning Call
What on earth, am I hearing distortion in a Sober song? And a fast punky beat! Wow! Sonically, at least, this is a change of pace for you. Rhythmically and compositionally it kind of lies on the border of bluegrass and rockabilly, it’s just the distorted guitars and bouncy kick drum pattern that’s giving it that punk flair, and some of these transitions are awesome! You pushed your usual sound into a new direction and stuck the landing very well.
Challenge is met remarkably well, and the mandolin and banjo flourishes rock. You know exactly when it’s time for a cool mando lick, and the answer is usually “whenever you stop singing for a second”. Lyrically you’re spot on. Most people fundamentally want various flavors of the same thing, and a fair chunk of our identity and value just comes from where we happened to be born. So yeah, I dig what you’re saying here, and this is my idea of a “social commentary song” well executed.
You mentioned getting a set up to record drums in your home studio, but these have a v-drum sound to them. Is this an electric kit, or are they programmed? This is very solid, one of the top tier songs this round!
Winterloper - I Keep Calling
Well these are some time signature shenanigans. Not really I guess, it’s just basically 5/4 throughout the whole track. The chord changes are cool. Would like a bit more humanization on that piano patch, it sounds a little stiff as it is. Too “on the grid” to really groove! But I like the chords. Lyrically this is remarkably simple. Almost too simple, there isn’t much here. I’m also aware that this was a “safety” submission and it wasn’t quite done, and that kind of shows. It’s undercooked, begging for some kind of instrumental solo in that back and forth instrument exchange. I do like how the drums came out.
Musically it meets the challenge, I guess. Call and response between the instrumental and the vocal. I don’t know if it’s particularly strong in the way it meets it, but it is certainly the core of the composition…actually it’s about all there is to the composition. It just kind of does the same thing for its two and a half minute runtime with very little variation…like the drums stop in the middle for a bit. I would like this more if there was more to it. As it stands it very much sounds like a rough draft…
Lucky Witch & the Righteous Ghost - Dead By December
This is a fun tune, I love that vocal line in the verses. Reminds me of some of the indie stuff we’d have in our playlist when I was working as a college radio DJ. And that synth thingie you introduce during some of the verses has a great twinkle to it. This has a noticably tighter groove than the song from last round, but definitely still pretty loose in places. Undeniably meets the challenge and brings a touch of funkiness. The guitar sounds a little bit heavy on the mids, maybe tweak the distortion settings or improve the EQ to get it to sit in the mix a bit better. Meets the challenge unambiguously! Kind of catchy to boot!
I like the lyrical imagery of one’s dreams dying being interpreted as an actual death. Clever personification of the dreams.The strongest lyrics in this imo are the first two couplets ending with obituary. They hit well, I like that alot.
Dream Bells - Just Enough
Upon the first listen, I looked at my wife and said “this…is the voice…of Enigma…” and got a recognizing smirk out of her. I don’t consider that a negative, it just has that kind of chill out 90s vibe to it that I associate with falling asleep to The Cross Of Changes when I was 6 years old.
Far more compelling than your previous round’s entry. And sugar plums aren’t real? I thought they were just another name for a regular plum, cause those are pretty sweet as it is. Call and response isn’t immediately obvious, but I’ll consider it met by the tinkling bell in the chorus that echoes the vocoded vocal melody, so box checked. There are a lot more flourishes that bring this song up a notch…and by reinforcing that sweet vocal melody with the bell you manage to give me something melodically to hold onto among all the chilled out bliss. Drums sound thick, and they mesh REALLY well with the bass.
Yeah, big improvement, this is dope.
Temnere - Sons of the North
Intro synth very much gives me old school action video game vibes. Initial impression was Sonic but I don’t think that’s quite it…anyway, this is fun (as it always is). All of your power metal outings evoke this sense of epic adventure, and this is no exception. This even leans into the escapism element explicitly, you’ve got your protagonist stuck in their boring office jobs and their solution is to become a Son of the North and go…on an adventure through the northern oceans traveling uncharted waters. Okay, sure, I’m down. I’m not sure how many uncharted waters there are left to chart, but I’ll play. I’m going to interpret this as encouraging me to play some kind of Viking themed MMORPG because that way I can continue to keep the illusion going. I feel like this should be the theme song to some kind of epic 80s cartoon, like something that would come right after Thundercats and have a bunch of action shots and lightning strikes in the introduction.
Challenge undeniably met with the row (row!) section! Also there’s moments where the synth briefly echoes the melody line, so I’ll give you points for that as well. Epic, as always, and well executed. Also I like your vocal performance on this one more than your previous track. The final chorus and the lead up to it are great. Good work!
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