ST22.2 Reviews - Micah Sommersmith

 This has been a crazy week for me, so I haven’t spent nearly the time listening to these excellent songs that I would like to. Since I don’t want to criticize anything I haven’t had the chance to give a fair listen to, I am going to limit my reviews to things I liked about your songs. Good thing there’s a lot to like! Read on for my very brief reviews.

Jeff Walker - Such Good Friends

Right from the beginning of the song, your instrumentation and arrangement choices feel so deliberate; every instrument occupies its space perfectly and none are stepping on the others. It makes the song such a pleasure to listen to! The weariness and vulnerability of your vocal also works perfectly for this song.

Stacking Theory - Marco Polo

Love the reverb-heavy “aaaaaah” backing vocals; in general you nail the oddly specific yet immediately recognizable “nostalgia for the carefree summertime of one’s youth” vibe.

You don’t spell out exactly what’s caused the separation between the two characters (death? addiction? estrangement?) but the emotion is there clear as day.

Berkeley Social Scene - I Need a Vacation

The intro is cool, where the two-eighth-note-stab motive gets layered with the two guitars and bass, and then the bass fills in some of the empty space rhythmically. In fact, the melodic bass playing sounds terrific throughout, in the call-and-response duet with the electric guitar and in the rest of the song.

Joy Sitler - First and Prospect

Your vocals are great, and the guitar chuggada-dum leading into the chorus is super catchy. I like how the call and response vocals step on each other and don’t wait for the other to finish, in keeping with the relentless high energy of the song.

glennny - The Alaskan Camper

A charming tribute to your dad. The questions and answers at the dealership make for a delightful take on the challenge.

Cheslain - Stranger Danger

Love the apocalyptic country sound - so much grit I feel like I’ve gotta clean out my headphones. Music and lyrics complement each other perfectly.

The Pannacotta Army - Can’t Do Nothing

Utterly charming and impeccably crafted; this is Tin Pan Alley stuff right here. The group vocals are a delight.

See-Man-Ski - All For You

Even though I almost never find myself writing them, I’m a sucker for a good chorus that just repeats one line four times, and this is quite a good one indeed. Your voice sounds great, and I really like how the bass and piano work together.

Ironbark - Last Call

This was a really big swing, and you knocked it out of the park. How you manage to make this song feel simultaneously warm and desolate is beyond me, but it works brilliantly. 

Chamomileon - Cool Kona Breeze

I really like the call and response in the chorus between the vocal and guitar, and the lift in mood from the verse to the chorus, which supports the shift in focus in the lyrics from where you are to where you wish you were.

▷ - Brain Brain

That little “woo!” was delightful. The whole track is delightful, in fact, but that tiny moment put a huge smile on my face.

The Moon Bureau - Never Knew

This song has a bit more of an edge to it than your Round 1 entry; nice to know that this particular musical persona of yours has some musical range. I like the tinkly synth that starts things off and the crescendo of eighth notes from the drums and bass that bring in the full band.

The Dutch Widows - Johnny Roadhouse

I love the questions in the verses, which someone might argue just unnecessarily slow down the narrative, but which I think perfectly put the listener off-balance and contribute to the almost hallucinatory feeling as Johnny isn’t quite sure what he’s done.

I had a listen to the John Leyton song, which I had never heard before. Yours is better, and is still very much a Dutch Widows song, but I can hear how you incorporated some stylistic elements. It works!

chewmeupspitmeout - Nobody likes a Purist

The organ, bass and drums give me a cool Elvis Costello and the Attractions feel (that might be a band your narrator loves!). "Music attained perfection / When I was seventeen" is such a perfect summation. Fun stuff.

The Alleviators - Hear Me Out

This song is just really, really, really, really, really, really, really good. Probably the standout of the round for me. You’ve got two lead singers, so the obvious interpretation of the challenge is right there for you, but you execute it in a way that is perfect for your specific voices. It’s gorgeous.

Hot Pink Halo - Looking At You

You do such a good job of balancing oblique and direct lyrics. “Now I am looking at you / While you are looking at what I do” is such a dead simple but perfect encapsulation of watching someone take in your work. Your layers of low and high voice on the line “Let the light shine in” are gorgeous. Ending the song on what sounds to my ear like an unresolved suspension of the tonic in the lead vocal over a V chord in the instrumentation leaves the listener with a delicious feeling of not-over-yet-ness, like that viewer is carrying that feeling they got from your art out into the rest of the world.

Governing Dynamics - Feverishness

Tastiest guitar arpeggios in the round by a mile!

Eric Baer - We Work Together

Nice testament to human cooperation. It’s easy to forget that in times of immediate crisis, the first instinct for most of us is to help out, and it’s good to be reminded of that.

Sober - The Morning Call

I have no idea if this was a conscious part of your thought process while recording this song, but the bluegrass mandolin shares some key similarities with its cousin the Arab ‘oud, both in terms of the instrument itself and the playing style. Your blistering minor-key picking and tremolo sustained notes are of course classic elements of your usual style, but also subtly evoke Middle Eastern music as well, in a way that supports the central thesis of your song: if you’d been born a few thousand miles away you’d be playing ‘oud instead of mandolin.

I love the ascending fifth of the title hook swings from minor in the lead vocal to relative major in the echo, a simple choice that makes the call-and-response stand out even though it’s not a huge part of the song if you count strictly by how much time it takes up. And of course the extended polyphonic vocal section is just fantastic.

Dream Bells - Sugar Plums (Just Enough)

Cool atmosphere and build; just about when I think, “okay, let’s have a bit more happening here,” the drums kick in. Some really nice imagery in the lyrics, too - “the birds sing to the fruit trees’ applause” is a striking line.

Temnere - Sons Of The North

Any misgivings I had about your vocal delivery in Round 1 are demolished here. Your voice has both energy and character, not sacrificing either one for the other. Sometimes it’s through clever multitracking, like on “come and take my hand / we’ll leave this land” - sometimes through little ornaments like on the word “unknown” at the end of the chorus. Lots more moments that I won’t bother going through, but long story short: you absolutely nailed the vocal on this song.

Winterloper - I Keep Calling

Cool 5/4 riff (with triplets!) in the piano, and nice bassline too. I want more!

Falcon Artist - Up the Hill [SHADOW]

Classic word painting: You sing “up the hill”, the melody line goes up. Simple but effective. The contrast between the verses and the choruses is good, and the chorus is catchy as can be.

Siebass & the Fingerlings - Bowser and Kirby Got Married [SHADOW]

What’s not to love here? I love that you’re involving your kids in your music-making; what a great thing to be able to share with them. The voice messages from the kids are of course utterly charming, and the rest of the song rocks your socks off.

Menage a Tune - Little Red Antiphon [SHADOW]

I play accordion shows for little kids at libraries, and I think this song would be perfect for that setting. I can just imagine a dozen kids gleefully shouting “No thanks I don’t want to!” And the triple rhyme in the third line of every verse is delicious.

West of Vine - (Baby I’m) Drunk [SHADOW]

The staggering waltz of the final chorus is a very clever illustration of the singer’s inebriety, the guitar solo is oh-so-tasty, and the shouted interjections are perfect - it’s surprisingly hard to get the energy right when it’s just you shouting in response to yourself, but you nail it.

Lucky Witch & the Righteous Ghost - Dead by December [SHADOW]

LW, I love your vocal versatility - the vocal tone and delivery between the verses and choruses are so radically different but they’re both wonderfully executed and fit in with what’s happening in the song at that moment. Great energy throughout this one!