What a wild ride! When I agreed to judge this competition, I had no idea what I was getting into. I honestly thought I'd be listening to super raw, 4-track demos. I was not expecting (mostly) fully fleshed out ideas. I’m blown away at the speed in which you all are able to take a challenge and perform almost on demand. It truly is inspiring to see. I’m feeling driven in my own creative work so much more as a result. Thank you all for sharing your creativity and being vulnerable during this process.
I can say judging this competition is not an easy task. Sometimes, the difference between top and bottom is super slim. I used a spreadsheet to calculate all my scores before ranking and you wouldn’t have believed the number of ties in scores that I had to break with my gut. Your music was the soundtrack to my life for the past few months, in good times and bad. Keep pushing, keep creating, and don’t quit. You all rule!
Without any further ado, here are my last round of reviews. I don’t get a vote outside of breaking a tie, but was listening mostly for the challenge this round. Could I tell that the songs were restricted to only common words? Did it make the song feel like it was written for a challenge? This one was particularly difficult, so in a way, I’m pretty happy I don’t have an “official” vote. Heres what I thought of the songs. Apologies for not providing reviews for the shadows. I listened to them as many times as the finalists, but due to the events in my life, couldn’t give them the time they deserved to write words about them.
So without any additional adieu, here are my final reviews for SpinTunes 25!
David Taro - Hug Your Children
As a parent, this one is totally relatable. Given everything that has been going on, we need reminders like this as often as possible. So thanks for that!
If I wasn’t judging this contest, I wouldn’t have thought that this one was restricted to only using common words, so very well done on that front. The production and performance were all spot on, really well done. I really liked the choice to speed everything up, but I thought it was a little bit too dissonant to the rest of the song. Which was probably the point. I think honestly it was a little too “frat rock” for me. But, I respect the move and think it did a good job in serving the purpose of the song.
Overall, this might be my favorite of David’s entries into the competition. Maybe I got more and more accustomed to your style, but even going back and listening, this one seems like it has the most of your own voice and not trying to sound like someone else. I really dug that.
This Big Old Endless Sky - Falling Down
Spoiler alert, this one was my favorite of the bunch. This is the closest to the type of music I listen to regularly; I own that bias.
Using a limited vocabulary actually worked really well with the song and I thought there were a lot of really clever turns of phrase throughout the song that changed up the meaning and feel. I thought the background vocals really added to the melody. If you’d asked me how long the song was before I looked, I would’ve guessed about two minutes, so really well done with the pacing.
I enjoyed all the songs you put forward in the competition. I’m definitely going to be keeping an eye out for stuff you put out in the future!
The Alleviators - Shadow Teeth
Another group that’s won me over throughout the competition. At first I thought it was a little bit *too* sweet, but have realized that might be the actual secret sauce here.
First off, I love the drum sounds on this recording. Kudos for that. Everything feels really intentional and restrained in the very best way. The mix and production is spot on and I can easily differentiate every instrument. It feels like a very deliberate build while not really building.
Thanks for bringing emotion into your work. In all your songs, I felt like I could really feel like what you were feeling and trying to convey. That isn’t an easy feat.
Hot Pink Halo - Move Through The World In Waves
I truly appreciate what you bring to the competition. You clearly come to each composition with an idea with a capital I. Like this one, was it kind of a palindrome, with the piano at the beginning and reversed at the end? Sounded that way to me. I’m really excited to see where you go as you continue to develop as a songwriter.
Once again, with this song you delivered a really solid vocal performance. The bass is really playful with the horns throughout, there’s a really complex and creative back and forth happening with there. I thought the synth tone could have been tweaked to “fit” just a little bit better. Overall though, really strong work.
I also appreciate the fact that you were able to comment on literature using simple language. That’s a skill and you should be commended for it. Also, I don’t have bonus points to give, but if I did, you’d get one for using the library as much as you do! (In my day job, I work with libraries.)
Huge Shark - Wish One For Me
Another immense vocal talent. I’m always blown away by your ability to hit the exact right note and hold it perfectly. Obviously I’m not a singer and you are!
This one has a 90s club feel that I can’t decide if I really like or not. I will say, while I was driving around, it hit really hard in the early morning or late at night. I was driving at 2 in the morning the other day, which is not a thing that I normally do, and this song made me feel like I should always be driving around at night. The repetition worked really well for the feel of the song, but made me feel a little more aware that there were restrictions put on the writing.
I really respect your willingness to take really big swings. I don’t think I would have guessed you would have gone in this direction based on the other songs you submitted, but felt like it was worth if, just for the exercise of it.
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