Here are your Round 2 rankings from SpinTunes 25 Champion Beka Gurney:
Read on for Beka's reviews!
For the melismas themselves, you earned points in a few specific ways:
- Is it prominent and intentional? If it seemed like song would mostly be the same if we lost the melismas, that scored against you.
- Were they well executed? Do they feel natural and right for the song, or sort of tacked on or shoehorned in to meet the challenge? Nothing wrong with trying something that doesn’t come naturally to you, but those who did this well got an extra bump.
- Did you take a big swing? I am always going to reward being ambitious!
In the end, I tried to take in every song as a whole, keeping the challenge in mind as this is a competition. Thank you all for putting so much effort into this! Onto the reviews!
Sunflower Bastard - Replicant
The opening reminds me of Star Trek (which I love, so there’s that). I really like the melody and chord progression, and your vocals sound really great, not just the performance but how you’re sitting them in the mix. A really high-concept story song that feels like it should be part of a concept album. Normally something that needs explanation from the bio would lose points from me, but I appreciate a big swing. Nice fade out at the end. Would have liked a little more of a melisma on the chorus, though.
Hot Pink Halo - 42Ks in your KT-26s
The Pannacotta Army - Chime
I thought this was a really sweet song, and I like using the concept of chiming with a partner, perhaps not always on the same note but fitting together nicely. I appreciate that your melisma is not an open vowel at the end, harder to pull off but works here! You do some really fun stuff with instrumentation subtly in the background of this that I really enjoyed. The chords on the verse make me feel so comfy. I like that the melisma didn’t just descend down, but you brought the line back up and gave it some length.
traumadolls - Who You Are
This bass and beat and then the electronics at the start put us in such a vibe from the beginning. Reminded me of NIN. Your track is full and keeps me really engaged. Love the cut out and come back in. Would have liked a little more to go on for the lyrics, but you pull it off nicely with the production and melodies. I was worried we were not doing a melisma really until we got to verse 2. The “Did” on the bridge wouldn’t have been quite enough on its own for me, but I do like you really bringing it in on “fault” and “heart.”
Cosmic Ray Corruption - Disappointment
Oof what a song topic! Love it. The pre-chor is definitely my favorite part of the song. Your lyrics are clear and invite us into the relationship/story, while your prechor and chorus are catchy. A few places where the lyrics feel a little rushed or crammed in there, which can work for the style, but perhaps a little more tweaking would have solved it - something to think about. While I heard a couple of melismas throughout the song, they felt sort of tacked on at the end of lines and not central to the melody, so a few points off for that from me.
Cheslain - Apostasy
This happens to be a song topic I can relate to personally, and my deepest apologies you have felt this too. This is quite beautiful. Love your tasty, dissonant harmonies and the swelling. Your acoustic guitar really holds this together and makes it feel very warm and close, even with the more spacey things happening in the background. I found myself wanting you to repeat “shivers down my spine” every time you sang it, like a refrain. I also happen to be an “I want the lyrics to rhyme” person, so there were a few places I really wanted that and didn’t get it. Several melismas in here, and all of them feel intentional to the melody, well done. My favorite is on “shiver,” just for how it works with the word.
Jennifer Lynne and the Dandelion Rebellion - Hope Is
I feel like I’m slow dancing in the 50’s, which is just a fun place to go as someone listening to a lot of different genres all together, thank you! (Or perhaps, am I crying under the bleachers?) The melody is divine and you’re melisma-ing with the best of them. Lyrics are absolutely lovely, some beautiful pictures you are painting. It makes me want to listen to it again, and that’s a great sign of a good song. This is a very strong entry in my opinion. Well done!
Huge Shark - Faraway
Love love the piano, I wish I could play like you. The drums add a needed pulse but were a little bit distracting - I would be curious to hear this with some different loops! The cello coming in to add some warmth is nice. Using a melisma on the word “far” is a really great choice, using the wandering of the note to indicate the distance. Your lyrics are incredibly poetic, which always gets some extra points from me!
Best Dad In Yorkshire - Common Sense
So so relistenable. I like this song very much. The melody is great and the little echoes on the verse are very fun. The melismas are a-plenty and what I like most about them is they just feel right for the song, where you put them, not just an ornamentation or a checkmark for the challenge. A really great song structure how you build and cut back out - and then KEY CHANGE! Really good work.
Stacking Theory - no
I love the electronic elements in this, and I really like your vocals - I feel a lot of emotion in your performance. The bridge is really cool. I found the lyrics really compelling and this is admittedly a style of songwriting I really enjoy - one of my favorite moments was “I don’t recognize the ocean, I have never seen the sea.” Natural use of melismas that enhance the otherwise simple melody. Did feel like maybe it was a little too long, but the song stands on its own two feet.
Berkeley Social Scene - Whatever’s Clever
Love the driving energy. Melodies are creative and catchy on both the verse and the chorus - this is something that’s a real strength of yours. Lyrics are tight (I paid attention, I paid my dues, never black and white, it’s always blue - I love this kinda shit). I know it’s always a pain, but I will point out that the piano feels a little behind the beat on the bridge, but you likely already know this! I enjoyed the guitar solo and it felt right for the song. The melisma at the end of the chorus feels intentional and the type of thing that would make the song stand out / people would sing along to at a show. A favorite of the round!
chewmeupspitmeout - Howling at the Moon
Nice vibe building at the beginning, and I love the bass (throughout). Your vocals are sick, and I love that we are getting these bluesy melismas - hell yeah. Creative and risk-taking musically but feels cohesive which takes skill to do (not expecting picking up the pace at the end and i love it!) Lyrics are fairly straightforward but gotta give you points of misanthrope/lycanthrope. One of my favorite approaches to meeting the challenge because it really adds to your song.
Nathan Joe Long - Alright
Oh how I wish I could play the guitar like you. Taking the melisma to what I will professionally call the “call and response stomp clap” place is a creative way to meet the challenge. I had to do a double take at your chorus, it’s so unexpected and I love that, I love that your song about death goes to a (fun?) major key. I struggled locking into the chords at the chorus a little, particularly the second chord. I’m not sure what might have helped, a transition chord or maybe something different in the bass, or the guitar up a little in the mix. But I can see what you were going towards and I like the risk. Love your chorus and third verse lyrics.
David Taro - Annie I Think I Love You
I laughed with delight after the first line. Nice way to meet the challenge - and then also doing it on “love” at the chorus as well. Again, I appreciate how you build a really full track - the mixing, the instrumentation, the vocals, the fills. I can’t believe this is coming in at 3:30 because we were all over the place with the structure - but in a good way that keeps you engaged! Los Ageless is a fun lyric; I also appreciate the “stage just/outrageous’. I also feel this way about St. Vincent.
The Dreams Corporation - Mother, Please... (short ver)
I really like the way you build harmonies and contrasting sounds together - the transition to the “wish to rest on a bed of light” was quite beautiful. I can feel the heart in the song with the chord choices you are making and I super love that. I still want more lyrics from you. We do a lot of the same thing repeated and I don’t know if that’s adding to what you’re trying to build. You’re selling me on the sounds, but less of the same repeated phrase (especially for the length of the song) would have served you better. I think you meet the challenge though, and you paint some really nice musical pictures here.
The Moon Bureau - 501
Solid song! The melisma with the “I” suits the song style and feels natural and is well executed. I love that it binds the choruses together even though the other lyrics change, that’s a great choice. Favorite lyric is probably “drum major in the dumb parade”. The song angle is creative and your last line made me chuckle. Well produced and re-listeneable.
Carrie Spillane - Time Is All We Need
Your piano started and I went “oh no” and braced myself for heartbreak. And you continue to write really emotive and beautiful songs both lyrically and musically. The way you sing is so intimate and vulnerable: a true singer songwriter. The melisma is subtle in the chorus but clearly intentional. Very nice all around.
Brother Baker - You
I am really a fan of you. Your vocals and the way you use backing vocals continue to really enhance what’s already a tight, super-relistenable song. Digging these lyrics. Feels like it could be in the closing scene of a teen movie in the 90s/00s. The melisma is prominent and feels natural and honestly extremely sing-a-long-able, which I think says something about a song. Nice work younger brother!
Vom Vorton - Something in the Fog
Really ambitious and fun melismas on “fog” and I love hearing your voice. The melody of the melisma reminded me a little of the Neverending Story (not a bad thing). I don’t know if this was intentional but I like the pad/horns/? At the beginning, it feels reminiscent of a fog horn, which is a cool touch. I also love this movie so a fun angle. And I like the repeated guitar lick!
West of Vine - Another Kind of Leaving
This is the kind of simple song that packs a punch. Lyrics feel natural and right, they sit just where they should, they are well written and feel true. Nice work there. Using the “by”/”goodbye” as your refrain was a good way to use the melisma. It’s one of the shorter songs with more traditional production and structure, but done well, which makes all the difference. I think that folks would go wild for this at an open mic, which I hope you’re playing, because you’re doing some great stuff.
Jealous Brother - Soundcheckin’
This is fun and exactly the type of the song that I feel like my friends and I would write while actually soundchecking. Makes for some fun meta and lyrics and I’m buying in, especially because of the opportunities to feature the different instuments. Violin is a really nice addition! “What’s that fucking hum” made me laugh. Using the melisma as a sort of vocal warmup for the mic is a unique angle and smart. I wanted to say it was maybe a little longer than it needed to be but I can mentally hear the voice of my own sound guy saying “keep going.” The outro is a fun changeup. I hope you do use this for a soundcheck.
Ominous Ride - No Grudge
I was surprised you were going simple on the production and enjoying the intimacy of your verse, but when those guitars kicked it it took it to another level. The sun don’t hold no grudge, the sun don’t shed no blood. These are sick lyrics and hold a deeper meaning that creeps up on you. Production is nice - I love the strings at the end. I would listen to this again and show it to someone else, and you make nice use of the melisma in the choruses.
Star Bear - My Love Is Forever
I’m so glad to have more lyrics from you because this is really lovely! In your vocal performance, in your arrangement, and in your lyrical choices. A sweet, heart-wrenching song. The more electronic/spacy sounds coming in the second verse add a nice “disassociation” to the sadness you’re expressing. I love how ambitious you were with the length and melody of your melisma. Glad to have you in this round!
Pigfarmer Jr - I Don’t Know Why
A sweet love song and I love your piano and bass. Lyrics are honest and raw. Some simple, short melismas in your chorus but I like how you employed them, very country music style. Might have liked it featured a little bit more. The organ is a nice touch. Very much singalongable and coverable.
Flintsteel - The Iron Man
It feels almost unfair to judge your production and performance skills because they are fantastic. Not just that, but your song structure is also smart and knows what it's doing for the genre. You clear the challenge with iron ma-a-an, but there were those who made the melisma more central to the song, which I would’ve loved to see more of here, but it is memorable.
miscellaneous owl - Rubbing the Velvet
I am admittedly biased towards your sound, this is lovely. I would definitely listen to this outside of the competition; reminds me of Eisley. The only thing distracting to me was the little click percussion sound, I think it’s a nice touch but needed to be a little lower in the mix. You naturally navigate these melismas with an excellent vocal performance. I like your song topic choice, I love that you went vulnerable and these lyrics are the kind of “simple” that invites a listener into their own interpretation. Great work.
Ironbark - Don’t Get Behind Me
Genuinely hilarious. Creatively and enjoyably arranged; love your instrumentation (though I’m not sure it needed the more electronic sound at the end?). In general, I was looking for melismas that did not feel “tacked on”, and while yours are not central to a repeated melody, they are well placed transitions for this storytelling-type song. Enjoyed gangsters / angst is. Incredible performance.
the profane bells - She
First of all, your drums sound awesome. Your lyrics are creative and engaging and feel honest, which is not easy to do. Love that you featured the melisma prominently in your refrain. The sounds you’re using at the bridge are really cool, I dig that. Love the meta at the end. This is easy to bop along to.
Stefan Szabo - When It Comes
From the first note sounds really lovely with the vocal/whistle octaves. This song made me stop and just listen and absorb it. It’s reminiscent of songs that are out there, for sure, but it’s a natural fit for you. I could get lost in this without thinking much about your choices; this song felt finished on delivery, and honest. I’d be remiss not to mention your vocals are peak and those melismas are well used and well sang. A favorite of the round.
Paul Dermody - So Insane
What a song topic. I think the verse lyrics do a good job of putting us into the human cost of war. The melismas on “insane” worked well, though I would have liked a little more variety in the melody, dynamics, and instrumentation throughout the song to keep me engaged. The verses and message are definitely the strongest parts for me. And yes, it is so insane.
Sober - I’ll Try Again
This is a strong song that feels like it can live its own life. I am easily seduced by the picking banjo and the violin. The folk-style lyrics are right on the money, and I like your use of melismas, they feel natural. The lyrics are probably my favorite part and I would totally cover this song. Nice job!
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