Here are your Round 3 rankings from SpinTunes 25 Champion Beka Gurney:
Read on for Beka's reviews!
This round was particularly hard because by the time I was halfway through, I thought I already knew who my finalists were going to be, and y’all just kept delivering and delivering. You should all be proud of these songs, there are several that I plan to add to my personal playlists and I enjoyed every single one.
It’s a harsh cutoff for Round Three. We go from a lot of contestants to just a few, and I think it really could have gone a lot of different ways. It will come down to the fun mix of judges and preferences that we all have (cracks me up how different we all are but there’s something to be learned there!). I think you all really rose to a difficult challenge, or at least a more technically difficult challenge than I’ve seen in SpinTunes in a long time. I was genuinely impressed with how well you rose to meet it (almost annoyed, I hoped you would make this judging thing easy!).
I’m strapped for time, so know that I hope to review the Shadows eventually (particularly the one in which I’m called out??? lmao). But thank you again for all your hard work, and thank you for the privilege of listening to your songs - y’all should be proud!
miscellaneous owl - Writ in Water
Your melodies and your voice are a natural fit for this challenge. What a beautiful folk song. “All the wishes you could make all have to do with time” and “Where Indiana went” were both lines that made me cheer. I will come back and listen to this over and over.
The Moon Bureau - Passion Is a Knife
This song is an excellent proof of concept, that this meter doesn’t have to be restrained to any certain genre. A little clunky to sing in some places (“aspirations that urge brings”) - but then some really nice lines, my favorite being “to know you only saw in me reflections of yourself.” Is the title a nod to Charli XCX?
Nathan Joe Long - Pocket Watch
The ticking clock is a really nice touch. Random comparison, but the instrumental moments remind me of “No Dogs On The Beach” by Griffin McElroy. The lyrics feel a little dense, and while you make the scheme work, the “my son my heir” and “I swore I cursed I begged I cried” sections are the strongest moments. The emotion in your delivery really sells those lines, whereas elsewhere it can feel like you’re engineering words to fit.
Ironbark - Where It Hurts
I read everyone’s lyrics before I listened to this round, and the comment I made on yours was simply “AMAZING.” I’m taken aback by how great a song this is as a piece of writing, and the music only added to it. Maybe you’re tugging at my parent heartstrings, but “tell me where it hurts” is one of those song ideas you catch with your bare hands and you have to do justice, and you did.
Best Dad in Yorkshire - Home
Oof, these lyrics hurt. Your voice carries so much emotion, this is a real strength of yours. This song reminds me of family, of a very vulnerable sentiment I’ve tried to write about my own sister, dad, kid, etc. You also nicely meet the challenge, my favorite lines being “with chaos I feel whole”/”I’ve never felt so whole”. The melody is pretty static, but all in all a lovely heart-wrenching song.
Carrie Spillane - Dystopian Pentameter
I love that you’re throwing us a curveball and showing us a different side of you! There’s something wicked smart about taking a meter that can feel manufactured and giving it to an AI to sing. Your production skills really get a chance to shine here and it makes me excited for what else you can do. Love “Press Here Press There Press Go,” and layering lines from other songs over the top is clever for your topic. This feels like a track that would fit somewhere in the middle of an album, bridging other songs. Unfortunately, as a standalone song, I don’t think it quite delivers a story, arc, or hook. As a “bridge” song, the build is great, but the energy needed to keep growing to hold my attention and not seem repetitive (or be shorter).
Stacking Theory - Losing Steam
Once again, I love what you’re doing with your arrangement and production. Sounds delicious. You make the meter feel so natural that I don’t think anyone would even notice it, which is really satisfying. Favorite line is “ahead, there’s nothing looking back” - one of those “damn, I wish I wrote that” lyrics. I love your performance and harmonies, and the whole thing made me want to listen again and catch the details I missed the first time.
Cheslain - Devil By The Horn
The AURA you have going into this song. Your performance is phenomenal - almost feels like musical theater akin to Hadestown. A technically tight song in so many ways. A few lines felt a little tangled up and unnatural in the meter (“when i'm in hell, thus i have sworn, just like my victims, dead”) but an excellent delivery.
Ominous Ride - I Am Iamb
I want to give you extra points just for the title and hook of this song, it’s so good lol. Going meta was a cool angle and gave you so many fun things to play with lyrically, which I really enjoy both as a writer and a listener. It’s a fairly straightforward song, but well pulled off!
David Taro - Love Won’t Care
This gives me Queen vibes. As always I love your voice and the way you craft your songs, the mix is great, the piano is lovely, and shoutout to your bg vocals! You meet the challenge nicely - your third verse sings, second verse feels like it’s holding space a little bit but all in all a great song.
Hot Pink Halo - I Am
I have to say, “abyss/bliss” and “volley with/folly with” are absolute treats for me lyrically. I love a creative or uncommon rhyme. I was a little lost on the topic, so thank you for the song bio! With a better understanding of your angle, I really appreciate what you’ve done here. I do not consider myself an expert on this challenge, but there are a few places where it felt like your emphasis singing wasn’t landing on the right syllables for the meter, but on the page it works! Love your beats, as always.
Sunflower Bastard - EDMB (FCM Remix)
We’re in outer space and it’s a jam. I think the common meter fits well with the genre honestly and I love the structure. Nice little piano moment in the middle, love the drop. This is not a lyric first song, a little hit or miss for me, but it is what it is - and it is a fucking banger.
Jennifer Lynne and The Dandelion Rebellion - The Optimist
Your vocal performance is fantastic, and I love the style, it’s right up my alley. Your lyrics are well crafted if straightforward (one exception might be “full of hard stairs” - doesn’t quite feel natural sung) and your melody is lively if very similar to a lot of songs in this style. I wouldn’t count that against you if it wasn’t for the fact that it almost feels too similar. I hope I am wrong, but the number of instrumental fills throughout this song and the skill with which they are played and produced gives me pause and reminds me of songs I’ve heard created with generative AI. That would be a bummer, because you’re very good and this was a fun song! It just made it hard for me to score.
traumadolls - Cycle of Sirens
This is stellar. The GUITARS. You guys know how to rock. Love that you have a single line on one word, “familiarity” - some great lyric weaving happening here. This is another great example this round of meeting the challenge while staying true to your genre and strengths. It works well.
Brother Baker - There Is Hope
I’m banging my head along to this, especially the prechorus and the bridge. Some sick lyrics here, especially loved “ensnared ourselves in self-made webs, In self-induced repose” and “the archway earned a door”. The lines in your chorus do a great job of leading into one another, I like it a lot. I love love love the vocal harmonies. Really excellent stuff here, well done!
Flintsteel - Belmont’s Curse
You are operating on another level. It makes it honestly difficult for me to score - your production and performance are fantastic, and you know this, so I will focus on song. Your third stanza of the common meter is pulling a “return-ed” but it works in my opinion. Melody is strong, lyrics tell a story - feels a little long, and the structure is a little hard to follow outside of this particular genre / performance, but solid.
Stefan Szabo - Mother
Once again, on the first listen, your song made me stop and listen and forget the challenge. You have a really strong combination of heart, talent, and that secret third thing that makes a songwriter, imo. I think one of the smart choices that made this stand out in the challenge was how you slowed the meter down, by breaking the first and third line in each stanza into 2 pieces, and how you seamlessly moved between time signatures in the verses. I can’t even talk to you about the river and the third verse. Incredible delivery on this.
Sober - Make You a Headstone
This melody - catchy as well! Everything you’re doing instrumentally - delicious! The vocal section, and your vocals in general! Lyrically, I’m mad at you for “do memories make them true” because I wish I wrote it. I am biased in loving this style very much, I would rock out to this at a live show, and you’re just so good at it. You seamlessly meet this challenge without even breaking a sweat. Well done.
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