| 1 | Sober |
| 2 | Also In Blue |
| 3 | Hot Pink Halo |
| 4 | Phlub |
| 5 | Melody Klein |
| 6 | chewmeupspitmeout |
| 7 | See-Man-Ski |
| 8 | Night Sky |
| 9 | Firefly |
| 10 | Star Bear |
| 11 | Mandibles |
| 12 | rackwagon |
| 13 | Dented Bento |
| 14 | Governing Dynamics |
| 14 | Richard Shakespeare |
| 16 | FireBear |
| 17 | The Dutch Widows |
| 18 | Ominous Ride |
Sober, "The Soldier's Song"
Hands down, this is the strongest song of the competition (up to this point).
Initially, "The Soldier's Song" reminded me of The Chicks' "Travelin' Soldier", Grateful Dead's "Friend of the Devil", and Stan Rogers' "Northwest Passage" combined and you brought to that musical setting a unique and succinct idea; to sing about every soldier throughout history as if they were one. As the old adage goes, "Write about what you know." A soldier can surely write about soldiering.
Musically, I know you hear mistakes, but for me, this is a perfect song. There's nothing I would add or take away.
Interestingly, my wife placed "Also in Blue" ahead of you for this round, mostly due to your vocal fry in the later verses, but I'm a fool for voices with imperfections (Waits, Cocker, Dylan, etc.) so I think your voice imbues this track with more personality and expression than anybody else's. That's just personal taste, though. To each their own.
This is the only Spintunes song that made me cry.
Also in Blue, "I Know Tom Dooley Done It"
Excellent lyrics, thoroughly researched and attentive to both the history of the song and the actual event. A creative retelling of the true storyline set in modern day NYC, fulfilling the anachronism theme. Passionate, bluesy vocals with well-tuned lead and harmony parts. Soulful, earthy guitar and mando arrangement with tight, flat-picked melody and rhythm. Good production quality, simple and clean w/o superfluous effects, all musical components heard. You are definitely the cream of the crop here.
Some general music criticisms:
In the mix, the drum set sounds muffled. It just didn’t sound natural. Personally, I don't think percussion is needed. Rather than messing with that whole balancing act, just leave it out. You don't need percussion to have rhythmic drive. Let the roots shine.
The mandolin is out of tune (this is probably why many people put you behind Sober); however, I think a little differently about intonation. Having an instrument that’s not quite in tune may lend itself well to the traditional sound you were going for. I could have it either way. The old time mandolin recordings I love so much are always out of tune, but you seem to be going for a more modern ‘traditional’ sound, so you should tune it up.
My biggest problem is with the song construction, itself:
In general, it’s too long, but what should you cut out? Every detail is important to the story. To my ears, you are pushing the limits of good music vs. good storytelling. As fun as the instruments are, the continuity of the narrative would benefit from fewer guitar/mando interludes. You wanted to show off your music chops, but the story demands too much time this time around. Save the instrumentals for a less lyric laden song.
Unnecessary additions to the basic form also make it too long. Many ballads don’t even have a chorus! I’m not suggesting you should get rid of your awesome chorus, but I think the bridge is unnecessary; rock, modern country, and pop listeners might expect a bridge, but the narrative needs fewer interruptions. Just try to keep the story going.
Overall, this song was really ambitious. Part of the reason the early Tom Dooley versions oversimplify the story is because the full story tests the limits of the listener’s patience. Over time only the strongest verses remain with ballads like these, and the details get more general or forgotten altogether. As sad as that is for the facts, it makes the song more digestible.
See-Man-Ski, "Ellie"
Anachronism works better when you move characters into an alternate timeline, not so much when you move an entire timeline into another timeline, or one story into another.
Combining these two different movies into a single, coherent narrative was doomed from the beginning. The plots are just too different. Although the contrast between sinking and rising is poetic, the stories have nothing to do with one another. If you’re trying to tell me about a sinking ship, you can’t really include a flying house. At the end of the day, it’s impossible to follow both trajectories. You can't honor the emotion or the details of either situation. You end up sounding schizophrenic darting back and forth like this, and it's hard to understand the overall meaning of what you’re talking about.
Aside from that, the arrangement is beautiful. The piano accompanies but does not overpower the vocal delivery. The subtle string part pushes the verse onward toward the chorus. There are some beautiful, coherent lyrics here, like all of the verse material leading up to the first chorus. The chorus is beautiful, too. “Ellie” plaintively hangs in the air, almost a prayer, at the beginning of each phrase. The emotion of your delivery is effective and believable.
This song doesn't entirely work as it is, but it's worth saving. If you return to it after the contest, I'd suggest removing all the Up references. Make it entirely about a shipwreck. Instead of choosing the Andrea Gail, though, you might try writing about a shipwreck that hasn't been covered, maybe one from your region. You wouldn't need to change the lyrics much. The circumstances are often similar. You could include local details that you're familiar with (Write about what you know, you know?).
For some inspiration, check out The Balina Whalers' version of "The Wreck of the Dandenong" on Bandcamp. In the chorus, the dead sailors speak longingly to their loved ones from cold, briny graves, singing "I dream of being warm". Their choruses in that song have the same sort of desperation that yours does. Put yourself there and find your humanity.
“Ellie”, could be the final prayer of a dying sailor, filled with a desire for deliverance, for a place that’s safe, or for a home where love can be found. This could be a very good song, on par with the best this competition has to offer, but it's not there yet.
Chewmeupspitmeout, "Narcissus and Echo"
I like the arrangement. "Wych Elm" was a better song, but the mix is better this round.
That wind effect you like so much really sets the stage for telling a good story. You used something like that in round one, but this is more electronic, so generally, it's cleaner and more in tune instrumentally.
The vocals are pretty good. It can be difficult to sing quietly with finesse in the upper register, but it seems to be a trademark of yours, somewhat like Robin Pecknold from Fleet Foxes. Keep working on it. The overall effect is moving, but your phrase endings are sometimes flat. The musicality you're going for vocally is ambitious, but I like it.
Whatever vocal processing you're using almost makes up for intonation problems. It gives the vocals extra pop, crispness, and clarity, too. This is perhaps the best vocal processing of the entire round, far better than last round. Keep it up.
Lyrically, the narrative is coherent. I understand everything that's being said. The phone and social media taking the place of the reflection in the water is perhaps the best anachronism of the song. That image really sticks, as does the sudden musical push after "hit of dopamine", which is excellent text painting (use of music to demonstrate text).
I also like that you used falsetto to represent Echo's correspondence to Narcissus. Her small voice is almost lost beneath everything, which is commensurate to Narcissus's apathy towards her. I love it. It's very artistic.
Overall, your word sounds could be stronger. I'm not speaking about pitch here, but maybe about articulation and word choices (?). Better word rhythms, meter, alliteration of consonants, and internal rhymes within your lines could add a lot to the song's musicality.
Mainly, I'm thinking about how the words feel in the mouth of the listener, because you want to draw them in and have them unconsciously humming or singing along with you. Your phrases aren't that memorable; the story is, but not the words you use to tell it.
Good lyrics are fun to repeat and easy to internalize. Lyrics shouldn't be so artsy that they jeopardize the flow of the narrative or make it sound unnatural, but they should be intriguing enough to remember. There's always a happy medium to be found.
Overall, the arrangement, concept, and mix are high points, and the vocal artistry is on its way. At least, you have a clear style of singing that works for you.
Hot Pink Halo, "Going Really Far"
I really like this song.
The arrangement is unique, almost minimalistic, like Philip Glass or Steve Reich. None of the components are complex on their own, but they interact in such a way as to create value on the whole. I think the word for that is 'Gestalt', when the whole is greater than the sum of all parts. The way you do this is magical.
The violins add some interesting texture, initially seeming like a school orchestra tuning up, but then becoming something transcendent and ethereal. The violins actually set the mood for the entire piece. They made the song for me.
The drum machine and piano join together to create a mechanical time keeper, but this fits in with the scientific theme of the space race idea. So, it’s ethereal, yet very metered, which is strange (but in a good way)!
Later on, the violins provide basic countermelodies and even a rising scale pattern as the rocket blasts off. That’s great text painting to highlight a peak moment of the song.
Simultaneously, a news broadcast plays in the background to announce the transition from horse race to moon race, followed by a rocket launching and applause. Stuff just keeps coming. These sounds add to the drama; there’s something to celebrate!
Overall, I think I was hard on you in the first round. Your vocals are an acquired taste, but they're growing on me. Even so, I still think you need to make them more clear. Communication is key, but your vocal sound is somehow dampened. Take some of the effects off. Let your voice ring out naturally. You sound like you’re speaking through a bad telephone receiver, but I want you to be right in front of me communicating directly.
In any other setting, the mantra "and you're going really far" might get old fast, but it underpins everything you're trying to say here, so I think it works. In general, though, avoid one line choruses. It’s trite and a bit of a cop out.
Additionally, there are these occasional droning vocal harmonies that seem inhuman in their precision (autotuned?), more like whirring machinery than voices. In this case, it adds to the scientific nature of the space race theme but, again, I think natural sounding vocals are preferable.
The strangest part of the song is when the horse runs off into the solar system. It’s a stretch for me, but okay. It works in this case because the song is not linear or realistic, but a bit like magic realism. It doesn't make sense, but for this exercise I guess it doesn't need to make sense. It's a collage of images about "going far". Maybe it's a race horse. Maybe it's a space race. Who knows? I don't care. The vehicle doesn't matter, the motion forward does, however, and you capture that so well. This song made me feel like a child watching a space shuttle launch in school again. It was refreshing and inspirational.
Melody Klein, "Virtual Descartes"
Great concept, a classical philosopher trapped in a machine contemplating the nature of his own existence! Nice!
Your lyrics once again show deep thinking. Ideas, however, don’t always need to be complex to be profound. Descartes, for example, is pretty lofty material for a song writing contest. Some people get turned off just because he's a philosopher who lived a long time ago. In contrast, think about Bob Marley, who once said, “a baby could understand my lyrics." He was able to speak to people all over the world with simple words. Simplicity can be elegant and profound.
Electronic musicians always seem to excel at making musical ideas flow like water. Your ideas can be trickling streams or roaring rapids. Consequently, you’re good at arranging, but try to shorten up your next submission so that people unfamiliar with electronica can digest it better. Your compositions can be symphonic like Strauss or Sibelius, but they don't need to take that long. Think of it as a challenge for the competition; accomplish more with less time.
I can understand your vocals better this round, but you should continue to reduce the effects on your voice. Most likely, this will have direct bearing on whether you continue past the next round. People need to be able to understand your lyrics, without the sheet and without the song bio. Don't rely on those.
The Mandibles, “The Jester King”
I appreciate the music, it reminds me of Heart or Blue Oyster Cult (i.e. "Godzilla"). Again, I'm not a fan of the lyrics, but the music is pretty good. I really enjoy the guitar work.
I think you rely too heavily on the metaphor, Jester King = Ukrainian leader to be the draw of the song, though. It almost sounds like you're mocking him when you say "long live the jester king". I'm still trying to decide which side you're on, and there needs to be more than just this metaphor.
The Feast of Fools is a little more interesting. It sort of holds up allegorically. I’ve heard of the medieval "Feast of Fools", and although being the Ukrainian president isn’t a “once a year” thing, maybe the "Feast of Fools" is the spotlight he's getting from the world press? Okay. I can go with that. Is there some way to make it more obvious?
This is a good picture you're painting, with functional metaphors and all, but there should be some real world narrative included and details to go along with it.
Many people will be affected. What does the Ukrainian leader do? How does he make decisions? What are the consequences? Is he loved? Is he hated? Will he triumph in battle? What odds does he face? You haven’t really told us any of that.
I think letting some concrete events and a basic storyline trickle in here and there would help. There needs to be some sort of interplay between the abstract metaphors and the real world in the song to prove that your observations are true. I know there's always this desire with political songs to make them broad and all-encompassing, so that they continue to be relevant in multiple situations as the world moves. Without the song bio, though, I wouldn't have a clue which world leader you were talking about. There are a lot of fools and jesters running things, now and forever. There needs to be some clearer hints as to who you're talking about.
Overall, the song should contain all the information necessary for understanding it. This song is not bad, but there are more direct and impactful songs this round.
Phlub, "A Night in Babylon"
This ranks as one of my favorite song concepts this round.
Growing up in Toledo, I knew plenty of ravers who would drive up to Detroit to enjoy the Techno scene on a Friday or Saturday night, as long as they were back in a church on a Toledo Sunday morning. Therefore, the idea that a rave (and all the pleasures that come with it) might induce a John of Patmos style spiritual revelation actually doesn't seem that far fetched, and a revelation is an anachronism by definition. Very creative interpretation of the assignment.
Vocally, you remind me of Morrissey (and I don't think you need to "phlub up" your vocals). I can understand everything you're saying, and songs are meant to communicate lyrics. I initially thought the vocals were out of tune at the ends of phrases, but it's hard to say against the shimmery, slightly out of tune background. You break the rules when you make music, so the general expectations for intonation don't necessarily apply. Ironically, though, as I was listening to old Smiths' recordings this week, I found that Morrissey was actually out of tune in some songs, so I think what you're doing sounds fine and, whether you like Morrissey or not, that clean vocal delivery could draw people into the more experimental soundscapes you want to create. I think it was a good choice to keep the vocals clean.
If you want to strengthen the vocals against the background, you might overlay several unison vocal tracks. I think artists as diverse as James Hetfield (Metallica), Elvis Costello, and Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat/Fugazi) have overlayed vocals in this way, at least on choruses.
I was really impressed by this entire tune, especially the surprise chord change from verse to chorus. You were among four or five songwriters that I could have ranked in the #2 slot, but at the end of the day, I had to give each of you a different number.
Rackwagon, "Please Like and Subscribe"
This is an unusual combination of orchestral sounds and 1990s indie rock music, and then to add the dramatic David Bowie-style vocals to boot! I liked all of that.
My criticism was more about the song concept. The topic was good on its own as a song, but it seemed like an easy way out for the challenge. Yes, it is anachronism to place yourself in the realm of your musical heroes, or to dream of them entering your realm through the endless possibilities of the internet and social media, and yes, especially since everybody's performances are archived for posterity in millions of online libraries on the internet; however, it was a little too general and mundane for me. Even if you say it's Salieri, there's little in the song to tell me that.
In this round, I found what separated the good from the better was detail. Bringing the specific details of one timeline into another, the more outlandish the juxtaposition, the better, and making the entire thing believable was more difficult and artful than just reporting on the everpresent hunt for approval and self worth via 'press like and subscribe' on the internet.
Basically, I found your music to be more creative than your song concept, that's all, and there were a lot of songs with more creative concepts that yours.
The description of the phenomenon is accurate, though.
Star Bear, "Nothing"
The instrumentation isn't bad, but with such a simple background, the song concept and delivery needed to be earthshaking to compete with some of the others.
Yes, I agree that people have become increasingly callous to the sufferings of others over time. There are many reasons for this, though, and you don't really attempt to understand or explain the reasons behind the problem. You just moralize that people should care more, and you lament the fact that you don't care as much as you should. You did this with about as much resolve as a slice of soppy milk toast.
Humans, as a species, have been through some of the bloodiest, most devastating conflicts in history since the Spanish Flu pandemic. Every malady, humanitarian crisis, genocide, serial killing spree, government malfeasance, and injustice of the last century and a half has been televised, analyzed, criticized, and monetized in the form of entertainment for the masses to digest and process. These things are not even interesting anymore because they are everywhere, in reality and in our minds. We are bombarded. It seems to be symptomatic of the entropy of the universe.
Because of this, the social critic in song often does better just picking one or two little things to write a small tune about, rather than going after the entire bloodbath of modern time in one, overly-long guitar strum epic.
You bit off a little more than you could chew! It's hard for the listener to process so much at once, so even though you spit out a slough of words, you ended up communicating much less than you intended to.
You need less verse and more repetition to break it up. More choruses, interludes, a bridge…things like that that give time for the listener to process what you are saying.
Lastly, don't get overly sentimental. The best prescription for apathy is action. Action is pragmatic, not sentimental. It sounds callous, but you need to be as unemotional and stable as a rock to tackle issues such as these. Let the listener get emotional. Like Bob Dylan once said to a magazine reporter (and I paraphrase here) "my songs are images, images like you guys should be printing, like a starving bum eating trash in the gutter next to a well-dressed business man getting out of a limosine."
You could write an entire song about that image, alone. Don't try to take on the world in one song. You can't do it.
Firefly, "Dot Dash Dance"
I appreciate that you chose 1980s dance music as the underlying musical canvas for this one. It really fits with the title, and tapping out telegraphy is a sort of dance of the finger. The electronic Morse code signals fit into this framework, too.
The song concept really works as an anachronism, I can imagine Samuel Morse sitting, tapping, tirelessly reaching out to anyone who will listen from Covid quarantine, and even inventing a signal from the "boredom of tapping feet".
There is little that is technically or critically wrong with this example. It was a good idea. In the end, the music of other entries was just more emotionally moving to me. That's all. I suppose, you could try to engage the heart a little more if you submit again? Music should make a person feel something, and at day's end, I'd rather feel something than understand something. And if you can accomplish both, all the better.
Governing Dynamics, "A Traveller's Journal"
Not bad. Sounds like U2, particularly in the lyrics and vocals. Dynamically and emotionally, however, you could perhaps have more highs and lows in the melody, more drama. There is little rise and fall, little contrast. Rather, it all kind of even keeled.
The concept is an anachronism, but it is not readily apparent. I shouldn't need to read a modern dramatisation of the parable of the Good Samaritan to understand where your song's coming from, the meaning should be apparent within the song, itself.
Don't just expect us to know the parable. Set it all up a little better. Describe the traveller and his journey in more detail. Make the lesson learned more succinct and set it apart somehow from the narrative, musically and conceptually. Talk about the people he meets, add dialogue between the characters, and make the learning of the lesson specific and linear, so we can learn the lesson along with him rather than being told and expected to accept the conclusion. Include more modern details to make sure we understand that it is an anachronism and not just a retelling of the old Bible story.
Parables are wonderfully written, in that they are specific simple stories with problems and solutions that are allegorical for larger problems and solutions universal to us all, and ultimately, parables point the way towards understanding heaven. This isn't readily apparent in the song.
Don't get me wrong, this music is great for spiritual contemplation. I love the entire band sound. It's unique. You definitely have your own sound and mood. Now you just need a lyrical and poetic style that is equally your own, one that communicates succinctly and without a doubt.
Dented Bento, "Og Go to Safeway"
Great lyrics, once again. Your description and details really take me there. It's a movie for my mind, a family comedy.
Musically, I think your vocals work better in a thick texture than this thin, primitivistic one. That works against the caveman vibe you were going for, though, so I don't know…
I have to say, a band named "Dented Bento" doing a sushi song in the first round led me to believe all Dented Bento songs were going to be based on sushi metaphors. That was my own hangup coming into this round, but you kind of set it up that way, so I was disappointed when I found it not to be the case.
Once I got past that, though, the supermarket trip, the minivan, the healthy food choices…it's all hilarious. Even after all this time, we're still cavemen trying to provide for our families.
Ultimately, I just don't think the vocals and the music are on par with many of the other entries this time around. I hope I get to hear another one of your songs, though. They're really quirky and insightful.
Night Sky, "Murder on the Greyhound"
Always a pleasure to hear your saxes, friend! Musically, this track reminded me of The Preservation Hall Jazz Band doing "Tootsie Mama is a Big Fine Thing", except if Fred Schneider from the B-52s sang the lead vocals.
You have an adequate voice, just maybe not for blues, R&B, or jazz. Fred Schneider was able to pair his voice with a music style that fit. You may have jazz in your soul, and your horn reveals it, but I really think another music style would fit your voice better. Maybe try the country/folk thing a bit, something quieter than a jazz band, or maybe just piano behind your voice.
In general, I find that your vocals lack the energy to compete with your band, especially telling a story this long. It was a good idea, this story, and it fit the assignment, but you needed to either make it more succinct or find a way to vary the dynamics and orchestration of the band. As it is, the band just keeps plugging along, as do the monotonous vocals, which is about as interesting as the typical Greyhound bus trip across country (not nearly as fantastic as the one you're trying to describe here!).
Sometimes the chorus vocals are noticeably flat, but beyond that, you maybe didn't even need the chorus, at least not this one, which provided little insight or reflection…Think of a verse functioning as an opera's recitative and a chorus as the aria, the verse provides plot development, whereas the chorus inspires reflection and understanding. Or think of the chorus as the thesis statement of an essay, in that it covers the entirety of what is learned in the song in quick synopsis. It should be succinct, necessary, and to the point. Your chorus didn't accomplish either of these things for me, so maybe you don't need one.
You might have been better just doing a sax solo in place of each chorus, but with an interesting break in the groove, like that a cappella tenor break with just handclaps and hollers that Charlie Mingus' does in "Slop", except in miniature form…something, anything to break up those long verses. That, at least, would get the listener engaged again if their mind had wandered away during the verse.
I don't know. The simple blues of your first round grabbed me more. I think it was better writing, and there were so many good submissions this round. This wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, either. I'm being picky because criticism is worth 10x more than praise in this kind of thing. The reviews are worth more than winning, and we get to hear all these interesting musicians do their thing. I love it.
The Dutch Widows, "Demolition Order"
I've had this song running through my head throughout this past week, at least the chord progression and the groove. It's a bit like listening to Beach Boy surf music. It's fun and sticks in the ear.
I don't think your voice necessarily fits this style as well. Your first round song was quiet and contemplative, so the talk-sung vocals with the overseas accent really made me listen. You sounded like a wise sage from far off giving advice, and I leaned in to hear it. In this song, your vocals got lost a bit behind the awesome guitars, and your natural British accent didn't come through as much. High falsetto, like the Beach Boys, might have worked better, at least that's the expectation American pop rock has instilled, but also because, functionally, it would soar over the noise of the band a little better.
The melody isn't particularly memorable, either, as it just follows the bass line and chord changes. You should have found something that moved against the flow, rhythmically and melodically. That way, it would have stood apart and held its own in the mix.
Furthermore, there is little build or contrast present. The pattern doesn't change much or build. That doesn't help maintain my interest. I'm fact, for houses being demolished, there's very little drama musically.
Lyrically, it's fine. I like the handful of culture specific references you included, like cuppa and cooker. You might have researched more language specific to English building codes and laws, as well as more proper nouns denoting officials, policies, and offices. Right now, it sounds like the pigs could be anywhere in the English-speaking world. To me, this isn't necessarily England.
As a band, your playing is well-executed. Everything's in tune and in rhythm. I respect your potential, your creativity, and I might check out some more of your songs online. Thanks for the music, gents!
Richard Shakespeare, "Push (Sisyphus the Insurance Clerk)"
The vocals are okay, but overly-ambitious and strained in places. The concept is good but, lyrically, it takes so much time to introduce the array of characters, that you have less time to set up the plot. The musical arrangement, on the other hand, is full of drama and changes in mood. I like the music quite a bit.
Lyrically, I'm a fan of traditional folk ballads, but as far as rock songs go, these lengthy myths and movies don't translate well. Perhaps it's just a hangup of mine, but the busier and more ambitious the soundscape becomes, the less room there seems to be for complex lyrics and stories.
Musically, I love your arrangement – the fiddle part, the electric guitar leads, the fingerpicking, and the jazzy seventh chords you often choose – but I find myself listening to the music instead of the story.
So, this song fulfills the assignment, but there are other songs that make me feel more. This is probably because it was too much to fit into one song, and so beneath the weight of it all, it ended up communicating less.
Ominous Ride, "Allegory of the Echo Chamber"
Sha-na-na meets ancient Greece.
While I appreciate and agree with everything you're saying, it's a lot to take in over the course of a single song, and I'm not exactly sure what the anachronism is in the lyrics. There is certainly a dissonance between what those in "the cave" believe and what those with broader experience in the world see and understand, but that's not an anachronism, it's just a disagreement over what facts are. If the anachronism is that the Fox News fans are in Plato's Cave, that's not a place in timeline you're resetting, it's just a metaphor for an echo chamber, and you're explaining it to us.
Musically, I'm glad I can understand the words (that's not always the case), and it's good to see you have the range to do something other than eighties hair band music. Your voices are in tune. Your instruments are in tune and in rhythm. The levels are agreeable in the mix. My only criticisms are that the melody is annoyingly repetitive, without much drama or dynamics. It would be nice to vary the sections a little more by slowing down, speeding up, or changing volume. The chorus sounds a lot like the verse, for example.
Firebear, "True Love"
Mighty Mighty Bosstones/N.O.F.X. meets 1980s Rom-Com.
Lyrically, this is just a rehashing of "The Princess Bride" with a couple of Vietnam references to explain Wesley's hiatus. The real action from the storyline is written generally enough to be taken directly from the movie, so the execution of the concept isn't as creative as it probably could have been.
Musically, this is an excellent pop punk arrangement. It could have been on the radio when I was a kid. It has harmonies in all the right places, ska upstrokes on the guitars, horn lines, great production value, and even a coda section (where Buttercup sings) that is reminiscent of songs I heard back then.
Razor Brain, "Smoking Hot"
If it wasn't in the Bible, you wouldn't believe it was in the Bible…
Yes, this is an anachronism of a Bible story set in modern times.
I wish the story were told with a few more details, but the dialogue is pretty great, recasting ancient conversation into street slang ("Bae").
I'm not a fan of the high, whining voices (seems like parody rather than an actual attempt at early metal) but the guitar line interlude really rocks, just like old Black Sabbath.
The juxtaposition of this music style, "Bae", and a Bible story has me chuckling a bit.
Hanky Code, "My Shoe"
Yep, this is the shallow truth of how Cinderella would play out in modern times.
Musically, I'm really impressed by the background vocal harmonies. It adds a lot to the mood. The band is spot on with its driving hard rock style. The lead vocals are understandable and in tune.
Lyrically, this is like something out out of the Bare Naked Ladies catalogue. There isn't much depth to it, but it's a funny story to tell and think about.
There isn't much poetry or artfulness to it, but I don't think that's what you were going for, anyway. It's just a fun, tongue-in-cheek modern take on Cinderella. Overall, not that original, but a pretty good party song. Great playing and contemporary lyric references, guys.
