I was impressed with the last fight, but this one's superb. I'm having one hell of a time figuring out who gets the cake. Nice work everyone.
ADD - Great song. Nice melodic progression...it really flows along nicely. I like the lyrics in this one, very visceral imagery like "I'm an animal with hungry eyes". I like the earnest delivery, even if the vocals sound a little strained for my taste. Fantastic song - and concise. Potential vote-winner.
Andre Was Here at Midnight - Mmm, nice. All sorts of quirky, but in a good way. You're not what I'd call a great singer, but I like how you use what you got - and sometimes that's better. When you sing the "rock and roll can feel so good", I believe it. Two gripes - the lead guitar goes on a bit much, I love the simplicity of the rhythm guitar. Also thetambourine not locking in with the guitar rhythm, which sounds a bit too loosey - goosey. My philosophy is everyone can get wasted but the drummer...
AudioVideoIntercourse - Love the breaks, really keeps the edge sharp. I feel that there might be a bit too much high frequency fuzz, and is obscuring the vox a bit. But it's a great freaky groove - reminds me a bit of the Butthole Surfers, or Ween. Great dark bluesy jam.
Billy's Little Trip - Go!!! Right on, man...Way to bring in the rock. Wages, dude, you can pump it out. Love this, two neurotic notes: The fuzz guitar is a little too fuzzy, it's making my skin tingle a bit - needs some high filter and more throat. Also, I think the bridge loses some momentum, I dunno, that drum groove feels a little too predictable. But that's being picky. Hair-rock masterpiece, and an all-time great collab.
Blues Train Blues in D (?) - How are you recording these? The noise in your 'Memphis' was bad too...not always a deterrent, but there's not enough going on here to keep my attention. I was into the mud and mumbling for Memphis, as IMO, the song called for it, but I can't even really follow this one. There's something about your sensibility that I like though, which I'd love to hear framed by a song with a good beat.
Bushido Stylus - Kind of a cool beat, like the delay on the piano. I really like the minimalism - it's kind of haunting. C'mon man - commit to that rap! It's so uninteresting - no excitement, no emotion, no nuthin'. You know, I think a faster tempo would help move the words along better. I don't care about video games. Songs about them are boring.
Embers of Autumn - Is it just my headphones? No - there's you vocals right up in front. Why is the instrumentation way in the back? There's some sour singing, but it's a great song. Love the dynamics - hope you re-record this better, it deserves a better shot.
The Hell Yeahs - Good gawd, great texture in this song. The harpsichord really adds just the right amount of twang. The drums are spectabular - love the little floor tom bloops at the end of the harpsichord lines - and those choked guitar chords leading up to the chorus freakin' rock. Nice little punk rock masterpiece.
KBBren - Oooo, nice soaring guitar in that intro. Dude, I'm seriously envious of your voice. Wait, is this Neil Young? With Slash churnin out tasty licks on lead? In the back of a Cougar convertible? In the middle of the desert? Nice...I think it is. Great song - I hold my lighter high in salute.
Kristin - Nice guitar playing - very mellow and smooth, works very nicely with the synth pad. I really love the spaced-out chords. I don't like the compressed few measures at the beginning of the singing and rhythm guitar, they're too harsh sounding compared to the beautiful clarity of the rest of the song. Takes away more than it adds.Everything's played so well, even that little drum fill at the end. Really clever lyrics and interesting composition. Great voice - love it when you push it out there at the end. Great song!
Klownhole - Nice organ! Your drowsy vocalizations kind of get lost in the metal, though - they definitely need some more force, or less 'verb, or come up in the mix a little. Ultimately a little too downtempo for my tired ass. Jeesus, how long is this thing? Bonus points for Bonham drum fx and feedback outro.
Lonbobby - This is really gorgeous. A little more organic sounding from what I remember, which is nice - this is a great mix of sounds. I've mentioned it in the past, and I'll bring it up again, in hopes to hear a song without it: I hate the effin dystopic robot-future vocoder or harmonizer, whatever that is. [edit] Oh, pitch correction. [/edit] I mean, it's your song, and if you like that sort of thing, be my guest. While I enjoy artifice as much as the next guy, it strips out what I like about about your voice. Potential win, if you promise to ruin your next song by not using the pitch correction
Lord of Oats - Love the intro, and how you smash the acoustic arpeggios with that chunky electric sound. Oh man, your singing is so of key, it's blowing the song - you're dialing it in too much at the beginning. Oh, there's your satanic interjection again. That stuff doesn't really do much for me - especially so hot n high in the mix, I think you could push it way back, and it will work a lot better. The mix is way too hot, the drums arefragging out. But I love that thrash rhythm. Read your post above - I don't think it's that bad - taming the levels alone will go a log way.
MC Eric B - Dude, that is such a great piano riff, I'd like to hear it broken up a bit more. Your vocal melody sounds pretty much the same as Memphis. I can understand, it's cool how you sing - but try pushing it into a new dimension on the next one. You've got a great foundation here to build upon. Fun licks and attitude.
Melvin - Another great song. Criminy, is there no stopping you? I think the "earth, sky and stars" is a brutal cliche, used in every seventh song ever written. You're better than that. Or are you making a meta-musical reference to those songs? Is this the only upbeat, hopeful song in the fight? Love the BeachBoyz bridge. Possible winner.
Paco Del Stinko - Nice Zappa feel to this one - love the shuffle beat and bass line. The chaotic intro is key - the beginning of the song needs it. What's that wind-up sound? Scraping a guitar string? Did someone mention atheremin? What?! Did Rabid sit in? The guitar solo after that melts my brain!! Does indeed have a wierd Claypool-esque progginess. Meaty (as in mad-cow meat) and good. Second in fun-ness only to Rabid.
Rabid Garfunkle - Oh shit, this is genius. Evidently the history of your broken heart involved some heavy substance abuse, circus freaks, and hospitalization. Love the junkyard trap set and the drunk-ass TomWaitiness. Most fun song in the fight by far, although I do have a brass bias.
Ross Durand - Woohoo! You're quickly winning me over to your vocal stylings with this and your "Memphis". Love the lyrics - probably the best in the fight. I wish you hadn't told me it's a cautionary tale - I'd rather find that out for myself. Beautifully mixed - sounds like a perfectly captured performance. Extra credit for the harp.
Senza Valore - Smooth, jazzy loopy goodness. Lovely trip-hop groove. Love the fractured "My Broken Heart" sample. The singing is good, but I think you need to commit a bit more to them - there are some moments when you're dialing them in bit. Overall a great song, though...
Sheail - Wow them some fat guitars. In fact, the whole song's pretty fat. Your vocals go a little flat, but that's nitpicking - you've got some interesting harmonies happening. LOVE the Steely Dan bridge. Amazing arrangement and axe handling. I think the drums can come up a bit in the mix, but I'm a drummer.
Slit Tearduct - Thought from the intro you were going into a spacey noise jam. wish you had.
Tig - Great first song. Love it - very ephemeral and tasty. Your voice is a little odd, which gives this a nice unique melancholy. Love the "Drug in the atmosphere" line - this is very old school psychadelia. That synth pad is nice too - just a touch. The restrained instrumental really lets your vocal harmonies shine.
Veggie Rage - Tasty little 'lectro-nova going. The singing is great - as is the guitar tone: gorgeous. The bullhorn interjections cheapen it! Otherwise, you have an amazing Steely-Dan-like glossy cut. Great freakin' job - Anothah contendah.
The Weakest Suit - Interesting arrangement - I like how you build the drums over the "I love you's". I'm not enjoying your singing, it's not conveying enough emotion to get away with being bad. The sloppy drums are disappointing. This would really shine tightened up a bit - it's a really cool song, just not presented at it's best.