Belated judge Reviews! A couple of overall comments: I wish more entrants had understood that the title doesn't need to appear in the lyrics! "Pareidolia" is a hard word to sing, and I think a number of these songs might have been better if the title had been implied, rather than wedged (often inelegantly) into your melodies. Also, I'm surprised that so may of the field recordings were of birdsong. I think maybe some of you took "field recording" a bit TOO literally! Anyway, it's not any one of your faults that your implementations of the challenge were so similar, so I
tried not to hold it against anyone in particular, but I admit that I had to forcibly shake off a little bit of an initial reaction of "Aw, come on, birds
again?" I don't think anyone outright failed the challenge, but there were a couple of entries whose take on it was so low-effort that it cost them in the rankings. I'll note in the individual reviews.
Anyway. This time I'm going the reviews in random order.
Moss Palace - This verse melody is very satisfying. Part of that is how well the lyrics fit it; for the most part every word seems to flow naturally. I really like the delay on the guitar solo. The solo is also really well-played, and reminds me of Death Cab for Cutie. However, I feel like it runs a bit too long. After the solo is over, the guitarist continues playing lead lines and they're fighting with Erin's voice for the spotlight. The field recording is there, but it wasn't apparent to me even after multiple listens how it was supposed to connect to the rest of the song, other than as a "bed" filling out some frequencies in the mix. Overall this was quite solid and I enjoyed it, but it lost some ranks due to its take on the challenge.
Grumpy Mike - Heck of an opening line. As far as the mix goes, I think the lead vocal is a little low and the "doo doo doo"s are a little too high. That arpeggio synth really scratches some kind of itch, though; I like it a lot. I think there's an element of the mix missing, like a synth pad or organ bed or something. Halfway through the song I noticed there were no guitars, so maybe that's what I'm missing. Let's not fixate on what
isn't working for me, though, because in spite of all this, I had you near the top. You've got hooks for days, and I really like how you married the title and challenge. I appreciated that you didn't say the title out loud, letting us figure it out, and how the lyrics are about taking a walk to take your mind off things, and the field recording reflects that. Your "Semiprecious" felt incomplete to me. This time I feel like I got the full-fat Manhattan experience, and I'm glad for it. Looking forward to hearing more from you.
Budget Bears - When I was putting together my rankings, this one ended up serving unintentionally as a sort of a benchmark: For many of the entries, I found myself thinking "This one is good, but is it better than the Budget Bears entry?" For some, the answer was "yes"; you weren't my #1, but I was left with the impression that your song marked the beginning of the top tier. I apologize for that comment being a bit backhanded. Your take on the challenge was one of the more interesting ones, but also one of the ones where I felt like it wasn't contributing in a significant way to the song. I know, I can be hard to please when it comes to challenges, but it didn't cost you too badly. I really liked your lyrics and how well they flowed. I especially appreciated your mix, and how you lo-fi'ed up the drums - I know that I use the same drum VST as you, so that familiarity makes it more impressive to me.
Ever Kenievel - I liked the moodiness of this piece. The vocals seem a little low-energy, which... I can tell that's what the song's style and mood call for, but I guess I would recommend mixing it differently to accommodate that. I could see this working better with a little conspicuous EQ filter on the vocal, or a sweep that comes in and out, maybe some distortion, that kind of thing. The lyrics work really well, and I especially appreciated the nod to the number 23. I think this might have been higher in my list if there'd been a little variation in the drums or maybe another section to add some variety.
Third Cat - Challenge met right off the bat! In the middle of the first verse, some drum machine hi-hats come in the feel incomplete or off the beat. Seems like it might have been on purpose, but I'm not really sure what the point of that might have been; it dragged me out of the mood. I really liked how the voices in your field recording suggest possible meaning, or invite us to find some kind of rhythm or syntactical meaning, almost
invoking pareidolia in the listener. (My favorite entry of the round also did this.) But my favorite part of this song is probably that iv-I resolution at the end of the verse. It's a very satisfying verse ending.
Virgo Power - I got the impression that this title left you a bit lyrically uninspired, so you ended up basically singing the title a lot and summarizing what you know of it. The warbling synths are kind of interesting but also felt a little noodly. By about 1:30, I felt like you'd said everything the song was going to say, but it kept going for more than another minute after that.
The Serviettes - I'm sorry to say, this is one of those situations where something is grating on me, but I have a hard time articulating why. In this case, it's the lead vocal. You're not off-key, at least not conspicuously so. You're not phoning it in - I can hear that you're really getting into it. But something about your vocal tone is interfering with my enjoyment of the song. I'm not sure it's fixable, to be honest, so I feel bad harping on it. Maybe it could be fixed with a judicious EQ cut and some massaging with the fader, but I wouldn't be able to tell you where. Anyway, what's good: That reverse drumroll sound in the intro is a small thing, but it gives a professional sheen. The opening line "We're just ghosts but don't know it yet" is possibly the best of the round so far. The orchestral stuff is ambitious and mostly works. Is it the Spitfire BBC Orchestra? That plugin is amazingly versatile. I think your brass is a little loud, and it gets cut really abruptly around 1:35, but other than that, the orchestration works well. The field recording being incorporated into the lyrics is a bit perfunctory, but gets the job done, and serves as a bridge between the two sections. And I
really like your extended coda with the repeated "Burn the witch" line.
Nick M. Soma - Like Grumpy Mike's song, I feel like something is missing from the arrangement. This time you do have guitars and an organ pad, so I'm not sure what might be missing. Maybe it's something in the high EQ end? I like your lyrics, but it felt like your vocal performance didn't have much enthusiasm behind it. Maybe you were tired, or maybe just needed more time to rehearse it and get more comfortable with it? I felt the same about the guitar solo - it's a little basic, but with more time to iterate on it, I can see how it might have become better. Also, there's a section (bridge, I guess?) where you repeat "Pareidolia" over and over, which isn't bad, but I think one of your harmony lines hits the wrong note, and it happens multiple times. On the positive side - I'm pretty sure you set yourself up really well for the round 2 challenge! It makes a lot of sense that this song's narrator could be the same as the narrator of your "Semiprecious."
Max Bombast - Once again I ranked the songs before I saw your video diary of it, and I'm pretty convinced that I need to keep doing that, because otherwise I'd be unfairly favored to your entry. I liked your song quite a bit more after seeing your video of the creative journey. I think it's fine that you didn't make your own field recording, by the way. I don't mind sharing that this challenge was my idea, and my wording it as "
a field recording" was intentional. I had a few comments on a first listen - I felt like the footsteps and birdsong were a little too rote an approach to the challenge, but on the other hand you built your whole song around it, so it fits better than most other entries. I thought for the majority of my first listen, "This guitar tone sounds a little dull; I wonder why he didn't tweak that a little more?" And then the punk version kicked in and I realized that you picked the more laid-back guitar tone for contrast. Ultimately, I still would have appreciated a tiny bit more bite on the guitars in the main section. Or possibly just miking the strings so we get that little click of the pick under the amp part. It comes down to taste; someone else might think your guitar tone was perfect and they wouldn't be wrong. I apprecaited having the second genre for stylistic variety, but I did wonder whether it was worth the noisy second section clashing so badly with the lyrical subject matter and losing the field recording samples. You're writing a song about being inspired by nature, so the laid-back vibe of the first part was much better suited to that theme. It's a creative choice, for sure, and I appreciate what you were going for; it's perfectly-executed and fun, but loses the thread a bit.
wonbat! - I'm sorry to see you go. This entry is rough around the edges, but I loved your lyrical approach. There's some background noise in your vocal; sounds like maybe you were recording with a microphone built into your laptop or monitor? If you can't get rid of the background noise in the vocal, then I'd recommend inserting some of it between the vocal lines, so that we're not distracted by its coming and going. I also think the field recording, while nice, didn't add to the song, and that may have held you back a lot. I like the percussion in general on this track, and how it interplays with the glockenspiel (or whatever the chimey instrument is). I liked this, but had it barely above the cut in my own rankings, unfortunately.
Governing Dynamics - My favorite part of this song is the drums. It's an intense performance (or, assuming they're a VST or drum machine, it's an intense "performance" in quotes). My least favorite thing about this song is the vocals - you're off-key for a considerable portion of the song, and definitely needed some more rehearsal time, extra takes, and/or pitch correction. You have a strong understanding of how to write for electric guitar, arrange it, and mix it with your voice, and that shows clearly. With a better vocal take, this would have been a strong contender, but in its current state I had it near the bottom of my list. I'm sorry about that, but it's impossible to get into a song when the singer is that pitchy. I hope you can correct it in a future version.
Boffo Yux Dudes - The lyrics about a huckster psychic putting on a show, I guess they're okay, but it feels only sort of related to the concept of pareidolia. Are you connecting the idea of "people seeing patterns where there aren't any" to the idea of "people hearing what they want to hear from a fortune teller"? It's not quite the same thing, in my opinion. Plus that rhyme of "Pareidolia" with "melancholia" was a real reach. I'm not sure why the narrator
also needs to be a barista; that feels like a hat on a hat to me. Did you start from the field recording and work backward from there? "Psychic barista" couldn't have been easy to sing in your chorus, either. You also have a few spots where the lyrics scan poorly, which is a pet peeve of mine you often trip over. I liked your "Semiprecious" a lot better than this.
Cavedwellers - I really liked your field recording and those buzzy synth lines. I'm also listening to Glen's understated high-register guitarring with admiration. I've been puzzling over the line "Call me Clyde" that starts the chorus. It sticks out, and my first thought was that its weirdness didn't work, like it's kind of "cringe" (as the kids say). But the more I listen, the more I think it's probably worth it to have a lyric that memorable. I also suspected that I was missing something, so I Googled the phrase to see if it was related to a book or maybe some historical figure like a serial killer or something. I came up more or less dry - a song by Jim Stafford and a novel that appears to be self-published. I'd really appreicate reading if there's a backstory behind that line, or whether it's your own invention.
Lichen Throat - Thank you for stepping in as a guest judge this week! I think one aspect of your songwriting that you really need to work on is the meter of your lyrics. This song is a great case study in this aspect, because your verses actually handle it really well. The lines are short and there's a good amount of space between each of them, which helps to give your melody a "shape," so to speak, and makes it easier for you to sing. Then the chorus kicks in, talking about your "quivering voice," which is an accurate self-assessment... But doesn't have to be! Imagine how much stronger this vocal performance could be if you'd found a way to compress the ideas from your chorus into shorter lines like the verse. Maybe not
as short as the lines of the verse, but shorter than the chorus presently is, with more of a defined rhythm and space between the lines. You could catch your breath after each line and be more confident in the vocal delivery! I'd suggest trying to write lyrics without music first, and stick to some kind of formal poetry - like forcing yourself to write in strict iambic pentameter or
ballad verse. Just as an exercise, make sure the words PERFECTLY fit the meter. When you're editing you can start to "fudge" it a little more, but the idea is to get your words to better suit your melody and arrangement so that you can get a better handle on how to sing them. That may just give you the space you need to perform them properly, and possibly the confidence to turn in a vocal performance that you don't need to self-efface in your own lyrics.
Hot Pink Halo - There's something a little funky about the lead vocal here. I'm assuming that you double-tracked it, but I think the two parts aren't quite alike enough, so there are some points where it sounds like they diverge a bit unpleasantly. The doubleing is a pretty good idea in theory. My suggestions, other than tightening it up so that the two takes are closer to each other, is maybe consider dropping down to one voice for emphasis on more than just the final line. Maybe every instance of "I fucking miss you." That's a super vulnerable line, and I think the arrangement would bear out being stripped down, even if only for that line, to emphasize that vulnerability. I like the handclaps, and I really apprecaited that you kept the song short and left us wanting more.
See-Man-Ski - There was some consternation among the judges about whether you'd actually met the challenge at all. I was out of town and didn't have access to my PC for the whole judging period, so I submitted rankings via my phone and wasn't really able to type up any detailed arguments, but I do believe that it's up to each judge to decide for themself whether a challenge failure has occurred and judge it accordingly. I'm sure you gathered as much from your rankings, anyway, as the song is actually quite good overall! My personal opinion is that you did meet the challenge, but did so in such a low-effort way that I still docked you significantly on it. I get that the sample of ambient outside noise and birdsong serves a narrative purpose in the song, standing in for the lack of resolution, the expectation of turning around to find
someone only to see an empty field instead. But it only comes up in the literal last couple of seconds of the song and it's over when we've barely had a chance to register it. One possible remedy for this would have been to extend the outside noise a little more and add some kind of commentary from yourself over it; something as simple as an "...Oh." might have done the trick. But hey, if you feel like editing this, you won't be bound by the Nur Ein challenge anymore, so maybe just scrap the field recording entirely. In lieu of that, I'd suggest ending the song very abruptly on that last line. You could maybe add some kind of swelling pad getting gradually louder throughout the last section to help emphasize the sudden cut-to-nothing.
WreckdoM - Oh, my wonderful Wreckpeople. There's so much to love here. That grungy synth line, the silly lyrics, the powerful drums, the vocoder in the chorus, that unexpected horn in the last verse. It mostly works for me! I think what's holding it back the most is the weirdo sing-songy spoken-but-not-quite cadence of the lead vocal. It's a little pitchy when it switches to full-on singing in the chorus, but I felt like that was probably intentional? It's the verse vocal that blocks me. I'm not sure what needs to change, either go more spoken-word, or put in some more melody, but this half-way approach stands in the way for me.
Crown Shy - Your songs are a master class in how to do intros. You consistently submit songs with incredibly compelling openings that hook me in and make me want to listen to more, just to hear where it's going. I also think you set yourself up well for the Round 2 challenge, briding this to your "Semiprecious." I can't wait to hear how that turns out. This song is free of the mixing problems that plagued your "Semiprecious." Your voice suits the delicate melody you wrote in the chorus. The field recording fits the mood of the song pretty well, but like many entries this week, I'm not sure it added anything.
Heid - You really go for it with your singing! It's a very raw performance; maybe not perfect from a technical standpoint, but the emotionality is front-and-center and I'm totally here for it. I really appreciate the understated glockenspiel (or whatever the chime instrument in the treble is) adding texture without being distracting. I keep going back and forth with myself over whether this arrangement needed anything else. Ever since last year's Nur Ein, my instinct has been to add elements as the song goes on for variety, and that might be a good idea here... But maybe not. Maybe what it needs more than that is some better dynamic range in the piano part. I'd like to hear the difference between
piano and
forte a bit more strongly in this piece. I'm not sure if you're playing a live piano or using a VST, so I can't really advise on how best to accomplish that, but I think either that or balancing your dynamics with the addition of other instruments to your arrangement would do wonders for this song.
Lucky Spoon - Way to course correct from last week's overly twee rabbit song! The spoken-word intro is a bold gambit, but it worked for me! I also feel as though the ambient noise field recording, which was a bit of an overused genre this round, felt more natural in light of that spoken word intro - both in its execution and in the subject matter of lying awake at night. Once the song kicks in, I admit it took a couple of listens before the synth line and vocal melody got their hooks in me, so if I'd had more time to judge, you'd have scored higher. To be honest, I don't have much in the way of negative notes/feedback on this. I think it was mainly that I had a hard time remembering anything of it other than "that one that started with the spoken monologue" for the first couple of listens. I can certainly relate to the lyrics about self-loathing.
Brown Word and the Big Whine - And here we come to my favorite entry of the round! I loved how the field recording became this weird echoing sound in the intro. The manifestiations of the narrator's pareidolia like the neighbor's dog barking in code really struck me, but it's that shimmery sample that really stopped me in my tracks for this song. It not only describes pareidolia, but actually induces it in the listener. I keep trying to determine what the voices in that sample are saying, even though I know they're not really even voices. I complimented Third Cat on this effect, but you pulled it off the best. There are a few clunky lines (personally, I'm not sure anyone who actually tried to sing the word "pareidolia" in their lyrics really pulled it off), but the concept and execution more than make up for it in my mind. Very well done, and keep it up!
Balance Lost - As the first alphabetically, you've been setting the bar high. It was an interesting choice to use a sample that has a piece of music in it, which you could then morph to suit your needs and play along with. It created an interesting vibe that didn't
quite sound like a typical Balance Lost riff, but nonetheless felt comfortably within your genre. The call-and-response guitars, with the one in my right ear echoing the one in my left ear, is a clever bit of arranging. I really liked your chorus, and I apprecited that you didn't try to sing the title. One thing that stood out to me was the fact that the chorus has these imbalanced rhymes and gaps. It's an ABB rhyme structure, but there's no pause between the two B lines, so the chorus feels unresolved, which matches the narrator's paranoia.
Berkeley Social Scene - As per usual, the instrument performances and mix on this song are top-notch. I also really appreciated how you incorporated the train-honk field recording. Where it missteps is that spoken bridge. The performance is really stilted and pulls me right out of the song.
Mandibles - You have some really compelling chord changes in this song, and the arrangement builds very satisfyingly. I love the line "I start to lose the faces for the trees." One possible revision suggestion is that it might create more dynamics in the arrangement if the music somehow reflected the change of setting to the fluroescent-lit office, like the piano changing a register or possibly a new instrument entering to signify that we've left the forest. Also, other reviews have already commented on the unpleasant distortion or saturation that plagues this song, so I won't belabor the point, but it did factor into my ranking. I'm happy to help diagnose if you want to provide any more information about your recording and mixing process.
Frankie and the Mountweasels - John, you can be downright infuriating sometimes. You had what might have been
the strongest concept this round, with a really clearly articulated emotional core, dressed with some imagery that was both relevant to that emotional core but also very clever! Seeing faces everywhere, but still being relieved that you're not seeing "her" face anymore, that's an amazing take on the challenge. Line by line, these are great - "I swear that my new toilet brush is Yasser Arafat." The structure works too, all the visual imagery in the first verse, and all the audio imagery in the second verse. And the last line of each of the first two verses is the funniest. The Ed Sheeran line actually made me laugh out loud. By about the halfway point of this song I was ready to give you the #1 spot... And then you flushed it away. The fecal joke already wasn't working for me, then you drew that line out extra long, apparently to build anticipation for the punch line that your poop looks like a certain disgraced politician whose name I don't like to write out for algorithmic reasons. And then that line served as the basis the field recording of... a toilet flushing. Sigh. From there you change the groove, which is a good musical instinct, but the lyrical structure turns into a bunch of labored rhymes with "pareidolia," most of which don't work. I did really like the counterpoint vocal as the song fades out, though. It was an amazingly strong beginning that unfortunately wasn't quite enough to outweigh the sophomoric humor that makes up the last third of the song. As far as I'm concerned, that averaged you out to about the middle of the pack, and I was sorry to see you get cut, but man, this was a frustrating listen.
The Lowest Bitter - I struggled to articulate why this didn't connect with me. Best guess I can come up with is that it's unclear to me what the narrator feels about the faces. In the first lines it's "are you lookin' at me?" and then later in the song it's "I keep seeing evil everywhere." Is the narrator afraid of these faces? Nervous? Angry? Upset? Is this debilitating to the narrator, or just a minor annoyance that he must keep shaking off? I do like the line about "there's a word for this, but I can't remember / what it is." Acknowleding that we picked a pretty obscure word for the title, but yeah, it's one of those things that people seem to know as a concept, but often don't know that there's a name for it, or can't remember what the name is. Of course, it's not much later in the song when you seem to have recalled it because you're chanting it. Overall, I think that you're trying to be a little cryptic and play some of this for ambiguity, which is a valid stylisic choice, but I prefer knowing upfront where the singer stands, in most cases.
Dented Bento - I admit that I've listened to yours a little less than the rest, since it's a shadow and I didn't have to rank it. I like the guitars and the drum programming, but your vocal performance lacks confidence, so your voice is shaky. I'd like to hear you sing this to yourself more and more so you can become comfortable with it, and then try again after some time like this. I admit to not understanding your lyrics at all. It's possible that you're being deliberately cryptic, or maybe I'm just dense, but either way that presents a barrier to more in-depth criticism from me.