If we make it (Better Luck Next Year reviews)

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Pigfarmer Jr. This is a really good acoustic submission. One of the best I’ve listened to here. Great guitar without going overboard and all the elements of a very good live performance. I would love to be in the audience listening to your show.

Thanks much! It's appreciated.

[CordSmith]

Better Luck Next Year

There are a ton of songs so I'm definitely half-arsing this.

Robyn Mackenzie
Rockin' beat. Love the doubled vocals and harmonies. This verse melody is so catchy. Chorus is super catchy. This is alt-rock-pop songwriting at its best. All this is missing is the zillion dollar production--but the meat is all there. Love it!

Balls to Monte
Nice classic rock feel from the get-go. "By September I've been clawed in half." Right on. Love the "Roger Waters losin-his-mind" vibe in the bridge.

Hot Pink Halo
This is some hyper-lo-fi indie stuff here. Has a raw flavor like some pre-album-deal Liz Phair or Beck. I like the interesting combination of instruments--harmonica, and...is that a dobro? The vocal processing really works. I enjoyed this tune.

Cavedwellers
This needs a 1980s music video with everyone dancing while the band plays at a pool party but the hollywood hills are burning. The musical breakdown about halfway thru is awesome. Vocals are a little dry, could use some verb/delay. Nice song! Nice drums!

Brown Word and the Big Whine
Digging the vocals, nice overdubs and harmonies. Love those la la la las! I made an audible surprise noise at that part. And now there's a spoken-word part! This song keeps bringing the delightful surprises.

Charm Offensive
I miss this style of folk and tambourine. There's a positive vibe here that we could all do more with.

Sweeney Toad
I got some inebriation goin' in me and I'm havin' a good time. This song surprises me from the get-go. Darn you for giving me a song where I have to pay attention and hang on every word. This is great.

Gwazi
One minute punk! Everything I need is there. This is great.

add
"I hope the king goes and I hope the plague passes" made me realize we're not living in 1603, but friggin 2020. Nice synths. Serious subject matter but with a delightful whimsical sound--I want to replace the drum machine with a shaker and some pounding on a rubbermaid bucket and some mouth noises and other household noises.

Lichen Throat
I love this deep-ass voice. I'm always complaining that there aren't enough deep voice singers. Get famous so I can sing this at karaoke with my deep-ass voice (post-covid, of course). I enjoyed this.

Sockpuppet
I like that ukulele sound. Nice cello! This song has a nice positive outlook.

Pigfarmer Jr
Love the guitar pause with singing. Nice acoustic pickin'! I chortled a few times during this tune.

Tomdg
That's some funky bass goin' on. I like that surf guitar sound. Cool overall vibe.

Shade & Honey
The music gives me some excellent "first Dire Straits album" vibes. I like the long pauses. I often forget to do dynamic stuff like that in a song, and I think that sort of thing really helps reset things and give meaning to the other parts. Good song, I dig it.

Johnny Cashpoint
Somebody's been playin' some Among Us. Alas, I have a Nintendo Switch and no friends so I can't partake in this joy you call "co-op play." I like how this is kind of a march. I want to see this in a parade filled with colorful spacemen.

Night Sky
Acoustic Guitar and Harmonica go together like PB&J. It's such a comforting sound for uncertain times.

Swampy Nethers
Every sound here is surprising me. Your vocals work together. I like that you used non-traditional drum machine sounds. Like, why try to make it sound like a real set? It never will! So do something else with it. And it sounds cool. I am amused by the lyrics and the melodies are great. Getting out of the house and meeting some cattle sounds fun.

Next Door Neighbors
I love this vibe. Def may want to watch a youtube vid on how to normalize/master your final mix so it's louder. There's a lot of great stuff going on here and I want to hear it. I also want to smoke a big fat joint to this.

Vom Vorton
Some fat synth happenin' here. I like the overall vibe here. I would do my wiggly goth dance to this if the goth club was still open. "Maybe also fuck next year twice as hard." I like that you're keeping the options open, as should we all.

Glenn Case
Nice stereo guitar going on. Nice buttery vocal processing. Great mix. This song is great.

Future Boy
This has a nice atmospheric melancholy mood. Nice Rhodes. Super powerful bringing in the verb for effect on "silent shout."

Phlebia
I super dig the music here. It's like cyber Tom Waits. Nice flow. Everyone should write a rap song at least once so they can appreciate the sheer amount of lyrics involved. It's a lot of work. I enjoyed this.

Hardmonica
This is me. I did my usual half-arsed songwriting and recording, but this time I paid to have a Canadian dude on Fiverr mix and master it. Worth it.

Micellaneous Owl
Nice guitar and oohing. The mix is great, a great overall reverb that gives it a nice atmosphere. Very cool verse, interesting vocal melody over super-interesting guitar pickin'. Haunting. Dig it!

Paco del Stinko
Smilin' from the get-go. I like the slow burn, waiting to bring everyone in. Sounds great. Song is small. Then big. Then small. You got some serious creativity bones going on in your body. Can't improve here. Thankyouthankyouthankyou

Tim Hinkle
Most people don't have the guts to use that church organ. But you do it and you make it work. Nice overall creative mix, sounds like Beck mixed it! Very spacious. I'm diggin' it.

Gizo
There's a powerful presence here. You seem just as tired of 2020 as you are of us all complaining about 2020. Nice big energy and layers at the end.

Ill Cricket Crew
That's some phat beats. AUssie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi! This sounds like a lot of fun was had, and that fun has translated into my face.

[crumpart]

Hot Pink Halo
This is some hyper-lo-fi indie stuff here. Has a raw flavor like some pre-album-deal Liz Phair or Beck. I like the interesting combination of instruments--harmonica, and...is that a dobro? The vocal processing really works. I enjoyed this tune.

Thanks! Here’s my live fight submission showing all the very high end instruments I used!

(The guitar amp is out of frame; it’s one of those little Yamaha thr practice amps.)

[BoffoYux]

I'm going to host a last minute Listening Party for 'Better Luck Next Year' at 9pm EDT tonight (Monday 10/5)

Drop into the chat to talk with the artists. It should be a fun time!



https://youtu.be/Xfq5AXiDsCs

[ken]

Instead of starting a "Casio's of Song Fight" thread, I thought I would post a picture of my SA-7, which looks a lot like Crumpart's SA-1. I used the Reggae rhythm for our Swamp Nethers track. In the studio version, I added a MIDI kick drum doubling the Casio rhythm for some additional low end. The bass is Sampleson's Fire Piano Bass - essentially a bass Rhodes like Ray Manzarek played in the Doors.

SA-7

SA-7.jpg (3.25 MiB) Viewed 1155 times

[Jefff]

First installment:

Paco: I didn't quite buy the title line the first time, but it clicked once the whole band was behind it. Probably the intended effect. Once the band came in, I was said for them to go because I knew it meant I'd have to wait to hear the chorus again. I could've used a lot more of that chorus. I wonder if there would be a way to do this kind of thing and make the band's entrance an actual surprise. The backing vox are great.

BW+BW: Ah, this is more in my wheelhouse than last fight (not that you should care, but I feel better about reviewing it). "Whatcha gonna do at the end of the world" is catchy. Production-wise, I think the bass and guitars are crowding a frequency, maybe in the middle. Maybe someone with better ears can clarify that. The drums could be louder. Cool descending interlude. I got a kick out of the FotC-style phrasing in the rap.

Vom Vorton: Oh I feel this sentiment. I said this in the live chat for the stream, but "fuck this year for sure but maybe also fuck next year twice as much" is awesome. I think the vocals could be mixed lower. There's a Psychedelic Furs (or maybe Modern English) interplay between the guitar and vocal, and I wonder if mixing the vox lower would strengthen that. Cool harmonies.

Pig Farmer Jr.: This was so good in the stream. The visuals had a lot to do with that, but some of that still comes across in the audio. The guitar sounds great.

Next Door Neighbors: Interesting sound. At first, I thought I was in for a rough live recording but then it turns out that was just how the guitar track was treated. I wonder if bringing in a close-sounding bass or drum track would highlight the lofi texture of the guitar as a choice. I like the vibe and the song. The chorus vocals are fun.

Robyn Mackenzie: Something wasn't congealing in this mix on my computer monitor's speaker. Switched to headphones, and it sounds tons better, so I vote for that being the speaker's fault. This is pretty straight-forward, and it sounds to me like you're nailing what you're going for. This is a refreshing vocal style to hear on Song Fight.

Ill Cricket Crew: Ace production. Two listens doesn't seem to be enough to figure out the story, but it's about having an Australian friend? (Really? No didgeridoo sample after that delivery?) I wonder if the chorus melody would come across better with a guitar or organ line following it. This is fun.

Shade & Honey: Is your band name a Sparklehorse reference? Because I hear it in the vox. Actually, the whole song. Ha, I guess I have my answer. It sounds a little far away, and this is the kind of song I wish was whispering right in my ear. I wish I could sing like this.

Future Boy: At least as far as I've heard, this is the most you've embraced the seventies singer-songwriter. Which is to say, this one is a journey. You have a knack for timely lyrics that work on their own as more than just references that listeners will get. (That said, it took me a minute to figure out what "I lost my voice in the mail" meant, but I got there.) Man, that ending...

To be continued.

[Smalltown Mike]

Two listens doesn't seem to be enough to figure out the story, but it's about having an Australian friend? (Really? No didgeridoo sample after that delivery?)

It was recorded at our annual weekend away, written about the one guy who couldn't make it this year. Yes, he's Australian.

And Dane was dying to get a didgeridoo sample in there. It didn't happen.

[crumpart]

Two listens doesn't seem to be enough to figure out the story, but it's about having an Australian friend? (Really? No didgeridoo sample after that delivery?)

It was recorded at our annual weekend away, written about the one guy who couldn't make it this year. Yes, he's Australian.

And Dane was dying to get a didgeridoo sample in there. It didn't happen.

It’s true, there is literally a didgeridoo two metres to my left, but it’s also true that didgeridoos as a reference in all music ever about Australia makes our eyes roll right into the back of our heads. (I haven’t got to this one yet, so I can’t comment on the actual song.)

[Shade&honey]

Shade & Honey: Is your band name a Sparklehorse reference? Because I hear it in the vox. Actually, the whole song. Ha, I guess I have my answer. It sounds a little far away, and this is the kind of song I wish was whispering right in my ear. I wish I could sing like this.

It is! Youre the first one to get that. Hes my all time favorite. Im still working on my mixing and mastering skills. Its a process. I got my vocals by singing through an amp simulator on Reaper. Thank you.

[mholland]

Lots of great songs this week!

add: Catchy and fun tune, juxtaposed with clever and appropriately 2020 lyrics. Enjoyed this.

Balls To Monte: Pretty rockin’ fuck you to 2020. Dig it.

Brown Word and the Big Whine: I always enjoy your lyrics, and this is no exception. We don’t need no doomsday hucksters. Vocals sound more relaxed and confident than usual. Enjoyed the break around 1:20 and the way the guitar parts work together. I think this is my favorite Brown Word and the Big Whine song yet.

Cavedwellers: Really catchy, love the guitars and vocal melody and delivery, especially the higher “oh we-e-e-ells.” The video on the live fight was great, too.

Charm Offensive: Nice live sound and your voices blend very well. Cute guest star in the video.

Future Boy: Nice minimalist atmosphere with just the keys and the voice. Nice playing and singing, good lyrics.

gizo: I like the vibe and the overall sound, but could have used more energy to keep it going at the slow tempo.

Glenn Case: Excellent as always, with evocative lyrics and just a great sound.

Gwazi: Short, to the point, and rocking.

Hardmonica: Love the vocal delivery and contrast between verse and chorus. Clever lyrics, really liked the “oh el oh el oh el oh el oh” response to “how do you spell a laugh?” Funny and rhythmically awesome. Also just really musically solid. One of my favorites in this fight.

Hot Pink Halo: I enjoyed the glimpse into your recording method in the live fight video with the mics next to the little keyboards, and the boxing gloves were inspired. Nice superposition of listlessness and optimism in the lyrics.

Ill Cricket Crew: Great groove in the rhythm section, especially the bass. You guys were clearly having a blast. Love that you kept the page turn fail in there.

Johnny Cashpoint: Enjoyed the carnival atmosphere, but I don’t play the game or get the references.

Lichen Throat: I like the music and I like that you stretched your vocal range a little bit in the chorus. Interesting and evocative lyrics.

miscellaneous owl: Beautiful voice plus gentle guitar and haunting lyrics make for a great atmosphere. Really nice.

Next Door Neighbors: Dig the lyrics and the party sing-along vibe that comes in at times, though it lingered a little too long on the “better luck next year” lines. I think the guitar could have come up a bit.

Night Sky: This is me. I was trying to keep it as live as possible, so I started writing this with the acoustic guitar and the harmonica on a rack. But in the end my lack of coordination won out, and I tracked everything (though the guitar was a single take). This is my first song fight without a saxophone, so I’m glad the harmonica came across alright.

Paco del Stinko: Excellent arrangement, love the way it builds and the sections contrast. And of course, reliably awesome Paco guitars and bass.

Phlebia: Another Grey’s Anatomy synopsis. I like the lo-fi sound. The show doesn’t get any better, and you really should stop watching it, but you probably won’t.

Pigfarmer Jr: Great guitar playing and sense of humor. Really enjoyed the video of this one, too.

Robyn Mackenzie: Love the lyrics, and excellent vocals as always. Really enjoyed this.

Shade & Honey: I like the lead guitar, but I think the rhythm guitar and bass may need to come up a bit. Nice atmosphere overall.

Sockpuppet: I really liked the lyrics of this one, and I hope you’re right that it will get better. Enjoyed the all strings instrumentation, and the video was fun.

Swampy Nethers: Great vocals, love the harmonies and blend. Lyrics are fun. I like the catchy, pop feel, but would like a little more energy/contrast in the rhythm section.

Sweeney Toad: I get kind of a strangely Tom Waits vibe from the beginning and end, which I enjoy. Enjoyed the bridge, too.

Tim Hinkle: Nice pop feel in the rhythm section, well executed. Really like the vocals, but they seem too quiet to me.

Tomdg: Great bass line. I dig the new one guy and a bass genre from the live fight, and the sparse guitar is a nice addition to this version. Lyrics are a great encapsulation of just how fucked this year has been.

Vom Vorton: Love the juxtaposition of the fatalist lyrics and catchy pop feel. Very well-executed song.

Also, honorable mention to Jim Tyrrell, who was first to the lyrics thread, and whose live fight performance was great.

[Paco Del Stinko]

Round One: Midnight, after work. Hell's Bells and Greenhead IPA. Everyone gets a complaint.

add - The synth flourish in between lines sounds great, I thought I was hearing an effected guitar for a moment. Love the guitar tone and crisp but warm attack of it. The melody is easy and relaxed, catchy and open. I very much enjoy the chord progression, Bowie-esque at times, fun corner turning. Loose, barely, at times: human. You \must be a loose human. Complaint: Would love the key stuff to be more spatial. Spacial?

Balls To Monte - Roky Erikson. You, sir, rock. Great vocal, simple, effective. I enjoy your voice, would love to hear the ease that would come after you performed this song enough times to get loose, but not to be sick of it. Production lacks some bigness, which this deserves and would not sell it out. Maybe a couple BPM faster, for more sack attack. But not too much. Complaint: I didn't get to play on this.

Brown Word and the Big Whine - Sing this an octave higher, please. The Halloween bridge is fucking awesome. I could listen to that in my eternity in Hell, but then it wouldn't be Hell. the multiple sections here are all good. Just maybe too many. More flow instead of change change change would take away some wear. STILL: rocks balls. Complaint: Needs those Beastie Boys, or whatever, accents on specific syllables and words..

Cavedwellers - AC/DC+...pluss... Love the directness, that's a thing I think. Great combo, nice straight-forwardness. Charlie Farren's son on vocals. Guitars all sound the nuts. This works well as is, backing vocals would not hurt it, well done. Good drive, hard but not aggressive. Complaint: Whittle some accents from the end, lyrically and bashy trashy.

Charm Offensive - Very nice, if churchy sounding. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose. As long as everyone agrees. This is good, sounds good, needs polishing but not in a slick manner. Rather, familiarity. Live Fight, get it. Nice voices, good tune that is worthy of re-examination. Complaint: Too wholesome. Ha!

Future Boy - So tasty and smart. Just because I am a caveman, doesn't mean that I don't appreciate good music. Thick pre-amp or compression, understandably, it all sounds good. Zombies/Barrett sounding at times, are those influences? Love it. If it went on longer, it might be too much. Complaint: Can hear the writing process.

gizo - Demo for a live band, lean and ready to rock. Simple arrangement with attitude works, would love to hear maybe light keys, a pad, way back to add a wee bit of depth. Bridge type ending opens up nicely, you seem to have a fondness for the importance of intro/extro approaches. Well, alright. Complaint: A bit self conscious. Barely, though.

Glenn Case - You and I almost grew up together. Except you studied while I got baked. This is a demo, but you're so good at what you do that it works on its own. It's you and I, as well as many, many, others, enjoy you. Rock (easily) on, brother. Complaint: Production. Could be a wee bit fuller without going nuts.

Gwazi - Twice as long as any of the songs off of a favorite album of mine. Great lead section, oh yeah. Blastoid! Near perfect length to make you want to listen to it 25 times in a row. Sounds the nuts, nut sounds. Complaint: Makes you want to listen to it 25 times in a row.

Hardmonica - Festival beat and giant carnival guitars, nice. The multi-influenced chorus is very effective, refined would be huge. production is massive, I understand this and would only wish for a more, dare I say It...Ozzy lead vocal, as good as it is. Super riffage and prod-arrange, excellent instrumentation. Complaint: More shine, tad, on the vocals and support.

Hot Pink Halo - This is the growing spine of your sound. Undeveloped but taking form. Better as it goes as it loosens up, but still unfinished. Yet, the limited accompaniment is appropriate. Play this as your own, on your own. Ha! Not shut up and play, but, rather a stem, I suppose in more current terms. Complaints: It's almost tomorrow.

Ill Cricket Crew - Love, love, love the stars with tracers accents. 70s, porno, Beasties, what-EvA. Loose near sleazo at and is nuts. Man. - Complaint: Under-rehearsed start not as good as last half. The shiny edginess of it brings out the aww yeeaahhh...

Johnny Cashpoint - A dampened Christmas card left in the rain. So sad, so earnest. A smilingly shot of hello than I've had in a while. Hello. - Complaint: Very loose start. Yeah, yeah. If you want to, you will.

Lichen Throat - This is good, if melodically underperformed but man, I love the drive and push of it contrased with the cloudburst of the chorus. Stiff, but less than some time ago. Bowie Jr. needs to sing your songs. - Complaint: A verse too long or a bridge too far.

miscellaneous owl - Lovely. I think that the key pads should be mixed further back, part of the air, barely. That way, the vocals would stand out more. Without being in your face. That would also tie in better with the end. Yet, so pleasant and soothing. Bit of star-shine in there. Complaint: Could be more relaxed without dragging. Like, 2 BPM? 5? Less?

Next Door Neighbors - 60s college party, but everyone started driftin' away before the end. But yeah, groovy buzzout jam. Loses some party sparkle, but feels good anyway. Complaint: Needs an unusual, but not too much so, instrument or sound solo.

Night Sky - Barn Rock, not a problem for me. This is easy-going and wastes no time doing what it needs to do. Easy melody, good live harmonica. Sounds it, anyway. Good tune, take it to the polish shop. Complaint: Not Neil Young enough?

Round two: Morning coffee and a slight fog from staying up too late last night for the first half of reviews.

Paco del Stinko - This is my fake video chat intro/outro. Loose 2020 themes. I tried to do as much in single takes as possible, but there are many punches. Complaint: Chorus could be extended.

Phlebia - Hard to tell what some of the instruments are. That's not a complaint. Twisted and warping metallic tones sound great. I keep waiting for this to zoom off into the stratosphere like a rocket. The lyrics are good, bit of bite. Complaint: Vocals are forced sounding at times, but I get it.

Pigfarmer Jr - Great lyric hook, old fashionedy in a very nice way. I dig the extended verse and breath catch. Very nice playing and good guitar tone to boot. This could be a sing along at the coffee house/bar. If there were people allowed in, that is. Could be longer without hurting it, too. Complaint: Some words flow clunkily in the their cadence.

Robyn Mackenzie - Almost Voice Of The Beehive 80s whiffage. Fun neon clothes jumping around the bedroom on top of pretty serious subject matter, works for me. Simple band arrangement works well, I wonder if a semi-cheesy keyboard would have finished it off, but works without it. Very nice vocal work. Complaint: Mix is mostly good, level wise, but things off to sides sorta distract. Try a mono mix for shitngiggles.

Shade & Honey - Easy going with some moody moodiness, not too dark though. The vocal gets a bit more confident as it progresses. This feels incomplete, and would be lovely if fleshed out more and allowed to breathe. That said, it's very pleasant and somehow reassuring while it sticks around. Complaint: Song length, as mentioned, and somehow soften the snare attack.

Sockpuppet - Alone in a spotlight on stage, maybe blue. Then flowers come up as the light warms to yellows. Good melody, nice arrangement, pleasant tones. Hats off to your outlook, better than I can muster. Some of the wink-wink lines are cute, if a bit deliberate. Well, of course they are, but yeah. Complaint: Get real! We're all doomed! Kidding. I hope.

Swampy Nethers - Depeche Ice-cream Ala Mode. Very hand-holdy, there's lots of sun in here despite some coldness from the clanky rhythm and serious comments. The voices meld very well and the arrangement is quite excellent, no surprise there, love the attitude. Complaint: No tremolo or baritone, or both, on lead break. C'mon!

Sweeney Toad - I don't know if that's a sizzle or someone rubbing a balloon at the start, but I like it. Some funny lines, but sadly true. I dig the darkness despite living it alongside of you and all of us. Simple backing works well here and is not overdone. Complaint: Almost want to hear it a few BPM faster, or for that middle section to bombast or something.

Tim Hinkle - I love the swirly vibe and tom heavy beat. Baroque lite. The lyrics are fine, fitting and all too familiar to all of us. The breakdown is a nice breather in the close to dense arrangement, both of which I enjoy. Complaint: Maybe a step or two too low for your voice? Not straining, but I wonder if a bit higher might be a benefit.

Tomdg - I like the Animals type bass line, and enjoy the nicely effected support. Funny lyrics at times, their delivery is done well. The vocal solo is great, man. Lonely and appropriate for where we all are. Mood is perfect. Complaint: A snapping full band join-in would slay, though I dig the patience of this arrangement.

Vom Vorton - Wake up! Coffee time! Good coffee too, I'm percolating right along with this, but I'm not jittery. Catchy and would fit on a Stiff Records Pub Rock compilation, the backing vocals attest to that, I think. Feels almost tossaway-ish, as in, "oh, I'll just throw this together before I go to work" or whatever. And it came out delightful. Very enjoyable. Complaint: Is it missing a snappy beat during the chorus? Probably not, but I can hear it come in for that part and restrain itself during the verses. Eh. That's all I have.

Note: I dare not read what I wrote last night, was getting a bit...fuzzy, up so late. Ask and I'll clarify as best I can. Cheers!

[fluffy]

Reviewing this fight is so daunting, jeeze. Even listening enough times to know which ones to vote for is daunting. I should get on that.

Anyway I know my song sounds optimistic but there's a probably-too-subtle thing in my lyrics where the "joke," such as it is, is that it's from the perspective of someone at the end of 2019 who's looking forward to 2020 being so much better.

[Jefff]

Complaint: Would love the key stuff to be more spatial. Spacial?

Yeah, this is a good comment. It turned out as more of a wash than I'd wanted, but I hadn't thought of making the notes jump around in stereo, which would probably be awesome.

[ken]

Swampy Nethers - Complaint: No tremolo or baritone, or both, on lead break. C'mon!

Good point. There is an interesting delay on this guitar, but I think I ended up mixing it too low. Should have embraced the dub in this sections of the song.

[genecawley]

Balls To Monte - Roky Erikson. You, sir, rock. Great vocal, simple, effective. I enjoy your voice, would love to hear the ease that would come after you performed this song enough times to get loose, but not to be sick of it. Production lacks some bigness, which this deserves and would not sell it out. Maybe a couple BPM faster, for more sack attack. But not too much. Complaint: I didn't get to play on this.

Thanks. I was, indeed, trying to channel Roky Erickson on this. The lack of bigness may come from the mistake of recording the drums in stereo, making it impossible (at least for me) to center the snare drum without screwing up the rest of the drums. Lesson learned. Back to mono!

[Lunkhead]

Hey everybody, I've got some unfortunate news. Votes for this fight have not been getting recorded due to a glitch. The glitch should be fixed now. Please redo your votes. I know it's a huge fight and folks probably spent a lot of time listening and deciding who to vote for and maybe voting for a lot of songs, so, having to redo your vote is probably going to be annoying. Very sorry about that!

[genecawley]

Just re-voted, if you want to make sure it went through.

[Lunkhead]

Also I forgot to give a big hat tip to fluffy for noticing this and not just bringing it to attention but also pointing out the specifics of the glitch. Thanks fluffy! I have a temporary solution in place and when I have time I hope to put in a more robust longer term solution.

[Lunkhead]

Just re-voted, if you want to make sure it went through.

Looks like those got recorded.

[fluffy]

I've been trying to spend less time quietly administering/fixing stuff on Song Fight! in the background and it looks like I just quite can't pull myself away from that.

Anyway here's some reviews in totally random order based on what the front page shuffle did:

vom vorton: I love this poppy upbeat sound, combined with the lyrics which are a realistic take on the whole tendency to think “wow this year sucked, thank god it’s over.” The last few years people keep on setting themselves up for disappointment and it’s just like. It’s everything, not just the specific digits on the calendar, that’s the problem. Anyway, definite vote from me.

balls to monte: This is such a classic Song Fight! sound which really brings me back to, like, 2001, when I was so optimistic about the potential for this weird little site where a bunch of musicians came together to make the music they wanted to despite the music industry. I’m not sure this specific song is really doing anything for me though.

shade and honey: this isn’t production fight but I feel like the vocals could be way better integrated into the recording, in terms of equalization and so on; the guitars and drums are so nicely-recorded but then the voice just sounds like it’s coming through the built-in microphone on a cheap laptop or something, and doesn’t feel like it’s part of the same song. The instrumental parts of this are nice though (although I think your guitar needs its intonation checked, maybe?)

hot pink halo: The rhythm on the percussion and guitar feel mechanical, but like the mechanism is in severe need of servicing. I like your choice of chords and there’s some good musical ideas in this, but it just kind of feels like a hodgepodge to me. On the plus side, the recording quality is consistent between the parts so while it’s not the best-sounding recording at least everything sounds like it goes together. And heck, this also reminds me of classic Song Fight! of 2001.

swampy nethers: This one was a lot of fun in the live fight, and the non-live recording is similarly fun (and way easier to listen to, as a bonus). I hope to hear more from the two of you together going forward. You rightfully won the livefight and this is catchy as all heck. If I could suggest one improvement it would be that instead of singing in unison the whole time it might be nice to have some harmonies happening sometimes. Anyway, this gets a vote, and I predict a rare case of it winning both versions of the fight. As far as I know that’s only happened before with All Tan and that’s almost a technicality since the site version was a tie.

future boy: I’m drinking some really excellent coffee right now and this song is a lovely accompaniment to it. And the lyrics really speak to the anxieties of this year. I also really dig the use of reverb as an instrument at the emotional climax. Simple but effective. Gets a vote.

sweeney toad: I enjoyed this funeral dirge of a song. I can’t really come up with any detailed critique so I’m just gonna vote for it.

night sky: This makes me think of a younger King Arthur. Vocals feel like they float over the rest of the mix (see also my review on Shade and Honey, although not as severe). Drums could be louder too. Good use of harmonica. All in all a song with potential.

gizo: this song just grabs me right from the beginning. I love the sound and the vocal treatment and the simplicity of the arrangement but then how it builds up as the song progresses. This gives me a very nostalgic feeling for my formative teenage music listening years. Vote.

robyn mackenzie: This song is pretty straightforward. The bridge is nice. Vocals could be better-integrated into the mix. There’s nothing particularly bad about it but it also left me wanting a lot more, y’know?

lichen throat: this sounds like all your other songs, so, points for consistency, I guess

hardmonica: oh wow this intro is really promising! This is another song that gives me nostalgic warm fuzzies for the kinds of music I was listening to in high school. Great production, great vocal treatment (especially the harmonies in the chorus). Haha, then it gets the cookie monster metal vocals. This song has everything for me, so I have a vote for you.

brown word and the big whine: I don’t have much to say on this one except that I enjoyed it and I’m voting for it.

ill cricket crew: This sounds incredibly familiar. Probably because this is, like, the third time I’ve listened to the fight and this song is like the sort of thing that’d have been on the radio for years and years. Ah, right, and the “oh and a page turn right in the middle of that” was the sort of meta joke that tickles me enough. Love this song, enjoy the vote.

johnny cashpoint: this song starts out with a full-on assault on my ears and never lets up.

cavedwellers: Another song that really brings me back and trips the part of my brain that loves this song. When the vocals get a bit louder it feels like it’s ducking down the rest of the mix a bit. Over-eager compression/hard limiting without proper notch EQ, maybe? Well either way, this is joining my large pile of votes.

add: It’s getting hard for me to listen to songs critically at this point just because there’s been so many of them and there’s still so many to go. I remember liking this one every time I’ve listened to it so I guess I’m gonna vote for it.

so with that I’m going to take a break from reviewing. expect a part 2 sometime later.

[Jefff]

Second Installment:

Cavedwellers - Cool riff, especially that line that sometimes extends past the chords. The vocal sounded way too loud but then I realized I was listening on my computer monitor's speaker again. Better on the headphones, so must be a mono/stereo thing. Could still stand to be lower in the mix. Like those lively drums in the solo. Missed lyrical opportunity to say "they felt the fire at their very asses". Oh wellllllll.

Lichen Throat - Great arrangement. I like the guitars, especially the acoustic that shows up at the end. The drums provide some good dynamics. The vocal loses the melody a bit in the chorus. Horses/divorces is an inspired rhyme.

Tomdg - The bass line is quite a hook, so it's right that you hang the arrangement on it. I wonder if some additional vocals coming in as the song progresses would strengthen the nice slow burn vibe you've got going on.

Tim Hinkle - Such a good beat. Some of these chord changes really scratch an itch too, natural without being obvious. On second listen, my ear wanted some dynamics, but then I started noticing the variations that were happening (like the organ switching out for the arpeggiated guitar), so that's probably a function of repeat listening.

gizo - Bringing in that organ (?) behind the guitar for the chorus works great - which sets up the introduction of the fuzzy guitar ending, which works even better. Before that, the mix feels a bit uneven to me. Maybe too much guitar and not enough drums -- is there a bass in there? Oh here's the ending again. Man, that's good.

J$ - Circus vibe. A good fit with the lyrics. Oh, this is about that game. There are several moments where the rhythm of the vocal gets too loose for me. Nice backing vocals. Well, this is going to be stuck in my head.

Glenn Case - I've always liked how you treat your vocals just a little too hot. Somehow, it fits the timbre of your voice and enhances your killer harmonies. I wonder if a little reverb on some of the other tracks would space the mix out in a nice way... or just muddy it up. Never stop with the seventh chords. "Path"/"laugh" is a good rhyme.

owl - Refreshing sound. Is that a synth? It's a nice, subtle touch. Lovely picking plus lovely harmonies. Listening a third time to pay more attention to the lyrics. I wonder if it would draw out some of the darkness in the words to mix in the occasional dry delivery among the sweet delivery. Big fan of the ending.

Sockpuppet - I like the sound of those strings, especially that lead one. Is that just another uke? It might spice up the lyrics to occasionally subvert the rhyming expectation. I missed the "here's to 2020" joke in the stream, but that's pretty clever.

More soon.

[fluffy]

Sockpuppet - I like the sound of those strings, especially that lead one. Is that just another uke? It might spice up the lyrics to occasionally subvert the rhyming expectation. I missed the "here's to 2020" joke in the stream, but that's pretty clever.

The instruments are as they were on the live stream (this is literally just the audio from my video), which are ukulele, mandolin, cello, and electric guitar.