(Thank you crumpet for the template)
My notes. I'm trying to find a balance between "old-school Songfight mean" and "Spintunes nice."
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Just - Melody Klein: Fun groove right away. I love that there is attention to detail, in that every note/hit has a different enough velocity to humanize it a bit. A beginner would have everything level, and it would be flat and lame. Thank you for that! There are lots of cool atmospheric things happening under the surface that make this vibe. I'm not a fan of the vocodey approach, and I think the stabby synth's attack is a bit much over time. Definitely not in my genre wheelhouse, but there's enough sonic development here that I was able to vibe for the whole 6:27.
Oh No - Richard Shakespeare: Washy prom feeling. Don't know how I feel about that tom roll. The drums and everything else seem to be in a different space. I think some reverb tweaks to make it feel like everything is in the same atmosphere could help. The panned snare rolls during the chorus are a bit distracting. The kick in particular feels like it's hitting at the same velocity throughout. Humanize that a bit. The stringy synth lays really well in the mix - well voiced. The guitar solo tone is not great! It also has the sound of left and right hand being a bit out of sync. Focus on groove and confidence, and this will improve with time. Bass is mixed a bit low. Could use a bit more punch and bus compression to glue everything together a bit.
Limited Time Offer - Quazimodo’s Balls: Reminds me of the break from
Battle Flag. Hate the piezo acoustic tone. Seems like you had fun putting every effect available on your vocal.
Our Little Secret - See-Man-Ski: You have the best grooves in this community. The bass tone is fucking sick. I feel like the different sections could use some kind of sonic separation. Like, automate panning at 80% during verse, and 100% in the chorus? Maybe bring back the handclaps in the chorus (use real ones with more hi freqs, rather than what we heard in the intro). Snare accents hit harder than the 2 and 4; maybe reverse those velocities. Kick is a bit buried. Good work as always, though I feel like this could use a little more mix work.
What’s Your Secret, Hermit? - Stephen Weigel: I don't hate a lo-fi acoustic aesthetic. The quiet drum machine-sounding elements are way off any kind of beat. The vocal performance evokes a high school musical theatre vibe. It's quite up front and naked. The arrangement meanders around as much as the beat does. 7:52 is a lot to ask.
Widow’s Peak, Kentucky - Governing Dynamics: Getting strong
slow-jam CKY vibes, love the doubled vocal. I get that the bass is doing a lot of melodic work underneath, but consider adding another simple sub bass line to give this a more solid foundation. The drums feel a bit unsupported as is. On that note, the drums feel like they can't decide between a Deathcab drum machine vibe in the snare and a Foo Fighters energy in the cymbals. The sudden up-frontness of "no need to confess" was probably intentional, but maybe split the difference. If you want that line to punch through, have the band drop out for a beat or something. Really strong sound.
A Foreign Language - Star Bear: Fun Travis picking pattern (or close enough to it). Watch the prosody on lines like "I am lost in THIS story." Your voice is nice, but it frequently sounds chocked and unsupported. Focus on engaging your diaphragm, and giving your voice plenty of air to work with. Rhythmically, we lose groove all over the place, mostly in the vocal. More takes with confidence and a feeling for the groove will gel everything together.
The Seeds - FireBear: Humanize the drums - right now it feels like every hit is 100% velocity. Feels like a serious disconnect between the groove implied by the drums/vocals and what everything else is doing. I want to hear big, heavy palm mute eighth notes, but instead I get a washy acoustic sustain. The middle section gels nicely; that calls even more attention to the disjointed chorus. Good hook - some mix tweaks and a bit more attention to detail could really make this shine.
Sitting Silently - Pigfarmer Jr: I love when you're in a more folk mode. There's a plaintive, straightforwardness to your voice in tunes like this that reminds me of
Robert Earl Keen. This style relies heavily on the lyrics sounding like natural language, so lines like "the cops finalLY arrived" need to be reworked for prosody. I'm personally not a fan of the big classic rock electric sound on the chorus, but it's very much something that someone like Steve Earle would do, so there's preference for you. The acoustic sounds a bit squashed. Would like to hear a more relaxed performance in the vocal - it sounds too enunciated. You're not nailing the beat, and that's ok in this style - let natural language dictate the pacing and emphasis. Really enjoyed this. Lol get rid of the naked crash at the end.
Articles - rackwagon: This is goofy. Like Jello Biafra fronting They Might Be Giants? Would like to hear the band bounce as much as the vocal does. The mix is very 90s, and I think that's ok. There isn't really a ton I can say - you had a goober vision, and you executed
A Man is a Clam - Dented Bento: Delightfully goofy. Obviously you gotta deal with the plosives; very distracting. The band feels like everything is played timidly. I want to feel as much energy during the break as I do in the chorus. On the chorus, spend some time balancing the vocals. Right now it's overwhelming and a bit grating. Hope to hear something from the Ziggy Stardust era next round.
Somebody Knows - With Joe: Alright, pop chops! This is very much not my genre, but the skill and effort here is great to hear. Kudos for working in 6/8. Love the talk bass. So many interesting arrangement choices, all well-executed. The choral break, the drop, the tiny beatbox elements, everything. I'm trying to find something constructive to say. After the drop, I love the manic, obvious climax feeling of that section, but it seems like we lose danceability there - a big, cinematic hit on beats 1 & 4 (as counted in 6) might help it maintain that notion of groove. This is easily the standout of the round, and probably sits with Also In Blue's
Forgotten Cities as the most impressive entry I've competed against. Hope you stick around.
*Tom Delonge Voice* Wheroar Yheww - marlon.: Tons of potential here. Would love to hear more care taken in producing this up. Nearly falls apart at the bridge. Bad glock solo is cute for one turn, we don't need three. Some of great ingredients in this cake, but this doesn't showcase any of those ingredients, and at 4:24 is too long for what it delivers.
don’t pour it out - Roman Numeral Orange: Ok, there's a neat breakbeat loop. During the live listen, I had to sit through all 4:17 of this. Thankfully I don't have to do that again.
Three Can Keep a Secret (If Two of Them are Dead) - Regis: Bong bong bong bong. This sounds like classic songfight. On the production front, spend some time watching recording and mixing technique videos. Programming-wise, humanize the drums - the floor tom whacking away at the exact same velocity is grating. Performance-wise, we need more oomph all around. There's a timidity, a lack of confidence all around, and it scans immediately as a listener. Some neat ideas here, look forward to hearing you improve.
What Does It Matter? - The Dutch Widows: The vibe of this. The big guitar overpowers the vocal (at least in the first instance) Gotta carve some space for the vocal; via eq, panning, something. I'm curious about how perfectly on the grid that percussive loop is - I would love to hear the third measure of the loop (with the two kicks) laid way back. Anyway, you've executed a fun, vibey atmosphere with this.
It’s Juicy - Firefly: There are many people in this community who would gladly play bass on this. You can't do a RHCP-style groove without real bass. There's a noodly bit that I kind of hear in the right channel from time to time, but I can't even tell if that's a bass. Lots of plosive issues. The idea for this is clever, and the way the melodic elements are woven in is satisfying at times. This feels very much like a songwriting sketch, however.
Extrasensory - Phlub: Hey, this sounds out of tune
. Have I heard a very similar melody from you before? Or is it that catchy? Signature washy mess. It really is impressive how you're able to get a singable melody over that detuned storm. I'm excited for you to get a proper drum mic kit to go along with the 8 channels you have to work with now. It'll be sad to say goodbye to the washy Phlub, but I'm confident you'll remain our alternative-tuning noise rock standard bearer
Invisible Ink - Hot Pink Halo: That fretless! I might cut a little more low mids out of it, but it's fun to have it showcased. The kazoo-sounding synth is fun. You have a way of writing catchy choruses that I'm jealous of. The handclaps came back just when I was hoping they would. They could use some time-correcting though. It sounds like you're having fun doing this, and it comes through.
Ease My Mind - “BucketHat” Bobby Matheson: Very Dire Straits. Very wet; maybe back off the reverb a bit. Groove isn't quite locked in. Watch your plosives. Punch in on the bass to fix that note around 2:50. Seems like most things could use another take. Your writing and arranging generally appeals to me; this needs some polish.
A Good Man (But A Lousy Wizard) - Also In Blue: Very
Muppets. The musical theatre style that is so popular with Spintunes folks is not at all my thing, but this is incredibly well executed and full of interesting details. The rhythmic accents, the melodic fills - you put a lot of work into this and it shows. On the group vocal, cut a bit of low mid out of the bass vocal. Would love to hear the end of the bridge or whatever around 2:20 really ritard or fermata before the verse comes back in. There's a note that I hear a couple of times - pretty sure it's a D natural in the upper piano that happens for sure at 3:05, that feels very much like a mistake. It's just off-beat, the velocity is way different to anything else the piano is doing there, and it feels very melodically out of place. I'm open to argument, but I imagine if we looked at the midi roll, that'd be something that was accidentally dropped there. Anyway, this is excellent, and I look forward to losing to you again.
Who put Bella in the Wych Elm? - chewmeupspitmeout: Bring the chimes down once the voice starts. Watch breath noises making their way directly into the mic. Lots of interesting sounds. Seems odd to make us wait 2+ minutes for a groovy jam, only to take it away from us. Seems to me like you and Phlub could work together. Not really much else can say here, as this seems to be more an art piece, and any "objective" production input wouldn't really make a difference in the subjective aim.
Hero - L.J.P: Maybe cut a little notch in the palm mute frequency - there's something in the low mid of that guitar that's kinda punching my ear in these headphones. Dig the latin groove. Bass is very satisfying when it comes in, but why is it panned right. I keep hoping for more build, but it stays very static throughout. Bringing the piano in on the chorus is nice, but it's not the gear change we need. There's a very 90's techno synth doing the octave bounce thing that doesn't fit at all. There are neat elements here - be a bit more mindful on your approach to full-song arrangement; give us develpment, climax, and please anything but a fadeout.
I Should Have Told You: - thanks, brain Bass tone is pretty boxy. Man, I think this is the 3rd or 4th song with the vocal doubled in octaves. Spend a little more time getting consonants to line up. There are a few spots where the vocal double diverges pretty distractingly. The organ part is very programmed-sounding. This is decent, but not grabbing me on this round of listening. Woah, set your export markers to trim off some of that 15 seconds of silence on the tail.
Secret Society - Night Sky: I feel like this might benefit from a 'less is more' approach on the drums. Like, less kick variation in particular. Trust the keys and bass to carry the groove. If you're going to go busy like this, then the bass has to be in lock step with that kick, and it's not here. Would love some more balls in the organ performance. Swooshy, growly, slappy. That's what this needs. At least put in the time to automate the leslie speed. Hammond is my primary live instrument - I'd love to contribute organ on a track like this. Horn section sounds great. There's a high frequency in the sax that could be notched down, but that might be my tinnitus. You've improved a lot since you started coming around.
Corner Store Jesus - Fluke Wilson: This hits me right in the Blaze Foley/John Prine/Townes Van Zandt/Ray Wiley Hubbard/etc etc etc. As charming as the very bad recording quality is, I would like to hear this with something more like a
Colter Wall treatment. A cheap rig that is properly setup will allow you to really lean in on both the vocal and guitar. As this is, I feel that your vocal performance is the only thing I'd really want to change - I wanna hear you singing from your guts. Take two shots of whiskey and give this another go. Very interested to hear more from you.
Don’t Say Anything - Ominous Ride: This has ingredients of cock rock, but the delivery lacks the power and punch needed to sell it. You approach the right feel at "you can tie my hands behind my back" - that needs to be the floor of the energy in this, and you still need more for your choruses etc. Mixwise, this feels pretty old school, and that's fine for the genre I suppose. I definitely find myself wishing the bass tone was bigger. Some fun stuff here.
Secrets - SunLite: Watch your mic technique - there's some air sound pushing through. It feels like there's a lot missing here. Like, the chorus is screaming for big, sustaining chords and extra punchy percussion. As it is, the energy remains flat throughout, despite making an effort to punch up the chorus with your vocal.
To Have and to Hide - Mandibles: An intro like this needs to be rock solid on the beat. Fun scale and chord movements. Drums feel flat and far back. The vocals sound like they have modern home recording production, but the band feels like a 90s live demo. Guitar tuning is really rough in spots. I think all of the ingredients of a great sound are here, but there's a lot of work to be done to get this sounding really slick. 6 minutes is a lot.
Secret Lair - Hanky Code: This sounds like old Ken. Something about "lairrrrrrrrrr" bothers me, but maybe it's charming and indie. There's something off fx-wise about your vocal, and I don't think it's just the tuning, though that's definitely part of it. It's not centered, either. Lots of strange elements here - the bouncy arp synth, the wiggly guitar solo, the big bells... A lot of it seems like patches/sounds were chosen at random because they sounded cool by themselves, without considering how the pieces all fit together. Lots of good stuff in here, I'd like to hear you with some real mindful focus.
Can’t Take It With You - Sober: I haven't shared with the SF/ST community what my partner has been going through these past couple of years (and I won't here). So why not write a dumb song to get some thoughts out. Experimenting here with meter, sounds, and making difficult subject matter work with potentially clashing musical elements. Really want to come back to this and mix it properly; deadline came at me fast, and I basically just threw presets at this and hit export.
Hello? (the grim awakening of Helly R) - The Late Heavy Bombardment: Like the big drum sound. If you're going to do non-human things with the drums, then lean into it. Give me more 32nd note kick trills leading up to a downbeat. Give me some screwed, broken drums. Ooh, there's another octave-doubled vocal! Nice separation of parts. I like the outtro. Solid entry - I think if you'd gotten in by deadline, you'd be into round 2.
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Whew! 32 is a lot, and it doesn't help that we had 3 songs in the ~6+ minute range. Clear standout is
With Joe - just ridiculous talent. Great work by
Also in Blue and
seemanski as usual. I'm most excited to hear more by
Fluke Wilson.