W.A.I.L. 1+1+2+5+?=?
73 Keep It Beautiful - I think I'd have liked it to stay 'acoustic' a little longer - pretty, pretty harmonies! Maybe the drum machine is a little high in the mix- makes it sound a little rough - which may be the intention, of course. I would also liked it to kick into a faster punkier section around the bridge - it shuffles along very nicely but it's so close to f**ing amazing, I'm a little frustrated. But I'm digging the appropriate 'Midnight Cowboy' vibe, so no biggie.
Balance Lost - great opening. Loving that louche bass (though it could do with a low-pass maybe). Oh not a fan of the drop in octave in the chorus. But it's a good song and the glitchy percussion is top stuff as is the 'rock-out' guitar section. Suitably absurd. Should have probably stopped there but yeah, good tuneage but less said about the lyric the better, one feels.
BSS - Those drums are either too crunchy or too loud in the mix, it's slightly distracting. "Oh yeah"? Are they really neccessary? Those sections are way too fine, they don't need vocals. All that said, top song. Oh stop it with it the 'Oh Yeah's already. You can be absurd without being annoying
Cavedwellers - Wow, that vocal is great and so is the tune. One could make accusations of trying too hard but then again I think this shit comes so easily to you I can't really begrudge you for it. It's almost like you wanted to bring in a little 'Balance Lost' style into your writing. If that was your intention, please do it more as this is fab. ( I don't like 'tools sublime' but otherwise, all good).
Glenn Close - While in the verse the panned lead sounds a little weird, it merges into the chorus beautifully. That falsetto towards the end is a little wobbly. I think I could FBF doing a cover of this. About half of the lyric is wonderful. The rest doesn't get in the way. I'm just trying to list the things I *don't* like about this song.
Jerkatorium - Is the mix a bit sludgly at the high points or is just my cloth ears? I love the vocal phrasing here (from the pre-chorus and chorus especially, not so much on the verses but it's in no way bad). Ah ha! Love the little'Pink Floyd' moment. Very well done. Bonus points for that. Also you do have a descending bassline and I always do bang on about how much I love 'em, so bonus points there too. Fun cubed.
Merisan - Oooh, great opening. The voices sound great together, which is something I feel may have been lacking from the Merisan entries so far (it's something I think is one of your high points). I love the arpeggio keys, is that being played live or sequenced? Either is fine - I could never play that fast, that accurately! I'm getting a Blondie / 80s pretty pop vibe, which may not be intentional but is not unwelcome by a long way. Nice solo too (though is it a tad too loud in the mix? I dunno, I'm crap at these things). Yeah, I'm digging this, as no self-respecting kids are saying. The 'ah ah ah ah's are spot on.
Micah Somersmith - The drum sample is a bit grotty in tone. This lyric is cute as! Like the plinky-plink too. Yeah, that was a fun listen.
Nick Soma - yeah, that mix is a bit distracting. Ew, hexed ya and dsylexia? I guess it's funny but it seems soooo stretched to fit. I think the song could be a classic, but the drum should come down, along with the vocal and guitar have a different amp setting / not panned so far. Also the vocal misses a few beats, shall we say? Still, I like the song behind the song,if you know what I mean?
Strangelove - Hell yeah, I was worried about the mix for the first ten seconds or so but it finds itself happy very quickly. Ah, I do love 1.5 entendres! I like the electro-folk approach. Not sure the chorus is quite big enough to enter the disco pantheon it wants to rule but hey, it's a damn fine attempt. The lyric is great,a realy good take on the challenge. And that little squinty synth towards the end is very welcome.