ROUND TWO RESULTS
425Taylor Swift - Style
Honestly, you probably could have sent me Shake It Off or Blank Space, I’m pretty sure I haven’t heard either of them. I like this song quite a bit, though, so I wouldn’t lament the decision too much.
Obviously, I’ve heard Taylor Swift before. I didn’t really care for much of her stuff at the time (probably like 4-5 years ago; whichever songs were getting played a lot. Couldn’t tell you what they were now). I definitely like this a lot more than anything else I’ve heard from her, and that could be due to the discarding of the country sound that you mentioned (even though I like some country stuff). Her vocal style in particular I like a lot; on previous songs that I listened to it always seemed like she was kind of straddling the line between singing and just sort of “talking” the lyrics. Here, though, her voice is really good and the melodies are quite pleasant to listen to. I guess I should briefly mention lyrics here.
To be honest, I haven’t been a big fan of Taylor’s lyrics in the past (from the like 2 songs I head
), and I’m not huge on romantically themed songs in general, but I actually think this song does pretty well. I mean, I’m not like
blown away by them, but they don’t bother me, and honestly I wasn’t expecting that. I will say, though, other than Taylor’s voice, the song isn’t
super interesting to me, and this reflects in the score a bit. I still like it, but it seems like there could have been a bit more to it.
8 pointsBolstersPerfume - ナチュラルに恋して
I haven’t had a lot of experience with J-pop. Basically my only contact with it has been incidental, in movies or TV shows. This was probably the hardest song for me to really get my head around, which is kind of interesting. I suppose it has to do with being an entire culture removed from me, to the point where when I first listened to it I wasn’t really sure whether I liked it or not, being weirdly unable to use any prior experience to make a judgment on it.
So let’s talk about the music a bit. The background instrumentation seems to consist mostly of bleeps and bloops from a variety of synthesizers, with some percussion as well, which I think is also synthesized. I’m not exactly an expert on that. Vocally, the song is kind of exactly what I would expect from a J-pop song, at least based on my limited experience with it. It’s a very clean, processed sort of sound (not necessarily a bad thing). As with most of the song, I wasn’t sure how to feel about it at first, but it has grown on me a bit. My main issue with the song seems to be the composition of it. Like, there are some interesting things going on, but they seem to change and move around before I ever really manage to get a grip on them. In the end, it’s an interesting piece, and I do enjoy bits of it, but overall I think it’s not really something I can see myself listening to very often. Sorry man. This is actually the scored I sweated the most, since I can’t totally be sure that it’s not just some sort of culture shock thing that’s turning me off it. Still, can’t win ‘em all, I guess.
6 pointsTom BombadilDavid Bowie - Sound and Vision
I’m sort of passingly familiar with Bowie. I’ve heard one or two songs, which I quite like, but have never taken the time to delve deeply into his catalog.
To the extent that I have any particular expectation for the sound of a David Bowie song, I’d say this one meets it pretty well. It’s got some good, kinda quirky instrumentation (great bass, btw), and some equally quirky vocals from the man himself. In both cases, I rather like the result. The music sounds distinctly 80s (I’m assuming that’s around when this was written?), but not in a bad way, except for those really treble-y synths, which nearly deafened me. Bowie’s vocals are quite good as well; I’ve always enjoyed the character in his voice, and the range of sounds and styles he’s capable of, from the sort of deeper, laid back tone, to the higher, sort of childlike singing (I’m assuming this is still him singing, I’ve heard that kind of thing from him before), to the almost spoken bits contrasting the rest.
My main problem with the song (again, other than those synths) is that the song feels too short! I don’t know that I’ve ever had that problem with a song before, but it really feels like the song stops right around when it really gets going, which detracts from my overall enjoyment of the song.
7.5 pointsSaculSleepytime Gorilla Museum - A Hymn to the Morning Star (of Natural History)
Yeah, this song is pretty creepy. Which is something I like a lot, incidentally.
The song opens with some low droning and some creepy ambient noise, leading into the entry of the singer. You really seem to have my taste on vocalists down, this guy is fantastic.
He has a magnificently low voice, and he the way he sings the song makes it feel almost like a lullaby, though admittedly an unsettling one. At around the three minute mark, the song goes into a different section, with falsetto vocals and some instrumentation that reminds me a bit of Scott Walker. I’m not a huge fan of this part, honestly, but fortunately the piece moves back into the into “creepy deep voiced lullaby” mode again, and all is well. The ending of the song is very ominous, again reminding me of Scott Walker, fading out with some ambient creaks and groans.
I really enjoyed this song, though oddly it suffers from a similar problem to Tom Bombadil’s submission, in that it feels like the song ends a bit too soon. The entire piece seems to be building up to something, but then there’s no payoff. I think you said this was the opener to an album? It probably works better in that context, I imagine. That issue aside, though, this is a fantastically creepy piece of music that I really like.
8 pointsNekovAlcest - Les Voyages de L’Âme
I’ve heard a little bit of Alcest before. In fact, I was sent one of their songs in my previous roulette, and I liked it a fair bit. For whatever reason, though, I guess it didn’t resonate very deeply with me and I never got around to investigating further.
This was clearly a mistake.
This is an absolutely beautiful song, from the cascading guitar chords, to the subdued drumming, to the beautifully ethereal vocals. I think the band was at one point largely black metal? I can definitely hear some of that in the drumming, but other than that it seems to have been largely left behind. I want to say what they have here is
sort of shoegaze-y, but it seems a bit more involved and faster than most shoegaze I’ve heard. The guitar work is absolutely beautiful, and reminds me quite a bit of Deafheaven’s Sunbather, which is probably the closest comparison I have for this kind of music, though Deafheaven have a much more prominent black metal side.
I mentioned the vocals before, but they’re so amazing I think I should mention them again. This guy has an absolutely incredible voice. He sings in a clean tone, and he doesn’t seem to put a lot of force behind it, but somehow he’s never drowned out or overpowered by the music, even the sections with a lot of other things going on.
This is not only my favorite song sent in this roulette so far, it’s also one of the best songs I’ve ever heard. You shall reap great things for this.
10 pointsTrain of NaughtAlter Bridge - Blackbird
I am passingly familiar with Alter Bridge, actually I think Scorpion may have sent me this exact song a while back. My memory of that is pretty hazy though, so I figured I would accept the submission, since I can’t really remember anything about the song.
You say some people don’t care for this guy’s voice? I can’t really imagine that, he’s fantastic. He has a really powerful, soaring voice on the chorus, and an emotive, low tone on the verses. He’s far from the only good thing about this song, however. Instrumentally, particularly the guitar, the group is on fire. I especially like how the composition of the song keeps things interesting by changing up every now and then, going through several different sections.
You mentioned the guitar solo, which oddly enough I think is the only part of the song I didn’t love.
It’s not bad, and definitely technically adept, but it doesn’t do a ton for me; my favorite thing about it is how it leads into the final repeat of chorus. The little bit of noodling on the guitar at the very end is pretty cool, too, I almost wish that bit had been extended a bit.
This is a very good song, and I’m always impressed when bands that aren’t strictly prog (and presumably less accustomed to writing long pieces) manage to compose a song like this, that stays interesting all the way through. Have some points.
9.5 pointsbl5150The Night Flight Orchestra - Transatlantic Blues
I’m actually a pretty big fan of Soilwork, but I had never heard of this side project, so I have to thank you for bringing it to my attention. This song seems to have everything I like older prog and rock, but with the added benefit of not-awful production.
I think the first thing I should mention is the vocals. I tend to be a “vocals first” kinda guy anyway (as weird as that is for a Dream Theater fan), and the vocals here stand out particularly. I assume it’s Bjorn doing them? I knew he had a good clean voice, but I never knew he could do anything like this. He actually reminds me a slightly-higher-ranged Dan Swano on this song. The instrumental side of the song is really good as well, it seems pretty clear they’re drawing from a lot of classic prog here, but in a way that’s definitely more “influence” than “derivative”, and they manage to fit in quite a lot of fresh stuff as well, particularly with the heavier, more metal-oriented guitar work, that I don’t think you’d see much of in classic prog.
You said your previous score of 8 was the highest you’d gotten in a non-fogey roulette, but I think you just beat that record. This is an excellent submission.
9 pointsScorpionConception - A Million Gods
I guess I should get around to actually buying some Conception albums at some point. Everything I’ve heard from them (which, to be fair, I think is exactly two songs
) has been fantastic.
This is a really fantastic song. Interestingly, though, on this one I find myself enjoying the instrumental side more than the vocal one. Roy is definitely good here, but he’s a bit less restrained than he was in Kamelot, which I actually think works against him here. But man. Tore Østby. Let’s talk about Tore Østby a little bit. This dude is incredible. Why the hell isn’t he making music these days? I loved him in Ark, and he’s amazing here as well. His riffs are still huge and fantastic, his soloing is great, and he still throws a bit of flamenco in there too, you know, because he fuckin’ can.
Also, the bass is pretty cool. Just realized I haven’t mentioned that. The funny thing about this song is Roy actually ends up being the part I enjoy the least. Like I said, he’s not bad here, but honestly the melodies here aren’t doing a ton for me. The song seems more focused on the instrumental aspect of things anyway, and that’s really where it shines.
8 points :::; )
Tomislav95Susanne Sandfør - White Foxes
Tomislav, you have redeemed yourself, so much that I may even give you points instead of some amount of liquid this round.
This is one of those artists I’ve heard about forever, but I think this is the first time I’ve heard any of her music. This is also probably the song that grew on me the most this round. Her voice is beautiful, but initially I was pretty leery about the sections where she sings in the higher-range. But by the last few listens, I was loving it. The melodies are gorgeous and the way she belts them out is breathtaking.
I’m actually not sure what to call this kind if music, but I love it quite a bit. Vocally it sounds a bit folk/singersongwriter, but musically it’s got a lot of electronic in it as well. Whatever it is, I think I should seek out more of it!
9 pointsSTANDINGSTrain of Naught - 18.5
Nekov - 18
bl5150 - 17
Scorpion - 17
425 - 16
Tom Bombadil - 16
Tomislav - 15.5
Sacul - 15
Bolsters - 14.5
Ok so that’s round two. Now let’s do
ROUND 3! I think we’re keeping a pretty good pace on this roulette, guys, so let’s keep that up! I’m thinking we’ll definitely have 7 rounds, unless things really slow down due to me being an idiot or something. Let’s rock!