ROUND 6 RESULTS, ranks 9-5--------------------------------------------------------------------------
wolfking – Stortregn1. Through the Dark Gates
2. Lawless
3. Children of the Obsidian Light
First impression: Epic as hell.
Final opinion: Epic as hell.
Round score: 8.8Two weaker rounds took you out of contention (and one of those was particularly unfortunate), but damn you performed well for the rest of the roulette, and what a way to finish. I’ve loved having you in my last two roulettes Kade, hope you’ll continue to play in future ones too!
Total score: 7.5 + 8.1 + 8.2 + 8.4 + 7.5 + 8.8 = 48.5
Joint 7th place--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kwyjibo – All About Eve1. Flowers In Our Hair
2. Wild Hearted Woman
3. Lady Moonlight
4. Road To Your Soul
5. December
First impression: The style isn’t anything special really, but the execution is really nice.
Final opinion: This was one of the biggest growers of the round. I found it all very pleasant from the start, but on both my first two listens nothing really stood out and I thought it was perhaps just slightly mundane. But on my third listen, Lady Moonlight clicked for me, what a really gorgeous and moody song. And then on the fourth listen, I found myself enjoying Wild Hearted Woman a lot more as well. The other three aren’t as strong, but I’m now finding them all quite enjoyable as well. Who knows, maybe if I just keep listening enough they’ll click as well!
Round score: 8.0Perhaps not where you’d have liked to finish when you were topping the table at round 2, but still the highest ranked newbie to my roulettes so a damn fine performance. You never quite managed to reach the highs of those first two rounds, but pretty much everything you sent me was great so thank you!
Total score: 8.5 + 8.3 + 7.5 + 8.1 + 8.1 + 8.0 = 48.5
Joint 7th place--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cyril – The Paper Chase1. Said the Spider to the Fly
2. You’re One of Them Aren’t You?
3. the laying of hands the speaking of tongues (the mass hysteria)
4. the small of your back the nape of your neck (the blizzard)
5. ...And All The Candy You Can Eat
6. All Manner of Pox or Canker
7. Dying With Decent Music
First impression: I like weird music, but I suspect this will be too weird.
Final opinion: This was another grower, but man I just have such mixed feelings about it.
I have to be honest, I really struggled quite a lot on my first two listens. A lot of the music is really quite discordant, and even in the bigger and more melodic bits, there is normally something going on that’s slightly off-key or out-of-tune (intentionally) that makes it quite unsettling and hard to get into. But then the weird thing was that on my third listen I did start getting into it, in places anyway. And more so again on the fourth listen. Some of it I still struggle with, but there are places where it just works and creates a really dark and intense energy. I’m not sure how much I’ll like a whole album, but at least I now genuinely want to check one out.
Round score: 7.5Shame to drop a few places right at the end, but the risk you took with the last submission is a great illustration of what I love about you being in my roulettes - more than probably anyone else, you challenge me with things that I’m not sure I like, but because I have to give it a proper chance I find myself liking it more than I thought. It may not have paid off but I damn well appreciate it.
Total score: 8.4 + 7.8 + 8.4 + 8.2 + 8.2 + 7.5 = 48.5
Joint 7th place--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sacul – Sufjan Stevens1. Vesuvius
2. Make Me An Offer I Cannot Refuse
3. Reach Out
4. Olympus
5. Fourth of July - Live
First impression: Some of this was gorgeous, some was quite surprising.
Final opinion: Well now, this was quite surprising. Not so much Reach Out and Olympus, which were more in the standard folk vein of his earlier work that I already knew, although perhaps even more stripped back. They’re lovely songs though, comparable with the better stuff I already knew from him. But then the other three were quite different. It seems after I stopped following him, he went in a more electronic direction with elements of glitch-pop, but with the same sort of melodic approach he takes with his folk music, and it’s a great mix. Both songs are kind of gorgeous really. And then what a song to finish with, it’s a great live recording. The song starts so delicate and emotive, but the way it builds up at the end is masterful.
Round score: 8.5This was not one of your more consistent performances in my roulettes, but the funny thing is that the highs were so high that you’ve ended up placing higher than ever before. Half the stuff you sent me was excellent (including two of the best of the whole roulette) and the rest was all interesting.
Total score: 7.6 + 7.8 + 8.7 + 8.1 + 7.9 + 8.5 = 48.6
6th place--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buddy – Greet Death1. Sheets of White
2. Bow
3. You’re Gonna Hate What You’ve Done
4. Strain
First impression: Sounded intriguing and kind of bleak, not sure what to think yet.
Final opinion: I have to say, this style of shoegaze/slowcore/whatever you want to call it isn’t normally something that grabs me, but I’m liking these songs quite a lot. There is a bleakness that runs throughout them, but quite a richness too and some songs are somewhat upbeat (musically at least, I’ve not really dug properly into the lyrics). That all serves to make quite a unique blend. Unusually for the genre, the production also has quite a full sound. This makes it a more engaging listen in general, and especially on headphones where you can really immerse yourself in it. You’re Gonna Hate What You’ve Done especially is just such a great listen.
Round score: 8.1That Slayer submission at the start was an error for sure, and ultimately stopped you being able to mount a challenge to retain your title. But by god, you gave it a good go and somehow still made it into the top 5. Thanks for sending me lots of great music and causing my bank account pain once again!
Total score: 7.2 + 8.2 + 8.3 + 8.3 + 8.6 + 8.1 = 48.7
5th place--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scores so far:
5. Buddy = 7.2 + 8.2 + 8.3 + 8.3 + 8.6 + 8.1 = 48.7
6. Sacul = 7.6 + 7.8 + 8.7 + 8.1 + 7.9 + 8.5 = 48.6
7. Cyril = 8.4 + 7.8 + 8.4 + 8.2 + 8.2 + 7.5 = 48.5
7. Kwyjibo = 8.5 + 8.3 + 7.5 + 8.1 + 8.1 + 8.0 = 48.5
7. wolfking = 7.5 + 8.1 + 8.2 + 8.4 + 7.5 + 8.8 = 48.5
10. jingle = 8.4 + 7.9 + 8.1 + 7.7 + 8.3 + 7.9 = 48.3
10. Elite = 7.9 + 7.5 + 8.1 + 8.2 + 8.2 + 8.4 = 48.3
12. Luke = 7.9 + 8.3 + 8.1 + 7.7 + 8.2 + 8.0 = 48.2
13. HOF = 7.4 + 8.0 + 8.3 + 8.0 + 7.9 + 8.2 = 47.8
14. lonestar = 8.1 + 7.7 + 8.3 + 7.6 + 7.8 + 8.2 = 47.7
15. romdrums = 7.8 + 8.2 + 8.1 + 7.9 + 7.4 + 8.1 = 47.5
15. Puppies = 7.2 + 8.1 + 7.7 + 8.2 + 8.0 + 8.3 = 47.5
17. Ruba = 7.8 + 8.1 + 7.1 + 8.2 + 7.7 + 8.4 = 47.3
18. king = 8.3 + 7.3 + 8.0 + 7.8 + 7.8 + 7.9 = 47.1