I lied. Didn't happen yesterday. Happening now.
Overall, I'd say this was one of the weaker rounds, but still I enjoyed it quite a bit.
This is exactly what I thought about this round. Though the average quality was pretty good, there wasn't anything that really comes close to being a standout here. That's reflected in the fact that the highest score of this round is the second-lowest top round score that I've given (if you adjust the scale, obviously).
That said, I did like everything here. The result is that things are pretty tight in my scores, but since the standings are pretty tight as well, these could end up making a difference.
Evermind: Galahad - Empires Never LastHere is a lengthy prog metal song that I like a fair bit. This one develops a bit slowly, which is fine, because there’s some good instrumentation at the beginning. It’s maybe drawn out a little too slowly, but I enjoy the synths that are played during the intro, so it’s not a huge detractor.
This round featured singers from a few different styles, but I think I was really positive on every single one of them. This guy may not be extraordinary, but I’d say I like his style and tone better than that of a lot of prog metal singers. He does well on the nice big choruses that this song has, which also have some slightly cheesy synths that I like. The verses are nice but not extraordinary. There might be one verse/chorus too many.
The instrumental section here is pretty good—I like the reference to back to the intro and the choral parts that come in over the guitar lead right before the solo.
This is one of those prog metal songs where I think there’s a lot to like, but I find myself wondering whether it absolutely needed to be 9 minutes. There’s not a lot of excess material in this one, but I do feel like it’s a bit longer than it could have been. Good song besides that, though.
Nekov: Papadosio - Direction SongAlright, this is a nice electronic rockish song that I like quite a bit. The instrumentation is that type of electronic instrumentation that I definitely like because I think it creates an enjoyable atmosphere, so that’s something that I like about this song. There’s some good percussive elements as well as some interesting melodic stuff.
The vocal parts are definitely the highlights for me. I really like the soft tone that the lead singer has here, and there are some very pleasant-sounding harmonies as well. Plenty of good melodies as well. The vocal part starting at around the 3 minute part is the best part of the song. The repetition of “direction” at the end of that section provides a nice uplifiting feel that I definitely like.
Sacul: Alt-J - TaroThis is definitely a Sacul submission. We all know how that can be something that I love or something that I “meh” (as Sacul puts it). I’m sure it’s not unintentional that this song avoids all of the various things that can cause me to “meh” a Sacul submission.
So do I like this? Yes, I do. Very much. There’s a strong atmosphere and a very good sense of melody, which are two things that we know by now are important to me. The main “riff” is extremely catchy in a good way. It sticks in my head for hours. The instrumentation seems to be diverse and it’s really somewhat impressive how well things are layered at times.
The clincher for me might be the unusual vocal melodies. I don’t know how to describe what I like about these melodies, because I certainly don’t like all unusual vocal melodies, but there’s something about the way that these are just off from what you might expect them to be while still being pleasing to the ear that makes them particularly memorable for me.
Definitely like this song. It’s not a home run, but it’s a definite success with me. Lyrics are weird, though.
Scorpion: Rishloo - DownhillI’ve had a hard time nailing down my precise feelings on this prog rock song. There’s certainly a lot here that I like. The vocalist is really good. I love to hear a singer with this style, because he has a solid range and a nice tone. He gets some pretty good melodies to work with, as well. The intro is good, and there are several verses where I just feel like the vocal melodies flow nicely.
Instrumentally, there are some good moments as well. I like the guitar work, particularly on the quiet sections. Speaking of, there’s a good sense of dynamics between the loud sections and quiet ones, particularly when the song bursts out of its quiet middle section a little over halfway through. There’s another nice change of dynamics around the 7-minute mark.
I like a lot about this song. It’s quite good. I have felt like there is something missing from it, and I think it’s that there’s not a strong sense of resolution. It’s only 8 minutes, but it goes through a lot of shifts during that time, so I would have liked for there to be a stronger climax and resolution. That could be a function of taking it out of album context, but that’s the only downside for me. Still a good song.
senecadawg2: David Gray - Shine (Live)This is a nice simple song, with just an acoustic guitar and voice. There’s something about the absence of bells and whistles here that just focuses everything on pure songwriting and individual performance.
David Gray has a voice that is perfectly suited for this style of music. He brings a somewhat folky vibe that compliments acoustic guitar very well and brings a lot of power and emotional weight ot a song like this. There are a lot of moments here where I’m impressed by his pure vocal power and the fact that he’s doing this live while playing guitar. His guitar playing is not exceedingly complex, but it’s just what the song needs.
Overall, this is a well-written, simple, positive song. I want to like this song somewhat more than I actually ended up liking it; it doesn’t blow me away like it did for Tyrias. But I do like it a good bit and certainly find it to be an enjoyable listen.