5th Place: Nekov: The Happy Prog EPThe Flower Kings – Poor Mr. Rain’s Ordinary GuitarFirst Impressions:A bit of an awkward start considering it’s an EP opener but. And I had these guys sent in my previous roulette, the song I got there was… okay but never checked them out further. From the start of this I am actually digging this a fair bit, for “happy” prog this dips into relatively dissonant stuff quite a bit.
The interplay between melody and dissonance is what makes a lot of music interesting to me these days; and I feel like this song does a good job of balancing those. Though some of these melodies are, yeah, not huge on them. Yeah, this middle section isn’t doing as much for me as the stuff before nor the stuff after, but I mean on the whole this is a pretty solid instrumental and kicks off the EP well aside from the weird start.
Final Thoughts:So it turns out I’d actually been listening to the wrong song this entire time (it’s hard for me to figure this out, especially when I’m being sent a file directly so whatever). I think this does make a lot more sense as an EP opener, especially for this EP. But I’m gonna leave the writeup I did for… whatever song you send me the first time for one purpose.
Uhh. It was the best song on the entire EP. The song you didn’t mean to send. Interested me way more than the five tracks following it. Heck, it was one of the better songs of the entire round. So cutting that away and replacing it with this track feels like a significant downgrade, but hey, this is the track you meant to send.
The track itself? It’s a solid enough, fairly nostalgic little guitar piece. As a song on its own it’s a bit lacking in substance but as an opener for the EP I think it does a pretty decent job and fits the tone well. It’s certainly pleasant to listen to. But also a bit hard for me to really evaluate seeing as I have only heard it twice in total (as opposed to the 5-6 listens songs usually get). But yeah. Solid enough intro at least.
6.25/10 (#28 out of 40)
Agents of Mercy – Between Sun and MoonFirst Impressions:The singer of this sounded exactly like what I expected them to sound like. Because apparently it’s Roine Stolt, okay. That makes sense. Roine Stolt is apparently in three of the four bands you sent me, wow. It’s a good thing I’m not a huge fan of his voice then, oops. Actually that’s probably a bad thing. This one’s definitely more in line with what I expected from a “happy prog” EP though. The strings and the choir vocals and cheery guitar lines. Though there’s a bit of a darker turn for a moment in the middle of the song and, again, that’s probably my favorite part of this, again. Maybe I’m just missing the point. Not a fan of those synth tones either.
This sounds nice enough and it isn’t really boring but considering the one moment where it sounds less “nice” is the only moment that really caught my interest the most I’m not sure what to think really.Final Thoughts:Yeah, the guitar work in this is pretty nice. I especially like that one melody right before each verse. And the bass gets a lot of mileage here just doing some fairly cool stuff, though the mix doesn’t really bring attention to it.
The chorus of this one sounds more like a prechorus than a chorus itself but regardless of that I still think it’s a pretty solid chorus? It’s mildly catchy and the stomping, lumbering beat makes it somewhat memorable.
Aside from that the only thing that stands out here is that instrumental bit in the middle which, yes, it’s a pretty cool instrumental break but in part because it does sound pretty out of place compared to the rest of the song, though it still works well in spite of that? I don’t know, it’s a cool moment. I do think the song meanders on a bit long after the last chorus though, I kind of wish it had just skipped that descending action and gone straight to the louder reprise bit that closes the song off.
Overall… yeah, I think this is among the better songs on the EP but I can’t say I really love it either. There’s stuff here that works but most of it doesn’t resonate that strong with me. I’ll be a little cautious with this one because there’s nothing I really dislike here either, so… yeah.
7/10 (#20 out of 40)
Karmakanic – Alex in ParadiseFirst Impressions:The longer this goes on the more I wonder if I’m going to start finding the cheeriness oppressive. I think I’ve made it pretty clear that happy, sugary music doesn’t tend to do as much for me so sending an entire EP aimed that way is a weird risk to take, but. I only say this because I don’t have much else to say about this one? The vocalist is the same as the last song.
The instrumentation is a bit more energetic here, maybe a bit more technically interesting? But at the same time less diverse, focusing more just on the traditional guitar/bass/drums. with the occasional synth and piano. I do dig the chill guitar solo in the middle of the song, I almost kind of wish the rest of the band didn’t come back in and make that section more energetic, it’s a nice reprieve. Well anyways. Not much else I have to say on the matter. Well, ending is a bit abrupt.
Final Thoughts:I get the impression this entire song is intended to be ironic. Like “look how cheery and dumb this song is”. As a metaphor for the person being sung about. Blissfully ignorant and thus completely lacking in strife. I dunno, that’s just the vibe I get from this, especially given some of the lyrics. So if the entire song is a joke it’s hard to really take seriously.
And god I hope it is a joke because if not this borders on insufferable. It absolutely is that kind of oppressively cheery I am just not a fan of and it feels a bit one note in that too. Like you get the one groove and variance on one riff for a good half of this song at least.
There’s still aspects here I do enjoy though. The bass work throughout is pretty damn tight throughout the song. The intro melody is pretty solid and as well the guitar solo in the middle is pretty nice too. But I just don’t like the chorus here and I’m not a fan of the verses either. Maybe the vocals are the biggest problem I have here but I think even besides them there’s just not too much here that really appeals to me.
5.25/10 (#38 out of 40)
Moon Safari – Too Young to Say GoodbyeFirst Impressions:I think I may have checked out one of these guys’ albums at some point but never being too huge on prog rock as I have been it didn’t really do a ton for me. Was wondering if this was instrumental until two minutes in when the vocals did come in. And yeah, I do like this singer more than Stolt, his tone just sounds smoother to my ears. Sounds more modern but doesn’t really clash with the style either. Some of those vocal harmonies are great too.
Instrumentally this is solid but admittedly not standing out too much, the vocals seem to be the main attraction here and they do keep me interested at the very least.Final Thoughts:God, having this guy on vocals is such a nice reprieve when literally four of the other songs on this EP all have the same mediocre singer fronting them. There’s just something about the tone here I like a lot more, and especially those harmonies in the chorus. Best vocal moment of the entire EP for certain.
It’s actually interesting how the verses of this very much have a rock vibe despite being driven mostly by the piano and synth and not so much by the guitars. And the prechorus here, it builds up energy pretty nicely leading into the chorus. The bridge after the second chorus too. There’s a nice level of dynamic energy to this song, the feel of the song being able to switch up whenever it needs to and keeps things interesting by doing so.
Tonally this song is also just a bit more up my alley. It’s got a kind of cheery vibe but it’s very decisively bittersweet and not really that sugary. Which I can get into way more than a complete lack of strife. It’s most evident in the vocals but I think musically it accomplishes the same feel too.
So yeah at the end of the day, with the first track being gone, I’d say this one definitely ends up as my favorite on the EP as a result. Best vocal performance, probably the most compelling musically too. It’s not too show-offy but I’m kind of glad for the sense of restraint, it manages to stay interesting the whole way through regardless of that. So yeah, pretty solid stuff. Can’t say I’m super in love with it but it’s a very solid, enjoyable song.
7.75/10 (#10 out of 40)
The Flower Kings – My Cosmic LoverFirst Impressions:Well, that intro sure is something. I uhh. Kind of failed to have anything else to say about this song in particular. I’m just a little confused as to why you’d send an EP full of very similar sounding songs. What are the unique features of this one, uhh, I guess, it’s a bit more laidback in nature? But I mean, it’s Roine Stolt again. Nothing new to say vocally. And the other Flower Kings song was more interesting instrumentally. This honestly sounds like an early 90’s rock song with just slightly more interesting instrumentation, which isn’t really something I want to hear. The groove of this is okay but it gets old pretty quick and there isn’t really much else to the song, especially for its length. In the spirit of trying to have something positive to say.
It’s not unpleasant and it’s not instrumentally overly simple and if I didn’t have several other similar songs on the same EP maybe I’d like it more than I do. Uhh, that’s barely positive, whatever.
Final Thoughts:This song ended up being kind of memorable, at least more so than a few of the other tracks here, but… I kind of wish it wasn’t. I don’t really know what it is about this track but there’s just a lot here I find rather offputting.
Like the most obvious thing is that the song is locked in one groove the entire way through. It basically leaves the bass and drums as negligible the entire way through as they change so little if at all. I’m also just not a huge fan of the chorus here. Or at least I think it’s the chorus but whatever.
Mostly I just think this one ends up slotting right into that “overly cheery” vibe that makes me lose interest quick. The prechorus melody here is honestly not bad at all, it’s a solid melody? It gets reprised throughout the song a few times but I don’t think it gets overused. And there’s just a vibe of “jam session” throughout a lot of this that isn’t necessarily a bad thing? Even gets what sounds like a saxophone in there for a bit near the end?
Ehh. This one isn’t really awful at the end of the day but at the same time it does get on my nerves a little and definitely overstays its welcome, without having anything that really stands out in a positive way. Not awful? Not particularly good either though.
4.5/10 (#40 out of 40)
Karmakanic – Turn it UpFirst Impressions:Yeah this one starts off a bit more interesting (and is like, actually a rock song, with guitars that have some actual power to them this time), so already this is a step up from the last track. I think it sacrifices some of the other instrumentation for it though? I do hear other instruments doing some okay stuff but the guitars are really driving this one the most. As an EP closer it’s also certainly more bombastic than the past few tracks. The “turn it up” chorus gets a bit old by the end of a single listen too which definitely isn’t a great thing. I don’t know, I think I’m mostly just… exhausted. By this entire EP, which is just not up my alley at all and to my ears is very, blatantly lacking in any diversity or dynamic and just leaves me completely losing interest by the third or fourth track. Hopefully it’ll be better on relistens but, who knows.
Final Thoughts:I think at this point in the EP it’s hard for me to not be exhausted by this kind of sound. This one definitely fares a little bit better than the other Karmakanic song because it at least feels earnest and isn’t a monotonous sugary cheeriness like that one, or the song before it on the EP either.
I actually like the general vibe of the verses here, it’s a bit more understated than the rest of the song, with the tom-heavy drums and the mish-mash of guitar lines. And while the chorus itself isn’t really too bad in isolation, it’s fairly catchy, it has a nice lead-in to it… I do get tired of it by the end of the song. I don’t want to turn anything up and/or down ever again after how many times I’m being told to in this song.
Beyond that… I don’t really have much to say about this one? It doesn’t really have anything that stands out much at all. It’s solid as a closer I guess but there’s just not a ton here for me, it’s a bit on the dull side as well. It’s not as obnoxious as the other Karmakanic song can be at times but it also doesn’t have the cool moments that at least make that song interesting at times.
5.25/10 (#37 out of 40)
Overall EP Thoughts:Err. I really don’t know what you were thinking with this one. I know I’ve made it pretty clear that standard prog rock usually doesn’t do a ton for me, and also made it pretty clear that overly cheerful music often tends to grate on me. And it’s not like any of the songs here are totally awful, but only two of them interest me much at all, and the one song I was previously really into on the EP turned out to be… not on the EP, whoops.
Cohesiveness? Absolutely, it’s there for sure. Variety? No, it’s not there at all. There’s another EP this round that had a serious struggle with variety but even it feels at least a bit more diverse than this one, and I think having the same singer for four out of five songs with vocals is the biggest reason why. As far as flow goes I guess it’s fine enough, the track ordering feels solid though if it were me I’d have put the first Karmakanic song right after the intro track, that would’ve been a bit better of a transition in my opinion, going from an acoustic track to a clean guitar intro. But that’s nitpicking and it’s not a big deal overall.
Ehh. At the end of the day it checks most of the boxes in terms of EP score but it does totally fall flat on its face in terms of variety and that definitely counts as a big mark against it as a whole.
7/10Song Score Breakdown:Total EP Length: 32:59 -> 1979 seconds
Poor Mr. Rain’s Ordinary Guitar - 2:44 -> 164 seconds
164/1979 = .083
6.25 * .083 = 0.51875
Between Sun and Moon - 5:04 -> 304 seconds
304/1979 = .154
7 * .154 = 1.078
Alex in Paradise - 5:04 -> 304 seconds
304/1979 = .154
5.25 * .154 = 0.8085
Too Young to Say Goodbye - 6:24 -> 384 seconds
384/1979 = .194
7.75 * .194 = 1.5035
My Cosmic Lover - 6:46 -> 406 seconds
406/1979 = .206 (rounded up .001 so the sum is 1.000 instead of .999)
4.5 * .206 = 0.927
Turn it Up - 6:53 -> 413 seconds
413/1979 = .209
5.25 * .209 = 1.09725
Sum: 5.933
EP Song Score: 5.933 * 3 = 17.80
EP Score: 7
Bonus Points: 0
Final EP Score: 24.80/40Yeah, sorry, but it was pretty evident from my opinions of most of the individual songs that I was not particularly a fan of this EP. Maybe one or two of the best of these mixed in with some darker, moodier stuff would’ve fared better, but as it stands only two of these songs I was particularly fond of, and losing the one song I actually genuinely liked the most of the bunch didn’t help your EP either. What was that song by the way? I really want to know, because it was quite good, would’ve gotten like a 8.25 or something around there.