Before El Doctor posts that silly picture from Spaceballs, I'm going to share the results from this round. It was another great batch of songs and probably my second favorite round so far, behind the Love songs. Here we go!
Elite Penguin Cafe Orchestra- The sound of someone you love who's going away and it doesn't matter
We have a winner! Best atmosphere of any song I received. Perhaps the most striking thing about this song is that it insists on taking its time, and manages to make that work. It moves along at a very comfortable pace, but never feels tedious or boring in the slightest. Also curious is that I don't find myself paying full attention to the music itself. It's the kind of song that lulls me into a peaceful stupor, and when it's done I find myself surprised that 12 minutes have passed. It just kind of enters me and stays there, but never intrudes on anything else. Also love the use of strings, and really enjoy the playful transition section that appears at around the 8 minute mark. Thanks for hitting the spot!
lonestar I.Q.- Road of Bones
We have another winner! Yes, that's right, there's a tie at the top. This one achieves its atmosphere in a different fashion than the above Penguin Cafe, instead utilizing excellent production, beautiful keys, ethereal strings, and haunting vocals. This, too, is largely a peaceful experience for me. This one does, however, pick up the pace a little bit more, and at just the right time. This is excellent pacing. EXCELLENT pacing. 2.5 minutes is about the perfect amount of time for the intro, before the bass kicks in. Another 45 seconds later and the fascinating little xylophone (or whatever that percussive instrument is) kicks in, to be repeated throughout the song at all the right times. This song is a great 8 minute experience with a very clear direction. It is precisely this kind of direction that I felt was lacking in your earlier submission from Dream the Electric Sleep. I felt that that one meandered a bit. This one, however, is a steady crescendo executed beautifully.
jingle.boy Queen- The Show Must Go On
I'll admit, this one felt the least atmospheric of all the submissions this round. Of course, that's my own opinion, and I understand atmosphere in my own way. I did, however, leave it vague for this very reason, and I'm very grateful that I got a good taste of your version of atmosphere. Because at the end of the day, atmosphere aside, I really enjoyed this song. Queen is one of those monster bands that I've always been a little too intimidated by to dive into, and never really known where to begin. Obviously, they haven't completely flown under my radar, and I can't imagine I've listened to Bohemian Rhapsody any less than 20 times (which is a lot, considering not one of those times involved me actively seeking it out). Anyways, I'm truly curious now, and I want to know what you consider the most apt starting place.
Dr. DTVT Kevin Moore- Wednesday the Sky
There's no denying the atmosphere teeming in this one! I'm trying to find the perfect adjective to describe this song, and I'm having a little bit of trouble. Maybe transient is most appropriate, as it feels much shorter than its 4:45 runtime. The first 3 minutes are gone in the blink of an eye, and then it's over before I've opened that eye back up. I don't know why that is, maybe you have some answers for me(?) As for the music itself, theres a lot to like. The keyboard melody is really nice and dreamy, the spoken word bits are very effective in establishing the mood, the vocals literally float above the song, and all the other sound effects do a lovely job of filling in the spaces.
Dark Castle Isis- Ghost Key
It hurts to put this song in the bottom half. It's pleasant, interesting, peaceful, and definitely has a great atmosphere. While a bit repetitive at times, I really enjoy the guitar work. When I think about why this one has landed in the bottom half I can only conclude that it's because of the sludge-metal style vocals. That sort of drawn out scream, typical in sludge metal, has always been a bit of a turn-off for me. It feels a little too forced and melodramatic, I think. Now, with that being said, I don't think I've ever felt those vocals to be more appropriate then when listening to this song. Whicih suggests that Isis has got it down, with execution better than any other band I've ever heard. Unfortunately that doesn't suddenly make me very fond of the music. It's good, but not great.
black_floyd Ozric Tentacles- Plowm
This reminds me a bit of the Spiral Architect song you sent me earlier, Insect. Not musically, as they're obviously very different, but in my reaction to it. It goes a bit like this:
Oh hey, this is cool. It's also quite impressive. Wow, these guys display fantastic technical proficiency with their instruments. Hmm… I still don't really feel anything, and that's a damn shame. Why not? In the case of this particular song, there's a lot to like. It's fun and it seems to transcend genre (or at least, any single genre that I can name), incorporating elements of progressive rock, jazz fusion, and spacey electronic shit. Still, something is missing for me. Maybe there's just a little too much happening in this song, and that's made it more difficult for me to digest in such a short amount of time. I honestly don't know. I want to love this song, but I'm hitting a wall.
Shadow Ninja ShamRain- To Leave
I've listened to this one on repeat for a while now, and I'm having trouble coming up with anything to say about it, and that's because I have found it to be quite forgettable. A large part of that is due to the vocalist. I don't think he's bad, per say, just a little boring. The vocal melodies themselves are somewhat dull, I think, and his delivery of those melodies feels deadpan. Deadpan delivery=deadpan response from me, unfortunately. Not a bad song, by any stretch of the imagination, but not much for me to hold on to either.
LieLowTheWantedMan Slint- Breadcrumb Trail
As soon as this one hit the ground I had relatively high hopes for it, based on the split-second first impression I got from the harmonics and spoken word. Then, at around the minute thirty mark, things picked up in the song. Simultaneously, I started enjoying the song a lot less. What is that sound? I guess it's the guitar, but it sounds more like pain. Or like a saw scraping against metal to produce a high-pitched razor squeak. And the vocals don't feel sung as much as spoken loudly. You're right, the guitar does carry a very eerie vibe, I just don't like that vibe. Sorry
STANDINGS heading into the penultimate round:
jingle.boy 31+6=37
lonestar 26+8=34
Elite 24.5+9=33.5
Dr. DTVT 27.5+5=32.5
black_floyd 27+3=30
Dark Castle 23.5+4=27.5
LieLowTheWantedMan 22.5+1=23.5
Shadow Ninja 18+2=20