Bolsters: HAIM – ForeverFirst Impressions:Were you the one who sent me HAIM last roulette? I think so. That was a pretty alright song. Right off the bat this is very much a different kind of song. Really 80’s funk sounding, actually. Which… can work for me but it’s not a style I’m that keen on in general.
It’s got a fun sound to it for sure though & the singer sounds more than enough into the groove of the song. I am kind of out of other things to say about it though. The bridge is… ehh. It’s alright but not as fun as the rest of the song so I don’t think it works so well.
Final Thoughts:This is the most upbeat breakup song I’ve ever heard, I think. That dissonance between the lyrics and the vibe of the song actually works really well in its favor honestly, because it puts up this front of being really bright and poppy but the moment you start paying attention to the lyrics you see how kind of depressing and desperate they are.
But really the appeal here is that this groove is addictive as hell. Once again as with CHVRCHES this song firmly lodged itself in my head after only two or three listens and it’s easily been one of the songs this round I most looked forward to returning to.
Also I gotta say the singer does a really good job of matching the vibe the song is going for. They sound like they could fit right into the genre back at its peak. Sounds a lot different from Let Me Go.
Also the bridge is totally fine actually. It’s the one part of the song where the upbeat façade fades and is basically the emotional climax of the song, even as subdued as it is. And it works to have that small moment in what is an otherwise bright and cheery sounding tune. I guess just not really parsing the lyrics on my first listen made me feel that bit was out of place but nah it’s actually pretty smart.
So all in all? I don’t think I dig this quite as much as The Mother We Share but it’s still a damn fun song and one I’m certainly going to have stuck on my mind for a while longer.
8.25/10twosuitsluke: Crippled Black Phoenix – Scared and AloneFirst Impressions:Well, a band from Season of Mist is usually a good sign so let’s see how this goes. This intro is… ominous and I really like it. Dang. Roaring but distant guitar and strange but fitting vocals. And there’s piano and some horns creeping in?
Man, with the way this starts I bet I’m almost going to be let down by the rest when it really kicks in, because thus far this is excellent. Okay admittedly I guess I was expecting something metal from that and it doesn’t look like it’s actually going there but it still does a good job of holding up its atmosphere and gradually building as it progresses. I guess the one thing this sound feels like it fails to deliver on is a really satisfying climax – I mean, it certainly tries but even at its most full I don’t think it quite gets there.
Final Thoughts:Seriously though can someone mix this sound with metal? That’d be so good it’d be unreal. Because I mean by itself this sound is, very good. Let me just get that out of the way first and foremost.
The horns are such a nice touch here. They provide exactly the kind of melancholy this kind of sound needs while also being something different from the standard rock instrumentation. The raw atmosphere of the first third of this song before the drums kick in is the kind of thing I live for. It’s a great, smoky sound. Not a sound I often hear but one I tend to enjoy when I do.
And I mean when the drums kick in, they’re certainly effective at giving the song some swell, but I do think it trades off some of the atmosphere in return, though there was really no avoiding it if they wanted the song to go anywhere so I can’t complain. Oh and when the organ kicks in about five minutes in it brings back the atmosphere anyways, so yeah. Good.
God, this song just takes bits and pieces from so many influences and melds them together really damn well. I can’t say I’ve ever heard a song quite like it as a result. And not only can I say that but I can genuinely say I enjoy it. It’s really good.
Also I’m inclined to always like lyrics like “but I guess if it hurts I know I’m alive” despite how kind of edgy it can come off as. Especially the way it’s sold here with the very broken-sounding tone of the singer and the atmospheric swell backing it. Did I mention the singer before? She has a very desperate tone throughout the song and it’s one I think works very well for the tone the song is going for.
I guess one thing I would’ve changed is made the last climax go on for a bit more, but that’s mostly just because I want more. But yeah. This is a great track front-to-back, easily one of the best of the roulette so far.
Still waiting for a metal take on this style though.
9/10Current Standings:twosuitsluke – 31.75
Bolsters – 31.25
Tomislav95 – 30.75
Nekov – 30.25
Luoto – 30.25
Evermind – 29.5
home – 29
Train of Naught – 28.75
LordCost – 28
Stadler –26.5
Luke is pretty well on fire now, apparently
But realistically this is still anyone's game, 7 more rounds to go before the EP round and the scores aren't really particularly spread just yet, so.