The Bolsters™ v3 Mini Roulette ★ [2017 Edition] ★ THE CONCLUSION

[Bolsters]

J Boy sent The Thirteenth Sun?

He did not.

[jingle.boy]

Nope. I'm the one that's stumped everyone.

Give me a P.... or not. 

[Bolsters]

home: Nothing More - The Stories We Tell Ourselves
jingle: D____t___s D__ - _ __r_d ______s
: St. Vincent - Masseduction
: The Thirteenth Sun - Stardust
Train: Arcane Roots - Melancholia Hymns
: Nine Inch Nails - Add Violence
TAC: Lor - In Forgotten Sleep
Parama: Algiers - The Underside of Power
Elite: Semistereo - Trans Earth Injection


Guessed letters: D P R S T U V

Waits 3: jingle
Waits 2: Sacul
Waits 1: Parama

[Sacul]

soupy sent St. Vincent?

[Bolsters]

Yes.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I'm actually feeling pretty confident this round. We'll see how that goes   

I'll take a B

[jingle.boy]

I'm actually feeling pretty confident this round. We'll see how that goes   

I'll take a B

Swing and a miss

[Bolsters]

Yep, no B's left.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

And there goes that confidence. 

[Sacul]

Puppies sent The Thirteenth Sun.

[Crow]

sacul sent NIN

[Bolsters]

home: Nothing More - The Stories We Tell Ourselves
jingle: D____t___s D__ - _ __r_d ______s
Soupy: St. Vincent - Masseduction
Puppies: The Thirteenth Sun - Stardust
Train: Arcane Roots - Melancholia Hymns
Sacul: Nine Inch Nails - Add Violence
TAC: Lor - In Forgotten Sleep
Parama: Algiers - The Underside of Power
Elite: Semistereo - Trans Earth Injection


Guessed letters: B D P R S T U V

Waits 3: Puppies
Waits 2: jingle
Waits 1: Sacul


Any ideas which songs might have been sent?

[Elite]

The Universe is Burning ?
or maybe Universus
(The Thirteenth Sun)

I haven’t heard the other albums, so I have no idea

[Crow]

train sent Matter in my roulette so i'm guessing that one

[TAC]

home sent me This Is The Time. Great tune that realty grew on me.


EDIT: This Is The Time is 2014..

[jingle.boy]

home sent me This Is The Time. Great tune that realty grew on me.


EDIT: This Is The Time is 2014..

Sounds like an automatic pink star to me!

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

 

[TAC]

Guessing a T, an A, and a C! 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Finally figured out the last one.

Damnations Day - A World Awakens

[Crow]

dalmations day

[TAC]

dalmations day

I heard that album is a bit spotty.

[Bolsters]

home: Nothing More - The Stories We Tell Ourselves
jingle: Damnations Day - A World Awakens
Soupy: St. Vincent - Masseduction
Puppies: The Thirteenth Sun - Stardust
Train: Arcane Roots - Melancholia Hymns
Sacul: Nine Inch Nails - Add Violence
TAC: Lor - In Forgotten Sleep
Parama: Algiers - The Underside of Power
Elite: Semistereo - Trans Earth Injection


Done.

[TAC]

How about the tracks?

[jingle.boy]

How 'bout the scores.

[Crow]

fogeys get pink stars everyone else gets diamond stars next round

[Bolsters]

How 'bout the scores.

In a couple more days.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Any early thoughts?

[Bolsters]

Any early thoughts?

This is a more consistent and overall higher quality round compared to the last, but there's a couple of songs that aren't really doing it for me yet and it's probably too late in the round for that to change. The high points of Round 1 also remain uncontested.

[Crow]

honestly this is the song i felt would most likely be a hit with you so i'm totally prepared to be totally wrong and pink star it up 

[Bolsters]

[Bolsters]

jingle.boy: Damnations Day - To Begin Again (A World Awakens)

• Well it took you until the third (of five ) round but finally you've sent me something that actually leaves and impact on me and that is memorable. Not the greatest song ever or anything, but solid, and enough to top out this particular round of songs.
  
  I particularly like the vocalist, which is always a plus with Australian bands because I think we tend to have a lot of shit singers in this country for some reason. Not to say that we haven't produced our fair share of great ones that is, but I couldn't tell you how many Aussie bands I've sampled and the one major thing that puts me off of listening to that band is the vocalist - especially when it comes to metal. The transition from "and I feel Alive" into "Tell me all your thoughts" is really cool, both vocally and the way the song transitions from an almost dreamy phase into raw heaviness. I like the overdriven guitar sound too, it almost sounds like it's on the verge of feedback at times which creates an interesting timbre that also cuts through the mix very well. Nice little chill section before the solo mixes things up and introduces dynamics and the post-solo part before the final chorus is cool aswell. Not a ground-breaking track but there's definitely a lot to enjoy about it.
  
  Listening to this one last time while writing up, yeah I definitely dig this singer, I almost can't believe that he's Australian.

Elite: Semistereo - The Search (Trans Earth Injection)

• Pretty good song, gold star, see you next time.
  
  The good: I like the guitars, it's a nice fuzzy tone for the rhythm and these chords that aren't allowed to ring out really cut through, and the cleans are interesting; it's like the tone is simultaneously bright and dull? Fucked if I know how that works but I do like how it sounds. The bass has a lot of presence overall but especially in the ligher moments (I loves me some bass). Overall this song has great atmosphere in the lighter parts but rocks when it's needed, especially in that latter half. Cool falsetto during the outro.
  
  The vocalist, I'm a bit on the fence about - sounds pretty good in some places but I think he's pushing his limits in others, and overall I wouldn't say his voice is the most appealing I've ever heard. Still, he's not bad per-se. The song could maybe have done with being a bit shorter, but it's not a big deal. I still quite liked this, on par with what you sent last round or maybe even a bit better.

Puppies_On_Acid: The Thirteenth Sun - Pathways (Stardust)

• Nice chill vibe and not really what I expected given your previous submissions (but that's not a bad thing, if anything I appreciate the variety). I like the active drumming and cymbal work in particular, pretty good sound to this song overall. I think the weakest thing here is when the song gets heavier; the drumming is more bland, the distorted guitar doesn't sound that good in comparison to everything else in this song. But that's just one small section in an otherwise very solid track and it does build into what is a strong outro, so I can't complain too much.
  
  Overall, probably the weakest of the three songs you've sent me but still a solid track. You're definitely maybe almost the guy to beat going into the final two rounds.

Train of Naught: Arcane Roots - Matter (Melancholia Hymns)

• Some nice variety here which I like. Falsetto vox during verses is an interesting choice but I dig it, especially during this very electronic-driven verse. Infact all of the electronic elements here are pretty good, and I do like fusions of rock/metal with electronica so this seems like a very wise choice for a Bolsters roulette. The song rocks out when necessary and gets a bit heavier and more technical for what is the outro (even though that's only three quarters into the track ).
  
  I said I had forgiven strange outros on songs from concept albums in the past, but I still wanted to mention it. I haven't done so yet but it really makes me want to hear the next track on this album because I like the direction it's going. It is rather annoying when bands choose to do this though...I mean, this part clearly does not belong to this song you've sent me, so why isn't it part of the next track or a track unto itself? I don't understand the choice to have the lead-up and essentially the intro to Song B tacked onto the end of Song A. I guess it doesn't matter when you listen to the album as a whole, but it's still mildly irritating.

home: Nothing More - Fade In / Fade Out (The Stories We Tell Ourselves)

• This is a pretty solid alternative ballad, but as much as I like it I can't really rank it higher than this. Still, it's your best song so far.
  
  I like a good ballad that still has some power and heaviness to it, and this track does that well. The bass sound is good, plenty of heft in the low end and there's some little licks going into the higher registers that I like. There's a cool slightly more aggressive bit near the halfway mark before everything strips away that I like. The vocalist has a nice voice singing clean and brings some harshness when necessary (it's him in the backing vocals I believe?). I like the delivery and style of "One day you'll remember..." in particular.
  
  On the downside, the mix is a bit muddy and unclear in places. I don't really like the direction the song goes for the outro, it doesn't really fit with the rest of the song in my opinion, I don't like it as much as everything before, and at 6 minutes it probably would have been better off ending sooner instead of taking that little excursion. Still, not huge gripes I guess and I still enjoyed this song, just not enough to rank it over any of the above songs I'm afraid.

TAC: Lör - Eidolon (In Forgotten Sleep)

• Well first of all, there was a song Chad sent me in my first roulette where I called the synths "cheesy as absolute fuck" and damn, the casio-keyboard sounding string synth sounds in song are just as cheesy as I remember those in Chad's song sounding. It really put me off when they were very promiment, like that intro; the broken major chord followed by the predictable broken minor played from the top down is probably the prime example. Fortunately they sit in the background for most of the song.
  
  There's some decent riffs and other sections but the song kind of jumps a bit too much between things maybe, and transitions are either poor or non-existent. It's also, despite that, fairly predictable. I can't say I like the vocalist very much, not horrible but I can't hear anything that makes him stand out either.
  
  I think there's a fair bit to like about this song, it's definitely a style that I'm into...but synth sounds, a somewhat poor mix, an average vocal performance (at best) and maybe a smidge of ADHD all kind of dragged this song down a bit, and so I ended up with a rather middling opinion of it overall.

Parama: Algiers - The Cycle / The Spiral: Time To Go Down Slowly (The Underside of Power)

• Of course the song that you thought was going to be a hit ends up being your lowest scoring yet. I am a bit mixed on this one actually, because there's definitely some stuff I like. The problem is I just don't like those things enough, and there's things that don't do much for me aswell.
  
  So to start off with the good: I like this loud, playful piano that appears here and there, though it's a shame that the piano sinks into the background so much. The upbeat, walking bass line in the chorus (and a few other parts) is pretty cool too, and it sounds great.
  
  Onto what I don't like? I never could get into this vocal style after all the times I listened to this song. The guitar work is pretty bland and I think the guitar kind of takes over a bit too much, especially the latter half of the song. There's quite a bit of dissonance in this song too, and I think the majority of it doesn't work and sticks out in a bad way. The song also gets really cacophonous in places too, there's just too much unrelated stuff going on, and I think the aforementioned instances of dissonance contrinute to that quite a bit.
  
  I might check out this album, but I haven't really decided yet.

soupytwist: St. Vincent - Los Ageless (Masseduction)

• I couldn't really get into this song much at all, as is evident from where it ranks. On one hand I don't mind the vocalist here, but instrumentally this song didn't really work for me. It reminds me of Taylor Swift's 2017 album Reputation in a lot of unflattering ways; songs driven by pretty boring and obvious drum machines and sparse instrumentation, just like this. Decent melody now and then, but not enough - I don't mind the chorus in this song and the almost wall-of-sound reverb in the background and the vocalist is singing more interestingly. But yeah, overall this song just wasn't doing it for me all that much I'm afraid.

Sacul: Nine Inch Nails - Less Than (Add Violence)

• I have to admit I kind of almost feel a bit bad about this ranking. Not because I think the song deserves better (it really doesn't) but because I think that perhaps I should have warned you about my feelings regarding Trent Reznor when you sent this; I am...well, definitely not a fan.
  
  I've heard the odd Nine Inch Nails song over the years, never liked anything about it, and it's because I think that Trent Reznor is the laziest music producer I've ever heard. I don't have anything against drum machines or sequenced drumming, but when it's plainly obvious that the producer hasn't done even the bare minimum to make their beats interesting, it annoys me. Reznor doesn't alter velocities to make beats or introduce any other humanisation, and his beats (at least the ones I've heard) lack any kind of groove or flair; they're just extremely stock, plain beats. The songs I've heard in the past all had the same drum sounds, mixed the same way (if I had to guess, I'd say that's because he simply does not mix anything at all) and just flat out boring. Then the overall mixes of these songs just sound like someone recorded everything but didn't actually do anything to mix and improve the sound of what was there. His music sounds like he just makes a simple beat, records a bunch of boring guitar parts, does some pretty plain and flat vocals and then calls that complete. Hurt is about the only decent NIN song I've heard, and even then it's Johnny Cash who elevates that song to greatness and not Reznor himself.
  
  So, this song. I was kind of curious about this one because while I don't remember what songs I've heard in the past, I'd be surprised if any of it was post-2005 or thereabouts. So I haven't heard anything from him in quite a few years. Would this be the same? Well I will admit that it's better than I was expecting, but it still sounds...incredibly lazy.
  
  First, I just plain do not like the mix in this song, it sounds so muffled. Infact the first time I was listening to it, I thought this was an intro technique that I've heard many times before where the song has a lowpass filter applied, cutting out most if not all of the high end. It's something that I hear a bit it electronic but it's also utilised in some rock and metal as well, I don't think I need to provide an example, anyone reading this is probably familiar with what I'm talking about though.
  
  Unfortunately, that wasn't the case here - I was waiting for that moment that fuzz on the distortion of the guitar would appear and cut through, where the cymbals on the drum machine would gain presence and sheen, and for the full spectrum of human hearing range to be present and utilised - I was waiting for the song to come to life, basically...but that never happens here; the entire song is just a muffled mess that makes it sound like I left a jumper hanging over my speakers. I won't deny that sometimes cutting out the high end in a song can create a certain atmosphere that is appealing, but this is a somewhat upbeat track, so it doesn't make sense here. And so I ask myself "Why does the song sound like this?" Well, I think it's because Reznor was too lazy to put in the effort to make it sound any better. Listening to each of the elements of the song, it does not sound like he equalised anything, and so frequencies shared between all of these elements build up and boost each other, mostly in the lower-midrange and make it sound like there's a distinct lack of high end. Basically, he threw all these sounds together with no regard for how they were going to sound together in a mix, and did nothing to improve that once it was put together. He just threw together a drum machine beat, recorded some muddy and unclear guitar chords, threw on a synth or two with some bass and sang over the top of it, the same thing he's been doing for 20+ years now. I'm convinced that the only reason the drum sounds are moderately better than those older Nine Inch Nails songs I've heard is because the quality of drum machine samples and such straight out of the box is much improved from what they sounded like in the 90's, and not because Trent Reznor is doing anything differently at all or has actually honed his craft and improved at all over those 20 years. What little improvement exists is here by accident.
  
  On the songwriting front there wasn't anything offensive here, but nothing really stands out either, pretty uneventful stuff. Didn't like this song all that much, and it's doubtful that I will check out this or any other Nine Inch Nails albums in the forseeable future.

This brings us past the half-way mark, with only two rounds remaining, and literally every single one of you is still in the running.

[Elite]

Cool, glad you liked that! Fair assessment of the song as well

Now the big question is (even though you say everybody's still in the running) of course: what's worth more? two silvers or a gold and a bronze..

[Bolsters]

Now the big question is (even though you say everybody's still in the running) of course: what's worth more? two silvers or a gold and a bronze..

Well they could also be worth the same, just sayin'.

[Train of Naught]

Dude, I totally feel you on that transition on the end. To make it worse, this was the first real single leading up to the release of the album, so the first taste ended on a 1 minute transition into a song we couldn't hear for months.

Technically, Curtains was the lead single as it got released a year earlier, but it wasn't sure it was gonna be on the album yet. I think you'll like the album though, lots of those electronic passages

Sending now.

[soupytwist]

soupytwist: St. Vincent - Los Ageless (Masseduction)

• I couldn't really get into this song much at all, as is evident from where it ranks. On one hand I don't mind the vocalist here, but instrumentally this song didn't really work for me. It reminds me of Taylor Swift's 2017 album Reputation in a lot of unflattering ways; songs driven by pretty boring and obvious drum machines and sparse instrumentation, just like this. Decent melody now and then, but not enough - I don't mind the chorus in this song and the almost wall-of-sound reverb in the background and the vocalist is singing more interestingly. But yeah, overall this song just wasn't doing it for me all that much I'm afraid.

I agree with you on this.  I knew I should have changed it!  As I said when I send you this with my round 2 selection, I got called away and had to make the choices quickly.  My Wife likes this song so I just went with it - listened to it back when I got home and yeah your write up sums it up pretty much.       Lesson learned do not trust the missus!