Round 4 Results
Kattoelox
(USA) Tycho - DyeKTLX you are definitely back in this roulette. You hit it out of the park with this song. This is absolutely gorgeous music. It hits all my Downtempo/Chillwave buttons just right, with a cool relaxed groove, nice synth melodies, and great atmosphere/ambiance. I like how the song kind of ebbs and flows, not unlike a lot of Post-Rock. I would normally say that this type of music is good for relaxing and zoning out to, but the lead synths make this a song that demands your focus, but in a good way. One thing I have been doing with all the songs I have been sent is check out their ratings on RYM (this in no way has an effect on my rating of any of the songs in this roulette) and I was surprised how low the rating for this album is. I was expecting at least an average of 4 stars. Anyway excellent excellent song.
10/10
Tomislav
(USA) Giles Corey - No One Is Ever Going to Want MeOne of the longer songs this round, but it flows so well, it doesn't feel long. You mentioned in the PM you sent with the song that this can be considered kind of depressing/downer/sad music
. But Steven Wilson would always say that the saddest music is often times some of the most beautiful music. I tend to agree with Mr. Wilson. This starts off very minimalist with some haunting vocals, then builds with synths and turns a bit more upbeat towards the end, which I like. The drummer is also doing some really cool things. In places this reminds me a bit of the band Low. It may be sad, but it is beautiful at the same time. Good choice.
9/10
Train
(UK) White Moth Black Butterfly - An Ocean AwayI wasn't expecting this from Daniel Tompkins. He is one of my favorite modern vocalists and this song just reaffirms my thoughts on that. He can sing whatever he damn well pleases and make is sound good. The female vocals are also fantastic (although I'm not sure who this is, would love to know if she has anything else I can look up). I like the Downtempo-ness (is that a word) to this and the strings are beautiful. I also really like the lyrics. Once again you send something that I thoroughly enjoy.
9/10
Soupy
(USA) Beach House - MythYou have a good ear for great melodies, and once again you send me a song that I just cant get out of my head, in a good way. I've really been on a Dream Pop kick lately and trying to find the best that the genre offers. This is another band I will have to add to my list. This also has a little bit of a post-rockish flare to it with the guitars in the second half. The only little tiny issue I have is the ending could have been a bit smoother or executed better or something. Still, it's another great song from you.
8.5/10
Jingle
(Canada) Spirit of the West - Home for a RestThis was fun. You have managed to send me songs in 3 of the 4 rounds so far (all but that Roswell Six song, it was terrible, no offence) that have put a smile on my face just listening to it, which is always a good thing. I saw you thought my comments about the lyrics being dumb might have been about your song, rest assured they are not. I can relate to these lyrics in a way, I kind of lived this life about 10 years ago or so, or at least that is what I am getting from the lyrics. It seems like a drinking song on the surface, but it has a sadness to it. So while it is fun to listen to the Celtic/Folk uptempo beat, the lyrics have a bittersweet nostalgia to them. I like that dichotomy.
8/10
Parama
(USA) Julia Holter - Feel YouThis took me a while to really get. On first listen some of the vocal melodies seemed awkward. They still do in a way (mainly in the verses), but it's the instrumentation and the cadence of the lyrics that are more awkward to me. The whole song seems bent on being quirky and almost disjointed. The more I listened, though, the more it made sense. I like the obscure nature of the lyrics. The beginning with just the harpsichord is cool. But it's the strings in the background that tie the whole thing together and her vocals in the chorus are mesmerizing. She makes it almost sound like a song from 40 or 50 years ago (something in her tone). A very good song, that may grow on me more and more as time goes on.
8/10
Evermind
(Iceland) Árstíðir - Síðasta KveðjanThe vocals kind of hang me up a bit (it's mostly the language barrier), but the instrumentation is beautiful. The violin is amazing and fits well with the piano. When the guitar comes in it adds another depth to the song that I like and I think I heard a bit of flute or other wind instrument in there...maybe? Back to the vocals, the lyrics are really the big hang up here. The vocal melodies and harmonies are nice for the most part (there's a couple spots that don't work for me in this regard). Cant comment on the lyrics, didn't bother to translate them... This song does also suffer a tiny bit from the length, it could have been a bit shorter. If it was a bit shorter and was instrumental it probably would have scored higher.
7.5/10
Luke
(UK) Capdown - Pound for the SoundThis song kind of borders on what could be considered rock or not, but I'll let that pass, since most of the song is on the non rock side (sort of). It's definitely groovy and funky. Don't much care for the vocals, but the instrumentation goes through several transformations that all sound good. I like the little dub section (wish they had circled back to this later in the song) and the ska is definitely evident throughout. The ending doesn't really fit the rest of the song in my opinion though. Overall it's a decent song.
7.5/10
Home
(USA) Elliott Smith - Between the BarsFrom what I've heard about Elliott Smith, this isn't what I imagined he would sound like. I like the melancholic-like vocals for the most part. A very simple song with just acoustic guitar, but overall it works. I wish it was a bit longer with some more dynamics, but I guess we cant have everything. The lyrics hit me in a way that make me feel things... Not much else to say about this, other than based on this song I think Elliott Smith deserves to be looked in to more.
7/10
Sacul
(USA) clipping. - Story 2Upon first listen I thought this is exactly what I don't like in Hip Hop, at least with the first half of the song. It just seemed so boring and cliche. Then second half kicked in and the whole song shifted to this much more epic thing (not sure how to describe it). Upon further listens this seems to be because of the instrumentation elevating the song with cool synths and making it stand out more as the song and vocals speed up. It reminds me of Tron for some reason. Tron Hip Hop? Tron Hop? Anyway, the first half is still fairly boring to me. Good thing the song is short.
7/10
TAC
(Germany) Michael Kiske - ShadowfightsThe first couple times I listened to this I thought "I'm not sure what I just heard." Took me a while to wrap my brain around this one. Not sure why. So there was some discussion on Michael Kiske in KTLX's roulette thread a few days ago, about how he sounds like John Arch. I do hear the comparisons in his upper range (but he doesn't seem capable of going as high as Arch) and in his tone occasionally. His lower register doesn't really sound like Arch at all. Anyway back to the song, as a whole this doesn't work too well for me. There's some cool parts, like the flute section, but the rest sounds kind of cheesy. The symphonic build ups don't work all that well. It's not as bad as I'm making it sound, but it's definitely the least enjoyable song you have sent so far.
6.5/10
Elite
(Netherlands) Traudes - Back DownHere we come to the bottom of the barrel for round 4
. I thought this was going to be way better based on the first 20 seconds. Then the vocals come in....I just don't like them. Then those lyrics...
oh goodness...I cant relate to lyrics like this at all. They feel juvenile and just kind of...well....dumb. Sorry Elite, no offence. This just isn't my thing. The beat is kind of cool, but it never changed throughout the whole song. Some songs can get away with that, but not his one.
5/10
Current Standings!
Train of Naught - 9.5, 7.5, 9, 9 (35)
Tomislav - 7, 9.5, 8.5, 9 (34)
Soupytwist - 8, 10, 7, 8.5 (33.5)
TAC - 8, 8, 8.5, 6.5 (31)
Parama - 6, 9, 7.5, 8 (30.5)
Evermind - 7.5, 7, 8, 7.5 (30)
Kattoelox - 5.5, 6.5, 8, 10 (30)
Jingle.boy - 9, 4, 8, 8 (29)
Sacul - 7, 8, 7, 7 (29)
Home - 7.5, 7, 7, 7 (28.5)
TwoSuitsLuke - 6, 9, 5.5, 7.5 (28)
Elite - 6, 7, 6, 5 (24)
Poll
Topic: Puppies_On_Acid's Gentlemen's Roulette! Epilogue (Read 81387 times)