Results, Part 66th Place: home – The Good Winter1. Agnes Obel – DorianFirst Impressions:Oh, this is pleasant. She has a nice voice, the piano lines are pretty and the tone is pretty good, the muted percussion fits the vibe nicely. I can definitely chill out to this one. I uhh. Don’t have much else to say about it. It doesn’t particularly stand out either? It’s a kind of song I’ve heard before and doesn’t really have any elements that make it stand out, nor does it resonate particularly strongly, it’s just… nice. (DECENT)
Final Thoughts:This one I basically said all I really have to say about it in my first writeup, honestly. It’s a nice song that doesn’t really resonate emotionally, nor does it feel like it’s really trying to do so. Everything about this sounds “nice” but it’s a bit too sparse to really have a compelling atmosphere, and her singing is pleasant but a bit too low-key and “perfect” for lack of a better word to really emote. Lyrically it’s also a bit obtuse as to what the “point” of this is. Genius says that she says it’s about a relationship or something. I dunno. Like I’m vaguely trying to say – this one’s pretty nice to listen to but I really don’t get much else out of it besides that.
6/102. Emma Ruth Rundle – Marked For DeathFirst Impressions:Honestly I probably could’ve let you get away with sending the first song you picked simply because I don’t remember in the slightest what the song specifically sounds like. I remember it’s some singer-songwriter type ordeal but that’s about it. I certainly don’t remember it being as intense as this one gets during the chorus, I dig the heck out of that sludgy, roiling sound. It feels a little weird that her vocals don’t feel like they get particularly intense compared to the softer moments, though. Overall I feel like I like this more than the other song I’ve heard from her? It’s not blowing me away but it’s cool enough stuff. (DECENT)
Final Thoughts:This one, my thoughts haven’t really changed towards either. For as kind of low-key as it is, it’s still got some intensity to it in the chorus and while the vocal tone doesn’t change massively between the verse and chorus there’s still a notable enough different to match the swell, though it’s not a big difference, yeah. The lyrically sentiment of this one is also a fair bit more straightforward and while I don’t personally connect with it I do get it and can empathize with it. It’s again a bit simple but I think it’s fine for it to be, it’s not one of the more strongly resonant songs of the round for me but it does stand out enough to be memorable, and much more so than the previous song I’ve heard from her.
6.75/103. Bon Iver – HoloceneFirst Impressions:Bon Iver is one of those artists I’ve known about for a while but never really listened to. Apparently they have a song called For Emma? It would’ve been super funny if you sent that one. I pretty much don’t have anything to say about this song itself. He sings like he’s constantly using falsetto which I’m not a huge fan of. The song does pick up a bit of momentum and feels like it’s going to build to something but it cuts off before it reaches that? Then it kind of picks it up right at the end. I don’t know, despite my issues with it this one does make me at least, y’know, feel something. I end up putting all three of these in the same tier of my first impressions so I’ll lay out that this would be my second favorite, with Emma Ruth Rundle being the favorite and Agnes Obel being the least favorite, but it’s not a very wide margin. (DECENT)
Final Thoughts:I think I didn’t realize it until like, my fourth listen, but. I actually. Really like this one? The general vibe of this song just… clicked with me. It’s subtly mournful, not pounding you over the head with emotional intensity or really any intensity at all, but between the hypnotic and repetitive guitar lines, the driving drums, the harmonized vocals, the generally bright tone… it’s honestly hard to describe why this one does work for me and make me feel strongly about it. Heck, the lyrics are as obtuse as they could be. Genius is absolutely pretentious as hell about the lyrics to this one and there’s no way in hell I’m reading through all that. But. Anyways. Basically the point is that this song has grown on me with every listen and it makes me feel sadboy feelings and I don’t even know why, but I really do like it all the same.
8.25/10Overall:First Impressions: Mmm, yeah, these are again all songs that are kind of in a similar vein but all have enough to stand out on their own as well.
More than anything, I see this EP as a collection of songs that are all potential growers seeing as all three of them have landed in the same tier for me on first listen. At the same time, in my quieter music, I do tend to still gravitate towards stuff that has at least a little more payoff than anything these three offer, though the middle track at least gets close to this. I don’t know if I can comment on like, the flow or track ordering here yet as I can’t really tell whether the second or third track would make the better closer based on just one listen. Overall though this one is, yeah, pretty nice.
Final Thoughts:I think in part one of the problems you run into here is that you’re competing with another low-key EP that’s based around strong emotional resonance, and the best song here doesn’t really hit me as hard as two of the songs on that EP, so this mentally got placed in my mind as the inferior product compared to that one. Which maybe is a little unfair, but still having said that this was overall one of the bigger growers of the round, to the point where it went from being a likely cut to a likely save by the end of it all. That’s just the thing though, stuff like this will always be fickle for me, and I’m honestly still not sure why that Bon Iver track works as well for me as it does. There’s definitely cohesion and decent flow at play here, too, hard to fault this from any angle as an EP. Just overall pretty solid.
7th Place: Train of Naught – Midnight Zone1. Balance and Composure – AfterpartyFirst Impressions:Ahh wow this is some indie rock isn’t it. I’m like a minute in and thus far this honestly doesn’t really have any personality to it. I figure on repeat listens I might maybe like this one more? The bassline is kinda nice, though it again isn’t anything too unique. Not much to say here honestly. (AVERAGE)
Final Thoughts:Yeah you’re really going to have to help me understand what’s notable or compelling about this one. I don’t think it’s the instrumentation – it’s serviceable enough but not really driven by any compelling melodies. I don’t think it’s the vocals – they sound half-asleep and especially compared to a lot of other examples in this round, hell, compared to the other songs on this EP, they just don’t stir up any emotion whatsoever. It’s so dry-sounding. I called another song here the definition of average in a writeup before I did this one but, you know what? This is it. The most average song of the round. One of the most average songs I’ve heard in a good long time, even.
5/102. Bring Me the Horizon – MANTRAFirst Impressions:Oh one of these bands I’ve heard about plenty (mostly negatively) but never actually listened to. Immediately I will say this is more musically interesting than the last track, for sure. Dig that main riff. Don’t feel like he’s a great singer though, and I don’t dig the computer voice they used for the title drop. I don’t really feel like much else happened in this song after the first minute or so but it’s fine enough, sure. (DECENT)
Final Thoughts:I’m too goddamn old for this, I feel like. The lyrics are obviously an attack on religion, but at the same time the chorus feels… immature. The phrases they use are practically useless clichés, mantras in of themselves. I actually like a fair bit of the rest of this though. The verses have pretty interesting delivery, and the very subtle electronic vibes of the bridge actually fit in pretty well, plus the vocals sound more alive there than anywhere else in the song. And the main riff is solid, though I don’t know if the guitar work anywhere else does much for me. It’s a bit basic overall and not really the kind of post-hardcore I’m that into but it’s got enough elements that work for me to not fully dismiss it, either.
6.25/103. Silversun Pickups - Panic SwitchFirst Impressions:So this is the one band of these three I’ve actually listened to before, though mostly because they’ve had a few songs in guitar hero. I think this song actually was in guitar hero, but as DLC so I never got it. I’ve always liked their drumming and this song is no real exception, though the bassline here is also pretty great. The vocals have never super been my thing though, I don’t feel like there’s a ton of power behind the singer’s voice. The fuzzy guitars make for decently dense soundscapes, though. I dunno with how long this song is, the bassline kind of has already worn on me a little bit, it’s… kind of repetitive isn’t it. Okay, the climax at the end of this one is pretty cool though. I actually feel something, gosh. Yeah, this is solid enough I suppose. (DECENT)
Final Thoughts:They really should’ve changed up that bassline a bit more, I liked it at first but at this point I’m honestly a bit tired of it. Especially in the verses where it’s basically the only thing going on in the instrumentation. Aside from that this has grown on me a decent bit, though. The chorus isn’t super emotionally-charged but the melodies are really dang catchy and the wall of guitar fuzz certainly drives some degree of power too. I already commented on the drumming and while yeah it’s kind of repetitive this is honestly exactly the kind of drumming I’d love to play if I had my kit with me here, it sounds pretty fun. And yeah the climax of this one is genuinely pretty intense, though I feel like it takes a little too long for the song to get there. Overall though it’s by a good margin my favorite on this EP and I’m wondering if I should check out these guys further after like, literally a decade of knowing about them, haha.
7.25/10Overall:First Impressions:So I would pretty much agree that these songs fit together pretty well stylistically. It feels a bit less like a cohesive work and more like just a playlist, I suppose, but the flow’s fine enough. Panic Switch makes for a solid closer given its ending.
I think my big issue here is that, while all these sound fine enough, this is a type of sound that’s only really going to work with me if the songs resonate emotionally and I don’t get the feeling any of these will for me. Nothing here I really disliked and it’s a short enough set of tunes that I don’t really have time to get bored either but this is unfortunately a style of music I’m way too familiar with and rarely impressed by.
Final Thoughts:Mmmyeah this one grew on me a little after relistens, I guess. Or at least two of the songs did. I really don’t get the Balance and Composure song at all, though. I will say that lately post-hardcore has been a big mood for me but specifically the stuff that’s 1. still reasonably melodic 2. very emotionally intense 3. actually decently heavy and I feel like while only one song here actually qualifies as post-hardcore it’s pretty easy to see why I like each of these more and more. All three of them meet 1) pretty easily. Bring Me the Horizon kind of meets 3). Panic Switch toys with 3) and has enough of 2) to work for me as well. None of these really blow me away but I do find them all easy to listen to and as an EP this does work pretty well too. I think an entire 40 minutes of music operating at this level might not work as well for me, though, but a 15-ish minute set? Yeah, sure. It’s an alright attempt.
Round 0 Final Standings:1. senecadawg2
2. TAC
3. Puppies_On_Acid
4. Ghost Malone
5. Lethean
6. home
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7. Train of Naught
8. romdrums
9. Kattelox
10. Indiscipline
11. Elite
12. Dacul
Song Rankings:1.
Phoebe Bridgers – Funeral2.
No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom3.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – If We Were Vampires4.
Existem – The Reclaimer5.
Kingcrow – Phlegethon6.
Bon Iver – Holocene 7.
Arms & Sleepers – Twentynine Palms8.
Arcane – Selfsame9.
Pendulum ft. Steven Wilson - The Fountain10.
Breaking Orbit – Conscious Self 11.
Silversun Pickups - Panic Switch12.
Cereus – Icarus13.
DGM – Portrait14.
Dark the Suns – All Ends in Silence15.
Emma Ruth Rundle – Marked For Death 16.
Voyager – Seasons of Age 17.
Atoma – Skylight 18.
Vanaheim – Daughter Of The Dawn19.
John Lennon – How Do You Sleep? 20.
Led Zeppelin – Achilles Last Stand21.
Bring Me the Horizon – MANTRA22.
Alithia – On a Mountain23.
Threshold – Light and Space24.
Agnes Obel – Dorian25.
Eddie Vedder – Society26.
Marlene Kuntz – Nuotando nell'Aria 27.
Tycho - Dye28.
Katatonia – A Premonition 29.
Balance and Composure – Afterparty30.
Archspire – Involuntary Doppelgänger31.
IceFish – It Begins32.
Slushii - Sapient Dream33.
Starsailor – Way to Fall 34.
Inferum – Beyond Reach35.
Linda Perhacs – Winds of the Sky36.
Owen Pallett – The Great Elsewhere
Poll
Topic: Parama's EP-onymous Roulette v4 (Final Round Results) (Read 41793 times)