ROUND 2 RESULTSCyril: Julien Baker - Hurt LessAnd you managed to send the song of the round even though I was partial about it at first. It’s short for sure but there’s a lot going on and there is a lot of stuff I fell in love with later. BTW how is this happy song? I’m afraid about other songs on album then tbh. One of the things I didn’t realize at first are lyrics. When I listened more closely it really hit me, such a beautiful message. As with Funeral in round 1, this one resonates with me as well, it’s about realization we’re not the only ones in our world, that our actions matters and we should think and care about each other. Really powerful stuff. One subtle thing I fell in love with is her pronunciation, she says some words in really special way that made me appreciate her even more. In the end, instrumentation falls in second place but it is also really nice in the second part of the song and male voice fits her really well and adds another dimension to the song making it more powerful.
This year I've started wearing safety belts
When I'm driving
Because when I'm with you
I don't have to think about myself
And it hurts less11 pointsEvermind: Karmakanic - EternallyDid you ever get lower score because song was too much? It may have been case here, I’m not sure. Loved it from the first listen, it’s beautiful. Period. But part 1 is just too much. On every listen I couldn’t wait for it to be over, it’s really just piano, nice piano, but ruining the mood in moments. The second part doesn’t actually have anything bad to it. I liked it from the start, even expected it to grow on me even more but it didn’t. It’s up there but not above it. It is really special though, I never heard accordions in prog rock before. It sounds like rock version of Leonard Cohen (older stuff at least). Accordions are popular where I’m from so it sounds like something Bosnians would like (I played it for my mother and she agreed). Guitar solo and closing part are the best part of the song and probably the best few minutes I got in this roulette. Can’t wait to check this album out, it was on my wishlist even before and moved to the top now.
10.5 pointshome: Frightened Rabbit - Keep Yourself WarmAh, the band I received in my second roulette. Actually, it won the round it was sent. I checked one of their albums and didn’t like any other song than the one I was sent so I decided to keep them off banned list. If I had to decide if I liked Death Dream or Keep Yourself Warm I couldn’t because these two are so different. The tone of this one is much more bright even though it’s actually melancholic song (duh!), probably due to all those instruments which make it on moments sounds even muddy and too full (something that’s usual in indie music). I like how it’s really bold in its statement: “
It takes more than fucking someone, You don't know to keep warm”, and I agree with it. Finally, it’s really fine song but miss something else to really rise above other songs in this round.
9.5 pointsFlyingBIZKIT: Thomas Giles - Milan (feat. Kristoffer Rygg)Call me shallow but I started to like the song better automatically as I recognized Kristoffer is Ulver’s singer
really, it took me some time to realize that. They opened my eyes toward synthpop with their latest releases and I started to like their electronic albums as well. On the other hand, BTBAM was always somewhere there but I never really loved their music. And I never loved Thomas’ growls. On the other hand, his clean voice is really nice and it is even better here than I remember it from BTBAM. My thoughts on the actual song: it’s emotional, short, melodic piece with great vocals. What else is there to say? It is nothing really special but I’d like a full album of these two guys with this kind of music.
9 pointssenecadawg2: Copeland - On Your Worst DayReally, the first thing I noticed is effect on the vocals. I heard that before in Bon Iver’s music but I think it works better here, I find it fits well with strings. My favourite part of the song is that before chorus and the chorus (“I just want to make you smile…”), especially when that beat drops. Sadly, I don’t feel the lyrics or the song as a whole as much as you do even though I like it a lot. The ending reminds me of The Antlers, the band I actually found out through you (then you sent Palace in Ruslan’s roulette). I listened to it many times (as I did any other song) but I still keep finding things I like about it so maybe I’ll eventually like it even more. For now, it gets the score it gets, I hope you’re ok with that.
8 pointsKwyjibo: Tower of Power - Soul with a capital SThe only tastebreaker of the round came in cool style. I ever really listened to much soul or funk and on repeated listen I started to like it, it grow on me. However, the same things I didn’t like about it at first stayed until the end. It’s really not the smartest thing to sing about, it’s about why he likes soul and why it’s best genres of them all. Second thing I don’t like is that everything that’s to hear happens in the first part of the song, the rest is all same so even 5 minutes seems to long for this song. Other that that, I hear some really interesting playing there, it seems like it’s challenging for both playing and singing. Don’t need to even say it, it’s catchy and fun. All in all, fine song but I don’t think I’m hooked to the genre.
5 + 2.5 = 7.5 pointsSacul: Talk Talk - Living in Another WorldI was ready to start with how I already got one of their songs in my v1… but I didn’t
it was Talking Heads, I always mistake those two bands. I tried some Talking Heads and didn’t like it a lot. This thing is a bit better though. I like new wave lately so you really hit me with it. I especially like when it’s this melancholic and rhythmic and the same time, there’s always something interesting going on. Love that double change of key in chorus, first one is maybe predictable, second one is just awesome. It took me some time for this song to start to grow on me and I’m still not sure how to rate it, especially as I like a few songs just a bit better so it looks as I like this one a bit less than I really do. Nevertheless, it’s much better than your round 1 submission and I expect you to send even better stuff. (actually, in the end I bumped it up in front of 2 songs but I'll leave this last part
)
7 pointswolfking: Nailed to Obscurity - Black FrostBefore even listening to it I checked their pages on few web sites and saw they are compared to early Katatonia. While I like that style, I never got into that particular era of Katatonia. And while listening it even more reminded me of early and latest Paradise lost, especially the vocals. When it comes to harsh vocals this style has become my favourite over the course of the last few years so I’m definitely looking forward to checking them out further. That ominous guitar is the style I like as well, vocals and guitars match really well, sound evil and like death. Unfortunately, I have a big objection: it’s that most of the song sounds generic to me, like a heard it before (in before mentioned bands’ music). Nevertheless, it offers something new in form of nice melodic guitar solo. As far as I’m concerned, doom metal bands sometimes lacks this kind of soloing.
6.5 pointsStadler: Duran Duran - Lonely in Your NightmareYou correctly noticed synthpop is one of my new favourite genres. I even heard some of Duran Duran’s music as they are/were really popular. So it’s impossible for me not to compare them to bands like Depeche Mode and Tears for Fears. Unfortunately, both bands sound much more interesting to me and have more distinct sound and Duran is more poppy than I like and there’s no atmosphere other bands have. After I stopped comparing them I actually started to appreciate it more. What is it after all? Good pop music. Not really the best I heard but it is just fine and I believe I’ll discover their songs I like more.
6 pointsLethean: Sound of Contact - Pale Blue DotTo be honest, I never heard of Sound of Contact but I feel like I should as we’re on prog forum and John Wesley and Simon Collins are members of the band. First thing I noticed is that they sound pretty similar to bands like Spock’s Beard and Enchant (but less metal), maybe even too much. At first I didn’t like it because it sounded too generic for my likings. After that I started to like the verses more and more and until now those stayed my favourite part of the song. But sadly, contrary to most songs, this one hit anti-climax on chorus, at least in my opinion. It feels really bland coming after those cool and catchy verses. Due to that song just left not so good taste in my mouth. Also, it feels kinda cold, I guess it’s because of production. It’s just ok but nothing more, as if it would be lost in the sea of the much better prog bands.
5.5 pointsTAC: Mask of Prospero - This Road Leads to DesolationNow there’s a song I had hard time getting into but at the end eventually quite liked. It actually has every element I should like: nice voice (really like his timbre), melancholic note, great guitar solo. But sadly, other than guitar solo nothing stand out to me that much and in the end it’s pretty forgettable. It’s one of those songs I lost memory of as soon as I finished listening to them, even the worse scored songs had something I could remember (if that’s a good thing lol).
5 pointsPuppies_On_Acid: Lantlos - Pulse/SurrealThere was a time I was big into this kind of music. Don’t get me wrong, I still love it but it gets a bit samey at times. If I’m not mistaken it’s one of Neige’s bands so I must’ve heard it years ago. There’s a nice contrast I like and it works very well, with being ballad and then atmospheric black metal with grows while still staying kinda ballad-y and emotional. The problem I get with it is that it goes nowhere really and 8 minutes fell like even more. I feel like if I tried more I could like this more so I’ll check out the album but right now it’s just same thing I heard many times before with this kind of music.
4 pointsKatellox: Sons of Seasons - Cassus Belli I: Guilt's MirrorThis song actually starts as if it’s folky atmospheric black metal. Sadly, it’s not that but prog/power metal. There’s not much I like about this song to be honest. I guess chorus is pretty catchy, I like the melody. However, I find singer’s voice really repulsive, it’s really the kind I can’t enjoy. Also, it’s type of riffing I don’t like that much, the side of bands like Symphony X I don’t like. After all, it’s not unlistenable but it’s not something I’d listen to on my own. Sorry.
3.5 pointsSTANDINGS:1. Cyril - 20 points
2. TAC - 17 points
3. Evermind - 16.5 points
senecadawg2 - 16.5 points
5. FlyingBIZKIT - 16 points
Lethean - 16 points
7. home - 14.5 points
8. Stadler - 13.5 points
9. Kwyjibo - 12 points
wolfking - 12 points
11. Kattelox - 11.5 points
12. Sacul - 10 points
13. Puppies_On_Acid - 8 points
Topic: Tomislav's Third Roulette v. Tastebreakers (FINAL ROUND RESULTS) (Read 37345 times)