Prelim results, part one
SAFE FROM EARLY ON:
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Seneca
Phoebe Bridgers – Funeral (from Stranger in the Alps, 2017)
First impression: Beautifully emotive, with a sonic richness I didn't expect in the opening of the song.
Final opinion: I don’t usually have a lot to say about individual songs, but I feel I’m going to want to say quite a bit here. I loved it on first listen (though it wasn’t my immediate favourite) and it just got even better with every listen. Musically, it’s beautiful and delicate. Sonically, it has a wonderful and surprising depth in the range of sounds used throughout - folky violins, subtle electronic rhythms later on. But it’s the lyrics that really elevate it. There seems to be a generation of millennial artists (women mostly) who write about sadness in a really engaging, powerful way that I’ve not seen before. I read a comment about the album this is from (which I’ve not heard yet), which said that it’s not about wallowing, but moving through it. This song definitely doesn’t wallow, and it doesn’t try to suggest answers either. It just examines sadness and sorrow with curiosity. While very different in tone, in this way it reminds me of the TV show Fleabag, written and produced by (and starring) her almost-namesake Phoebe Waller-Bridge, a sitcom about sadness that’s funny and sometimes absurd, but also reflective and extremely moving. This song spoke to me on a level I can’t fully explain, so I’ll stop trying and instead just say thank you, and welcome to my roulette!
Survivor
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Clortho
Marah in the Mainsail – Bone Crown (from Bone Crown, 2017)
First impression: This is a lot darker than I was expecting. It’s really cool and I already can't wait to hear the album.
Final opinion: Yeah, I absolutely love this and did so right from the very first listen, when it was my immediate favourite (which only later got overtaken by Funeral). I don’t know if you hit a sweet spot for me by luck or by a perceptive examination of my tastes, but this dark, cinematic folk is right up my alley. The lyrics are a little ridiculous at the start, but as the song gets more intense (musically and lyrically) it becomes clear this is from a concept album that’s probably actually quite dark and allegorical. And I’m really excited to hear it.
Survivor
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Katt
Casiopea – Galactic Funk (from Asian Dreamer, 1994)
First impression: This sounds like a jazz cover of Japanese video game music. Is it corny or awesome though?
Final opinion: The answer, of course, is that it’s awesome (well, ok it’s a bit corny too - the two aren’t mutually exclusive), the first impression was just worded to sew doubt. There aren’t many jazz fusion artists I particularly like as it’s often quite indulgent, meandering and/or simply inaccessible. Even my favourites, Return to Forever, had some real duds alongside their great stuff. This is only one song of course, but it’s just SO. MUCH. FUN. Very cool playing, but never overly flashy. Jazzy and intricate, but also extremely melodic. And yeah in some of the sounds and melodies, there are real hints of music from 90s Japanese video games, but that’s no bad thing.
Survivor
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Nekov
North Atlantic Oscillation – Expert with Altimeter (from Fog Electric, 2012)
First impression: Takes a while to get going, but it's a lovely song that hits an extremely niche soft spot of mine.
Final opinion: Welcome back, former champion. So that extremely niche soft spot of mine is Scottish rock and indie singers whose accent is noticeable when they sing. My wife and all her family is Scottish, and most Scottish accents, when spoken softly, I just find really lovely. Obviously the music has to be good too, but I’ve no doubt that me being such a big fan of Biffy Clyro and Frightened Rabbit is helped by the accents. As for the song itself, it’s fantastic. The start is a little slow but it’s completely fine once you know what’s coming. Once it gets going, it’s gorgeous, warm, and the sound ebbs and flows in a way that feels very fitting of the band’s name. Lovely stuff.
Survivor
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Train
Keor – Petrichor (from Petrichor, 2018)
First impression: Takes even longer to get going, but boy when it does it has some really exciting stuff.
Final opinion: Welcome back, current champion! I have to admit that on first listen, I wasn’t too sure about this in the first few minutes. The Steven Wilson vibe you mentioned is undeniable, and the start of the song is very cool, but in an unusual almost esoteric way. Odd suspended chords and no obvious hooks. After three and a half minutes I was wondering if it was like that all the way through, but then the dark, intense, Opeth-esque riffs kick in and suddenly the whole dimension of the song has changed. There are more surprises and great touches too - I like the way those riffs come back in a more melodic fashion later on, and there are also strong hints of Devin Towsnend towards the end. This really is exciting, dynamic stuff.
Survivor
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YOU ARE THE WEAKEST LINK GOODBYE:
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TAC
Idle Hands – Dragon, Why Do You Cry? (from Mana, 2019)
First impression: Pretty fun song despite being quite moody. Nice guitar work. Not sure I find it very exciting though.
Final opinion: Sadly this song didn’t grow on me at all, in fact if anything I lost interest. I do quite like the way it merges metal tendencies with the moody yet upbeat stylings of traditional goth rock. The latter has just never been a style that’s particularly interested me, and the vocals aren’t really my cup of tea (especially in some of the cheesier moments, like the countdown). I still dig the guitar work though, which is the highlight of the song for me.
Eliminated
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Jingle
Mystery – How Do You Feel? (from Lies and Butterflies, 2018)
First impression: I've heard this artist before, and once again on paper they sound good but the music just isn't grabbing me (so far).
Final opinion: Yep, this hasn’t really changed my opinion of Mystery at all. It was pretty brave to send them after a previous album of theirs got eliminated from the prelim of my last roulette. Like that album, this song just sounds like mid-tier Rush. It’s not bad by any means, far from it. All of the components are good, it has a nice vibe, the performances are solid (the guitar and drums in particular, especially in the solo towards the end) and this time the production is pretty strong. It’s perfectly pleasant each time I listen to it. There just isn’t really anything about it that makes me want to listen to it again.
Eliminated
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Stadler
The Cult – Soul Asylum (from Sonic Temple, 1989)
First impression: Pretty much the sort of thing I’d expect you to send. It’s nice enough, but it’s not really doing much for me.
Final opinion: This has actually grown on me a little. The general 80s metal vibe of the song is cool, and it has some nice nuances as the song develops that stand out more with repeat listens. I’m guessing Spotify has a remaster as the sound is very nice too - punchy and surprisingly modern sounding. But I still stand by my initial feeling that it’s just not very exciting. The tempo is incredibly plodding and the whole first half of the song just lacks any kind of drive or energy. You seem determined to only send me music from the 70s and 80s, which was a hit the first time with Rainbow, but has been a series of misses since.
Eliminated
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Topic: ariich’s roulette 5.0 – The End (again (the actual end this time (really))) (Read 57202 times)