based on this I predict that everyone got 8.5 except romdrums, who got 8
Basically. Look, I could protest that it's a strong round, but my reputation is pretty much set in stone by now, isn't it?
Stadler: Rainbow - StargazerImpression:
This song has such gravitas. There’s just this sense of authority on this song, where it feels like excellence just comes to it automatically.I feel like people are going to accuse you of cheating on this one. It’s just one of those classics that I’ve somehow missed through the years, despite being quite familiar with a lot of RJD’s other classic albums.
Big mistake by me, I guess!
There are certain songs, most of them certified classics, where I just get a certain kind of feeling from them, which I’ve tried to capture in the word “gravitas.” If I could put it into a longer statement, I’d put it this way: It’s like the song comes right into the room and insists upon its own greatness, without having to trumpet it. These songs just announce themselves with such authority, and make it seem effortless. It almost feels like the band just sat down and rattled off a great song like it was nothing, like the song wrote itself, because everything is in just the right place.
Well, this is one of those songs. I don’t think there’s much I can say about it that hasn’t already been said, so I’ll just say that this is obviously one of the great singers and one of the great guitarists in rock both at the top of their game, backed with a strong rhythm section, performing a song that is both elegantly composed and full of rock-and-roll energy.
Score: 9.5 out of 10
Evermind: Karmakanic - Who’s the Boss in the FactoryImpression:
I have to say, this song might be edging toward the danger zone in terms of lyrical content, and I’m not loving the vocals on first listen. But I find do the music itself quite strong overall.You have no idea how close you came to Roger Waters - It’s a Miracling yourself again. And I will still say that I do not like the lyrics of this song. Without getting into P/R territory, I’ll just say that this sort of heavy-handed political commentary, from this sort of worldview, is probably something to be wary of sending me.
The saving grace here for you is that this song is very strong musically. The instrumental parts are excellent. There’s a lot going on that’s going to take more listens for me to sort of break down to the point where I’d be able to speak intelligently on it, but I’ll just generally say that the sense of melody and structure is really strong here, and the work being done by the keyboard player in particular is quite memorable indeed. Musically speaking, it’s definitely the kind of prog composition that I like a whole lot.
The factor that helps ultimately overcome the lyrics thing is the fact that I came around on the vocals, too. Now, I wouldn’t say that I rate this way up there in terms of vocal performance, but there’s something about the melodies and even the unconventional vocal style that complements the music pretty well. Also, the song is primarily instrumental, anyway, so its weaker foot is definitely not the foot that it’s putting forward.
Score: 9.0 out of 10.
Tomislav95: Maybeshewill - He Films the Clouds Pt. 2Impression:
This is a style that has typically not done much for me in the past, with some exceptions. This may end up being somewhat of an exception, in part because of its pretty liberal willingness to blend in elements of styles of music.Sending post rock to me is really dangerous. I like it very occasionally and in very small doses, but usually I just don’t find it all that interesting. The buildups are typically too slow and repetitive for me, and it doesn’t help that the songs are often instrumental.
This particular risk paid off, precisely because, as I said, it’s not just straightforward post rock. There are, as you pointed out in your PM, some interesting beats (plus some distorted guitar!), that I think do make the admittedly somewhat repetitive beginning part more engaging.
But where things really get good is at about the midway point, where things take a sharp turn and we move away from the post rock instrumental segment of the song to the really enchanting piano piece section of the song. Because I find this vocal part truly wonderful. This is just such an uplifting-sounding section, performed so well by first a single singer and then a chorus. And then the piano and guitar outro is also a very well-done section.
This song is not flawless. I do find the first section a bit too repetitive for my taste. But the vocal section is so, so, so strong—my favorite single section of any song this round—that it still winds up one of the top performers of the round.
Score: 9.0 out of 10.
Puppies_On_Acid: Paatos - TéaImpression:
I like how this song has a subtle complexity that sort of unfolds slowly over its runtime. It doesn’t end how I expect based on the start, but the transform is so fluid that I don’t even notice it’s happening.What the impression says. This is a song that feels like it’s going to be simple, and then it is so very much not that, in a way I haven’t really heard in anything else. It kind of fascinates me in that regard. What seems like it’s more or less just a straightforward ballad-type song reliant on a strong atmosphere and vocal performance really has a lot more going on under the surface, most of which I do not feel at all qualified to even try writing about.
What I will say is that I am a fan of the atmosphere and vocal performance, and I am also very much a fan of the drum work that seems to fluidly shift around to create a number of different vibes on this one. And of the wonderful melodic keyboard playing that comes in, especially in the second half of the song.
Definitely interested in hearing more from this artist. They have an interesting and different sound that I found pretty fascinating.
Score: 8.5 out of 10.
Cyril: Billie Eilish - when the party’s overImpression:
In this style of music, it’s really important to me to feel like the artist has something distinct to say that isn’t sort of the same generic thing that everyone else in the genre is doing. Despite some surface similarities to other artists I’ve heard, this song definitely passes that test.Yeah, so the impression was my way of slightly disguising the following statement: She reminds me of Lorde, but she doesn’t sound like a copy, so that’s a win where I’m concerned.
To say a little more: I like pop singers who feel like they have a distinct message, where I get the sense that I’m really hearing the genuine thoughts and feelings of the singer and not something that’s sort of mass produced and labeled “for anyone with vocal talent and the right image.” I get that feeling very strongly with her on this song.
Besides that personal element, this is just a wonderfully well-done song. I love this sort of minimalist synth sound. It really complements her voice quite well. And her vocal performance here is masterful, really demonstrating a lot of range and emotion. There’s sort of a feeling about this song that reminds me of a gothic cathedral. I don’t know exactly what gives me that sense, but I like it.
Will definitely have to hear more from her.
Score: 8.5 out of 10.
Sacul: Talk Talk - Living in Another WorldImpression:
I definitely did not expect to like this one very much at all, but I actually think I might be into it. A big risk that I think will at least turn out to be a decent success.I don’t know how to describe this style of music, but it’s not really a style of music that I would have said I was very interested in at all.
This song has changed that. It’s going to be hard for me to describe, but there’s just something about it that I really like a lot, and that has opened my mind to the potential of hearing more like this. Or maybe more than one something. I really like the passion of the singer. I feel like this type of music can often have a song who sounds sort of robotic and cold, but this guy really belts it out and conveys some real passion. I’m also a fan of the work being done by the rhythm section here, which is not something I tend to notice very often, but here stands out for sure. And the harmonica… works? Really well?
I like this song quite well. Good job turning me around on a style of music I wouldn’t have otherwise given another look!
Score: 8.5 out of 10.
Lethean: Perihelion Ship - New Sun?Impression:
This song seems to be trying a lot of different things stylistically, and I’ll be trying to see if on further listens it manages to come together and sound like a coherent thing, or too disjointed.So one consideration when deciding what to send me is that you have to weigh the following competing considerations: (1) sending an epic is likely to make the slowest roulette host on DTF even slower, and (2) a prog epic of a certain quality is probably the safest submission there is, actually.
I don’t know exactly what it is about a good epic, but I’m just wild about songs that take their time and work things out over 10 or 15 minutes, so long as they make the most of that time. By that I mean, compelling melodies, multiple sections that flow well from one to the other with sense of progression, and finally a strong conclusion that brings the song to a strong sense of completion.
Well, this one definitely meets the mark on two out of three of those. There’s a lot of good melodic guitar work in the first half of its runtime. In doing a quick internet search on this artist, I saw some Opeth comparisons, and while I don’t think this sounds, like, a ton like Opeth, I do think that the riffing in the first half is somewhat reminiscent of a happier version of the type of riffing that Opeth is doing on a song like Blackwater Park. Which is a good thing. I also think that the turn to a quieter section, and transition back out of it that takes place in the second half of the song is pretty strong. Some more nice guitarwork, and a good spot use of growling. I will say that the vocal performance on this song is generally pretty unremarkable, but the melodies are strong enough that the middling quality of the performance itself doesn’t really detract.
The miss in this particular epic is not the melody or the flow, but the conclusion. There’s a lot of good buildup in the second half of this track, and the first growled part is a solid payoff… but from there it sort of seems to just keep building up until it more or less just cuts off with no real outro, no grand finale to speak of. It makes the thing feel somewhat unfulfilling in the end, and I wish there was something better at the end to tie the whole thing together.
Still, a strong epic that definitely makes me want to hear more from the artist. And maybe I’ll warm up to the finale a little bit on future listens.
Score: 8.5 out of 10.
Topic: 425's Third Roulette v. Fell and rose and tried... (Read 32642 times)
