Cyril: glass beach - glass beach
This is one of the few songs this roulette that straight up annoys me on first impression.
Much like with TACs submission, I struggle to see what in this should appeal to me, but I admit that I seem a bit hard to understand when it comes to music. I don't like that indie/punk/garage riffing style that pesists through most of the song, I don't like production that sounds intentionally dated (for lack of a better term), but most of all the vocals are just unbearable. It borders on a crossover between post-hardcore and pop-punk, but way more on the pop-punk edge.. one of my least favorite ever music genres. The best part of the song is merely an intermission between the first and second half, where the pace slows down and everything goes quieter. Even the vocals in this section are alright at best, but soon enough the main body of the song kicks in again. It's pretty much a collection of things I don't like about music summed up in a 7 minute package including 1,5 minute or so that I can tolerate.
3/10
TAC: Aephanemer - If I Should Die
I genuinely wonder if anything in my profile suggested me liking something like this..
Most of the latest entries by you fall under the category of 'vocals I genuinely have trouble not turning off' and I don't completely understand why, we have quite a bit of overlap..
Here it's not just the weird fast-paced high-pitched growls, it's also the fantasy-like folk/power metal instrumentals, it's also the fact that it's the longest song of the round, the vocals seem oddly mixed compared to the rest of the composition, it's a bunch of things. I hope you can go out with a bang and wow me in the last round!
4/10
Bolsters: The Midnight - Vampires
Hurts from the same problems one of your previous songs had, but also shares the same qualities.
I have to take back some of the positives about this first impression upon further investigation.. I really can't say there's anything I actively enjoy on this song. It seems to mostly rely on a saxophone motif that I can barely stand, and the saxophone persists throughout the entire song and honestly annoys me. There isn't really anything 'hook-worthy' in the vocals as that's mostly taken care of by the saxophone, it's a big gamble that didn't pay off all that much..
4.75/10
Evermind: Wolverine - Communication Lost
Not really my kind of metal, I see some redeeming qualities but overall this was a pretty tiring listen.
It borders a bit too much on the prog/power side of things for me, with this epic metal approach.. but I can definitely pick out some cool elements. The recurring guitar/synth unison introduced in the intro is really good, the synths in the background throughout the song are very pleasant, and the chorus ain't bad. As a whole, I still stand by the first impression where I thought it's a tiring listen looking back at it after the full 9 minutes. But it is an ambitious tune and has some stuff to like, so not a complete lost cause!
6.25/10
Elite: King Crimson - Indiscipline (Live in Mexico)
For a big part this sounds more like music gymnastics than a proper song I can dig into.
I appreciate getting some King Crimson as I always wanted to like them more than I do, having checked out only Red and ITCOTCK. The entire first half does barely anything for me though. Just the same rhythm over and over with some drum gymnastics layered on top. I'm not a fan of crazy drumming to be honest, so when you mentioned the multiple live drummers I was already a bit hesitant. It sounds like a drum battle. The song actually gets quite good in the second half. Great vocals, a bit crazy at times but in moderation, and compelling switch-offs on the rhythm section. I guess the 'prog' aspects of this song are a bit strong for me but when it sorta breaks out of that it does get better. Would I check out this album? Possibly, not in love with this song but also see some potential for me liking this band more than I do now. ME GUSTA!
7/10
home: Perfume Genius - Queen
Has a great chill tone to it, can see this growing on me.
Seems like they use the exact same “HU!” sample as Glass Animals – The Other Side of Paradise
which is the only thing I dislike of an otherwise all-time favorite indie song. I will say that while everything is on point, it still misses something that made all my favorite songs of the roulette stand out.. it's just generally really nice but I don't see all that much staying power.
7.25/10
ariich: Richard Henshall - Lunar Room
Totally unexpected in a good way.
So this song is all over the place, which isn't the best. But at the same time it does have some great moments, I just have a hard time glueing them together and calling it one coherent composition. So let me dissect this a bit.. I'm cool with the moderate djent stuff here, not too overtaking. I'm cool with the Plini-like guitarwork (this song seriously screams Selenium Forest in parts), I'm cool with the bouncy, playful way all the instruments intesperse. I'm not a fan of the rap-like vocals in the beginning, but all the vocals passages after that are definitely better, and they even go epic/theatric kind of, and it almost seems to turn into some kind of Dream Theater finale (not the vocal style of course, but the melodies definitely). It's quite a lot to take in altogether and I think it still suffers from schizophrenia, but I'm pretty satisfied with this one.
7.5/10
Puppies: Buried Inside - Time As Commodity
YESAfter a number of listens I will say my hype has dropped slightly, but I still think this is among the stronger songs of the round. Being basically an inferior Amenra on the vocal side of things, and instrumentally compelling enough (though definitely a little bit toooo similar to some riffs on Remission by Mastodon
), this already ticks off a great amount of boxes in my book for post-metal. The production is nice and raw, great for this type of dark music. Excited to check out the album!
8/10Kattelox: Voyager – ReconnectedQuite different from what I remember from this band.. not sure how I feel about it yet.So this song ended up becoming a fucking banger. I never liked Voyager much and it pissed me off when others did because I wanted in. This song definitely has something that I've been missing from other songs I've heard (mostly from the Ghost Mile album). It has a GREAT opening section, gets right into it. I love that super-fast circus riff.
Then the vocals are still the same style they've always been, but they work better in the more energetic fast-paced mode than on some of the more melodic parts I've heard in other songs. The chorus showcases a bunch of different styles in the singer's arsenal, including a very good head-voice I wasn't familiar with. The chant section (“Let him go”) along with the part following iis my favorite moment, it gives me a slight Leprous vibe, and the instrumentation is very well tuned in to the pace of the vocals constantly. There's a bit of unnecessarily long-winded boring djent riffage but it's not
that long sooo.. still great overall!
8.25/10Sacul: Floex / Tom Hodge - Prelude IThis is what floating in space sounds like!I don't remember much of the last time I received a Floex song in a roulette, it may honestly have been this exact song.. but I remember it was a really pleasant atmosphere but didn't quite hook me. I'm way more into chill electronic music now than I was a couple years ago, and this has a lot to offer. From the Massive Attack vibes down to the ethereal extra layers of synthesizers in the forefront of the song, to the gradual build down to the very end of the song. It's all very well done and while not an instant classic, this is definitely one of the strongest songs of the round.
8.5/10StandingsEvermind: 53.75
ariich: 53
Puppies: 53
Sacul: 52.25
Kattelox: 50.75
home: 49.5
Bolsters: 46.25
Elite: 48.5
Cyril: 44
TAC: 41
I'd say the top 5 are all still in the running to take it home during the last round, you never know though!
Topic: Big Big Train of Daftness Roulette! POST-ROULETTE CEREAL HOURS (Read 28342 times)