In the end if TAC actually ends up beating anyone you can just take comfort in that generous spotting and know that you worked from the ground up
Okay, this round was super hard to score, there was so much good stuff, and lots of long songs! 6 hours 12 minutes this round, a new record.
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Bolsters: Cœur de pirate (Child of Light OST) [7.6]1. Pilgrims On a Long Journey
2. Aurora's Theme
3. Jupiter's Lightning
4. Leave Your Castle
5. Down to a Dusty Plain
6. Hymn of Light
It's very funny that this was submitted, because literally the day before people started sending for this round, I started playing Child of Light on my Switch (I bought it months ago, but never got around to it). I have to say, I don't think the music is the strongest suit. It's very pretty, it fits the atmosphere of the game quite well, but on its own, I find it kind of sleepy and uncompelling. I'm afraid I don't have much else to say about this, other than the game itself is fun so far!
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TAC: Michael Schenker [7.7]1. At the End of the Day
2. The Creator
3. Bijou Pleasurette
4. I Am Grateful
5. Hand in Hand
So the playing here is good and it all sounds quite lovely but the thing is I've heard countless acoustic instrumentals from many guitarists. There's nothing here that really makes it stand out from anybody else. Very nice music, don't get me wrong! But it doesn't stand out at all.
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Buddyhunter1: Infected Mushroom [7.8]1. Becoming Insane
2. Artillery
3. Saeed
I knew this was gonna be a weird one from the first listen. I've heard a lot about Infected Mushroom over the years but this is the first time I've listened... I think? It's weird. It's actually really corny, and I'm not sure it's the good kind of corny, or if I can describe what I'm talking about: there are vocal parts in Artillery and Becoming Insane that are super corny, and even that middle eastern-style riff for Artillery is cheesy. But it's all somewhat catchy and fun. So I struggle with how to feel about these; I like them, but they're so corny, too. Saeed is probably my favorite but the vocal parts are so weird. When I look back on this in the future, maybe I'll regret ranking this so low, and maybe the songs just need more time to connect with me - but as of right now that's where I'm at with them.
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Stadler: California Guitar Trio [7.9]1. Train to Lamy Suite (Part 1-3)
2. Train to Lamy - Part 4
3. Train to Lamy - Part 5
4. Train to Lamy - Part 3 (reprise)
5. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
6. Led Foot
This was fun. I won't lie, maybe it's not a group I'm jonesing to return to, but it was really fun listening to the guitar - literally, the sound of the guitar playing here is riveting. The harmonized runs in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, for example, or the bright strums of the chords - beautiful stuff. Lots of reverb and audible sliding on the guitar in Train to Lamy Part 3 (reprise) which gives such an angelic quality to the sound. The entire Train to Lamy batch is an interesting submission all on its own; I can't understand why they're split up the way they are, across so many tracks and with the first 3 in one, but it's really nice instrumental guitar from start to finish. Led Foot's distorted guitar is a bit odd and the Train to Lamy Suite Part 1-3 features a keyboardist that sounds frighteningly similar to Derek Sherinian. So they stick out a bit. But, this was interesting. I wouldn't mind looking into this group...
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Shadow Ninja 2.0: Second Person [8.0]1. Water
2. Metal
3. Play Fair
4. Spilt Milk
5. Shadow of a Doubt
This is more a victim of the competition than me not liking it. There's a lot of good stuff here! However, to me it sounds a lot like Imogen Heap, and there's kind of this sedated quality to much of the songs here, like Water and Spilt Milk. Metal sounds like a total 90s bop. Play Fair is my favorite here. Super catchy, love the melodies and rhythm of the singing in that song. I liked this a bunch, but not gonna lie, always kind of hoped for a bit more 'oomph' and energy.
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ariich: Everything Everything [8.1]1. Night of the Long Knives
2. Desire
3. NASA Is On Your Side
4. To The Blade
I feel weird and kind of bad about having this as low as it is; I really liked these songs! Strong round, though, and it's gotta rank somewhere. The guy's voice is very odd, and it took a while to warm up to it; Night of the Long Knives is a weird but catchy song, but his voice is rather 'extra' and sometimes I love it, sometimes I don't. That's kind of the sticking point for most of this; Desire is fun, but NASA... and To The Blade are songs that I find myself seesawing on - I either like them, or don't like them. They have a very distinct, unique sound, and I like them overall. I feel like I'd need a whole album to make a good judgement call on this kind of group though. The eclectic nature of this band has me interested.
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Podaar: Derek Trucks [8.2]1. Midnight in Harlem
2. Shrimp and Grits (interlude)
3. Rastaman Chant (live)
This was surprisingly fun. Midnight in Harlem is a great track, it takes a simple memorable beat and leans into it for the whole song, and the melodies and lyrics are really nice. Shrimp and Grits is a fun sweet interlude that fits in perfectly. The live track is really nice. Love the flute! Now I think this one goes on for a long time... sometimes I wonder why it's so long. But, it's fun to listen to them jam, it just feels like a few different jams stitched together. But I'm sold, I think they're solid and there's some fascinating musical dialogue happening in that live number especially between the flute and guitar about halfway. Cool stuff!
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HOF: Peter Gabriel [8.3]1. At Night
2. The Feeling Begins
3. Zaar
4. A Different Drum
5. The Nest That Sailed the Sky
Ballsy submission to send multiple soundtrack pieces. So, this is kind of hit and miss. I don't find much to chew on with At Night or The Nest That Sailed The Sky. There's nice ambience there, but I think the meat here is in the other three songs. The Feeling Begins has a nice middle eastern, desert vibe - but Zaar and A Different Drum are superb. Zaar's constant, repetitive string/pipes motif is really catchy and has an interesting flavor to it. I can hear some sitar in there, I think? It makes me think of a busy Arab town or market. A Different Drum has a *lovely* vocal line. It's very powerful, and even though I have no idea what is beind said, I can feel the emotion in there. So even if it's only a couple of tracks that connected with me, they're strong connections. Not at all what I expected out of Peter Gabriel. Very nice.
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Big Hath: Go West [8.4]1. Faithful
2. What You Won't Do For Love
3. The King of Wishful Thinking
For some reason this was the hardest submission to rank. I like these songs a lot! Never heard of Go West before and I definitely don't recognize this singer by his voice, but Faithful is a really nice uplifting jam. WYWDFL is nice, but I think I like The King of Wishful Thinking and Faithful more for their bright, upbeat vibes. There's a mighty horn/synth presence throughout these songs that I really like: it screams 80s, but it's that kind of poppy, Toto-ish 80s playing that speaks to me. Another artist I might regret ranking this low in the future.
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romdrums: Art Blakey [8.5]1. Moanin'
2. Caravan
This is fantastic. While Joe Henderson gave me a 'blue' color impression, these two tracks make me think orange and yellow. There's a warmth to this music that, while stylistically pretty similar to Joe Henderson, makes it stand apart. And the songs seem to be more free and open to riffing. Indeed sometimes they seem to meander aimlessly, but the showmanship is top notch and riveting all the same. I can't say the tunes themselves are wholly memorable with all the twists and turns and soloing they make, but the motifs, at least, are solid anchors for the solos to dance around. High quality jazz here, would love to explore more Art Blakey.
* * *
Sacul: The Black Queen [8.6]1. Ice to Never
2. Thrown into the Dark
3. Porcelain Veins
4. Strange Quark
5. Taman Shud
Excellent kind of poppy kind of not music, not sure what you'd call this. Gorgeous melodies and nice singing with some very head-boppable beats and rhythms, I dig it a lot. Porcelain Veins and Thrown into the Dark might be my favorites here but they all have a nice groovy vibe to them, especially Taman Shud. I looked back in my Spotify library and one of these albums has actually been saved for quite some time - I guess I did make a point to listen to them a while back but forgot about it. Time to fix that!
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Puppies_On_Acid: Boards of Canada [8.7]1. Roygbiv
2. Amo Bishop Roden
3. Alpha and Omega
4. 84 Pontiac Dream
Okay this is actually really good and was one of the growers this round. Roygbiv at times sounds like a Tycho wannabe (that sine synth patch sounds EXACTLY like a track from Tycho's Awake album, like right around 1:05) but it's very very good so it gets the pass. Amo Bishop Roden is the star here because of that kind of low-key electro shuffle beat it has going on. Fucking cool. Alpha & Omega and 84 Pontiac Dream are cool vibes, too, but Roygbiv and ABR are on a different level. I could probably dig a whole album of stuff like this.
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Train of Naught: clipping. [8.8]1. Intro
2. Nothing is Safe
3. Story 2
4. Work Work
5. The Show
6. Story 7
This is so cool. I think the highlights here are Nothing is Safe and Work Work. Nothing is Safe has such an awesome vibe with that simple but giant synth line and the rapping over it. Work Work is a mood and has a great beat and lyrical theme. And the lyrics in general are pretty awesome all around. Never heard of Clipping but it sounds like more ambitious hip hop than a lot that I've heard in my life so this is really unique and fresh to my ears. Would love to check out a full album and hear more of this, very cool music.
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Indiscipline: Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, & Paco de Lucía (Friday Night In San Francisco) [8.9]1. Mediterranean Sundance / Rio Rancho
2. Fantasia Suite
So, my one complaint here is that sometimes the tracks seem to just go on... and on... and on. But again, like Art Blakey, the playing is just extraordinary. I love hearing the audience cheer along as Al Di Meola shreds his guitar to pieces. Similarly, again, the tracks themselves aren't particularly memorable for the music, but for the spectacle. That spiciness in Mediterranean Sundance is delicious. Fantasia Suite is great, too - but MS is my favorite.
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Evermind: Joan Baez [9.0]1. Love is Just a Four-Letter Word
2. Sweet Sir Galahad
3. Diamonds and Rust
4. Honest Lullaby
Okay, some of this is really somber, but overall: solid melodies, good hooks, nice lyrics, beautiful voice/singing. I keep thinking of both Stevie Nicks and Pentangle listening to these songs. On one hand they're simple guitar+voice songs, but there's some real emotion in there. I think Sweet Sir Galahad is a lovely little tune, probably the catchiest, but Diamonds and Rust has so much heart, and the vocal melody reminds me of Nightwish's Meadows of Heaven, which I love. This grew on me a lot.
* * *
kingshmegland: Mr. Mister [9.0]1. Stand and Deliver
2. Don't Slow Down
3. Broken Wings
4. Kyrie
This rocks but it's also SUPER poppy and each song has a massive, fiercely infectious hook. The singer's got the pipes to sell them, too. Kyrie is kind of corny but it's so fun and catchy it gets a pass. The drums have that real hot 80s production to them but I think it adds to the charm on songs like Don't Slow Down. This one grew on me; it was immediately catchy, but I didn't realize how much I liked them for a few days. Looking forward to more of them in the future.
* * *
wolfking: Tears for Fears [9.1]1. Everybody Wants to Rule the World
2. The Working Hour
3. Broken
4. Head Over Heels/Broken
Wonderful poppy stuff here. Everybody Wants To Rule The World is a real jam, awesome hook and beat to this. The Working Hour is awesome but the best parts are the ones where the sax gets the spotlight. Broken is nice and catchy, but Head Over Heels/Broken is even catchier and nicer, probably my second favorite of them all. I was kind of surprised by how good this is, it's pop rock with pretty much everything I like. Seriously, I should've kept that CD as a kid. I will definitely be checking out this band's discography.
* * *
Elite: Joe Henderson [9.2]1. Blue Bossa
2. Song For My Father
3. U.M.M.G. (Upper Manhattan Medical Group)
Simply fantastic blues. The ticket to this I think is the piano and the minimalist rhythmic patterns. The walking bass is the perfect accompaniment and the main themes are memorable to me with lots of great playing between those sections. I don't have synthesthesia but I can only describe the mood here as... well, "blue." Song For My Father and Blue Bossa are two of my favorite songs this round. Damn, this is good.
* * *
jingle.boy: Cher & Christina Aguilera (Burlesque) [9.3]1. Welcome to Burlesque
2. Tough Lover
3. Express
4. You Haven't Seen the Last of Me
5. Show Me How You Burlesque
6. The Beautiful People
This started off as one of the less interesting batches of the roulette, but each day it got more interesting to me. The star here is Christina Aguilera... Honestly, the last time I remember paying attention to her was when Genie In A Bottle was a hit. I had no idea she could sing like this. And while this is corny - excessively corny, oh my god - there is no denying the sheer talent behind that voice. Her voice is so powerful and versatile and full of soul - I LOVE it. Cher on the other hand is merely good - she's a great singer, clearly, and I don't dislike her, but I think her parts are the weaker moments here, whereas Christina not only has the better music but much more room to go nuts. Fantastic, really great submission, other than how much they say burlesque.
* * *
(I tried to check this myself for accuracy but please let me know if my math is not correct)
1. Elite: 9.0 / 8.6 / 9.1 / 8.1 / 9.2 [44.0]
2. Train: 8.1 / 9.4 / 7.9 / 9.2 / 8.8 [43.4]
3. wolfking: 8.7 / 8.9 / 8.1 / 8.4 / 9.1 [43.2]
4. romdrums: 8.4 / 8.4 / 9.0 / 8.7 / 8.5 [43.0]
5. Indi: 9.1 / 8.2 / 8.8 / 7.9 / 8.9 [42.9]
5. Big Hath: 8.8 / 9.1 / 8.2 / 8.4 / 8.4 [42.9]
7. Pup: 9.2 / 8.6 / 7.9 / 8.3 / 8.7 [42.7]
8. Stadler: 8.2 / 8.8 / 8.6 / 9.1 / 7.9 [42.6]
9. Bolsters: 9.2 / 9.3 / 8.4 / 8.0 / 7.6 [42.5]
9. ariich: 8.9 / 8.8 / 8.1 / 8.6 / 8.1 [42.5]
11. Evermind: 8.6 / 8.7 / 8.0 / 8.0 / 9.0 [42.3]
12. Buddy: 8.5 / 9.2 / 8.7 / 8.0 / 7.8 [42.2]
13. Sacul: 7.8 / 8.5 / 9.1 / 8.1 / 8.6 [42.1]
14. jingle: 8.0 / 8.0 / 7.6 / 9.1 / 9.3 [42.0]
15. HOF: 7.9 / 8.2 / 8.8 / 8.5 / 8.3 [41.7]
16. Podaar: 8.3 / 8.4 / 7.7 / 8.8 / 8.2 [41.4]
17. Shadow: 8.2 / 9.4 / 7.4 / 8.2 / 8.0 [41.2]
18. king: 7.9 / 8.6 / 7.6 / 8.0 / 9.0 [41.1]
9. TAC: 32.1 / --- / --- / --- / 7.7 [39.8]
* * *
Banned from future rounds:
Return to Forever
Caravan Palace
Mos Def
múm
The Midnight
Kip Winger/Winger
Hiroyuki Sawano
Sublime
Amethystium
Steve Earle
Sarah McLachlan
Hall & Oates
Frank Zappa
Federation of the Disco Pimp
Nicolas Jaar
Tower of Power
Jean-Luc Ponty
CHVRCHES
Jason Isbell
Janelle Monáe
Revo
Submotion Orchestra
Icehouse
Ulver
The Weeknd
Stevie Wonder
Enigma
Elvis Presley
Squarepusher
Vince Gill
Joe Jackson
Justice
Sweet Billy Pilgrim
Damian Wilson
Mree
Kamasi Washington
Toby Fox
Kevin Gilbert/Giraffe
Pentangle
The Cat Empire
Keith Emerson
Jimmy Barnes
Tenhi
Jeff Beck
Vulfpeck
Saltillo
Easily Embarrassed
Bohren & der Club of Gore
Paul Buchanan/The Blue Nile
Bullmark/Arion Salazar
The Feeling
Duran Duran
Clarence Clarity
Tori Amos
George Michael/Wham
Bob James & Keiko Matsui
Gogo Penguin
Regina Spektor
Crowded House/Split Enz/Neil Finn
Eric Johnson
Imogen Heap
Cloud Cult
Algiers
Akira Yamaoka
HAIM
Harmonix Music Systems
Gareth Coker/Ori and the Blind Forest
CPR
Janis Ian
Cher/Christina Aguilera
Joe Henderson
Tears for Fears
Mr. Mister
Joan Baez
Al Di Meola
clipping.
Boards of Canada
The Black Queen
Art Blakey
Go West
Peter Gabriel
Derek Trucks
Everything Everything
Second Person
California Guitar Trio
Infected Mushroom
Michael Schenker
Cœur de pirate
Topic: The Walrus's Lead-Free Roulette -- now exploring every roulette submission ever (Read 97154 times)