Sacul's simple roulette v4. CONGRATS KEVIN MOORE!!!!1!

[TheSoylentMan]

[lonestar]

[wolfking]

I'm on my lunch break and I've done almost half of the writeups. I'll go back to work and finish them up later today

Prioritising DTF while at work.  I like that.....

[lonestar]

Anybody got some popcorn I can bum... I'm out.

[King Postwhore]

Anybody got some popcorn I can bum... I'm out.

No salt or butter.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I'm on my lunch break and I've done almost half of the writeups. I'll go back to work and finish them up later today

Prioritising DTF while at work.  I like that.....

I think the boss caught him....

[Sacul]

I work from home so they wouldn't know

Alright, sorry for the delay folks, had a very busy and exhausting day (it's been extremely hot here, 42° C all week long), but since it's still Friday here, I'll try my best to have results out in the next hour or two

[Sacul]

Cyril
The Paper Chase You're One of Them Aren't You?

First impression: Well of course you'd send me this

The moment the first dissonant notes appeared I immediately recognized this as Cyrilcore, and I knew I was in for a ride . Yeah I'm not into this at all - I don't mind some dissonance in my music but I definitely prefer it used sparingly. Here it's all over the place and it's kind of a chore to get through despite the song being 3 minutes long. Sure there are some more melodic sections but they're still on the edge of being a little dissonant so it's a tense listen all the way through.

2/5


Puppies_On_Acid
Vulture Industries A Knife Between Us

First impression: Kinda weird, but in a good way?

For some reason a lot of avant-garde metal seems to have a similar vibe that I can't properly describe other than "weird and quirky" or "dark circus music". Which is totally fine but I've found it to be more miss than hit for me. And that seems to be the case here. It's a unique and interesting track for sure but it's not connecting with me on an emotional level. For instance I find the chorus to be alright but the drumming there just puzzles me - their intensity doesn't match the rest of the music that well. Maybe it's that I just prefer double kicks and blast beats at the climax of songs, used sparingly. And the rest of the song is just fine. Welp.

3/5


TAC
Cirrus Bay Eden

First impression: Not sure what to make of it

Now I've made up my mind and... yeah this is just alright. It has some prog vibes all over the place and while that's fine, I feel they can't escape their influences completely and end up sounding quite generic. You said it had a smooth indie feel to it and I guess it has a bit of that, but I'm definitely not an indie kind of guy . Mostly because I find a lot of indie music to be very similar to each other, and it's not a sound I'm in love with. So, back to the song: it's quite innofensive overall. And that's ok but not what I'm looking for.

3/5


Evermind
Kalandra Brave New World

First impression: Vocals are a little generic but the music is nice

I don't get how this is pop other than being sort of catchy I guess? It's feels more like the soundtrack to a fantasy TV series imo, and that's cool. But this particular track isn't doing it for me. While it's nice, I find it kinda monotonous and a little repetitive, and the melodies are not particularly memorable. And yeah the vocals aren't bad or anything, but they completely lack any character to make them stand out from many other similar bands out there.

3/5


ReaperKK
Jakub Zytecki Sunflower

First impression: Technically impressive, but is it engaging?

My main issue with these kind of virtuosos, even our beloved DT at times, is that their music is so intricate (and likely a great composition!) that it ends up going the other way around and feeling like a wallpaper. While I love the atmosphere created here and the use of synths, it's the main guitar playing that goes over so many ideas it feels more like the guy just practicing his scales rather than an actual motif. I'd rather have Gilmour play one note and tear me apart than have Steve Vai play a thousand and make me feel nothing.

3/5


Wolfking   
Warning Watching from a Distance

First impression: It kind of drags a bit, but it's enjoyable

I don't have much experience with doom metal but what I look for in my slow metal is kinda sort of like this, but not exactly. Yeah it's pretty dark and depressing, but not as heavy as I'd like. I want more intensity and bruality from the guitars most of all. What's most important, I don't find the main vocal melodies that interesting tbh, and the chord progressions are just alright. And it's a tad too long imo.


3/5


Buddyhunter1
Greet Death Strange Days

First impression: Not a big fan of the vocals but the music is pretty nice

The vocals took a little to get used to but they've grown on me a bit. The music overall make me think of a modern Smashing Pumpkins, it has that similar sound on the distorted guitars. But it's also balanced by these nice calm sections. The chorus is pretty catchy although I feel they repeat the line "And now all we seem to love is the darkness" a bit too much throughout the song. It's a pretty simple track overall, with the last chorus having a bit more punch to it but nothing very climatic either.

3.5/5


kingshmegland
Rise Twain Prayers

First impression: Pretty lovely

I definitely like the piano-driven atmosphere here at the beginning and when the band comes in. The guitars remind me a bit of Gilmour's playing, which is always welcomed. Vocals are fine, but I'm afraid that what's preventing me from connecting more with this is that the melodies and chord progressions feel a little generic. I wouldn't say they lack personality, but they don't have a very strong one to me. Which is a shame because otherwise I'd be all over this for sure.

3.5/5


HOF
Anthonie Tonnon Leave Love Out of This.

First impression: Kinda atmospheric and with a lovely vibe

I feel similar with this piece as I did with the Rise Twian submission: it's pretty well-written and quite melodic, but I'm not fully connecting with it but it's so close. Kinda wished the melodic lines here were a bit more original, or with a stronger character. I like how it goes a bit electronic on the second half though, it works really well. I think that, while not winning me over, this song is a step in the right direction, so I'm curious to see what else you've got for the rest of the roulette.

3.5/5


Tomislav95
Dead Letter Circus Here We Divide

First impression: Vocals are alright, but I fear I'm not connecting with them

Yeah this kind of 2010s alt rock is fine and quite well composed. But I fear the singer is overdoing it and leaving little room for the music to shine on its own instead of being background sound. And when there are some instrumental sections, there's not that much going on. But at least the song is sort of catchy and has just enough personality to not bore me, but not to wow me.

3.5/5


Stadler
Aerosmith Beyond Beautiful

First impression: Quite more engaging than what I was expecting

I'll admit that intro had me more excited than the whole song ended up being but since I had very low expectations overall, I'm pleased by this song. It's pretty catchy and straightforward, but there's also some clunkiness in the production - the beginning and ending of the first chorus are very abrupt for some reason. I don't have much to say about it other than I wished they had really gone into what they hinted at in the intro, those mysterious sounds felt promising.

3.5/5


Elite   
Tigran Hamasyan Song for Melan and Rafik

First impression: Kinda of all over the place, but enjoyable

I had already checked out one album by this guy but I've been very aware of this record for a while, just that I never checked it out. It's definitely a very unique style I'll give you that, and it's quite an enjoyable listen. But I feel it might be a bit too much for me, not that it's overwhelming, but there's something about the motifs that doesn't end up grabbing me the way I'd like to. Maybe because it comes and goes so quickly? I dunno .

3.5/5


TheSoylentMan
Qwel & Maker Long Walkers

First impression: Nice and groovy

Mmnn I always have a hard time with hip hop: old school stuff doesn't work at all for me other than DJ Shadow, but I absolutely love some contemporary albums by Kendrick Lamar, Run the Jewels, clipping., and even some Death Grips. And this song I fear it sits somewhere in between, with some cool grooves for sure, but I realize I prefer a more daring, experimental edge on my hip hop. The production and melodies are nice, and the spoken words are always cool though.

3.5/5


Vmadera00
Public Service Broadcasting Gagarin

First impression: Damn, forgot to check out this album, this is cool

Ok for some reason I thought I had checked out this record after ariich sent me Sputnik on my previous roulette, but seems I didn't . Yeah this sounds promising, I don't know how to describe it other than uuhhh funky trumpets and guitars mixed with radio broadcast recordings of the space race. And it works quite well! It's a unique concept and sound, and quite catchy. Quite eager to delve more into this tbh.

4/5


lonestar
Gacharic Spin MindSet

First impression: Excellent groove at first, then goes to unexpected places

Definitely my favorite track of the round, what a banger! I love how it starts with this crazy groove on the bass, then the vocals come in and despite not understanding a single word, they're pretty catchy. The synths are hinted at here and there and I love their sound. While all of this would be enough to rate it highly, it's the crazy instrumental section at the middle that gives an unusual but very interesting break and prevents the song from feeling monotonous. It's such a high energy piece and I definitely vibe with it - the musicianship is excellent but never goes overboard for the sake of it, it's so fun to follow along with what the drums and the piano are doing.

4.5/5

Scores
lonestar   4.5
Vmadera00   4
Buddyhunter1   3.5
kingshmegland   3.5
HOF   3.5
Tomislav95   3.5
Stadler   3.5
Elite   3.5
TheSoylentMan   3.5
Puppies_On_Acid   3
TAC   3
Evermind   3
ReaperKK   3
Wolfking   3
Cyril   2

Now it's time for round 2! The optional theme is fogey music, which for the purposes of this roulette is anything released before 1990.

[Buddyhunter1]

Was hoping for a bit better, maybe I should have gone with a different song. You'd probably like the full album, there's some other really great songs and a good amount of variety too, especially since the band has two different vocalists who contrast each other really well!

Will send fogey music in a sec (...aaaand SENT!)

[HOF]

HOF
Anthonie Tonnon Leave Love Out of This.

First impression: Kinda atmospheric and with a lovely vibe

I feel similar with this piece as I did with the Rise Twian submission: it's pretty well-written and quite melodic, but I'm not fully connecting with it but it's so close. Kinda wished the melodic lines here were a bit more original, or with a stronger character. I like how it goes a bit electronic on the second half though, it works really well. I think that, while not winning me over, this song is a step in the right direction, so I'm curious to see what else you've got for the rest of the roulette.

3.5/5

Not bad! I'll note the rest of that album has a good bit of electronic type stuff on it. Might have been better off with a couple of the other tracks on there, but that's just the one that connected with me the most. The whole album is wonderful though and you should definitely check it out. A lot of the songs are more story based than this one, and he writes about some really unusual but interesting topics. 

Also, sent!

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Off to a bad start...

[lonestar]

Hell yeah!!! So glad that one clicked with you, it was my most played song on Spotify last year, and for good reason. While the girls are very diverse in style over the years, one thing that's consistent is their tight musicianship and ability to write brilliant hooks.

Sent for Rd 2




@Tim... not only did you get smoked by an "Teenage Japanese girl band", but one whose keyboard player dresses up like a cheeseburger....how bout dem apples?

[Crow]

perfect start 
i don't even think this song is particularly dissonant by their standards and that's the way i like it

[Evermind]

I'm about to send dad rock so this'll go really well

[wolfking]

Alright, not a good start.  Let's go fogey rock shopping.

[wolfking]

Open round. Optional theme: fogey music (from before the 90s)

I must say, I'm only 37 and I find this highly offensive.

[Tomislav95]

It seems that everything I ever send is 3.5/5 
Sending for r2 later today and definitely going for that bonus point

[King Postwhore]

RJ. 

[ReaperKK]

Hrmm going to think of a different approach for this round.

[Sacul]

Open round. Optional theme: fogey music (from before the 90s)

I must say, I'm only 37 and I find this highly offensive.

[lonestar]

Open round. Optional theme: fogey music (from before the 90s)

I must say, I'm only 37 and I find this highly offensive.

You're only 3 years away from being able to enter THE thread... Times a ticking bro.

[TAC]

@Tim... not only did you get smoked by an "Teenage Japanese girl band", but one whose keyboard player dresses up like a cheeseburger....how bout dem apples?

Let me guess...she plays the HAMmond organ?

[TAC]

TAC
Cirrus Bay Eden
3/5


Wolfking   
Warning Watching from a Distance
3/5

Oh, the irony.

[wolfking]

Open round. Optional theme: fogey music (from before the 90s)

I must say, I'm only 37 and I find this highly offensive.

You're only 3 years away from being able to enter THE thread... Times a ticking bro.

I've already been given an exclusive early guest pass.

TAC
Cirrus Bay Eden
3/5


Wolfking   
Warning Watching from a Distance
3/5

Oh, the irony.

I did think that truthfully. 

[lonestar]

@Tim... not only did you get smoked by an "Teenage Japanese girl band", but one whose keyboard player dresses up like a cheeseburger....how bout dem apples?

Let me guess...she plays the HAMmond organ?

Seriously though, put your preconceptions aside and check the track out, you might be impressed...

https://youtu.be/QmL0V667QzI

I promise it's not a Rick roll, though I was tempted

[TAC]

I did check it out. That was some bad ass slapping bass at the start. Once the singing started I had to end it.

[HOF]

Public Service Broadcasting are great BTW. Prefer Every Valley to The Race for Space, but both albums are really good. You’d probably like their latest, Bright Magic, too.

[Stadler]

Hell yeah!!! So glad that one clicked with you, it was my most played song on Spotify last year, and for good reason. While the girls are very diverse in style over the years, one thing that's consistent is their tight musicianship and ability to write brilliant hooks.

Sent for Rd 2




@Tim... not only did you get smoked by an "Teenage Japanese girl band", but one whose keyboard player dresses up like a cheeseburger....how bout dem apples?

That's just wrong on about six different levels. 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

@Tim... not only did you get smoked by an "Teenage Japanese girl band", but one whose keyboard player dresses up like a cheeseburger....how bout dem apples?

Let me guess...she plays the HAMmond organ?

Seriously though, put your preconceptions aside and check the track out, you might be impressed...

https://youtu.be/QmL0V667QzI

I promise it's not a Rick roll, though I was tempted

That song is seriously cool and fun  They are all super talented too. I will have to dig into their music further.

[King Postwhore]

The joy on their faces in the video gets you in a great vibe too.

[lonestar]

@Tim... not only did you get smoked by an "Teenage Japanese girl band", but one whose keyboard player dresses up like a cheeseburger....how bout dem apples?

Let me guess...she plays the HAMmond organ?

Seriously though, put your preconceptions aside and check the track out, you might be impressed...

https://youtu.be/QmL0V667QzI

I promise it's not a Rick roll, though I was tempted

That song is seriously cool and fun  They are all super talented too. I will have to dig into their music further.

Definitely the next one to check out should be I Wish I... Most of the latest album is pretty tight but those two tracks definitely stand out

[TAC]

Did someone say pretty tight?

[wolfking]

Did someone say pretty tight?

[Sacul]

Public Service Broadcasting are great BTW. Prefer Every Valley to The Race for Space, but both albums are really good. You’d probably like their latest, Bright Magic, too.

Noted


Alright, only 5 entries missing for round 2. Tomorrow I'll be out for most of the day so I'd prefer to have them by tomorrow evening. That way we'll have a week of Hangmanen Tuesday, First Impressions Wednesday, Comparisons Thursday, and Results Friday

[TAC]

T