Cyril
The Paper Chase You're One of Them Aren't You?
First impression:
Well of course you'd send me thisThe 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.
2/5Puppies_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.
3/5TAC
Cirrus Bay Eden
First impression:
Not sure what to make of itNow 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.
3/5Evermind
Kalandra Brave New World
First impression:
Vocals are a little generic but the music is niceI 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.
3/5ReaperKK
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.
3/5Wolfking
Warning Watching from a Distance
First impression:
It kind of drags a bit, but it's enjoyableI 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.
3/5Buddyhunter1
Greet Death Strange Days
First impression:
Not a big fan of the vocals but the music is pretty niceThe 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.
3.5/5kingshmegland
Rise Twain Prayers
First impression:
Pretty lovelyI 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.
3.5/5HOF
Anthonie Tonnon Leave Love Out of This.
First impression:
Kinda atmospheric and with a lovely vibeI 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.
3.5/5Tomislav95
Dead Letter Circus Here We Divide
First impression:
Vocals are alright, but I fear I'm not connecting with themYeah 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.
3.5/5Stadler
Aerosmith Beyond Beautiful
First impression:
Quite more engaging than what I was expectingI'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.
3.5/5Elite
Tigran Hamasyan Song for Melan and Rafik
First impression:
Kinda of all over the place, but enjoyableI 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
.
3.5/5TheSoylentMan
Qwel & Maker Long Walkers
First impression:
Nice and groovyMmnn 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.
3.5/5Vmadera00
Public Service Broadcasting Gagarin
First impression:
Damn, forgot to check out this album, this is coolOk 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.
4/5lonestar
Gacharic Spin MindSet
First impression:
Excellent groove at first, then goes to unexpected placesDefinitely 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.
4.5/5Scores
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.