FINAL RESULTS, part 3--------------------------------------------------------------------------
King – Breaking Through the Relationship Pain1. Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side - Little Man
2. Xerosync - Now I See You
3. Magic Pie - Trick of the Trade
4. Barock Project - Ashes
5. Downes Braide Association - Your Heart Will Find The Way
First impression: There's a pleasingly hopeful tone to a lot of this. Seems like a nice mix of upbeat prog - nothing too challenging but all enjoyable.
Favourite: Magic Pie - Trick of the Trade
Least favourite: Xerosync - Now I See YouFinal opinion: Some EPs were hard to choose either a favourite or a least favourite for. This one stands out as the hardest to pick both for because the quality is just so consistent. While the styles covered are not quite the same, you really tapped into my love of Moon Safari - prog that’s upbeat and pretty but has a sincere and emotive undercurrent to it.
Jonas Lindberg starts things off very strongly and a great encapsulation of the qualities that run through this whole EP. It’s very warm and heartfelt in composition and delivery, and quite lovely to listen to. Great introduction.
Xerosync is bottom of the pack but there is nothing whatsoever wrong with it. It’s a solid bit of prog, with a nice chorus and a pretty engaging (if short) quieter bridge section. But something has to come bottom, and this is the only one that doesn’t really extend beyond “solid” in a way that particularly excites me.
Magic Pie and Barock Project were the hardest ones to choose between for my favourite. They both fit well with the vibe of the EP, but instil a more dramatic flair which works really well both in itself and as part of the emotional arc of the EP. Trick of the Trade won out in the end because the chorus really is just so great. But Ashes also has a gorgeous moody vibe at times that is right up my alley, as well as some fun instrumental work.
And finally, I wasn’t sure what to expect of Downes Braide Association as, apart from one Asia album, I’ve never got particularly into Geoff Downes’ other work. But this is a great song. The AOR vibe is entirely what I would have expected, but it has such a nice gentle groove to it, and there’s a lovely balance of melancholy with again that hopeful tone that hits a nice sweet spot.
As well as being full of good music, this EP also flows great which is not easy when each song is from a different artist. But despite some differences in style, the commonalities that link them together are dominant and make it feel coherent, and the emotional arc in both the music and lyrics works very well. A really great EP to listen through.
Music quality score: 8.4
Flow score: 4.4
EP total: 12.8
Roulette total = 7.3 + 8.2 + 8.2 + 7.8 + 7.7 + 8.4 + (8.4 + 4.4) = 60.4
Final position: 16th (joint)You came bottom of my last roulette and didn’t have a great start to this one, but you quickly got back on track and ended up finishing on a real high. Those A.C.T. albums and basically all the artists from your EP I’m excited to dig into, you really did nail those last two rounds. But also the Avett Brothers and Our Lady Peace I’m looking forward to as well. Thanks for always being in these roulettes, sending me good music and being a lot of fun to have on board!
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Sacul – from weed to bliss1. Sleep - Dragonaut
2. Kyuss - Odyssey
3. Kyuss - Green Machine
4. Boris - Woman On The Screen
5. Boris - Ibitsu
6. Boris - Melody
7. Boris - Farewell
First impression: This is all pretty cool but I feel like, to get the most out of it, you need to be in a particular mood I’m unlikely to be in. There’s a nice groove throughout though, and it all feels very coherent.
Favourite: Sleep - Dragonaut
Least favourite: Boris - FarewellFinal opinion: As you know, I’m very open to different genres and sounds, but some styles naturally speak to me more than others. Neither stoner rock nor noise rock have a sound that particularly appeals to me, but I can definitely dig them with the right balance of groove and good hooks. This EP starts solid, but kind of gradually deteriorates over the course of its runtime.
Sleep is the artist here that I’m most keen to check out more of. There’s not much in the way of interesting vocal melodies maybe, but the song is carried by the general groove and the main riff which is extremely cool. There’s also a great moment in the latter part of the song where the bass takes over, which I dig.
Kyuss also interest me. I wouldn’t say I love these two songs, and I’m not wholly sold on the thrash-influenced riffs, but I can see the appeal. I like the way they maintain the groove from the first song but instil a bit more energy and dynamism.
Boris is where this EP loses me a bit, though. There are good moments, for sure. The opening riff of Woman On The Screen kicks off with a ton of energy, Ibitsu has an enjoyable punky vibe, Melody is a pretty solid song all round, and even Farewell has some nice atmospheric moments. But, with the exception of Melody, these songs all sound quite messy to me, and with vocals that I find either uninteresting in terms of melodies or, in the case of Farewell, frustratingly out of tune. Unless you’re someone who is generally really into this style then I feel like you would need to be pretty stoned to get into this, and as someone who doesn’t do drugs myself, I’m unlikely to be in the right frame of mind.
On the whole, these songs fit quite well together and there’s a coherence of vibe, but I’ve not ended up enjoying the flow as I would have liked. I think partly it's a feature of the music moving further and further away from my tastes as it goes, but also there are big shifts in volume and sonic style (especially from Kyuss to Boris) that a little jarring.
Music quality score: 7.6
Flow score: 3.8
EP total: 11.4
Roulette total = 8.3 + 8.9 + 8.0 + 7.8 + 7.9 + 8.1 + (7.6 + 3.8) = 60.4
Final position: 16th (joint)Certainly not a bad place to rank in general terms, but probably not what you were hoping for when you were joint 1st in round 2! You really nailed those first two rounds and I’m excited to dig into both Sohn (who was one of the very best submissions of the entire roulette, and fits well with other music I listen to already) and Kendrick Lamar (which will materially expand the amount of hip hop I have in my collection). The rest didn’t hit the mark in the same way, but it was all good still and The Microphones especially I’m looking forward to exploring as well.
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romdrums – A Simon Phillips Sampler1. Simon Phillips - V8
2. Derek Sherinian - Dragonfly
3. Derek Sherinian - Seven Seas
4. Simon Phillips - Undeviginti
5. Derek Sherinian - Scorpion
6. Simon Phillips - Circle Seven
First impression: The aspect you wanted me to concentrate on is as excellent as I expected. The music is very cool although I feel like it never really reaches a focal point, melodically speaking.
Favourite: Simon Phillips - Undeviginti
Least favourite: Derek Sherinian - DragonflyFinal opinion: This will hardly come as a shock, but unless I’m seeing a band live, in person, then I tend to be a little picky when it comes to jazz and fusion. Simon Phillips is a great drummer, and indeed I’ve seen him on stage as part of Hiromi’s Trio Project, which is her best era (in my opinion) and was one of the best jazz gigs I’ve ever been to. This EP is an excellent showcase for his playing and demonstrates what a capable composer he is, but it doesn’t quite manage to excite me overall.
On the whole the tracks from his solo Protocol project are the ones I find most engaging. V8 and Undeviginti, especially, have an upbeat, energetic richness to them that’s very enjoyable. The expansive instrumental work in Undeviginti especially is great, including some really nice saxophone and a pretty memorable main motif which the other tracks have less of. Circle Seven has some great moments too, but bits of it meander a little, which isn’t a size of jazz and fusion that appeals to me hugely unless it’s done in a particularly interesting way.
The Sherinian tracks, while I’m not so into them, are still a nice surprise. I don’t find him a particularly exciting songwriter and this doesn’t really shift my view on that, but I hadn’t realised he went full on fusion in his solo work. Or are these just a handful of fusion tracks otherwise surrounded by prog and metal? I suppose Seven Seas does build into full-on prog territory. Either way, they’re pretty cool. His style of hammering the keys works well for the style, and Phillips’ drumming adds nicely to the sound as well. I enjoy it all, I just find that other than the second half of Seven Seas, it never really comes back to any particularly memorable hooks.
The EP flows pretty well, covering a coherent style with some slight branching out but nothing that strays too far from the core sound. It’s one of those that feels like simply a collection of songs that fit well together - just with the score knocked down very slightly because of the quite big volume shifts between tracks interrupting the flow a bit at times.
Music quality score: 7.8
Flow score: 3.9
EP total: 11.7
Roulette total = 8.0 + 8.2 + 8.0 + 8.3 + 8.4 + 8.2 + (7.8 + 3.9) = 60.8
Final position: 15thI think this has been your most consistent performance - and narrowest range of scores - in any of my roulettes. Never managed to get above the median, but never fell far below it either. I enjoyed everything - Imogen Heap was the big standout and I feel silly for not having checked her out sooner. But Monobody and Obsidious I’m also really looking forward to digging into, and I’ll check the rest out too as nothing you sent was really a dud.
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luke – god damn pizza death are great1. Pizza Death - Pizza Death
2. Sound Ideas - Arpeggiated Series of Diminished 7th Chords on a Harp [interlude]
3. Mother’s Cake - Cybernova
4. Mother’s Cake - Hit on Your Girl
5. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Magenta Mountain
6. Andrew W.K. - Babalon
7. Andrew W.K. - Everybody Sins
8. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Ambergris
9. Sound Ideas - Harp Glissando Accent [interlude]
10. Pizza Death - Rise of the Anchovy
First impression: For something so silly in concept, I can’t help but appreciate how surprisingly well it works. For better or worse, most of the music is very much along the lines I expected, but there are some nice surprises too.
Favourite: Andrew W.K. - Babalon
Least favourite: Pizza Death - Pizza DeathFinal opinion: While not as ludicrous as Glasser’s legendary EP, this is still one of the more ridiculous ones in concept. The difference, which works in its favour, is that the absurdity is concentrated at the edges, while the core of the EP is full of good music that flows well. As a result, it’s a genuinely enjoyable and entertaining EP to listen to.
Pizza Death is pretty much exactly what I expected.
As a novelty act, they’re hilarious and a lot of fun, but at the end of the day it’s pretty generic and tuneless thrash metal that just happens to be about pizza. Thankfully, the songs are incredibly short so they don’t affect the overally quality much, and the way they bookend things along with the dreamy harp interludes is pretty great for the narrative that you’ve built around the EP.
I’ve heard Mother’s Cake before, but I don’t remember them being this damn funky. Cybernova doesn’t do a whole lot, but it’s an effective atmospheric build up to Hit On Your Girl which is really great. Proper funk prog, a bit bonkers, a ton of fun and with some great hooks.
And then we have more King Gizzard! I think it’s the first time I’ve ever had one person send me the same artist twice in one roulette, and of course it had to be you with the Lizard Wizard. I definitely don’t think you’ve found a second KG album for me to love, but I’ve been surprised at how well these two work as bridging songs, providing a breather between the more energetic material. Very pleasant.
And finally, Andrew W.K. I had absolutely no idea how epic his music has gotten. Literally the only thing I remember was all his hits from I Get Wet which were immensely popular, a lot of fun but very much “party rock”. And there’s for sure still a sense of fun, but damn these songs both have such a huge sound and grand epic vibe. It was hard to choose a favourite, as they’re both pretty equally great.
I’m not sure I can really explain why, but I thoroughly enjoy how this EP flows. Without your narrative it probably would have felt a little random, but with the narrative in mind, it just works really well. Even down to using the harp interludes to enter and leave the drug-fuelled hallucination dream sequence that is the core of the EP was genius, and that central core itself flows well. Despite the pretty different styles, none of the transitions feel jarring, and the tone develops throughout in a surprisingly compelling way. Just a really fun experience all round.
Music quality score: 8.2
Flow score: 4.2
EP total: 12.4
Roulette total = 8.2 + 7.9 + 8.2 + 7.9 + 8.5 + 7.8 + (8.2 + 4.2) = 60.9
Final position: 14thYour scores have basically been an almost perfect zig-zag, consistently switching back and forth between green up arrows and red down arrows and never jumping by less than 0.3 in either direction. The sub-8 scores ultimately kept you in the bottom half, but a strong EP brought you back close to the median. Even those ones I’m interested in checking out, but it’s the >8.0 scoring entries that I’m far more excited by, especially catching up on what I’ve apparently been missing out on from Billy Talent, Andrew W.K. and Mother’s Cake. And I guess Pizza Death.
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Topic: ariich's DARK TO LIGHT roulette (v8) - Post-roulette updates (ongoing) (Read 91552 times)