FINAL RESULTS, part 7 of 7--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Puppies – Hidden1. VYGR - Orbital Hallucinations [intro]
2. Archivist - Tying Up Loose Ends in the Cold Void of Space
3. Woods of Desolation - And If All the Stars Faded Away
4. Fen - The Dying Stars
5. Esoteric - Beneath This Face
First impression: I almost wish I could award points for story because you’ve absolutely nailed how the music supports the narrative here. There are some wonderful moments in the music, but it’s intense and some of the vocals aren’t my favourite.
Favourite: Archivist - Tying Up Loose Ends in the Cold Void of Space
Least favourite: Esoteric - Beneath This FaceFinal opinion: This is a fantastic EP that probably would have been the best of the round had the last song been more interesting. The narrative is great (bleak as hell, but compelling) and tied into the style and tone of the music. But more importantly (for scores, anyway) the music itself is great and flows smoothly.
The VYGR tracks is just an atmospheric intro, so I’ll jump straight to Archivist. Funny enough, the EP basically gets a bit less good with each song, but because it starts so great, that’s not in itself a bad thing. I wasn’t too keen on the vocals in the Archivist song at first - the harshes are pretty intense and the cleans are kind of weak, but they work well enough for the song and the song is so good. Just really grand, epic and immersive and with several really lush sections.
The Woods of Desolation song is a relatively short one and it sort of continues the heavy side of the Archivist, with broadly speaking the same qualities that make it appealing. It’s intense and grand and melodic and immersive.
Fen are a band that I have heard before and found decent but not been hugely taken by. In fact it was you who included a song of theirs in your concept album in my v5 roulette. I checked out that album but I didn’t love it. This song sounds more my thing! Again it has many of the qualities of the previous two tracks, if not quite so lush, but there’s more of a wistful, introspective feel to it and it helps move on the emotional arc of the EP.
And then finally to Esoteric. The song works perfectly for your narrative, in terms of both the universe and the character’s mental state breaking down, but in itself it’s not entirely my thing. It’s melodically pretty dense, which can work in short bursts but this is a long song and it kind of drags on.
Flow-wise, this is one of the best of the round. While the music gets less to my taste as the EP goes on, that’s in part because it becomes less richly melodic and more dense and intense, reflecting what’s going on in the narrative. Combine that with high quality editing of the mp3 for some really smooth transitions between tracks and it really is a great listen.
Music quality score: 8.4
Flow score: 4.5
EP total: 12.9
Roulette total = 7.9 + 8.3 + 8.3 + 7.8 + 9.0 + 8.8 + (8.4 + 4.5) = 63.0
Final position: 2nd (joint)16th after round 1, 14th after round 4 and somehow finished 2nd. That was a hell of a comeback in the last few rounds, almost causing one of the biggest upsets in roulette history. Even those two weaker rounds I’m pretty interested in, but everything else (except Esoteric probably) I’m really excited to explore. Thanks for always trying out different things on me, even if they don’t all work out they expose me to interesting music I wouldn’t otherwise hear, and when they do hit the mark, boy do they hit the mark.
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Evermind – Arrogance1. Kalandra - Borders
2. Árstíðir - Shine
3. Kalandra - Brave New World
4. Scorpions - We Will Rise Again
5. The Gathering - Monsters
6. Currents - Monsters
7. So Hideous - Relinquish (Orchestral) [outro]
First impression: This EP has a long slow build in the first half but it’s very engaging and the narrative is part of that. The artists I haven’t heard before are my favourites here, but you’ve also made good use of those I have.
Favourite: Kalandra - Borders
Least favourite: The Gathering - MonstersFinal opinion: Oh man, the first half of this EP is so ludicrously good that it’s a real shame the second half doesn’t quite stack up. That said, it’s still a really great EP overall - one of the best of the round and a big step up from what you sent in my v6 roulette. Just like what Puppies sent, the narrative is amazing and really evocative - unfortunately, there are no points for the story!
We start with one of my absolute favourite artists of the entire roulette, Kalandra. I would have questioned why you didn’t send them in a regular round, but I can see that they were the inspiration for this whole EP and it was indeed inspired. The music is just so rich and beautiful, gorgeously melancholy and yet hopeful and vibrant. What it represents in the story fits perfectly with the sound and the music and I just can’t get enough of these songs.
The Árstíðir song that comes between them was a real grower, and is also wonderful. I’ve heard an album of theirs before and I don’t remember it being anywhere near this lush and emotionally engaging. Very moody and sorrowful. Again a great fit for the character it represents, and the way it works with the Kalandra songs that sit either side of it is amazing.
The second act, as it were, takes quite a turn in style, and we have two more artists who, firstly, I’ve heard before and, secondly, I was also sent by someone else in this round.
Just like the ones Stadler sent, this Scorpions song has made me want to try again with the band. It’s not mind-blowing - a definite step down from the first half of the EP - but it’s a solid piece of emotional hard rock. Similarly, The Gathering song, while the weakest on the EP, is similar to the one Nick sent in being more interesting than what I’ve heard from them before.
And then with the biggest shift of all, we come to some full-on metalcore. Regardless of the way this flows (which I’ll come onto shortly), in itself this is a pretty great song. Intense but very melodic, with some big soaring tuneful sections that are right up my alley.
And finally the outro which is an orchestral arrangement of a So Hideous song. As an outro (being in addition to the 5 main artists for the EP) you included this for flow and narrative and it doesn’t affect your quality score, which is probably a good thing as, while it’s effective in what it represents in the story, it’s not that exciting and does drag on quite long.
The flow of this EP pretty much runs parallel to the quality of the music. The first half is so good - it’s a slow build but the way it develops is stunning, and the narrative, while not essential, is the icing on the cake. The second half doesn’t work quite so well. It’s still good and I think your story really helps because the shift in sound from primarily organic sounds to electronic/industrial ones makes complete sense, as do the quite big movements in musical style. I can’t fault it from the perspective of the music matching the narrative, but compared with the highest flow scores of the round, this falls slightly short because the changes in style are just a little too big.
Music quality score: 8.6
Flow score: 4.2
EP total: 12.8
Roulette total = 8.4 + 8.2 + 8.3 + 8.4 + 8.2 + 8.7 + (8.6 + 4.2) = 63.0
Final position: 2nd (joint)How many of my roulettes can you almost win?! That’s now three full roulettes without a single score lower than 8.1. I can’t take the blame for screwing you over with nonsensical rules this time though.
For most of the roulette you were tracking along with Buddy comfortably in the top half of the table, always an 8.2 or higher, but not looking likely to retain your title. And then suddenly an incredible push in the last two rounds. Honestly, the first time I was listening through and got halfway into your EP I thought you might have somehow pulled it off. But it was gracious of you to let someone else take it this time. Thank you so much for always sending me so much great music!
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Crow – Sonoran Sunset Skies1. My Morning Jacket - One Big Holiday
2. Zach Bryan - Dawns
3. Orville Peck - Kalahari Down
4. Trophy Scars - Everything Disappearing
5. Car Seat Headrest - Twin Fantasy (Those Boys)
First impression: This started rather more middle-of-the-road than I might have expected from you. That said, it picks up a lot and there’s an emotional warmth that threads through the whole EP.
Favourite: Orville Peck - Kalahari Down
Least favourite: My Morning Jacket - One Big HolidayFinal opinion: I mean, you cut this pretty fine but yes, you did it! This isn’t quite up there with the very best EPs of the round but it’s still really damn good and every song on it was a grower, except for Kalahari Down which I loved immediately.
I completely agree with you that the EP starts with the two weakest songs, but they’re still very good. My Morning Jacket are one of those bands whose name I’m very familiar with but who I’ve never heard. I stand by my first impression, but the song did grow on me a fair bit. Mainly it’s the guitar motifs that are really engaging and have a very emotive tone to them. The thing that holds the song back for me is the vocals - they’re fairly weak, and the verses especially are a bit uninteresting. The Zach Bryan is a bit of a step up - nothing quite so engaging as the guitar work from the previous song, but the vocal melodies and delivery are much more compelling and the indie folk vibe.
Orville Peck seems like such an interesting and unusual character. The music here is predominantly very classic and old fashioned - barely any indication that he’s a young, modern musician other than, perhaps, some of the subtle nuances in the sound production. But the song is just wonderful - incredibly elegant and rich and his voice is so warm and intriguing. Really lovely stuff.
The Trophy Scars song was the biggest grower of the EP and to be honest one of the biggest of the entire round. It starts fine - the acoustic guitar line kind of reminds of the Blue EP from the Dear Hunter’s Color Spectrum - but it’s the way the song builds and develops that is kind of mesmerising, and especially the last few minutes are just so emotionally intense and engaging. The strings, the yells and the slightly haunting female vocals all just come together so wonderfully and turn it into a completely different song from where it started.
And finally, Car Seat Headrest. Closer in quality to the first two songs really, lacking a bit of punch and energy at times maybe but it has a very wistful mood and emotion to it and it gets quite affecting once it picks up halfway through.
Which seems like a good time to talk about flow, because that last song works great as a closer and exemplifies what’s great about this EP flows. I know there wasn’t a specific narrative (I got the impression from your EP that you didn’t even have a loose story in mind) but more an emotional arc, and it really does work very well. There aren’t really segues between tracks, but the editing still helps the transitions feel smooth and despite the EP covering a few different types of country-adjacent music it all fits together nicely.
Music quality score: 8.4
Flow score: 4.3
EP total: 12.7
Roulette total = 8.8 + 8.4 + 8.6 + 8.3 + 8.2 + 8.2 + (8.4 + 4.3) = 63.2
Final position: WINNERI checked, and over the course of my 8 roulettes (so far) you have been my most regular customer, having sent me more music than anyone else - 42 actual roulette rounds, not including post-roulette stuff you’ve sent me, compared with the next highest of 34 rounds from jingle and Puppies. In a way it sort of feels right that you finally win one. It finished very close in the end - Puppies and Evermind really made a strong push in the last two rounds, but fortunately your early lead was so commanding as to be able to hold them back. Your rank graph is amusingly dull, but the points one shows how others sort of took it in turns to compete but none managed to maintain it to actually challenge you in the end. Thanks for all the music you’ve sent me over the years and for the consistently great stuff in this roulette, can’t wait to dig into it all!
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Topic: ariich's DARK TO LIGHT roulette (v8) - Post-roulette updates (ongoing) (Read 91873 times)