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tangmo
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Re:Critique thread...want opinions on your music? - 2008/04/10 12:28This is another bonus review. I am not in the queue. I wanted to give this ablum a listen, and since my impression of it differes significantly from the other review posted, felt like I wanted to put my dime's worth in as well.
Helen Sventitsky Monochrome in Technicolor.
It's really hard for me to put this album's peg into any hole I'm comfortable talking about. Might as well not bother to call the genre police, because there is no musical law that covers this. I'd be tempted to call it alt synth pop, but that would lead you to believe this was some kind of happy vibed 80's dance music, which it clearly is not.
The musical backing is primarily synth and keyboard with bass and drums playing smaller roles as well as hits of musical noise and production. To be honest, it often sounds like nothing I've ever heard. That may say more about my lack of exposure to a lot of music here in my cave, but I think it says more about the true originality of this offering.
The songs typically are very well structured, but with considerable freedom within accepted forms to interpret verse, chorus, bridge with invention. Essentially, they are musical narratives intended for ears and minds. This is not easy background music you can leave for a few seconds and come back to find the same groove. The lyrics are also layed out in narrative form. The closest songwriter I can name who she reminds me of is Dylan. Not that she sounds like Dylan, or even sounds like a disciple--but be prepared to get engaged and stay engaged if you want to wring all the juice from these songs.
Thankfully, she makes it very easy to do so. There is precious little clutter in her arrangements, and the lyrics are typically short stories or poetic descriptions, covering themee ranging from sickness, to sex, to magic, to memory and history. Like the music, the lyrics are often quirky and definately not standard fare. They speak very personally and I feel connection, even when she sings about things I have no personal experience with. There is truth even in her fiction.
The voice is beautiful. Most of the time, it's a soft, but powerful delivery--like a fist in a velvet glove. Other times, it rings out with more grit and fire. Clearly she's in control of the instrument, but isn't afraid to break down and communicate the depth of feeling for her subject matter.
Overall, the package moved me considerably.
You and Me and the Goddamn City. Deep synth opening, joined with off-kilter but effective rythm. Probably the most 'standard' pop song on the album with a hooky chorus. Nice breaks and bridges continually refresh the sound.
Requeim For My Singlehood. Sort of a pop-blues thing. Very quirky backing, but adorable.
Incident at Motel 6. Nice keyboard and light percussion backing on this slow piece. Maybe too much production 'noise'. Great lyric. I liked the sudden stop, but I think it came too late.
Party to An Escape. Super melody with a cool bass rythm in a 2/4 feel that flows into a beautiful chorus. There's a bit too much compression on the vocals here, I think, and they are a bit too upfront.
Alzheimers. Electric Piano opening with muted emotional voice opens this sad song. The synth burbles which join in feel a little out of place to me. Powerful bridge, but again too synth heavy for me. Quirky soft ending that felt perfect to me.
Withdrawal Symptoms. Hard synth opening that breaks into a soft pop groove. This wouldn't be out of place in a synth pop playlist. If I may say, this is the weakest lyric (and that is a compliment, as these are typically great)--I just didn't buy it in the first person.
Sheila and Mayron. The most Dylanesque lyric here, with a long narrative set to a sweet progression and steady beat. Love this melody too, with all the turns.
Ringed by Lovers. Deeply Poetic lyric set to a fairly dark poppy synth and percussion groove. I'm guessing this may be her favorite lyric? Progression is very circular and sort of paints itself into a corner with repetition. She adds some nice stuff musically (and take away stuff too) to keep it fresh, but it does go on too long without a real changeup for me. Really great work with it, just too long.
Taking Back Kosovo. Another quite poetic lyric with a unique POV.
I feel like I haven't done much justice to this album with this review. I've found it difficult to 'explain' what this sounds like. I recommend it very highly, and not just to listeners with a bit of adventure in their ears.
It may be minimal at times, and at times quirky, but the arrangements are splendidly varied within the tracks themselves, and from song to song as well. There is considerable range of dynamics within the tracks. The production and sound is quite good. I've found very little to fault.
The melodies are strong, the lyrics unique and very interesting, the emotion palpable. In short, this is a great listen.
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...but later, we will come to you asking for a favor. No matter what it is, you must do it. You may be required to sing backup for David Hassellhoff, replace a member of New Kids on the Block, play guitar beside D. Snider on the Twisted Sister reunion tour, or referee a match between all three lead singers of Van Halen. It doesn't matter. Of course, whatever it is will be taped and posted.
Baby's First Ride Lyndell
Post edited by: thel1195, at: 2008/04/10 12:36
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It's a great job, and all you have to do is make sure you cue up the right song, keep at least one finger (preferably strong enough to press a button) healthy, and wait until she opens her mouth!
You too can be a super star!
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Stuart Walker (aka GumboStu)'s music is a wonderful mix of classic Americana, and English Folk. It's all here, from Zydeco (I've Lived in this Town - LOVE the ethereal French voices) to acoustic blues, to heartworn Civil War ballads. You have a touch of Bluegrass here and there, and even the beautiful, tender love songs are worked through without sounding sappy (Twilight is a supreme example).
Stuart is a thoughtful songwriter and arranger, and every composition on this CD is considerate of time and place, whether it's the whimsical old time blues workout with modern lyrics of I Won't Say Where, the tired soldier in Calvary, or the resigned lover of "We All Gotta Go Home Sometime". His lyrics are both thoughtful and thought-provoking, and in "Twilight", even downright poetic. He's also a versatile vocalist, inhabiting the smartass character with ease in "I Won't Say Where", the happy go lucky traveling musician in "Dixie And Back" and the troubled soul of Calvary, where he rasps his voice to effect. His accompanying musicians always seem to have a good time, with the harmonies even reminiscent of the Small Faces.
The only draw back I could see with this collection was that it started bogging down toward the end. A more balanced mix between the slower and more fast-paced songs would have been appreciated by these ears. Also, I thought the drums in "Rainin' Blues" were mixed too far to the back. And yes, I heard a few bum notes from the band here and there. But then again, given the speed the project needed to be recorded in, it's understandable. It's also part of the charm.
Overall, a well-played, well-written effort by Mr. Walker and band. This is one I'm definitely downloading! And perhaps purchasing if it ever went on sale.
Thank you, BigStarlet. You're right on. I love the characters you imagine for the tunes, and that it all sounds like a band to you. That was my intention and it was kind of mixed to suggest an acoustic pub session, though a couple of tracks needed a little more space.
thank you also for your comments on the play order - this was a real challenge for me and people have different responses to the selection presented. I'm with you though and I'm still exploring the play order.
All the best
Gumbo Stu and the Bum Notes!
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i realized that this is one of the many albums that i've already listened to, so it made it much easier to get back into quickly.
i like to read the profile to see if anyone has an approach to their music, here, Elijah from Audio Assault says that this is Terror Movie music, which struck me an appropriate style. Aside from the obvious ominous sounds of screams, demon vox and metal up your ass guitars, the mood for a Rob Zombie flick is all here. Now my predjudice as a Bass Player forces me to say off the top that there is a distinct lack of low end in this entire offering. I know, yer a guitar player, and you've got some great riffs going on here, but man oh man are you missing an opportunity here with zero low end. (even the guitar could be eqed with a bit more bass to add some crunch to it) It makes the whole album sound very thin in my opinion. I think the perfect compliment to the awesome riffs and doublebass thrasher drums would be some heavy bass sound. ok, well, I won't dwell on that. Now as a headbanger from way back, i here your influences loud and clear here, especially Rammstein and Amon Amarth, as well as the before mentioned Rob Zombie horror flicks. Stand out tracks here for me are Werewolves!, ...and Robots Take Over
Now technically, there are some songs that sound more polished than other, a few riffs that sound labored or don't quite match up to the drums. I understand perfectly well how hard it is to get a perfect mix in a month. It's obvious that you spent a LOT of time on the drum sequencing and some of the double guitar parts are incredibly well thought out. there are a few tunes where the drums drop out and it just sounds like yer noodling around (final sprint), the ideas that are well thought out show it, the others sound like filler.
All in all i'd say Terrorshow lives up to it's name 100%. If you ever get around to remixing this CD i have one word for you...BASS!!! This CD would make a great horrow movie sound track and other wise good background for a wild party with hot chicks and beer bongs.
congratulations!
angie fights crime
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artwhore
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Re:Critique thread...want opinions on your music? - 2008/04/12 00:21Jeff, you need to do a review in order to get a review. since there's nobody left to review, you can do one already done or pick somebody randomly.
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the whole thing won't fit on there as is, and i'm hoping to get the good RPM folks to give me more space, but quite a bit of it is up finally. i know some people said they wanted to hear my stuff, and mparker was unable to do a complete review up top.
i will likely do a new review as soon as i can, because im feeling kind of narcissistic right now and would love a review of my stuff.
im so happy this thread is working so well and thank everyone for making it so.
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For those of you that missed it, "the CD is a concept, consisting of 12 songs, starting in the key of "a" at 60 bpm going up 1/2 a step and 10 bpm until reaching "Eb" (120) then going back down the other way ending on "Ab" (70)."
Got that? Now, I have no idea where that particular idea came from - it almost sounds like the sort of thing Bach might have done - but it's certainly an interesting and original idea; for those of us who simply wrote a load of songs and fervently hoped that it would somehow fit together, here is an example of how you can do something formula-based without it sounding formulaic.
Instrumentally, most of the album is pretty stripped down - a lot of it is just one electric guitar, bass, drums (real drums! a rarity at RPM) and vocals. Quite often other instruments flit by, but they're usually there just to provide a bit of texture and, with one or two exceptions, they tend to be very low in the mix. Overall, it sounds fairly well-produced to my untutored ears, the starkness seeming to be deliberate rather than the result of a lack of time.
The structure of the songs is a little unconventional. Much of the time AFC eschews the standard verse/chorus structure, or at least will have a chorus that is only one line repeated about 20 times (this could easily get repetitive but never does), or for some reason the chorus often doesn't feel like one. The album concept seems to give the whole thing a sense of unity, and it feels like the whole record is telling some kind of story; I have no idea what that story actually is, but it's enough for me just to feel like it's there...
If there's one thing that lets this album down, it's timing. Frequently the drums seem to lose their way and slow down/speed up, losing the rhythm entirely. However, this is a fairly small point, and if you're not willing to forgive the odd dropped beat in return for music as good as this, well, you may as well stick screwdrivers in both your ears, because you're clearly not using them properly. This album is bloody brilliant.
Ok, the songs:
Sleep:We start off with a nice clean guitar riff over a relaxed loping beat which builds nicely into the song proper. Great song, but it suffers particularly from the timing issues mentioned above; also the tuning on the vocals is sometimes a bit hit-and-miss. I do like the rise and fall on this track. Good start - by the end of the track I was hooked.
U and Us: While listening to this I simply wrote down: "menacing, doomy". That pretty much sums it up. Apparently the artist's wife did a guest vocal on this track; the two voices meld together perfectly, even if they sound like they're singing from the bottom of Lake Reverb. Maybe we could hear a bit more from her next time? Not sure I'd listen to this just before going to bed. Not if I didn't want to have nightmares.
Loser: Lighter than the previous track, it comes as something of a relief. The vocals sound really great on this song - the high notes really shimmer. Some of the lyrics seem a little naive: "Why can't we all just live as brothers/ Brown, black or white, whichever God you choose" Laudable sentiment, I know, maybe I'm a twisted old misanthrope, but that sort of lyric really doesn't do it for me. He doesn't half sing it well though...
Winter: Again, the start of this song suffers from that old devil wonky timing, but it soon sorts itself out. This song has the feeling that it's going on a journey, and I was more than happy to go with it. Good bit of songwriting, that.
Insane: This is a bit different. It's in a slightly off-kilter 3/4 timing. It starts quiet and gradually builds up to a very dark and uneasy climax. "I feel like I'm going insane" he repeatedly cries. For some reason, this song put me in mind of a circus gone horribly wrong - I can't really explain that, that's just where the song took me.
Voices: "There are a lot of angry voices that do not belong to me/ Inside this skull I sometimes call home" Great opening line. Seems, lyrically at least, to follow straight on from the previous track. "But I swear to you that everything's okay," he says later on in the track, sounding like he's desperately trying to persuade himself. This song sounds a bit Joy Division-ish. That's fine by me.
Song Song: Like Loser, this song lightens the mood somewhat when things were getting heavy. The beat is almost disco-like, and the swirly arrangement provides a nice counterpoint to the nakedness of the previous track. Not my favourite song on the album, but an important one in terms of the dynamics of the piece as a whole.
Come: Whoa! Where did this one come from? Instead of singing, he speaks the words rhythmically, seemingly through a megaphone, over a slightly bizarre atmospheric instrumental. Perhaps it could do with being about 30 seconds shorter, but I'm niggling here. This guy keeps surprising me.
Now: At this point the songs have started to slow down again. This seems to be a love song, but this is Angie Fights Crime. He doesn't do things conventionally. His love song is full-blooded heavy rock with great quiet/loud dynamics and some exemplary screamed vocals (I do like a bit of vocal screaming). Good stuff.
Ready: I tapped my foot so hard it started to hurt. This is my favourite song on the whole album. The chorus is a fucking classic - try to listen to it and not go home singing it . Unfortunately, at around 3:20, the aforementioned timing problems make themselves known again, and the song completely collapses. However, a couple of seconds later and we're back on track and the song finishes in a glorious mass of technicolour noise, which then pulls back into the quietest little riff before it ends. I'm sorry, I'll have to take a short break now: I'm trying to review the next song and this one's still stuck in my head...
[10 minutes later]
Where was I? Oh yes. Escape: At 5:39, this is the longest cut on the album. It's something of an anthem, and the soundscape is correspondingly bigger: there's at least 3 guitar parts going on there and they all fit together nicely. However, it does get a little bogged-down and muddy. Not a bad song, but not my favourite.
Everything: With this song the album is brought to a nice conclusion. According to his profile page, this is the "preferred track". Not sure I would agree with that, but I have to admit it's not a bad choice. Like many of the other songs, it starts off quiet and restrained and builds up to a furious climax, but this one seems to start lower and finish higher, beginning with some very pretty swirly keyboards and minimalist guitar noodling, before gradually segueing into a gloriously intense 2-chord jam to finish us off. This one feels strangely uplifting, and partly as a result of that, I felt very satisfied when the record finished.
Overall:
You'll have probably guessed by now that I like this. It's good from beginning to end - not a weak cut in sight. Also, it's genuinely original without being inaccessible or self-consciously weird. The whole keys-tempos concept works fine and really doesn't detract attention from the actual music as I feared it might have done. The artist writes great songs and has a really good voice. In terms of musicianship, there's no virtuoso stuff here: every note is there to support the tunes. Yes, the timing problems do mar it in places, but overall this is a great, well-rounded piece of work. I'd buy it, and I'd recommend other people buy it as well.
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i know the timing problems are horrible, you should have heard it before i fixed about 90% of them. the problem was trying to record drums on all 11 songs in about 3 hours with a pre-recorded guitar/click track. if i had to do it over again i would have given myself a bit more time and used something other than an IPOD for audio reference, which was never quite loud enough whilst banging away on the drums.
oh well, such is the perils of a solo artist.
thanks again.
Post edited by: artwhore, at: 2008/04/12 08:10
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I'll make it easy on ya. I've been reviewed once on my full CD, but I have only 5 songs on Virb. You want to do a 2nd review on my stuff, I'll have a review ready for you some time tomorrow. www.virb.com/bfr
Baby's First Ride Lyndell
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I know you've put yourself out there, so I'll do you as well.
Baby's First Ride Lyndell
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Jeffrey David Archer
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Re:Critique thread...want opinions on your music? - 2008/04/12 07:33artwhore wrote: Jeff, you need to do a review in order to get a review. since there's nobody left to review, you can do one already done or pick somebody randomly.
I understand this. I am in the process of reviewing Zanois's RPM album.
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Angie Fights Crime - "E is for Everything" I was giddy as a schoolgirl, finding in my mailbox the first cd to be received from the Great RPM Challenge '08 album swap. It turned out to be Angie Fights Crime's "E Is for Everything"! Herein is quickie review.
AFC states on his profile that the concept was to start in the key of "a" at 60 bpm going up 1/2 a step and 10 bpm until reaching "Eb" (120) then going back down the other way ending on "Ab" (70). Interesting.
The first track starts out with nice chord changes over a plodding beat, slightly distorted guitars and I'm thinking, uhoh jam band!, but this is not the case. There are few guitar solos, and what few there are connect the verses logically and help the main thrust of the song. The subjects of the songs are for the most part, simply stated by the one-word titles, dealing with desperation, insanity, etc. Great fodder for these kinds of rock songs. As the beat quickens and the keys ascend, the songs sound brighter, but stay anchored by AFC's plaintive vocal which range from shouting to almost spoken, to treated with effects to achieve a mechanized effect, like on the tune "Come", one of my favorites.
The sound is BIG, and maintained throughout the album, like a wall of sound but without loads of reverb (how'd he do dat?). Overall, it reminds me of My Morning Jacket or Stone Gossard's first Brad album. But then "Ready", with it's suggestions of violence, brings to mind Alice Cooper's macabre cabaret, like something out of "Welcome to my Nightmare".
As AFC states on another favorite tune, "Voices"
"everything's ok"
And indeed it is.
I'm giving "E" 3 &1/2 stars, which is real good, one star being an Alvin and the Chipmunks album, five stars would be Abbey Road.
thanks "Angie"!
(BTW, I've already been reviewed)
Post edited by: kavin, at: 2008/04/12 16:26
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Not knowing anything about you, but I've have to say there is a Echo and Bunnyman fan around somewhere, the Cure or Love and Rockets. Maybe some Gene Love Jezebel? This feels like a style project, more than a content of the lyrics. A sound canvas with colors more than shapes. A bit on the moody side. The songs all have a signature sound. Takes me way back. I noticed that all your transition were clean, something I struggle with myself. I noticed your voice dynamics don't always match the song dynamics. That with standing, I listened to a great many successful 80's band that did also.
Sleep - Sonically, this song is pleasing to the ear. The bass needed to more present to help carry song.
Loser - This was great mix, guitar was up front just enough.
Voices - great energy. I can see the small venue rock video with the faded brown walls with the bricks peeking through in places, the band clad in all black.
Song Song - A nice cleansing sonic wash.
Now - slants toward the chaotic emotional place, this seems to be by design.
Escape - The bridge is the highlight of this peice, it makes a nice contrast to the body of the song. I was surprised it was only about 60 seconds into the song.
Everything - The second voice needs to be a bit louder.
I listened to all the songs in the preview section, unfortunately the jukebox wouldn't work at my work. I don't have specifics on all the songs because of the similar constuction of each song, and similar pace. All the songs have a clean finish like a beer in a frosty mug. Final mixing will be very important to separate all the moving pieces and still maintain the large sonic footprint. I think its a successful use of a minimal amount of elements. I found myself listening more than critiquing which was a nice change.
Baby's First Ride Lyndell
Post edited by: thel1195, at: 2008/04/13 05:35
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arnoldlike
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Re:Critique thread...want opinions on your music? - 2008/04/14 10:20Review of Audio Assault Terror Show Album from the category of metal. the LAst 5 dAys.- Guitar and drums, both with hella chops, very tight but thin sound, maybe too much compression. Midnight Stroll Through the Graveyard - Complications are nice. The Monster - Lovely vox in the Cookie Monster mode Kittie of DOOM - The single, fer sure, witty head bangin’ totally assured with kitten efx to boot. Werewolves!! - Metal dudez go hip hop, but not rilly, vox a little too conventional. Barbarians - This track wants a bit of bass (I’m biased, I know) or guitar person maybe should double his/her tracks. Ocean Giant - Yea and verily, the great cephalapod is my muse too. Did I say these folks are tight? Final Sprint - Total teen anthem, I raise my fist, I makee the horns with you! What’s left?? - Kinda generic workout, but tight, nonetheless. . . .And then the Robots take over - Cookie takes on Kraftwerk, digits win. All in all, this would rock endlessly with a bit more forward guitar sound. Elsewise, make a new friend, with a bass or synth or something, but continue to shred, cause it is happening.
Anyone care to review the Beurre Blancs?
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Stand Up But Not To Fall---You do a good job of making interesting melodies to standard chords, which is the mark of a good songwriter and someone who knows how to stand above the pack.
I’d enjoy some sort of change up somewhere...perhaps in the strumming pattern, especially if there is no bridge to sort of move the song in a new direction. Nice harmonica. Nice to hear someone using one to actually play single note melodic lines instead of just sucking in and out like so many do.
Nick Drake Without The Suicide---Okay...big shoes to either fill or reference here. Let’s see which it is. The song is dark...which is nice and absolutely necessary. Having those harmonics in here really helps separate the sections, as I was hoping for in some of the other tunes. The tensions in the chords...(Em with added 9?) helps build the suspense and brooding quality of this song, which works nice.
It is darker than the others I’ve heard so far on a previous listen, so it would make an interesting album opener. Would it be good to lead with this one to put the listener on a path which may eventually turn? Or would it be deceptive, with the more percussive brighter songs following?
Only Way---A bit conventional to start the album off. Puts me a bit on the wrong foot. I think starting with a tune like “Nick drake without the suicide” would not only intrigue with the title, but the added interest of the instrumental intro would do a service.
The voice I’ve read about somewhere IS quite good, man. I could go for a bit more dynamics in the song itself, however. I do like the added harmonica, but this song doesn’t do too too much to challenge me, either in scope or feel. The melody of the line “on my way” definitely is the stand out feature of this track, and, to me, bumps it over the line of a generic song and one where the artist really knows what he’s doing.
No Reply---NICE melody, Colin! This is real good stuff. So far my favorite. The verse melody is really, really, good. Sounds like something from a well-established artist. Eerie. I’m hearing the Brit in this melody!
I am one who can get a bit impatient at times with just a strumming guitar. I do it myself, but am quite concerned with unexpected chord changes or making sure that there is no time when someone is kind of just flowing along with the song without getting too much new. This might be the only reason why I’m waiting for something more in this song. I can set my personal ideas aside at the same time and say that the lilting quality of this (which I’m sort of swaying to in my chair) is exactly what the song needs, and at 3:40 its great the way it is.
Great song, sir.
P.U.B.---I see you’ve been playing out since 2004 on your profile. I’m sure this one gets the people dancing and clinking along with you! Ahhh ha ha...”Pissed Up Blues.” Dig it. I guess I should have read the album title before listening to this song, eh? Might be a taaaaad long, especially to keep the attention of the drunkies, but great pub song, my friend. I’m afraid its life may be there and there alone, but it’s perfect there. A bit of a stranger with the rest of the tunes, but that's more of an album comment than a song-specific one.
She’s My Lady---Like the line about stealing the line. It’s how it feels as a songwriter, eh? Especially when we write something reasonably simple that sounds great. It’s like...”How could I be the first person who’s played this?” I’m happy to hear harmonies here, and would like to hear more on the rest of the album. That voice is definitely good enough to get a couple more in there! This song is very pleasant.
I Went Down---An up tune. This one is definitely the most unique of the songs. I like the note on “rain.” It’s a bit shaky so I can’t tell if it was purposeful...but oh there it is again on “begin.” So now I must say, great choice of note, very creative, but I’d love for it to be hit a bit more forcefully so its clear it was the note you wanted, and not a different note slighly over- or undercut. GREAT job on the harmonies, and I love the sparseness of this song as well, having no bass. Some would argue it’s empty, but I think it’s great like this.
Sad Song---YES YES YES!!! That chord on “hands”...the major when you’re expecting minor, is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for and writing about! Yes...those major chords in here are like “BAM...step off...I know what I’m doing!” It’s also nice having the major tonality juxtaposed with the “sad”ness of the lyrics and electric guitar, which is also a great choice for this one.
OVERALL---Great work. A strong album, especially considering the month we had to make it. Levels are great, vocals are crisp strong. For you, Colin, I know there’s something in there capable of challenging the listener a bit more. You have great sensibilities and songwriting ability, but I want to hear more of the thing I found in “Sad Song,” drawing upon the work of some artists that push the envelope a bit in terms of harmonic scope.
You obviously like Nick Drake, and within those odd tunings are great harmonic ideas, and ways to push songs into new directions. These songs are all solid, and to a less picky person, they’d have little to complain about at all, but to me, I'd love to see something a bit more fresh in some of these songs. Something to make the ears perk up and go "whoa...interesting!" as opposed to the likely ever-present "this guy is good." Obviously, you're in a nice boat no matter what. Can't go wrong with the talent you currently have.
Strong melodies and good songwriting throughout (there are some moments in there where the Brit-Pop influence is doing very good things, and I’m jealous) and a voice to match. I would like more harmonies so I can get as much of that voice as possible, but this is a great piece of work, and Mr. Garvey should make sure to stick around the music world as long as possible.
Post edited by: Night Driving, at: 2008/04/14 18:52
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It was every thing I hoped for - positive enough to feed my inner egomaniac, but also with some great constructive criticism.
Also, it was you who started this great thread in the first place, wasn't it? I doff my hat to you.
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mparker
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Re:Critique thread...want opinions on your music? - 2008/04/14 23:53OK, I had a listen to The Beurre Blancs and my review follows. Feel free to review me again as it's been a while since page one...
The Beurre Blancs - Hairsplitting
First impressions are - weird jazz. Then as I listened a bit more, I can hear the influences - Can, Neu!, Amon Duul II. This is Krautrock brought into the 21st century.
Pomme de Terre
Potato eh? It is a bit of a mash-up of styles, excuse the pun. Backing is kind of Roni Size like, with the acoustic bass and minimal drums augmented with tabla playing. Then the brass comes in, then it goes again. Plenty of ideas in this track, but doesn't really go anywhere. Kind of infectious in a strange way though.
Beg Pardon
More tabla. Electric bass this time. Annoying sample of a French woman in my left ear. Don't like this one. Music is fine, just wish it didn't have that sample.
Alhambra
Now this is good. Walking bass line. Kind of Mission Impossible type of groove. I've heard the main riff before though, on the album Transitions by Sad Rockets (also a German album incidentally). Chances are that this is a coincidence as that album probably sold about 500 copies max. Yep, I like this more as it goes on. My second favourite track.
Bagatelle
Oooh, we're on a journey back to the 80s. This could have been on the soundtrack to Out Run. Nice chiming keyboard riff. Doesn't really leap out at you though, works more in the background. Very relaxing track.
Dairy Queen
Bell type sounds ring out at the start over a jumpy bass line with orchestral strings. Oh, it's over. Just over a minute. Not sure I see the point of it.
Froth
Morse code like bleeps with the orchestral strings again over acoustic bass again. Very minimal drums again. I'm liking this one. Almost industrial in it's string arrangements, a bit like the orchestral work of Foetus. I really liked this one, I wish it went on longer.
Hoarse Laugh
The bass is really up front and in your face this time. Perhaps a little too much. That passage where it goes on its own for about a minute without any other instruments was too long. I wanted it to stop, or at least change melody. Then the same solo break came back again at the end for the same length of time. Not one of my favourites.
Maybe Not
Nice contrast to the previous track, great drum lines. Strange mangled voice sample that works much better than the French woman in track too. Sounds like the sample from an old house track I seem to remember called Genki. Could be mis-remembering that though. This track is bringing on flashbacks. Hypnotic, it draws you in and doesn't let go.
Processional
Underwater bass sounds, real groove in the backing with a stabbing guitar. Haunting vocals. This could be the soundtrack to a horror road movie. Just before the hitchhiker turns into a demon and rips out your heart. I like it.
Pain Perdu
This is, for want of a better phrase latin-jazz. By that, I mean it's got a latin(ish) brass melody over a funky jazz bass line and latin(ish) rhythms. I use the term "ish" because like most of the tracks so far, it's utterly unclassifiable. Another great track.
Retreat
Love the drawn out bowed double bass line and the overall orchestral feel including the great brass stabs. Again, another track that ended, just as I was getting into it. I think this would my favourite track, if only it could be a minute or so longer.
Spline
The problem with this kind of music, with off beat bass lines, out of time and dischordant keyboard stabs is that it needs something to tie it together - some kind of beat, however minimal. This track has nothing like that so it just seemed to me like a bunch of random noises.
Staggered
I mentioned Transitions by Sad Rockets above, I'm now sure the artist has that record in his/her collection. Don't worry, I'm not accusing plagiarism, as it isn't, just well produced homage. Great groove on this one. This is the stand out track for me. I found myself nodding my head and tapping my foot before I realised. Always the sign of great music. Even though it's effectively just bass and drums (the odd out of time dischordant clavichord stabs aside - which work really well strangely enough).
Tortfeasor
More acoustic bass and drums. This is Roni Size like again but done downtempo. Ahh, the bowed bass again. Yet another infectious groove, and a fitting one to end the album on.
Overall
I like it. It's hard to describe what this album sounds like really, though if you're a fan of Krautrock or Sad Rockets it's going to be right up your street. Production wise it's top notch. The mix is perfect all the way through, as is the stereo separation.
Should you listen to it? Yeah. But it's not easy listening. But if you're willing to put the effort in, it's definitely a rewarding listen.
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It was every thing I hoped for - positive enough to feed my inner egomaniac, but also with some great constructive criticism.
Also, it was you who started this great thread in the first place, wasn't it? I doff my hat to you.
that it was, mr. garvey. and i'm happy you enjoyed the review, and it satiated both the ego and criticism side of the palatte.
i enjoyed the listen, and will likely have more in the future.
p.s. if anyone decides to review my stuff, i would love it if they checked out what i have uploaded to this profile, instead of the jukebox version. thanks much!
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