For some reason virb has "edge of the universe" and "thank somethin" in the wrong order.
Who's up for being critiqued? Why are there two signatures?
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templaar
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Re:Critique Thread: Want Your Album Reviewed? - 2008/03/23 10:06Hiya - I listened to the songs posted on your profile in the demo "viewer". All mine are on there too if anyone fances a review - you'll find that I am not a seasoned musician!
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jodiecurtis
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Re:Critique Thread: Want Your Album Reviewed? - 2008/03/23 16:35Ok - I am way confused... Who needs to be reviewed? I wanna play too. Our band said go for it! - so let me know who to review to get in line. I will get as many songs on the demo player as possible.
-jodie
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No big mystery. The idea is that you earn a review by giving a review. I've seen no review for templaar's stuff yet so I guess it would be a good idea to review him. If you click that little guy to the left right under his picture (beside the pm-icon), that takes you to his profile page.
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First -let me say that I could not play all the songs - so I will review all that I could hear.
Second - on a general review note, of everything I heard - I want to hear more of your vocals! - brighter and louder. It is hard to mix your own vocals cuz you know all the words and maybe you are not comfortable with your voice sound - but you have a very sweet voice - and I want to hear more of it. From what I could hear - and knowing that the RPM time constraints and the fact that you are new to the writing process - I would say- go back and tweak the lyrics a bit. Try and be a little less obvious in what you are trying to say and more tricky. You have some great ideas - and some brilliant lines.
WHOS THE BITCH - Interesting use of the MERSEY beat stylings, you reinvented it with synth sounds - cool. The hook is great - who's the bitch and who's the man. Want to hear it in a faster tempo.
JUST A LINE - nice sense of chord changes - a very sweet and vulnerable melody - again faster tempo please.
YOU TOOK MY HEART - Terriffic Gary Numan keyboard song! Nice minimalistic arrangement.
WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME - This one made me smile right away - Great guitars sounds - how did you get that sound? The mixing is better in this one. Very effective. Really like this all around.
could not play the 2 middle songs... really wanted to hear VOLKSMETAL since you named the record after it. I will listen to it on the jukebox.
SEIZE THE DAY - Would like to hear more rhythmic counterpoint between melody (vocals) and instruments. Nice uplifting message.
SUNRISE - cool idea - the Feel changes are very cool. Nice vocals. With a little more chops it could really take it to the next level.
BREAKING AND ENTERING - could not play....
A CHILD - Sweet beyond words. Your noodling behind the childs sweet vocals shows that you really get it - just lovely!
Overall - given the fact that TEMPLAAR does not consider himself a musician - he has a really good sense of when to do section changes and actually making them true section changes! A little bit of practice with a metronome (yeah we know, but it really helps!) and some time to really steep with his songwriting process - he will be churning out some delightful pop tunes. Templaar - Do not be afraid of bringing up your vocals - and push the time signature a little. This is a nice record - great first effort and terrific jumping off point. RPM is about getting going, now go back and polish these little gems!
Jodie and Bill - NEUROTTICA
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'Breaking and Entering' is a great song - shame you couldn't include it in the review.
Post edited by: sister_savage, at: 2008/03/23 18:48
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KevinEmmrich
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Re:Critique Thread: Want Your Album Reviewed? - 2008/03/23 19:25Here's a mini-review of Dre's CD titled "LOIANO - unbelievable things people believe". This was reviewed by Oz, but I thought another review wouldn't hurt. Plus I have been reviewed three times so far!!
Let's start right off with the singing. The reason I was sort of attracted to this CD was because of Oz's comments on the your vocal talents. I am no singer -- I only started writing songs and singing last January (just in time to jump into the 2007 RPM thingy). In 2007, I struggled with vocals and didn't do any harmonies. I did Ok if I sort of stuck to the sing/talk type of thing. This year I tried to do harmonies with relatively weak results if you read any of my reviews! I sort of have a "weak ear" so singing will always be a problem for me. But, I do believe there is a sound/style that anyone can sing to -- just gotta find that zone.
OK, enough rambling on about me:
01. La nascita di LOAINO Very good instrumentation and noises to start out the song. The singing gives it almost a Native Indian feel to the piece. Actually I think the singing here is quite satisfactory. Especially since you are really trying to push the limits of your voice. The song construction is really interesting. Solid "stream of consciousness" type of lyrics. Very good start to the CD.
02. Alberi in bianco en nero Simple acoustic guitar part with an interesting percussive part that doesn't seem to be on the beat at first. Bass and keys make a nice mood enhancer. The chorus reminds me a little of Counting Crows' 'Round Here'., but that can be expected. I see that you list Orlando as your home. Your album reminds me of someone living in the wilderness away from all civilization. But I guess you need electricity to do the CD.
03. Per la luna o chiunque You've settled into a unified mood for this CD , so far atleast -- maybe some surprising things will pop up. I like the electric guitar part on this song. I am hanging in with the vocals, they don't bother me and in fact add a feeling of "desparation" to the whole effort. "..and the heaviest thing you will lift, will be the weight of your own thoughts" Interesting line.
04. Gli amici e la famiglia en C Major Interesting cacophony of ambient sounds to start off with -- I can't tell if is animal or human sounds with the heavy effects, but it is a cool effect. Have you listen to any of Michelangelo's stuff? You might find some interesting things in there. This is an confusing, yet excellent "ambient" piece. Not what I usally listen to, but I am enjoying it.
05. Burning te non c'e nulla fino a sinistra Little squeaky on the guitar. I know it is hard to avoid, but it always drives me crazy. I'm skipping this one, sorry -- my issue.
06. Essere Nizza (estratti) We have rain sounds now, Is that a melodica, accordian or are these synth sounds? Percussion seems funky to me, but it seems to be working. A lot of variety in instrumentation in the CD so far. A little limited in the variation of music, though. Hey it's a one month effort -- once you are in a zone, it is OK to stay there. The rhythms get complicated here and there, but it stays together.
07. Un solitario fischio nelle tenebre 08. C'e la speranza entro il sale del tuo sudore 09. Niv 10. Una storia di noi
I didn't get to commenting on the last 4 -- I have to go, but I am listening to the rest again as I put together my final thoughts.
Overall: A pretty ambitious and interesting album that is unified in its approach and sound. Maybe too much of one thing -- I got dinged for that on my CD, too. I think the singing is fine, you never be a pop star -- but that is not a bad thing. Lots of artists have "interesting" voices and are quite respected. I enjoyed putting some time into you CD, I listed to the whole thing 2+ times in order to better appreciate what you were doing here.
No need for anyone to review me, I have three reviews. However, feel free to listen and comment as you please.
Kevin cville ramblings
Post edited by: KevinEmmrich, at: 2008/03/23 19:26
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jodiecurtis
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Re:Critique Thread: Want Your Album Reviewed? - 2008/03/24 00:00DRAT! I am sorry I could not hear BREAKING AND ENTERING - I think it might have to do with Safari and the mac - the demo player was not letting me stop on the 2 middle songs... If someone else wants to give the songs I missed a go - go for it - then TEMPLAAR will have a full review.
I really liked this record - and your voice is really engaging. You have the inate musically sense. Really nice job!
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Thanks to jodiecurtis for their very kind review - constructive and gentle! Hmm, metronome - suddenly we realise why there are very limited drums on the CD! Sorry you couldn't get Volksmetall and Breaking and entering - Volkmetall is my joke song.
I've put them on soundclick now but it takes 24hrs to be vetted - I'll PM you when I get it sorted...
You asked about guitar sounds - Electric guitar direct recorded through a USB sound card interface and then run through Guitar Rig
Thanks again
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ajbrewer
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Re:Critique thread...want opinions on your music? - 2008/03/24 18:17Heh, is this thread broke now? Looking through it...here's what I'm gonna do...it dosen't look like Melting Embers got a review, I'll take a stab at it, I guess I wouldn't mind getting my almost-done (Almost looks like there might end up being about 100 "updated" versions of this thing coming) album that I made getting the big bad review. I'm at work, so this review might be brief. From what I've heard though, this might be worth going home as well and doing battle and abusing my dial-up at home (dial-up, ack...I hate being broke) to give the songs a more "proper" listen. So anyway, I'll just start editing this post in a little bit here when the review starts coming together...
Ok, so this is actually something like a third edit now (second edit got wiped out, I have no idea what key I hit, but let's just say, it was the wrong key....). Let's see if we can get this all finished and done here...
Overall, I'm liking the sound. The melodies are managing to stick in my head well, that's always a god sign. Good clear recordings of both the guitar and the voice I think. Overall playing good, vocals very good. Interesting alarm-clock sound in the background when at least some of those songs start (not sure what that is, nothing distracting though, I barely picked it up, just interesting, that's all. I'm just strange, blah). I can hear what sounds like a few transitions, I'm assuming from retakes? (Yea, I'm great at this technical stuff). And a few cracks, but for the most part nothing bad, and I only remember a few of them, as opposed to being something rampant anyway. And sometimes it made things sound a little bit more interesting anyway. But of course I sit around listening to stuff like Sebodah, Superchunk, etc., so I'm all about the ol' lo-fi. The only exception to above I thought was on "Simple Song," I thought some of the transitions in there were closer to being a bit jarring. And a strange break in the guitar somewhere in there too, closer to the end. But I still like the song, so I get over it The only other thing about that song is that your voice goes somewhat soft at the end...in my opinion I would say dust off out that compressor (er, ok, so you can't dust off something in a program, you get the idea hopefully) and give the ending vocals a few notches up.
Anyway, let's get back to some of the good things that stuck out...."Bring You Down" was very nice I think, I liked the way the lead and backing vocals weaved together...had a very nice stop-start quality in the lead vocals (I believe that was the lead vocals, if I remember correctly) that made things cool. "The Cure" kind of reminded me of Low, with the backing male vocals (definitely a compliment, I like me some Low). One of these songs had a pretty nice acoustic solo that I liked (my album this year is so barren of good solos, and of solos period, just couldn't get anything to sound right to me...blah, ya only got a month, it happens). "Your Part" was a good up-tempo song, did some more interesting things with your voice. In my notes, for "Broken Bottle," I have written, "like like like." Must mean I liked it. Actually, I still have that one in my head, it is a good one. A good meloncholy-but-strong number. The last song in the player still won't play...
Another question, did triptones break protocol? Or were they typing as I was posting, or I was posting while they....er...whatever, someone else can figure it out. Get the thread police out...lol. So anyway, hopefully that was a decent review. Of course, there's always the possibility I'll add something later, seems to happen somethimes....If anybody wants to take a stab at my output, www.virb.com/andrewbrewer has the full album. There's still a couple of things to make it 100% "completely done," but I think for the most part, what's there is probably staying as is, what's going to be changed will be explained on the virb page.
Post edited by: ajbrewer, at: 2008/03/24 19:17
Post edited by: ajbrewer, at: 2008/03/24 22:55
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The Triptones
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Re:Critique thread...want opinions on your music? - 2008/03/24 19:08Melting Embers - i'm listening here on the RPM player. Is this the final mix / CD? I only ask because the volume levels are quite low - i got it cranked to listen critically. It all sound fine, just quiet, although i here some digital pops occasionally. Regardless, i will post some comments shortly - first impression is sweet vocals and harmonies - acoustic sounds nice as well...i'll get some more details soon.
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The 'alarm clock' sounds that you're hearing I am aware of but can't quite figure out. I could hear it in my headphones when I would turn on the digital recorder to record. I don't know how to get rid of it except to crop off the silence in the beginning.
The mix being too low, I can understand that. Todd did the final mix down and he said that he was afraid it was going to be too low. So at least he knows how to fix that problem.
Sadly, this is the final cut/CD that is on the RPM player. We moved into a new house in the middle of Feb. so it’s a miracle that we completed the challenge at all.
Also, I couldn’t get all of the songs from wave to mp3 format correctly, something happened to a couple of them (like Love & Beauty) and they won’t play. I’m in the process of working on that disaster.
I thought it was interesting that you said you liked the ‘weaving’ vocals and back up vocals, because, it was actually unintentional and I didn’t have time to tighten it all back up. Some of those 'transitions' that you were talking about were probably unintentional as well.
Toni
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ajbrewer
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Re:Critique thread...want opinions on your music? - 2008/03/24 23:00Ah, you're there...just finished up the final edit (I think) of the review. Yea, my stuff has the occational background hum from ???? I think it's from the refrigerator, can't turn that off though....or I could, but then I know I'd never remember to turn it back on for the rest of the night...everybody has something I think...lol. But yea, the "alarm" sound is rather low, I wouldn't worry about it.
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The Triptones
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Re:Critique thread...want opinions on your music? - 2008/03/24 23:04So, i listened to what was up on the profile page. Again, very pretty vocals and acoustic guitar playing. if i were to offer suggestions on 'how to get the production to the next level' - it probably all just stems from experience with your machines. Levels, cropping the beginning and endings of tunes to make them more polished. Stuff like that. also, there are digital artifacts happening which is probably directly related to your Wav to MP3 conversion.
I thought the 'beep beep' "alarm clock' noise was a click track of some sort, bleeding through. I only hear it when nothing else is being played - which means you could learn how to 'mute' those sections - (don't know what is available to you)
On the creative / artistic side of mixing, i would suggest panning your tracks around, making them sound different to the listener. It appears that the acioustic guitar is in the same spot of the stereo field on every song. The harmony vocal is just over the same shoulder as the lead voice everytime. There's so much space in your music that you could benefit from panning delays, verbs and things in a creative manner to fill up that space.
EQ'ing the acoustic to make it brighter on certain songs helps make the collection more interesting to the listener. i would NOT EQ that vocal too much as it's very much the strong point of the work. it's fine as is
But for what you've accomplished under those circumstances, you should be proud. you guys write nice songs - i hear some Jewel phrasing...keep it up. And learn that machine inside and out after all, it's your window to the world.
thanks tb
Post edited by: The Triptones, at: 2008/03/24 23:05
Post edited by: The Triptones, at: 2008/03/24 23:09
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In order to receive a review of your work, dude, you gotta do one of your own. Find the next unreviewed person on the list, and expect a similarly thoughtful/extensive review for your record from the next person who chooses to have a listen.
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So, if you're not totally sick of listening to our music yet, you can listen to the rest of the album.
Also, just a side note: Love & Beauty, Little Baby, and Cry Alone are Amber's songs, that she wrote and recorded (I just did some backup).
Toni
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thel1195
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Re:Critique Thread: Want Your Album Reviewed? - 2008/03/25 09:20This is real good post. I would rather hear from my peer(s) than "The Post" any day. As is expected, I will take the next band in line, but I won't be able to do a review until Friday, as I will be off that day. I feel to really do the justice, I need a little time (and bandwidth) the concentrate on the songs. But I'll add myself to the ongoings and await whatever comes. I will add some more of my tunes as we sleep, for those of us who actually sleep. Should have about 5 to queue up by dawn.
This is a really excellent album. There should be a stampede towards the reviewing pulpits!
Post edited by: strummindude, at: 2008/03/25 16:12
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bkoz
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Re:Critique Thread: Want Your Album Reviewed? - 2008/03/25 15:48I agree with the Stummindude. Neurottica is a fine piece of work. Even if you don't review it you should take a listen, it'll be one of the highlights of your day.
Oz
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SHE WALKED AWAY - Lovely mellow, melodic, gentle music... Clearly excellent musicians and professional sounding mix. Ooh, nice male vocals come in almost immediately...he sounds handsome. This song is like a massage. Ah cool multi-tone backing vocals. Reminds me of the Manhattan Transfers. Fantastic bridge. This is very classy...looking forward to the rest of the cd.
BROKEN HEART BLUES - Sounds like a tongue in cheek trad blues song - just vocals and guitar. Vocalist is sweet, sounds very young (Amelia?). Another crisp clear recording. Looking forward to hearing this singer again later - perhaps performing something more melodic.
HOUDINI'S LITTLE BIRD - Ahh, my kind of thing! Folky cokey. Prettiness! Lovely female voice - beautiful, actually. More excellent lyrics. Wonderful mix - everything sounds fantastic. I'd pop this on my iPod. A fabulous running-away-with-yourself song. My absolute fave.
HOTEL BY THE SEA - Another completely different track performed absolutely wonderfully. I particularly like guitar/vocals but I don't think I'm biased - this CD is a breath of fresh air. Oh Hell, what a dull review this is...
DOVE - Hehe, love it! Great lyrics and performance all round. Uplifting, joyful. Soundtrack aspirations! The credits are rolling and this plays out - perfect.
TATTOO - Flutey female vocals, another happy-go-wacky track. I get the feeling that you lot are unbelievably talented and utterly offbeat. Can I come round for dinner? "We can make music, if you know what I mean..." Gorgeous. Interesting chorus melody - works very well. "I'm copying Ringo, hope he's not mad at me.." Inspired!
CAHEBRAY - Made me smile! Like the Fleetwood Mac style (I think) reverb echo in the verses. La dadadada du dum dum dum dumdum... This child(?) has a fab tone and sounds utterly unselfconscious. Would have liked a guitar solo of some kind in the middle, just to break it up.
SOMETIMES - A great album ending...Ooh hello, very welcome bass and orchestration build up in the second verse. Reminds you how varied and delicious the cd is and invites you to listen again. I stick by what I said though...VERY happy-go-wacky!
Hope this is okay... Tess
Post edited by: sister_savage, at: 2008/03/25 16:58
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She Walked Away Smooth groove. Nice organ work sets the tone at the beginning. Vocals are excellent with great backing vocals too. Nice solid bass and drum track holds this up without getting in the way. Great mellow tune with two organ parts that really carry this.
Broken Heart Blues Solo blues piece with just a guitar providing the music. Basic blues pattern picked hard enough to make the strings rattle the nut. Cool little break. A neat little "live" piece that has little engineering. Nice little project by one of the youngins I think.
Houdini's Little Bird Another tune with great vocal work and that dreamy organ work. This song is more complex then the previous two, has many layers that will take a few listens to hear it all. Good strumming rhythm guitar part carries the beat more then the minimal drums which is a little snare and maybe some lite stick (or brush) work. The vocals are awesome.
Hotel By the Sea Guitar and vocal again by this time played by someone with a little more experience. Slower tempo. Can't decide if this is finger-picked or not -- could go either way but I'm leaning to picking. Great words with the mood set by the guitar part.
Dove Yet another piece that is very different. Kind of a jazzy ragtime feel with Armstrong like vocals and a muted trumpet sound. Here's one were the drums get a little more attention in the mix and create a great beat. I love the break that sounds like a clarinet and trumpet, maybe a sax at some point -- from the sampling synthesizer but OH so well done. Great foot tapping tune.
Tatoo How can you go wrong with a uke? I like this one a lot. Simple. Got those sweet vocals on top of a strummed ukulele (I think). Tapped rhythm on something small like a high congo or another small drum. Great lyrics the only thing I'd like to see different would be to bring those drums up.
Cahebray They put the kidos to work on this one with a slow guitar and vocals. I like this a lot. The words are sung in the foreground then echoed in the background with some EQ work to drop the lows -- my guess anyway. Good fun stuff. It's a story song. Check it out.
Sometimes For this last one the electric guitar came out and sets up a staccato progression that goes into some distorted chord work in the chorus. This one is well put together. A couple of different, maybe as many as three, guitar parts all of them excellent and fitting the music well. Good drums again, nothing fancy but carry it well -- especially liked the cymbal work on this one.
Overall Premium production quality on this. I loved the aspect of the different styles and instrumentation used. It was obviously a fun project and that makes it a fun listen. I get the idea of the various personalities working on this one from the kids to mama Jodie in all the different songs that take themselves just serious enough. This is a great disk and a great listen.
To me this one shows that great music can be made simply without droves of people. Another aspect I like is the involvement of the kids. Music is entertainment and I've always tried to encourage my kids to make music and not worry that they don't sound like their favorite album. I like that message a lot.
There's just not a lot to not like about this disk.
Post edited by: mick, at: 2008/03/25 18:02
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Yours reads like production-guru with wonderful musical knowledge and credibility. Mine reads like sad fangirl.
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mick
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Re:Critique Thread: Want Your Album Reviewed? - 2008/03/25 17:27And both views are equally important. I think the fact we did them simultaneously means we were listening to them together thousands of miles a part. Two different takes on the same music we listened to at the same time.
What could be better then that?
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Mick...Your review is so much more constructive than mine. *flounce*
