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Posted by: Chez Wombat 16th August 2017, 09:30 PM

Posted by: dandy* 16th August 2017, 09:35 PM

Much excite!

I think I'll take mine on my walk tomorrow or Friday... apologies in advance to whoever gets mine, it is not my best effort!

Posted by: ⓐⓦⓐⓡ^ 16th August 2017, 09:38 PM

Sorry I couldn't fathom the complex process, I had the tracklist ready but that's about it.

Have fun guys!

Posted by: Chez Wombat 16th August 2017, 10:22 PM

You all should have a link now! Post the title in here just so I know it's working and everything, I'd advise you download it very soon just in case it's taken down/expired

I have 'Truffle Shuffle' which I'm interested to listen to ;o (I know who I've got obvs, but I'll play along dw~)

QUOTE(ⓐⓦⓐⓡ^ @ Aug 16 2017, 10:38 PM)

Sorry I couldn't fathom the complex process, I had the tracklist ready but that's about it.

Have fun guys!

Posted by: Iz~ 16th August 2017, 10:38 PM

Oh it's here! I have Days Of Thunder downloading right now, I wonder what that'll sound like. It's a promising title, at least.

Posted by: Cherry. 16th August 2017, 10:52 PM

I'm hyped for emotional rollercoaster *.*

Posted by: Cal 16th August 2017, 10:55 PM

I got 'CD Swap'! Will have a listen at the weekend. Hyped!

Posted by: Capybréra 16th August 2017, 10:57 PM

I have 'no_despacito.zip' - dammit I was hoping 'Despacito' would be on there!!

Gonna try and have a listen to this over the weekend (in which case Jade will get to hear it as well lawl)

Also feeling like I probably should have made my CD a bit longer, this one is only barely below the max length, didn't realise people were gonna make them this long! Oops

Posted by: UltraRedLight 16th August 2017, 11:03 PM

I have Perhaps Missed, Perhaps Forgotten *.*

Posted by: StillJupiter 17th August 2017, 05:35 AM

I have 'High OST' and lordy that's a big file! Intrigued to see what's on it.

Posted by: RabbitFurCoat 17th August 2017, 05:40 AM

I have The Wonders of Essos. Probably be the beginning of September when I post a review, going on holiday just after the bank holiday so plenty of listening time whilst travelling!

Posted by: Harve 17th August 2017, 06:34 AM

I got CDSwap6!

Posted by: FrankLuck 17th August 2017, 07:32 AM

I got '13 songs', already had a short preview and I'm pretty happy

Posted by: dandy* 17th August 2017, 06:21 PM

Got mine and have downloaded it... it doesn't have a title but has 27 tracks if that helps the compiler know I've got theirs!

Posted by: dandy* 17th August 2017, 06:23 PM

...and I'm pretty certain I know whose this is - I chose to open track 27 first and it may just give it away!

Posted by: Harve 18th August 2017, 05:07 AM

Hello I have insomnia and woke up after 2 hours of sleep this morning, many hours before I need to be awake so I've tried to be productive and get me review out of the way. x

1. A lazy tempo, insistence on vocal harmonies, ad libs all over the place, lyrics made of 100% cheese. All of these are positive qualities that every R&B track should aspire to have. This track sounds like an amalgamation of everything that is late 90s, which would be why it sounds so familiar and yet I'm sure I've not heard it before. Oh and it's catchy as hell. A very solid start! 8

2. Other than an energetic beat with some interesting sounds going on underneath, this is electronica-tinged indie rock by numbers. That kind of band you'd see during a 5pm Sunday afternoon slot at a festival. It sounds very polished though. 6.5

3. Female singer-songwriter making faintly noughties-sounding pop-rock, thankfully more in a Sara Bareilles way than an Avril Lavigne way. It's still not something I'd normally listen to as the genre ain't my thing. But don't worry: it's not you, it's me. The track itself is actually fairly interesting and there's a lot going on. 7

4. More radio-friendly indie rock. It's not really groundbreaking but it's actually quite a lovely track with loads of instruments. 7

5. Ah! I recognised this immediately but I had to rack my brain to remember who exactly it was. This is The-Dream - Walkin' On The Moon. An accomplished songwriter and producer who, many times, almost made it big as an artist in his own right but never quite got there. I had a soft spot for back in the day. My favourite tracks were https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg12F_4qwBU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoRhT5WTxDQ, which are also from his 'Love...' trilogy. This track is great, and although it sounds dated today, it sounds like a much bigger hit than it actually was. Oh and Kanye kills his verse. Definitely my favourite so far. 8.5

6. We've gone full 80s pop (although I presume it was released later) and I have no qualms with this. Male vocals with a rap verse. This is a jam. Funky and groovy. I'll definitely be listening to this again. *.* 9

7. This sounds like a melancholic version of HAIM. It's nice enough but it's a bit of a comedown compared to the juicy trilogy above. ^ 6

8. Pop-rock. Her voice is sickly sweet which contrasts well with the gritty guitars. Like #7, it's nice enough but if I had to describe it using an emoji it would be this: 5

9. This is rock proper. The longest track on the CD at 5:42 and it has a riff going right the way through the song's various sections. It's basically the Smashing Pumpkins but with female vocals. I approve! 7

10. An intrumental rock track, although honestly it's not terribly interesting and you could easily put vocals on top of it. It's a nice pause given that the previous track is full of energy. 5

11. Country! The first third is instrumental and then out comes these female vocals with a distinctive southern drawl. It then crescendoes into a chorus for the last third. 6

12. I had to listen to this multiple times simply to be able to describe it as it's quite banal. Folksy female vocals. Probably qualifies as indie rock. It would've been nice to have something a little more climactic as the final track though. This doesn't really go anywhere. </3 4

Bonus track: This is a mashup mainly consisting of Dizzee Rascal - Sirens (from the glorious period where I would know every single track that hit the UK top 40) but inserts ad libs from all sorts of songs, some I can name (Killing In The Name, Papa Roach's Last Resort, Run DMC's It's Like That), some I only recognise and some I've never heard before. It works! 6.5

I liked this CD! My favourites were #1, #5, #6. A lot of the rest was radio-friendly pop rock or alt rock music whereas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_qaKlf2TzU (it's impossible to phrase this without sounding like a dickhead). So I tried to take this into account as this isn't the compiler's problem! Certainly there weren't any absolute duds, and none of it sounded particularly current and the one track I did know is a forgotten track that was never particularly acclaimed in the first place, so I imagine this is a selection of the user's personal favourite tracks spread out over a lifetime. And some inspired choices have been dug out: even though tracks such as #3 or #11 aren't necessarily my thing, I can definitely see how they would be part of someone's best of list.

I've got no idea who made this. I would guess Iz were it not for the R&B inserts, or maybe Liam, were it not for the obscure-sounding tracks that are most likely too old for someone my age or younger to know. It's seems USA-centric. I don't think the user is from UK and is probably quite a bit older than me.

edit: I didn't realise we were obliged to use scores. I've added them in.

Posted by: StillJupiter 20th August 2017, 04:30 PM

I'm about 3/4 through my review/listenthrough. Great to read that one we've had already!

Posted by: Iz~ 20th August 2017, 05:01 PM

That isn't mine though I'm sure I'd appreciate knowing what the rock tracks on there are. Sounds like a well-made CD.

Posted by: danG 20th August 2017, 05:20 PM

I've got an album titled Pussy Power with 10 tracks on it.

Posted by: MoistSummerFruit 20th August 2017, 05:27 PM

What ees theez?

Posted by: Chez Wombat 20th August 2017, 05:54 PM

Oh Michael, I would've loved to hear a CD from you *_

(the compiler of that CD can reveal themselves when they're ready )

Posted by: Floater 20th August 2017, 06:13 PM

Oh that was mine, sorry! I must have missed that when it was posted. I'll try to type up a full response tonight

Posted by: ʟɪɴᴅs. 20th August 2017, 06:36 PM

I've got a last minute thing

Posted by: ʟɪɴᴅs. 20th August 2017, 08:27 PM

Ffs I wrote out all my initial thoughts in a pad whilst listening and then typed them and then my tablet froze as I was about to post and I lost it all I'm way too jet lagged rn to redo it atm but I'll give a quick summary

Bray I'm like 98% sure this was yours bc of the title and the amount of focus on the instrumentation part in every song

1. (10/10) I already love this from the intro alone, the mix of rock and electronics. OMG YES female vox! Something tells me you maybe knew this was for me omg I adore this on first listen, I will be saving this 100%. They/She (I presume it#s a band) kind of remind me of like a mix between Chvrches and Beautiful Bodies. Oh the sorta fake ending *.* I always love that sort of thing I feel a build coming, if this slays then its a solid 10... omg THOSE GUITARS!! This is amazing, perfect choice for track one as I'm hooked and excited to see what else you've included

2. (6/10) This seems chiller. Omg this is lush just in the intro alone, the drums and piano are very twenty one pilots-y. Ooooh this feels kind of echosmith-y too. Mixed vocals, that's cool! Why do I recognise the guys voice?? Sounds a little like Chris Martin. This is nice but I'm hoping it builds to a bit more. Aw it didn't . I'm gonna put it at a 6 just because it is a little boring/monotonous but nice all the same, especially in the instrumental.

3. (2/10) This is sounding boppy. I feel it has the potential to either be a cat alarm, windows default tune thing or a bop. I need vocals. Please have vocals... This sounds like my 1st year music class when everyone would put on different tunes on their keyboards at the same time Oh vocals! not quite what I was hoping for, but still The drums are cool at least but I didn't really like this one sorry :/

4. (3/10) This is sounding better than the previous one, oh no more beeps with minimal vocals. It is more interesting that #3 though. I can get behind instrumentals, don't get me wrong but the beepy ones like this are very rarely my thing as I'm sure you probs know

5. (8/10) Foreign language? *.* I'm quite liking this, her voice is so pretty along with those drums . Nice bass part too with the layered harmonies, this is pretty cool! Oh it's English I do like the eastern vibe it has though, again the main thing that lets it down a bit is how repetative it is and there's not like a stand out chorus/middle 8. I guess her vocals are the main attraction though so I still appreciate!

6. (4/10) Oh more repetative beeps, maybe you didn't know I was getting your CD I've been pretty sure that Bray made this given the title and how heavily instrumental it's been so far but this song is quite dancey which makes me doubt that now. I can see the appeal of this sort of thing but yea its not really up my street. I do like the drop though!

7. (7/10) Owl City vibes? Yea this is more like it! Again, it's missing that build up/big chorus though. Decent but I think I need to give it a few more spins as it could be a grower.

8. (7/10) Liking this one quite immediately! Very 80s, I'm a sucker for a strong bass part *.* These off beat lyrics are cool too- again, I'm getting slight twenty one pilots vibes. These lyrics too :')

9. (9/10) NICEEEE INTRO! OMG YES AND THE DRUMS!!! This is lowkey punky, which I love *.* I feel a hard chorus coming (pls) aww no :/ I still like this a lot though!

10. (7/10) Nice guitar, bass and drums.

Sorry these comments are messy af, I couldn't read my own handwriting in my notes half the time I'm hoping to get another listen out of it so I can do a proper review but I'm not sure I'll get the time so these are just my initial thoughts/reactions. I think there was probably something for everyone on here, I know I was quite critical but I did enjoy a fair amount of them so I'm pleased with what I got!

Posted by: Floater 21st August 2017, 05:37 AM

QUOTE(Floater @ Aug 20 2017, 02:13 PM)

Oh that was mine, sorry! I must have missed that when it was posted. I'll try to type up a full response tonight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG8fugqFn9Q - another highlight from 2009, and yes Smashing Pumpkins is the obvious comparison to make. I was intent on sending this to Nuggets too until another song of theirs was submitted, so now I can't. This would easily be my favorite on the CD so I'm glad you approve! Hopefully you didn't think all the vocals were female

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W743s0ictM - Yup I can't make one of these without at least one country song Hopefully you found something in it to appreciate because LBT's one of my favorite artists and this is definitely not your standard country song. They're very good at pushing boundaries and the harmonies alone make them one of the best in the game, like a modern day Fleetwood Mac.

Posted by: Capybréra 21st August 2017, 05:52 AM

The person with my CD has posted in this thread ~ but it isn't Lindsey ;o I wasn't the only one to have so few tracks after all.

The country part alone made me think that one Harve reviewed was Jordan's I seem to remember that The-Dream song being a very minor hit in the UK, I vaguely recall hearing it before.

Posted by: RabbitFurCoat 21st August 2017, 06:06 AM

QUOTE(ʟɪɴᴅs. @ Aug 20 2017, 09:27 PM)

Ffs I wrote out all my initial thoughts in a pad whilst listening and then typed them and then my tablet froze as I was about to post and I lost it all I'm way too jet lagged rn to redo it atm but I'll give a quick summary

Bray I'm like 98% sure this was yours bc of the title and the amount of focus on the instrumentation part in every song

1. (10/10)
2. (6/10)
3. (2/10)
4. (3/10)
5. (8/10)
6. (4/10)
7. (7/10)
8. (7/10)
9. (9/10)
10. (7/10)

I'll add in comments once I've had a nap lmao

Posted by: Harve 22nd August 2017, 05:36 AM

QUOTE(Floater @ Aug 21 2017, 06:37 AM)

Posted by: RabbitFurCoat 22nd August 2017, 10:52 PM

QUOTE(RabbitFurCoat @ Aug 21 2017, 07:06 AM)

QUOTE(ʟɪɴᴅs. @ Aug 20 2017, 07:36 PM)

I've got a last minute thing

QUOTE(ʟɪɴᴅs. @ Aug 20 2017, 09:27 PM)

Ffs I wrote out all my initial thoughts in a pad whilst listening and then typed them and then my tablet froze as I was about to post and I lost it all I'm way too jet lagged rn to redo it atm but I'll give a quick summary

Bray I'm like 98% sure this was yours bc of the title and the amount of focus on the instrumentation part in every song

1. (10/10)
2. (6/10)
3. (2/10)
4. (3/10)
5. (8/10)
6. (4/10)
7. (7/10)
8. (7/10)
9. (9/10)
10. (7/10)

I'll add in comments once I've had a nap lmao

Posted by: Capybréra 22nd August 2017, 11:23 PM

at 'Drone Logic' and 'Ha Howa Ha Howa' (I prefer 'Kassidat El Hakka' from the latter - was my entry for the BJSC Halloween spinoff - but HHHH is brilliant as well, really should listen to the rest of the SEXWITCH album properly one of these days).

I ended up... not getting around to listening to my CD over the weekend as I intended but rest assured I will get around to this in time. I did listen to some quick snippets of each of the track to give myself an early feel for it and 1) I think I already figured out whose CD this is and 2) I'm pretty sure I can already tell which will be my favourite song on there (heard lots of interesting sounding stuff though).

Posted by: StillJupiter 23rd August 2017, 11:34 AM

I'm happy the one I ended up with wasn't a load of long songs from seeing some of these - I'm much less familiar with those! Some really interesting selections so far

Posted by: StillJupiter 23rd August 2017, 03:02 PM

Review time for my very long received CD, High OST! In track order:

#1

female vocal
light, understated
slow build
no idea who this singer is
6.5/10 maybe. strong, but probably too slow burn + quiet for me to listen to much

#2

this is more familiar
female vocal again
indiegirl
I feel like I've listened to this artist or song before
up my street. 8/10

#3

rockier, almost rhcp intro, by the way era
vocalist, male, sounds familiar
lyrics, i'm torn on. suit purpose but a bit casual/weird
7/10

#4

this is upbeat. running a line between slightly trashy and charmingly retro
sounds a bit like the feeling but i could just as well see this as scandinavian
reference to a tumor is not cool tho. eesh
this is giving me abc (band) vibes
okay this is cute but the constant tumor references are grossing me out
8/10 without those, if I'm just mishearing the lyrics, 7/10 with

#5

what an interesting voice. almost nina simone
sounds a bit indie band circa 07-08 trying to be creative / haunted house
i cannot tell if this singer is male or female
feel like this could be a grower tho its not my usual thing. also, i expected this cd to be soundtrack songs, I am surprised by this random selection instead of orchestral pieces.
7/10 for this one

#6

and just as I say that we come to what seems like an instrumental. this is gorgeous though, might be my favourite one so far.
okay, moves away from the lush intro in a direction I was not expecting.
i actually still like it tho.
very long song too
groovy + classic + electronic. i don't know what genre you'd call this.
8.5/10

#7

another long one
this is slightly familiar
ah, it's a song from another contest. the french one from a recent BJSC I think. yeah, I like this song even though its more slowburn than I would normally go for. 7/10

#8

another slowish one. back to pure indieguyband now. vaguely recognise this voice
understated. 7/10

#9

vaguely recognise this too. orchestral opening.
interesting vocal. if this isn't an older band making a late comeback with new material it certainly sounds like it.
7/10

#10

another softly softly instrumental. this is cute but it does sound a lot like a john lewis ad.
oh. not anymore. john lewis + dubstep. i am not sure how to feel about this.
let's say 6.5/10 for creativity

#11

this is familiar. is it a remix? i am tempted to google this one because it's so on the tip of my tongue.
7/10. I think I'm thinking the artist is someone else than it is.

#12

SCISSOR SISTERS! A good choice
especially from this underrated album. album tracks are the best
9/10

#13

another long one. ah, the long edit of Shura. good choice. I miss her.
another 9/10

#14

another long one again. sounds more like an indie rock song this. sounds vaguely familiar too but that might just be the production. Not instrumental. Male vocal. Slightly emo-ish. It's decent. Niggling me as to who it is. I would estimate slightly older band. 7/10

#15

More rock! And again sounds like an older band, or if not, someone sounding like one. Sounds a bit like could be a soundtrack single or song used in a movie. Male vocal I think. No idea who this is. Vocal a bit punky/emo but instruments rockier.
6/10 not really my thing

#16

soft, quieter. female vocal. vaguely familiar. recognise the singer. vocal style a bit like M0. oh, interesting electro elements come in after first minute, almost like peaches. a song of contrasts, this one.
couldn't call the singer. I would guess scandinavian though. 7.5/10

#17

indie pop now, this has a pre-2010 feel to it but could just as easily be modern and aiming for that sound. female vocal, i think. this is completely unfamiliar. this song is going in directions i'm not expecting. shades of MNDR and kimbra on the vocal and production.
i quite like it but it's weird. 7/10

#18

this is funky and retro. is it dolly parton? if it's not, someone's doing a good impression. this definitely sounds like dolly though, but i couldn't call the era. i'm really not sure if this is her or not, the vocal seems a bit restrained, but i'm used to her slightly deeper voice nowadays and the disco dolly era.
anyways, I actually quite like this one. 7.5/10

#19

and this is different again. almost like a disco slow number from that intro, but quality would suggest something more modern. male vocal, i don't know the vocalist.
i really have no idea who this is or when it's from, but this really jams with me. 8.5/10

#20

final track! a slightly longer one again. a little like purity ring from those first bars. its feeling like it will go more towards liquid though. oh, interesting. more straight electro, not where i expected it to go from that intro. female vocal, and instrumentation actually really 80s. reminds me a little of lay all your love on me. this also feels like it could be used in a film. also reminded a lot of the midnight (band).
vocalist seems familiar so i'm wondering if she's a feature here.
a rollercoaster of a track and a good closer. let's say 7/10 for that one.

all in all a very interesting album. i suspect it ended up a little past the 80 minutes recommendation, but hey, what's a few extra minutes between pals. very enjoyable even as it was frustrating to listen not knowing what most of the songs were! i am unsure whose cd it is but it would have to be someone with more wide-ranging tastes than i was already aware of, which is tricky as most folk seem to generally post about the same kinds of things. looking forward to being enlightened!

Posted by: FrankLuck 23rd August 2017, 07:51 PM

Yay, this is the one I got! the title is '13 songs', a great CD with some real gems. My comments are BS, the titles tell everything you need to know.

1) postrock instrumental opener
Great start! After about 10 seconds in I'm down to 4-5 people, so I'm pretty sure this will be an fairly easy guess at the end. The track is definitely something that gets me excited. 7,5/10

2) bollywood but twisted
The title is not lying, this is bollywood but twisted. Love this to bits, the alternative bollywood style is always a win for me. This is the kind of BJSC entry that easily steals my 18 points. Yeah, that good - BUT still not my fave on this CD 9,5/10

3) pop a la oriental
This is quite chilled, the female vocal is nice, I'd enjoy it a lot more if the oriental bits would be more stressed 6,5/10

4) pop a la magyar (what a coincidence!!)
Ha! So you knew it's me! Okay, I know this one, of course, this is the Lotfi Begi remix of Rúzsa Magdi's 'Föld és ég'. Magdi's songs are okay and Lotfi Begi is like the Hungarian David Guetta, but his stuff gets old fairly quicky.
6/10 from me, but I heard it 100 times on the radio, so it might me a lot more interesting for others.

5) future boogie
Again, like in 'pop a la oriental',I'd be a bit more interested in the stuff going on in the background, but it's still an okay track. Female vocals, reminds me a bit of a chilled CHVRCHES. 7/10

6) 808s & heartbreak
Yay, male vocals! This is a hard one, first I wanted to compare it to Twenty One Pilots, but yeah, it's a shitty comparison. Sounds a bit like a bridge between part 1 and 2. Btw. this is a proper compilation,
not a bunch of songs thrown one after the other (like mine). 7,5/10

7) icelandic hype
Yass, I like this a lot! She's the icelandic Noga Erez, doesn't she? At least it really reminds me of 'Dance While You Shoot', which is an easy win. 10/10 - and I barely ever give scores like this.

8) intelligent dance music
Wow, weird stuff. I'd say I've never heard anything like this before, but I'd lie as there is one track this reminds me of: 'Um.. - Don't copy us' which I really enjoyed in UP - but it was a slow grower. I guess it will be same with this one, I'd go with 7,5/10

9) tick tock
Instrumental, could be a soundtrack? Builds up nicely, but I kinda miss the 'breakthrough'. Still, a cool one, definitely a grower.
edit: Actually, I keep pointing it up and I can't stop listening to it... awesome stuff 9/10

10) back to the 90s
Female vocals, the kind of (beginning of) 90s sound that most of BJ is into (but I'm not). Btw. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that it's from the past 3 years. 6/10

11) dark wave
Can I call this instrumental? Dark wave is not my go to genre, but this one's enjoyable for what it is. Might be a grower? 7/10

12) witch trap
I guess I can't call this one instrumental, right? Okay, I'm quite into this witchy stuff, thanks to bjsc, so my hopes are fairly high. This one delivers too, like it a lot, will take some more listens though to grow on me properly. 8/10

13) postrock instrumental closer
A solid finish, I think I prefer this one to the opener. 8/10

Some of the choices make me quite confused, so I still can't guess for certain whose CD I'm listening to. My first guess was Bré, (after about 3 minutes of checking the songs), but I can't see him adding some of these tracks.
My final guesses are Brade (strictly as a 'group effort') and maybe Chez.

Thanks a lot, it really was a great expereince!

Posted by: Capybréra 24th August 2017, 12:47 AM

That was indeed mine Frank! And no input from Jade I did say my recipient should be able to guess it was me relatively easily, I think I included pretty much all of the niches that I'm into, and a couple of songs by my former BJSC artists, not that you'd have known about that of course

I'm not actually going to reveal all of the song titles on here at this moment because a couple of them were shameless self promo of my future song contest entries... (well not the actual songs, but the artists). Will fill you in once the injunction on them is over if I remember

I tried to tailor this to your tastes as much as possible (I obviously did know I was making it for you, hence the token Hungarian song), essentially by looking back at which of my BJSC entries you liked and picking similar sounding songs. I could easily have bloated the tracklist with some more random songs that you may or may not have enjoyed and I kind of wish I did based on seemingly most other CDs being a lot longer than mine but I'm glad you seem to have enjoyed it on the whole anyway.

01 And So I Watch You From Afar - S Is For Salamander
a song that used to get played on nighttime Radio 1 quite a lot a few years back, had the idea of opening and closing with some great postrock instrumentals and this seemed like a good explosive one to open on, while saving a slightly more chill one for the closer ~

02 Shreya Ghoshal - Silsila Ye Chaahat Ka (SOOHAN Remix)
this is one I discovered at the same time as my BJSC entry 'Big Chillum' (one of the many songs of mine you've given 15 points ), both via clicking on recommended videos on BÖ's 'Waqqaberry' - I would have been tempted to send this one instead if it weren't for the fact A) Shreya had been sent before and me recycling artists in BJSC is a big nono and B) this is also sampled in one of Chase And Status' better known earlier songs 'Eastern Jam', though I'm not sure if many people on BuzzJack know of it anyway really. I expected you to have guessed this was my CD based on this song alone, although admittedly it's totally plausible that it could have been Chez as well.

03 The Shanghai Restoration Project - Miss Shanghai (feat. DEZ)
first of the songs by Persephonia artists - unfortunately in my limited digging into TSRP's back catalogue I haven't really found any songs that have the same spooky and enchanting aesthetic as 'The Wandering Songstress', this one is my favourite of the others I've listened to however, basically reminds me of Clean Bandit but with some East Asian influences in the instrumental. I'll admit this is probably one of the weaker songs I included.

04 Rúzsa Magdolna - Ég És Föld (feat. Lotfi Begi and Madarász Gábor)
haha, you got it in one I wasn't actually aware this was a well-known song / one that got radio airplay, oops! Maybe should have guessed considering Magdi is a former ESC participant but there you go. Another one that isn't exactly my favourite song on the disc but it's a former BJSC potential of mine, I got rid of it from my potentials after you sent Lotfi Begi yourself, so you blocked me from having probably my only ever proper pop entry

05 Cannons - Evening Star
this one was a bit of a last minute replacement as I had a song I wanted to include but I couldn't source a decent mp3 for it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DokBeZKKeKI was the one I originally wanted to include, and it would have been a few tracks later alongside the other weird instrumentals, so check that out as a bonus track if you want 'Evening Star' is another former BJSC potential of mine and included for no real reason. Probably would have DNQed, I was never really seriously considering it. I loaded too many of the more average songs on here near the start in retrospect.

06 Kevin Abstract - Echo
second appearance by a Persephonia act (and another former BJSC potential, yes this CD is rather heavy on those) - Kevin is the member of BROCKHAMPTON who sung the hook on 'GOLD'. This one is a bit older, I titled it '808s & Heartbreak' on the CD because it sounds just like a song that would have fit in well on the Kanye album of the same name. I actually listened back to this on iTunes after I uploaded the CD and was a little disappointed that the instrumental on the mp3 is different (and IMO inferior) to that in the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-FC9l8dJaM, should have checked that before uploading it! Still good enough anyway...
(thank you @ the comment about this being a 'proper compilation', I did try to make it flow nicely but wasn't sure if that would come across well!)

07 Reykjavíkurdætur - Hæpið
yet another old BJSC potential, you may have seen me mentioning that I was planning to send Icelandic feminist hip-hop at some point, well... here it is! This is in fact a group with like 20 members (although only 3 with vocals on this song), I can definitely see the comparison to Noga Erez anyway! Delighted that you're such a fan of this I shall also recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoIkWEqeke0 by them (which I was also considering for BJSC - and who knows, maybe one of these two songs might still appear in the contest ONE DAY ), a bit longer and showing off more of their members ~ 'Hæpið' is the Icelandic word for 'hype' so the title on the CD was a literal one! Lol

08 Space360 - 3 Lines Between Me And You
I let out a bit of a laugh at you saying 'dont copy us' is the only song like this you remember hearing before, considering that was one of my own UP entries This was a song I discovered during the first BJSC Worldvision spinoff after being drawn Thailand and doing a SoundCloud search for Thai electronic music, this was so intriguingly weird (sounding like a very deep Aphex Twin cut or something) that I couldn't help but love it I do wonder how this would have gone down if I didn't ultimately pussy out and send a novelty T-pop song about cats.

09 Thomas Veith - Time
soundtrack is a good enough guess, this is one of the many wonderful pieces of original music composed for one of my favourite YouTube channels, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XkV6IpV2Y0, who make really super high quality educational videos about all sorts of topics. This bit of music in particular always stood out to me as a beautiful piece to listen to in its own right. Pleased that this was a grower for you!

10 Sunscreem - Perfect Motion (Boys Own Mix)
this is in fact a legit 90s song!! I had to include some 90s dance for you, aww at it falling a little bit flat but this is still a tune for me at least moving on ~

11 [redacted]
a song by my forthcoming BJSC 98 artist, it's not half as good as the one I have sent to the actual contest (although if darkwave isn't your thing in general then I don't expect you to be majorly loving that either - I'll live in hope though ) but the clear highlight of the other four songs that exist by them.

12 Øfdream - Ninth Gate
and the final appearance by a former Persephonian artist, this was one I nearly sent in place of 'Thelema' and I'm pretty certain it would have done a lot better than that did, but nonetheless I do still prefer that song so no regrets. This is largely the same kind of sound but with vocals (a sample of an unreleased (?) song by Cassie, 'Balcony' to be precise). You didn't actually vote for 'Thelema' but I included this one anyway based on you being generally a fan of other witchy entries.

13 [redacted]
and this one I will also not comment too much on just yet, apart from to say expect another song by this group *ahem* elsewhere on the forum from me in the near future. As I mentioned earlier, decided to wrap up with another slightly more chilled postrock track. I hope the complete lack of guitars between the opener and closer didn't make these postrock songs sound out of place, but I had to include SOME rock stuff for a thing taking place in this forum, and postrock is probably my favourite of the subgenres of rock / indie.

~

sorry that was such a self-indulgent response, and now my own review is gonna end up just being 'this is k' for every song xxx (I'll try and put as much effort into that as I did into this post)

Posted by: FrankLuck 25th August 2017, 03:32 PM

Really, no Jade?
Well, to tell the truth, my original comments were a lot more Persephonia-centered, but I chickened out as I didn't want to look like a complete fool in case I'm wrong...
For example , for Shreya Ghoshal I originally had 'This is the kind of Persephonia entry that easily steals my 18 points in BJSC' - which is a lie, as it would've got 15 (lol) points (but definitely 18 in the next contest).
I remembered you mentioning Lotfi Begi before + the Icelandic hip-hop potential + the 'don't copy us' reference wasn't a real coincidence, either.
The ones I found trickier were 'Miss Shanghai' (seriously, I didn't connect the dots at all) and 'Evening Star' (145 (Poodles) is awesome btw) + 'Echo' a bit, but the I had the aaah moment with the music video.
Again, great compilation, would recomment it to at least half of the bunch here.

Posted by: dandy* 27th August 2017, 09:41 PM

That HAARM track in RFC's cd is great, never heard of them before but I shall be searching for more...


Plus I've only just realised that my CD has been reviewed! StillJupiter, you got mine... I shall put the track listing up soon but glad you seemed to be broadly positive about it!

Posted by: dandy* 27th August 2017, 10:09 PM

And here are the tracks... I ended up putting this together pretty last minute so yes I ignored the maximum time element completely and just went with a general theme of a selection of songs that I could imagine sounding good in a soundtrack to a stylised film. Consequently there isn't really a rhyme or reason to my choices, I just wanted it to be quite varied as I usually send things that are almost too coherent to the CDSwaps and that can make for a boring listen for the recipient if it doesn't gel - this time I opted for lots of different sounds and track lengths in the hope that some of it may go down well - glad to see that strategy may have worked!

https://open.spotify.com/user/dandy%2A/playlist/3vEGAyBJOBZjTB1TbZNIyL

01 CHARLOTTE - The Best Thing
02 WENS - If
03 Fujiya & Miyagi - Collarbone
04 Jens Lekman & LouLou Lamotte - Evening Prayer
05 Sarah Vaughan - Please Mr. Brown [Pontus Winnberg Remix]
06 The Black Madonna - He Is The Voice That I Hear
07 Peter Peter - Bien réel
08 The Radio Dept. - The Worst Taste In Music
09 Visage - Fade To Grey [Extended Orchestral Version]
10 Max Cooper & Tom Hodge - Fragments of Self
11 St. Vincent - New York
12 Scissor Sisters - Somewhere
13 Shura - White Light
14 New Order - Singularity
15 Placebo - Allergic (To Thoughts of Mother Earth)
16 Astre feat. Amelia - Romance
17 Half Waif - Turn Me Around
18 Margo Price - About to Find Out
19 Alex Cameron - Candy May
20 Marsheaux - Safe Tonight

Posted by: StillJupiter 28th August 2017, 01:56 PM

QUOTE(dandy* @ Aug 27 2017, 11:09 PM)

And here are the tracks... I ended up putting this together pretty last minute so yes I ignored the maximum time element completely and just went with a general theme of a selection of songs that I could imagine sounding good in a soundtrack to a stylised film. Consequently there isn't really a rhyme or reason to my choices, I just wanted it to be quite varied as I usually send things that are almost too coherent to the CDSwaps and that can make for a boring listen for the recipient if it doesn't gel - this time I opted for lots of different sounds and track lengths in the hope that some of it may go down well - glad to see that strategy may have worked!

https://open.spotify.com/user/dandy%2A/playlist/3vEGAyBJOBZjTB1TbZNIyL

01 CHARLOTTE - The Best Thing
02 WENS - If
03 Fujiya & Miyagi - Collarbone
04 Jens Lekman & LouLou Lamotte - Evening Prayer
05 Sarah Vaughan - Please Mr. Brown [Pontus Winnberg Remix]
06 The Black Madonna - He Is The Voice That I Hear
07 Peter Peter - Bien réel
08 The Radio Dept. - The Worst Taste In Music
09 Visage - Fade To Grey [Extended Orchestral Version]
10 Max Cooper & Tom Hodge - Fragments of Self
11 St. Vincent - New York
12 Scissor Sisters - Somewhere
13 Shura - White Light
14 New Order - Singularity
15 Placebo - Allergic (To Thoughts of Mother Earth)
16 Astre feat. Amelia - Romance
17 Half Waif - Turn Me Around
18 Margo Price - About to Find Out
19 Alex Cameron - Candy May
20 Marsheaux - Safe Tonight

Posted by: Chez Wombat 28th August 2017, 04:17 PM

Safe Tonight and Drone Logic Both wonderful BJSC discoveries (most of that Bre CD looks pretty wonderful from the descriptions ;o)

-x-

Right here's my review of Truffle Shuffle, I went in not knowing what to expect here even knowing who created it so I was interested to hear this. Apologies if I use the same words over and over, I always run out of things to say halfway and scoring always seems a bit difficult after just a few listens but here it is nonetheless.

Track 1 – We start with a rather lovely indie-pop synth track. This sounds very familiar, an awful lot like CHVRCHES, I don’t think it’s them but it has all the elements - Delicate female vocals, very synthy 80s-esque production and a catchy chorus with a somewhat morose feel that surrounds most of their songs. CHVRCHES are one of my favourite current bands so any mimic of them is usually fine by me, a keeper for sure 9/10

Track 2 – This one is another female lead, I definitely recognise this vocal, in fact I’m pretty certain this is MØ (or MslashO as I like to call her), but I don’t think I’ve heard the song. I’ve really liked everything she’s done and I like this one too, has a minimal, almost tropical-esque feel to the production and the vocals get more intense and strained as they go on which works quite well with the mood. Again enjoying this, this CD off to a good start ;o 8/10

Track 3 – This one’s a bit less polished, for want of a better word, than the last two. The instrumental kept confined to a single guitar. This is a female vocal that sounds quite a bit like Lana Del Rey, but it’s a bit more raspy and soulful. Don’t have that much more to say about it, but again, no qualms. 7.5/10

Track 4 – Ooh, this is a bit different. Very relaxed and breezy feel of it all and quite a few distorted vocals and jarring production after the opening. Sounds a bit like a song from one of those Majestic Casual dance or SuicideSheep Youtube playlists. Sometimes I tire of this sound, but as a stand-alone it’s sounds lovely in the sun and is certainly a pleasant listen 7/10

Track 5 – Another jump, hip hop ;o I’ll give this a chance even if this isn’t always genre of choice. I do like the production here and while the lyrics and rap verses aren’t exactly profound, they’re decent enough, something about getting to the top. It kinda peaks early and probably isn’t something I’ll come back to a lot, but certainly decent 6.5/10

Track 6 – I’m guessing a band that has featured at one point on indieshuffle, NME or Guardian New Music? Sounds very much like that nonetheless. Quite a subtle guitar line and repeated chorus line though it does give in to some lovely strings three quarters of the way through. It’s pretty infectious alt-pop actually, I can get down to this 7.5/10

Track 7 - Very synthy, exotic affair, that sounds straight out of the 80s. The strumming guitar and some light female vocals create quite a lovely summery atmosphere. I particularly love the synth breaks that come in here, certainly wins on production 7.5/10

Track 8 – Again with the electro synth-pop sound, though while the last one sounded summery, this one almost sounds almost other-worldly and space-like, especially with its lyrics referencing ‘see you in the next life’. Really into the instrumental, in fact I kinda wish it was just that as it’s interesting enough to stand on its own 7/10

Track 9 – A much more hushed restrained affair with a subtle, brooding guitar line before the synths come in as the track intensifies in its dying moments. For a song less than three minutes long, it leaves quite a big impression and is a solid dark number, would’ve been higher if it were longer 7/10

Track 10 – Something very different now, no synths! A single guitar line gives way to a quite distinctive, punk rock-esque voice that builds and the chorus is pretty explosive in it’s telling of ‘no rivers holding you back’. Feel like this voice is familiar but can’t place, nonetheless, quite the standout here 8/10

Track 11 – A slightly urban-electro track with a vocalist that sounds a little like Kelis with a lot of blip-bloop sound effects throughout. Wouldn’t sound out of place on any party compilation from any decade. OK, though I did find this one didn’t leave much of a lasting impression. 6/10

Track 12 – Some rather nice indie-pop guessing called some variation of ‘Let Go’, definitely the sort of thing I would be really into back in my days of scouring The Guardian and Digital Spy for new music. Again, it could be pretty much any of these female fronted blogosphere bands, but it’s a nice listen 7/10

Track 13 – We’re still in the indie-pop blog kinda bands, though this one feels a bit more epic in scale, maybe cos it’s the longest track on the CD at almost 5 minutes in length and there’s heavier guitars, and some rather great production, this is a good one 7.5/10

Track 14 – Most of the pop so far has been dabbling in indie a bit, but this is pretty solid pop in the vein of McFly/Busted. I’m not against this genre, but it has some pretty basic guitar-led production and nothing jumped out at me of being out of the ordinary for this sort of song, srry 5/10

Track 15 – Ooh, this is sounding a lot better. Quite an intense, dark Electro-R’n’B track, I’m reminded a bit of Rihanna, though maybe cos this is the sort of thing I’d love to hear from her, but I doubt she’d produce anything like this these days. Nonetheless, really like this 8/10

Track 16 – Another very downbeat and dark track, production very much secondary to the vocals here that are filled with remorse…although the lyrics about ‘flavour’ and ‘milky way’ are almost making it sound like an ode of ice cream or something, interested to see what it’s about. Nonetheless, a good one 7/10

Track 17 – More hip hop but (and just to show I do enjoy this genre when it’s good) this one was actually one of the highlights. I really like the production and it helps that there’s a good mix of samples, rap verses and a really catchy chorus. Seems to go a lot of places actually, really great. I certainly wouldn’t call it ‘music to numb your brain’ as the track implies~ 8.5/10

Track 18 – At 2:40, this track is the shortest on here and…it’s sort of just there. I mean there’s not much notable that happens, there’s a few guitars, a few ‘na na na’s and then that’s it. I’d probably like it was longer, but it doesn’t give me any real chance for me to get a sense of what it is. 4/10

Track 19 – Some building guitars come in straight off the bat, yep this is a Paramore-esque bit of pop punk, though perhaps a bit more restrained. It’s a fairly typical example of its genre that I’d imagine seeing on the channel, Kerrang! a lot, can't find a whole lot else to say about it but I like her vocals and it’s a nice listen. 7/10

Track 20 – A quite…glossy track for want of a better word, there’s something quite prestigious and glamourous about the vocals, although it’s again one that sounds like something I’d do scouring blogs for, which a lot of this CD reminded me of so I suppose it’s fitting that it ends like this! 6.5/10

Overall: I liked this CD a lot, clearly a lot of the quite subtle indie-pop blogosphere kinda sound, nothing too in-your-face but there is a fair range of genres without ever sounding too erratic, like I said before, this kind of sound did make up quite a sizeable proportion of my music taste before I just branched into...well, even weirder stuff, so I guess I was the right recipient, though I feel like there's at least something here anyone can enjoy. If I were being picky, I'd say I wish there was something a bit more ~edgy~ or distinct, but that wasn't to say there weren't any standouts, #1. #11 and #17 in particular I'm interested to see who did them. Final score I'd say 7.5/10, seems about right.

I know who made this obvs but I'll let you reveal yourself, and thank you for making this, was a lovely bit of bank holiday listening~

Posted by: StillJupiter 28th August 2017, 05:14 PM

Yes, that was mine. As it happens I'm about to reply almost right away :3

Interestingly enough most of the picks also come from circa 2013-14, the time when I also was more into indie blogosphere kinds of music to the exclusion of anything else. I didn't know who I was making for, so I deliberately went for a breath of genres and artists that generally fitted into the indie spectrum or that I wanted to share along, so, we're about on the same page there!

In terms of what you liked, I'm stoked to see I've established a new fan of track #17, as the artists involved there were actually some of the most well-known on the entire album.

Unfortunately I don't quite recall where I found a lot of the tracks as it was a pre-Spotify era for me - probably youtube and then finding related video links via that, which is why some of the choices are completely left-field as opposed to even tracks that might have been spotted on blogs.

Going through the list again:

Track 1 - 9/10 I do see the CHVRCHES comparison now you mention it, but at the time this track reminded me more of a Fleetwood Mac or Stevie Nicks song that now escapes me. This one is Closure by Owl Eyes.

Track 2 – 8/10 Good shout, this is indeed MØ from her first album, before she hit the bigtime post-Lean On. I knew as soon as this was announced I wanted to share something from that period of her career because I was a big fan at the time and thought that was as far as she'd go. This track's called Maiden.

Track 3 – 7.5/10 I also don't have a lot to say about this one, I liked it a real lot when it first came out but it's not one I go back to so often. I'd also offer the band Vaults as a comparison; this is More Scrapes by Arthur Beatrice.

Track 4 – 7/10 Yes, I played this in plug the other night, it's another before-they-were-famous song, All I Want by Bondax. The vocal sample is actually from a Supremes song, believe it or not.

Track 5 – 6.5/10 Yes, switching it up a wee bit, this is Flume's On Top featuring T-Shirt.

Track 6 – 7.5/10 This is Microlite by Trophy Wife

Track 7 - 7.5/10 A slightly older one now (only 2011 or so though), this is the first appearance of Little Dragon on this album; Maximum Balloon featuring Little Dragon - If You Return

Track 8 – 7/10 Going to my country now, this is Irish band Young Wonder's To You

Track 9 – 7/10 Yes, I think this band are inactive now, they have a few songs of similar sound and vein though, this is Silver Swans' song Secrets

Track 10 – 8/10 Funky eh? This is You Don't Even Know Where It's At, by Evan Voytas

Track 11 – 6/10 One of the most recent tracks on this album, from earlier this year, this is Little Dragon's second appearance. The song is Sweet and comes from their latest album Season High

Track 12 – 7/10 Close, it's called Echo My Love. It's by Tilly and the Wall, who despite being a quite unknown US band actually had one UK chart hit with a poppier song, Beat Control, in around 08/09, but usually stick firmly within indie. This lifts from their fourth album Heavy Mood and wasn't a single.

Track 13 – 7.5/10 This is Sorrow by Frankie Rose, formerly of the Dum Dum Girls. Frankie's a slightly older artist who releases erratically, and has just landed a new song on my personal charts this week after a five year or so break from releasing solo stuff.

Track 14 – 5/10 And the newest track gets the lowest score. Tbh I just threw this in for a bit of variety, it might have been someone else's favourite though mind. This is West Coast - Lenno Remix by Pretty Sister.

Track 15 – 8/10 Another from circa 2014 now, this is Operate by ASTR.

Track 16 – 7/10 You might be surprised at who this is, it's probably the biggest name on the album. This is, as you noted, Flavor, by Tori Amos.

Track 17 – 8.5/10 Probably my favourite track on the album, or definitely up there, this is Numb by Cassie (of Me & U fame) and Rick Ross. It lifts from her 2013 rap collab mixtape RockaByeBaby.

Track 18 – 4/10 This is quite short hey? I never noticed that before. This is Secret Xtians by Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

Track 19 – 7/10 That was an interesting description, again, a comparison I had not noticed before but definitely valid. Going against their normal M.O. of slower, ethereal tracks, this is Electrify by Say Lou Lou.

Track 20 – 6.5/10 Yes, this is another one of the newer tracks which is probably why it sounds a bit jarring against the rest of the 2013-14 crowd, this is Good Girl by Dominique, which released last year.

Glad you enjoyed! I'll definitely keep in mind to be weirder next time, I definitely have tracks of that kind kicking about too, this was quite a safe go round for the first time doing one of these.

Posted by: Iz~ 31st August 2017, 03:57 PM

Days of Thunder review:

(scores are an attempt to not be ALL 7/10 so a score below that =/= awful)

Track 1: Clearly the title track, it has a lot of repeating of Days Of Thunder throughout it. It seems like a fairly pleasant indie-pop song with pretty standard male vocals, although that instrumental undercurrent that sounds like Baker Street with a slightly different tune is quite endearing. 7/10

Track 2: Another male-vocal electronica song, which is a theme of this CD I would discover, a few slight synths. I’m not sure what the vocals remind me of quite, but they’re soft and lovely, and it’s a nice chill track, not something I’d go out of my way to listen to but I don’t mind it. 6/10

Track 3: Guess the vague genre that I ascertain this one is? It’s something about a summer lover, so I guess that’s the title, but it’s a bit more languid than the previous two and I’m not as keen, would put it as about a –4/10

Track 4: I get the feeling that this song samples (rather heavily!) Cassie’s Me & U unless I’m completely misremembering how that sounds. It’s more involved and synthy than Le Youth’s C O O L. Without that sample this would be a pretty generic modern “”Spotify playlist”” song, with it, as I like that song, there’s a bit of interest enough to rescue the CD from the downward spiral, although I wouldn’t say this is better than the original or Le Youth - 6/10

Track 5 - Starting with a chant that makes me think of a rap, it quickly emerges that I’ve stumbled into a sample section of this CD, as this is basically Fergie’s Glamorous mixed up a bit, which I dislike. To its credit, it’s not as awful as the more well-known version because the extra speed in this mix adds a bit of life to it but still the notes are the same and so there isn’t enough for me to LOVE it – 6/10 (and the owner of the CD wilts away at my general indifference)

Track 6 – According to this song, we were ‘born to be wasted’. My general if not absolute sobriety disagrees, although perhaps it just means that we were born to be naked, which is biologically more accurate. The song is a bit dull at first but it starts picking up in the second half and is a rather pleasant male electropop listen by the end – 7/10

Track 7 – This gets more and more shoegazey by the minute. It’s dominated by ‘your sex is a dream’ which is what made me think of the dream pop aspect, but it’s of that sort of sound at least. I’m sort of okay with it but as with some others, I don’t have enough meaning with it to enjoy its slowness and so it needs to be a bit more upbeat to keep me interested. 5/10

Track 8 – This is Lean On, so we’re back to the samples, except this is more like a straight remix, with the same song structure. There’s a disappointing thing about this, it’s entirely just Lean On but cleaned up of any breakdowns for… very little in return if I’m honest. It’s just… flat notes instead. 8/10 for the Lean On parts given that it’s great but become a bit of a tired song in the last couple of years, 0/10 for the small changes they’ve done to it.

Track 9 – I’m starting to get the feeling that this could be an almost entirely sampled CD and the ones where I haven’t noticed it I just wasn’t familiar with the original song enough to know it. This one is a pretty much mashupped George Michael, taking bits from Careless Whisper and Never Gonna Dance Again. While I’ll still say that it’s a little slow for my tastes, the wall of sound and hearing two songs I like in new contexts (I can never resist the Careless Whisper riff), I think this is easily the best so far – 8/10

Track 10 – Now this starts off way more like my style, there’s a good tempo and there are some stabbing synths. I was unsure on the vocals at the start but they’re growing on me over the course of the song, it’s a decent length at 5 minutes, though that’s about average for this CD. They start to get really compelling, I think I like this. Also the key lyric here is ‘dandy juliet’. Hmm. I might have been guessing Dandy had he not been revealed, I’m still not sure who’s this is. But no, I really like this song, especially when the different vocals come in, there’s a slightly feminine sounding one and even the hint of someone trying their hand at a harsh thing. Love it! 9/10

Track 11 – Seems like a rather pleasant electropop song, I like the tone of the singer, it’s not QUITE at the Lights level of perfection but it’s reasonably close to the Lauren Mayberry mark on that scale, albeit with a bit less production. Um, there are a lot of intriguing sounds aside from the vocals on this as well and it’s a good listen overall– 8/10

Track 12 – Well, we ride out the penultimate track on this CD with a synthy instrumental of Summertime Sadness – which honestly I’m really quite enjoying a lot – not just because I like the original song but this is really delicate and is just a bit of distortion away from some of the soundtrack genre I’ve always loved. 9/10

Track 13 – The final track opens with some heavy rock chords, is this it? It seems like it’s slightly synth-rock, but the vocals aren’t quite as engaging as I want them to be, it’s like a singer got herself a few rock chords on hire more than being a rock artist. Lyrics are nice and it’s still an enjoyable 7/10 listen however.

Overall, for me, it was a weak start but the second half of the CD was a lot better than the first – I still wouldn’t say I’m the ideal recipient of this though, if you like any of the following a) sampled tracks b) mid-to-low tempo songs c) anything in the indie-pop-tronica umbrella, I’d recommend giving this a listen.

As for who it is, I couldn’t say. I was thinking Dandy but as he’s done, it could be RFC or Harve, I’m not sure who’d specifically go for such a sample-heavy tracklist. Could also be Dan doing indie because of all of the samples.

Posted by: danG 31st August 2017, 04:02 PM

it's definitely not me.

Posted by: Cal 2nd September 2017, 01:22 PM

Iz! Dat's me! I'll post the tracklist + comments tomorrow if that's ok! Glad you liked it (ish!)

Posted by: UltraReputation 2nd September 2017, 11:10 PM

Ok if Cal didn't do my CD I'm now about 95% sure who did my CD as I was between two people! I'll post my review in the next few days <3

Posted by: Cal 3rd September 2017, 09:44 PM

QUOTE(Iz~ @ Aug 31 2017, 04:57 PM)

Days of Thunder



I know so many last words. But I will never know his.

Track 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOFonK5C9sQ
Track 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwL-ywFYAsw
Track 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOJBb7WybLM
Track 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbHnF2l5AsQ
Track 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQYme-6UImA
Track 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnGxztTBf94
Track 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGiy8WchU6s
Track 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zFC1X9TAA4
Track 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaLxIrKECC8
Track 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB8iPgwAAl0
Track 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bnPHhh2X2A
Track 12: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCeFrs-M0pU
Track 13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svcsbrHiThg

Posted by: Iz~ 3rd September 2017, 10:23 PM

Oh wow Cal, I didn't actually think it'd be you! Yeah, I'll definitely keep listening to Mando Diao (I've heard of them but never really listened to anything so I think I'll try and explore them more) and Tommy 86, as well as those Lana and George Michael remixes - and The Midnight were on there too! I rather like them so I'll keep that around and see if it grows (actually probably won't delete anything until they've had more of a chance, to do otherwise would be rude). Thanks for those - and I appreciate there being a bit of a theme there too.

Posted by: Chez Wombat 3rd September 2017, 10:41 PM

Two weeks left to get these done guys, hopefully should have a full house this time ;o

@Jupiter: Thanks again! Quite a lot of names I know there actually, that's definitely the best Owl Eyes song I've heard and I didn't recognise Cassie at all! I should give her more credit than I do.

Posted by: UltraReputation 13th September 2017, 08:21 PM

omg mess I forgot the deadline was this weekend, I'll try and have it up on Friday <3

Posted by: Riser 14th September 2017, 04:12 AM

Yeah, I'm finding it hard to do this properly because the song tags weren't removed I'm just gonna remove them myself then come back to it in a day or two, and hope I've forgotten all the names

Posted by: Chez Wombat 15th September 2017, 08:56 PM

Sorry guys, I kinda forgot this myself I'll allow a week's extension to the 24th (I mean as long as the review's in it doesn't really matter but it'd be nice by that date), I will send reminders out to those that haven't done it yet at the weekend.

Posted by: dandy* 15th September 2017, 09:09 PM

I know I've not done mine yet so no need to remind haha!

Will try to post it this weekend

Posted by: Cal 17th September 2017, 05:57 PM

SO sorry this took so bloody long to post. I had the first half written and then everything was a bit mental in real life so had to put it on hold! So yeah, I got ‘CD Swap’ and it was a lovely listen, so thank you to whoever u are. x

01 - Ok four seconds in and this is already a bop ngl. I normally stay well away from ‘PC music’ (this is PC music, right??? Plz say yes) but this one is really good. It’s just a lovely instrumental that builds up over time and it kind of reminds me of the Popcorn Song in places! Really good opener and if the artist has more tracks like this then I’ll definitely be onboard. Solid. 8/10
02 - A few seconds in and I thought this would be trance-y and then guitar riffs set in. The vocals (a MALE!) are smooth and this actually ends up turning into a dance-y song that’s quite catchy, even if I’m not TOTALLY mad on it. The chorus is a tad grating but the verses are lovely. Not the kind of thing I’d listen to on a daly basis but good nonetheless. 6/10
03 - This sounds vaguely familiar? Another dance/electronic song and with male vocals again. The verses are smooth and the chorus lifts off a bit. Oh, a LADY! This is very nice and I’ve definitely heard this one before. Like the previous song I think I prefer the verses to the chorus but still solid. 7/10
04 - Another dance song (I’m detecting a theme!) but this has a nice 80s/retro sound to it. Some nice moments in this but I quite prefer the subtleties in this one. Again, not mad a the heavy dance beat but quite like the overall vibe and the air-traffic control samples are a lovely touch! 7/10
05 - Bizarrely I actually know this one! I can’t remember the main artist but it’s Reija Lee on vocals. This is lovely and I’ve always liked the chillness~ of this and it’s not grating like a lot of dance songs are to me. I lyk dis. 8/10
06 - Ooooh ladies and gentlemen we have a groovy piano banger in our midst. A bit of a drum and bass number but it’s like something you’d hear on one of those Lounge compilations. The vocals are gorgeous and this is so up my street. 10/10
07 - This is one that builds up slowly and has a really nice deep beat to it. Once the vocals kick in and I’m immediately reminded of something? Is this a sample of “Tell Me Something Good” by Rufus/Chaka Khan?! Not gonna lie, it’s used very well and I’m so on board with this! The tempo is nice and I’m loving the last minute or so of this. 10/10
08 - This is quite a nice House-y/Garage-y number that kinda wants me to just rollerblade down the boardwalk by the beach. The vocal sample is lovely and overall this is gorge. A tiny bit repetitive but still a really good discovery. Thank you! 9/10
09 - The intro to this is so so so lush. Deep House these days can be a bit touch-and-go but this is lovely. It has a nice groove and it’s a bit of a funky banger. Oddly enough this is also quite relaxing so thank you to whoever you are. Definitely will be listening to this one again! 9/10
10 - Well right off the bat this was horrendous and grating and loud and annoying. BUT then all that stops and it kinda turns lovely? Nice piano and smooth strings and I’ve forgiven whoever you are. The dance-y/trance-y bits later in the song are really nice and it has a nice beat. The deep EDM ABOMINATION noises can go die but the rest of the song is fab. Reminds me of Aly & Fila - ‘Underwater’ in places (Espen hype!!) and that can only be a good thing. Overall, lovely but the intro has got to go. 8/10
11 - Excuse my ignorance but this could pass as a song I’d hear in this Japanese bar I sometimes go to. Totally know this is probably produced by someone in Hackney but it has that Japanese vibe in places. Very nice. Would definitely listen to more of this so artist plz. 9/10
12 - Another lovely chilled trance track with a really nice bassline (is ‘chilled trance’ even a thing I don’t know but it is now). This is quite uplifting and a really gorgeous listen! A very good closing song to this CD and definitely a sound I’d like to get more familiar with. 10/10

Overall, this was a really lovely listen and I’m gonna give it 8/10. It started off a tad shaky but quickly bounced back and there were a lot of solid tracks on this. I’d love to listen to more of these artists so this is a success! Thank you to whoever made this and sorry again this took me so long to post - real life has just been unusually hectic! As for who made this I’m not ENTIRELY sure. Dan hunni is it you????

Posted by: danG 17th September 2017, 10:22 PM

yeah it obviously was me

01. https://youtu.be/yV7wB5o5ML0?t=20m37s
(from approx 20:35 to 25:55 in the video)

yeah this is definitely from PC Music, no idea who the actual artist is but that is how it's credited in the mp3 download, it's probably A.G. Cook or someone like that. thought it'd make for a good intro.

02. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRQ3taNN5NU

Wasted Penguinz are a hardstyle act, a genre I'm not usually into much these days but this one is more melodic than most others.

03. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRHk-DavCjc

This one I got into because of its Porter Robinson similarities, this guy seems to be good at ripping him off anyway, he also has a new one called When I'm Gone that's good also.

04. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7SaSI-ru-4

Got into this a few years back, it's so energetic and uplifting. I also recommend Chipland which was sent to BJSC this year if you don't remember that.

05. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oKjVmVBuY0

Thought I'd do a little section of two of my fave d'n'b tracks, this one by Fred V & Grafix who have a lot of great tunes.

06. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF8DGbfOFig

I just love the piano in this, gives it an edge, glad you're a fan also.

07. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n342f6dZags

Had no idea about that sample, just YouTube'd the song and it appears you're right. I love the dark piano riff and kick in this.

08. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNTjh7Adtws

This one reminds me of Disclosure before they went mainstream, sounds lush.

09. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtvqZ4De2Mk

One of my personal faves on the whole CD, I really love this kind of deep house and this one has an atmospheric feel to it.

10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqz3epyGC0c

Thought I'd end with some trance and decided to showcase other songs from BJSC artists I've sent, first Aly & Fila (you were right to think of them for this!) then Gareth Emery.

11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKfBmnMrMTc

This is one of his earlier songs (2009) and what got me into him in the first place though I prefer stuff like Saving Light/U/Hands these days.

12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpWWCcJRVto

A lush progressive trance song to end it all with, glad you thought so too. Great to see you liked most of the CD as I wasn't sure what kind of EDM you were most into!

Posted by: Riser 18th September 2017, 02:20 AM

Here is my review of X.4:

A1 I think I recognize this! The chorus sounds familiar. The vocals are kinda Haim-esque although this isn't quite as well-written as their work. Anyway it's probably an artist I've only heard one song from, so I don't have a good guess who it is. 7.5/10
A2 This sounds like Twenty One Pilots although I know it's not them. It's very short, only 2:15, and ends abruptly so I think maybe the end of the song was cut off?? If not, then it needs a third chorus. 7.5/10
A3 Interesting things going on here. I had to listen to it a second time. It's mostly rock but I like the part of the verses where it's just drums/vocals, the chorus is catchy too. It all just sounds kind of disjointed but not enough to ruin the song. 7.5/10
A4 I know this song but not this version, which I assume is the original! It's 'Reverse' by Somekindawonderful, I remember liking the remix that was sent to BJSC. This is quite possibly more interesting, I wouldn't have expected it to be rather orchestral. The vocals are the best part on both versions 8.5/10
A5 Another female rock song. The drums sound good, the vocals are gritty. It's not really grabbing me though! 7/10

B1 Ooh this is pop-rock which is more of what I'm in the mood for right now. Sounds like All Time Low or thereabouts. 8/10
B2 The female vocals are familiar-sounding but not this song specifically. This has the best melodies of anything I've heard so far, and the production is just as good. Only two verses and two choruses though, with something this good I need a third chorus! 8.5/10
B3 Ah, this is the first really heavy song on the CD. The vocalist is even more familiar, and by the second verse I realize it's Orianthi! Is this recent or back from like 2010/2011? I miss her. 8/10
B4 More female vocals, and really good ones at that. This also has really good melodies and a strong chorus. Definitely the biggest highlight so far! 9/10
B5 This singer sounds familiar too Like a cross between Ryn Weaver and Daniella Mason. Sounds just a little over-produced but it's INTERESTING and nice to have more than just rock. Another song without a third chorus, why do they keep ending before I'm ready for them to end 9/10

C1 The best intro so far. Doesn't build as much as I was expecting but sounding just fine anyway. Once again, way too short!?!? I heard verse, chorus, verse, then the rest was a strange interlude. Genuinely would've been like a 9.5 if it hadn't ended at like 2:30 8.5/10
C2 This is heavy and electronic, kind of like Krewella? Definitely held my attention! Sounded like a mess at first but by the end of the instrumental bit I was on board. 8.5/10
C3 Reggae *.* and dubstep ;o This was a pretty interesting combination, was just a little too repetitive and needed more to it. 8/10
C4 Back to rock music now, sounds almost like Boy & Bear but not as folky. This is pretty wonderful, nice and melodic. Will probably grow on me more with further listens! 9/10
C5 Nothing But Thieves *.* I don't think I know this one but I'm always up for hearing more of their songs so YAY. I was literally just discussing them with Noahspike too. 9.5/10

D1 This is....not my thing. Not awful but the chorus just went right through me. Can't enjoy every single song I guess 6/10
D2 Another heavy rock song, and it's better than the Orianthi one. Chorus is especially good! I gave it a second listen! 9.5/10
D3 This is another loud one, I like the vocals and overall it's good but not great. The chorus is really strong, the verses not so much, but this will probably be the one that gets stuck in my head later! 8.5/10
D4 More rock music here, I'm giving you credit here since all of these are fairly distinct so they're not just blending together. This is just okay though. 7.5/10
D5 Aww I want to like this more because it's the last song but I'm rather underwhelmed. Needs to be a little more uptempo I think...that or the vocals and instrumental don't seem to fit together. 7/10

Overall: 8.1/10. Only one song was below a 7 so hopefully you can tell I was quite happy with this! As for guessing who made it, Lindsey's probably the most obvious candidate but I could see it being Iz or Chez as well.

Posted by: ʟɪɴᴅs. 18th September 2017, 10:56 AM

Guilty x

I tried to like split it up by genre bc I had no idea who I was making mine for so I thought well they might absolutely hate side A but then side B might be totally up their street so I'm happy with an 8/10 and those comments!

SIDE A
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2naPvBtHHs
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FzrD47v0zE
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKUjb0JUhEQ
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zCfgsWNMVA
5.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3UyQ2yAcXk

SIDE B
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17gXofl_1PY
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0wJHlXtMSk
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4q3A5yK1Sg
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQlzYrqwLm4
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1iyQrq99Ao

SIDE C
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGdn1yUVJIs
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4e5reGtKJA
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDdquTGrgvw
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwCi1Ry8VIg
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2zcG3bcuMI

SIDE D
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Bhlg16d8E
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3EzQTvrh1M
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ej5bRP8Yg4
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHz2Fln_ToI
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CVSIkPGb8s

Posted by: dandy* 21st September 2017, 08:08 PM

I still haven't done this, I'm really sorry Sam as I know it's yours. I'm off to Cornwall tomorrow so realistically won't get chance until next weekend now - sorry again for the terrible example I'm setting.

If I'm honest, the main reason I'm struggling with it a bit is that I sort of find every track blends into one and I'm not really sure what to write about them. Also, it's incredibly long and most of the tracks aren't really to my tastes so I'm lacking a bit of motivation to listen to it again. Eeeeeeek sorry :/

Posted by: dandy* 21st September 2017, 08:13 PM

Oh god I feel so mean typing that which is another reason why I haven't been able to do the review!

Posted by: Brébino 22nd September 2017, 03:20 PM

I'm unsure I'll get a chance to do this before next weekend now as well oops (sorry for being shit again, blame the lack of working wifi in my room at the moment). I will 100% post a review still though - will try to do it next Sunday or so - I just apologise for testing the patience of whoever made a CD for me! x

Posted by: StillJupiter 26th September 2017, 08:15 AM

I'm already looking forward to the next one of these

Posted by: UltraReputation 26th September 2017, 12:06 PM

Harve I promise I'll get my review up by the end of next week at the latest!

Posted by: dandy* 30th September 2017, 10:43 AM

So I'm back from my holiday in Cornwall and wanted to make sure I'd posted this before I get myself all wrapped up in work again... here goes...

One
So we begin with one of those songs that I hear and always think sound like Rihanna did 10 years ago. This is quite good, I’m enjoying the style of it and it is very infectious. It isn’t something I’d listen to through choice but it is one of those songs that I’d enjoy a lot if it came on while out.

Two
So this one starts off with a 80s/90s house music style introduction before getting rather jolly indeed. It sort of reminds me of something that would accompany an Always Ultra advert. It sounds a bit like September maybe? I don’t hate this but it isn’t something I’d normally choose to listen to…

Three
This one is another female led pop track, someone singing about being greedy. Not sure what else to say aside from it is very upbeat again. Oh I quite enjoy the bit in the middle where she goes all acapella and sort of oo-be-dos for a while.

Four
Strings open this one before a family based tongue twister kinda comes in lyrically. I want to like this one more than I do as stylistically I am enjoying it but the lyrics are a tiny bit too tacky, it’s definitely an improvement though and I am finding myself humming along to this one.

Five
Next up we have another female fronted track, this time it has that American teen sound to it with a few guitars thrown into the mix which is nice for variety - you know, that sound that makes you think they once had something to do with Disney. Again this is catchy and I’d say it could be someone like Taylor Swift but I’m not at all sure?

Six
So after the pop heavy beginning, we have a quiet piano based duet that grows into something of a show tune. I’m enjoying this one, the singers could be better but I do secretly like music that sounds like this - for example, it could easily be a Rufus Wainwright style track and I adore him… I think this is my favourite so far!

Seven
So this one is Shania’s ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’ done differently. I bought the original of this back when it was released and haven’t really heard it that much since, this is quite nice and takes me back to 1999 (I think) when she was literally everywhere you went. Liking the smokey guitars on this version…

Eight
Another set of female vox up now… this is back to an American teen sound to these ears, but more of that country pop sound. This has a nice melody and it has a pretty soaring chorus - Mr D* approves of this one and is telling me to tell you that from the kitchen!

Nine
I feel like I recognise who is singing this one but I really can’t place her voice. Anyway, this is nice and is one of those songs that seem to tell an important story from when the singer was growing up without ever truly giving anything away. This is understated which is good. Oh and a bloke! Well a brief cameo from one anyway! This was pleasant…

Ten
Well this one is Rise Up. I do like this song, indeed I quite liked the album it was from too. It annoys me that it has become a X-Factor staple as I just picture contestants over singing it whenever I hear it these days.

Eleven
I’m going to guess this one is called Lost In Translation? I’m liking the lyrics in this one, I’m lost in translation like a foreign movie in black and white… party because in my mind those moments are special as the viewer makes what they want to from the half parts of information in front of them. Yeah, not sure I’m supposed to be thinking that deeply into this but the song is making me do that and that’s a good thing… like this one, more the sort of sound I would normally come back to.

Twelve
Well this is Havana. To be fair, you sent me this so long ago that you probably pre-empted the hit and I certainly didn’t recognise it last time I listened to this. Anyway, I like this a lot and appreciate the more unique and chilled sound to it.

Thirteen
So we go from one of my favourites to one of the worst ones. This is essentially pop with horrendous lyrics and it’s just all too enforced cheeriness for me!

Fourteen
This is another that I’m not sure if I like or not. It reminds me of Shampoo from the 90s. I don’t care for it but I sort of think if it were Icona Pop (and it could easily be) that I’d possibly love it. Hmmm, this is growing on me as it progresses although I don’t like the male feature at all - which makes me laugh that in a mix where I’d kill for a male led song, I’d like to remove one of the few bits where one features!

Fifteen
Well what is this!!! This is like Vengaboys do drag? This isn’t my sort of sound at all but it does stand out on here… not sure what else to say aside from it isn’t something I’ll ever find myself listening to out of choice I’m afraid.

Sixteen
Yet more female vocals… this one is pleasant enough while it’s on but ultimately sounds like an album track from countless other acts - kinda instantly forgettable tbh.

Seventeen
Oh a male vocal! Actually I’m just lying, it’s more female led pop. This is better than the last few but things sort of begin to suffer from overkill of female pop by this point. I think I’d enjoy this more out of the context of this compilation - I feel like I know the singer also but she’s difficult to place, sort of like one of those pleasant sounding radio pop track singers from times when Diana Vickers could get played.

Eighteen
I don’t care for this one at all - again it is the lyrics that kill it for me, I’m feeling like a 90s baby in my 80s mercedes just makes me cringe. You do seem to listen to a lot of songs about getting ready to go out and generally being happy! Which is probably why I’m finding this so hard, I remember someone once telling me on a forum that I had the most depressing taste in music he’d ever come across, great tracks but all sounding kinda reflective and I’m starting to think he may have had a point.

Nineteen
Oh now this must be Goldfrapp. I don’t instantly recognise this track so it must be from their most recent material. This is okay, it fizzes and builds in their typical way but it doesn’t quite have the spark of some of their other material that I loved. Still a good enough inclusion though.

Twenty
This has a backing that reminds me of Scissor Sisters Comfortably Numb. I enjoy this one, the singer has a bit more substance to her voice than many of the ones featured so far. This builds nicely and I like the lyrics on this one too… and yes, the singer delivers it well with quite a lot of different emotions going on for a pop track. Possibly my favourite so far!

Twenty one
I don’t like this one at all. I may have done once upon a time but now it just sounds like half of each semi in BJSC - in fact I’d have skipped it by now in the contest as there’s only so many tracks I can take each contest that have pretty meaningless vox and then a dance breakdown chorus. My favourite bit is the smashing glass sound!

Twenty two
This one starts off with a vocal that sounds a tiny bit Sia - although I suspect that is a horrendously lazy comparison - singing about needing to be a man… I would bet money on this being from a film, it has that sort of soundtrack sound to it with lyrics that don’t make as much sense outside of the context of what it was written for. I don’t mind this but it’s not that memorable.

Twenty three
Toxic! Well Toxic but not as you know it. Is this a mash up over another track? I have no idea what the other track is but I feel like I should do! It’s clearly no match for the original version but then again it is one of the best and most striking pop tracks of recent times so that would be a struggle! If it is a mash up, let me know what else it is with please!

Twenty four
Strings! I do love some strings! Oh no it’s another Disney sounding vocal. But at least there’s still strings! No the Disney vox are taking over too much, it’s all just too innocent and pure. Nope.

Twenty five
Now I’m liking the vocal on this at the beginning, she has soul… oh it’s Lana! I don’t recognise this track at all! Well clearly this is instantly going to the top of my favourites list…. something about being a sociopath and serial killer? This is a new discovery for me, a definite keeper!

Twenty six
So it’s on to the penultimate track, by far the longest on the compilation at 5:52. Another female vocal singing about being enchanted - this is pretty much exactly the song I would imagine Sam listening to, something that sounds like it could be lyrically from a Disney movie but in a slightly country style. I quite like this, it wears its heart on its sleeve and does exactly what it sets out to do… a nice and fitting end to the CD…

Twenty seven
…to be followed by the bonus track which I imagine to be tacked on like a hidden track - it is of course Let It Go which we all know is the best song ever to be released and I will stick to that in case Sam comes and murders me in my sleep for saying anything else!!! Actually, my old frozen heart has rather melted to this over time, I can see why it’s so popular these days and it is of course the true perfect ending to any Sam CD! *.*


In summary…

…I feel a bit bad for not really loving that many tracks on here but there are a couple of things that I’m intrigued to find out what they were and I will be keeping those ones. It’s possible that I’d have liked more of them if there was a bit more variety in singing styles over the course of the compilation - a few male vocals would have definitely broken it up more. I’d say my favourites were tracks 1, 4, 6, 9, 14, 20 and 25 outside of the ones I knew. Thank you for taking the time to put it all together though Sam and I’m really sorry it took me so long to find enough time to post a review, hope you’ll forgive me!

Posted by: Cursed Wombat 5th October 2017, 08:12 PM

OK, bump as we are quite overdue with this ;o If the five remaining participants could post a review as soon as you can, that would be great (would be nice to get a review for mine ). If not, I will probably say you'll be banned from taking part the next time we run this (srry not being purposefully harsh, but it has been almost two months). I probably won't host again, but anyone is welcome to and I do hope most of you have enjoyed this anyway!

Posted by: DANKENSTEIN 5th October 2017, 08:16 PM

apols. i'll have my review up sometime this weekend.

Posted by: UltraReputation 5th October 2017, 08:49 PM

Thanks Dandy, tbh that was a way better review than I was expecting after I saw your other post ❤️

I'll have my reply up & my album review done by Sunday at the latest, I've been rly busy settling into sixth form but I have a few days off now *.*

Posted by: dandyman* 🐝🐝 5th October 2017, 09:11 PM

Yes sorry about that!

When I did listen back it wasn't half as bad as I'd made out, I think I must have been in a grumpy mood!

Posted by: lot🎈IT🎈a 6th October 2017, 06:33 PM

i'll do my final listen thru and comments sunday eve/monday!!

Posted by: 28 Brays Later 6th October 2017, 11:46 PM

Right ok I will 1,000% definitely be doing this over the weekend, no more distractions xx

Posted by: UltraReputation 7th October 2017, 02:34 AM

My response to Dandy! (Will re-listen and review Harve's album tomorrow!)

Tracklist:
01. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWX-Mw4dbCs
This was from Poland's Eurovision national final and somehow wasn't sent to Eurovision! This received quite a few RiRi comparisions so I definitely see where you are coming from with that!
02. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBjEq0qcfKg - another Eurovision national final track that I've also seen compared to 90s music a lot!
03. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGq7eI7Y9Gw - an album track that should've been a single!
04. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAVUl0cAKpo
05. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtHk66L9wdY - yep this was from a Disney artist!

06. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTWqwSNQCcg
Had a feeling you would like this one! It's from La La Land and won the Oscar for Best Original Song this year <3
07. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNkzhHG0Prs - a cover of the Shania classic by HAIM!
08. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGa2-kOW810 - spot on with country pop, Kelsea's music is very similar to early Taylor! Yasss at Mr D* stanning *.*
09. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PmA2YbFZ_Q - This is my fave Nina track & glad you also found it good!
10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNKu1uNBVkU


11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6CNv5Rz0RI - yep you got the title correct & glad you liked the lyric!
12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCjNJDNzw8Y - I def didn't expect this to take off as much as it did
13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Csl0cQ-8c - this was another Eurovision national final reject! Oops at your reaction to this
14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlU5Qk9w0u4 - this was a top 20 hit back in 2010! screaming at you finally getting a male in this for the first time in ages and hating the feature!!! (tbh the album will probs be 100x worse if I did it on men that I stanned cos it'd be like the same 5 artists on repeat )
15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rgzBdOpDt8 - she's from one of those American Reality TV shows & yh it def stands out!!

16. Harper - ? - I wrote the artists & not the songs that I put on the album and I legit don't have a clue what track I put on!!!!!!! so I'm glad you found it to be one of the weaker tracks
17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHkSa0zWTDE - yeah your description is pretty on point here!
18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9md97nN_SQ - oops at the lyrics being the problem! I'd probs should've put My Church over this, I feel like you may have preferred that! (or Dear Hate which has just been released & has stunning lyrics!). Yh about 90% of my taste is songs for getting ready to go out to messT
19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2euqyXXjmAo - this is from their latest album! This is one of my fave songs they've done in ages but nothing will top Ooh La La for me <3
20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPmQZt6nq-8 - I was hoping you would like this one so glad this paid off *.*

21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGa2-kOW810 - I was about to say this was acc submitted into BJSC but that turned out to be track #22 & not track #21!!!
22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6l5ezErGuw - correct again, this is from a movie soundtrack! (Valerian & The City Of A Thousand Planets)
23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KxW6eAQIi4 - this is a mash-up of toxic (ofc) and the production of Trees by Twenty One Pilots!
24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zfzka5VwRc - spot on with the Disney comparison again
25. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlf9e9PnJZM - this is one of the million Lana demo's that leaked but never ended up being released officially She performs this live quite often which is why I chose to include this as I felt you'd be familiar with her album tracks!
26. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNW6WyEOW2s - One of my fave songs ever so spot on with you imagining this being the kind of song I'd listen to This is from one of Taylor's more country eras (Speak Now) & definitely agree with it being quite Disney-ish lyrically <3
27. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MK7qz13bU - ofc I couldn't not include this 'it is of course Let It Go which we all know is the best song ever to be released'. Took the words out of my mouth!!

In Summary:
I'm glad you made a few discoveries out of this! Tbh I was a bit stumped on what to put on here as I feel like you'd know 95% of the lesser known pop songs I stan from a few years ago & the songs from the alternative artists that I acc like so I went for a mixture of my ultimate faves/pop/quite a few Eurovision stuff as I couldn't find you making many posts there!!! If I was to do it again I'd definitely make the album shorter, I have no clue how it ended up being 27 tracks messT (though on the other hand the first few tracks I would've gotten rid of are probs the ones you stanned so maybe it was a good thing the album was this long ). And I'll def forgive you for taking this long to post considering I still haven't posted the review of the album I got!!

Posted by: Iz~ 7th October 2017, 03:46 PM

I never got my CD reviewed the last time we did this either

I may just post the track list and my comments on the songs if it doesn't surface soon, I didn't do that last time and now I regret that that CD just got lost to the ether

Posted by: FreddyVsJupiter 7th October 2017, 04:04 PM

QUOTE(Iz~ @ Oct 7 2017, 04:46 PM)

I never got my CD reviewed the last time we did this either

I may just post the track list and my comments on the songs if it doesn't surface soon, I didn't do that last time and now I regret that that CD just got lost to the ether

Posted by: Cursed Wombat 7th October 2017, 04:06 PM

QUOTE(Iz~ @ Oct 7 2017, 04:46 PM)

I never got my CD reviewed the last time we did this either

I may just post the track list and my comments on the songs if it doesn't surface soon, I didn't do that last time and now I regret that that CD just got lost to the ether

Posted by: FrankLuck 7th October 2017, 04:11 PM

QUOTE(Iz~ @ Oct 7 2017, 05:46 PM)

I never got my CD reviewed the last time we did this either

I may just post the track list and my comments on the songs if it doesn't surface soon, I didn't do that last time and now I regret that that CD just got lost to the ether

Posted by: Iz~ 7th October 2017, 04:43 PM

Ha! You're all welcome to give mine a review if you want to, Chez, would you be able to send it to anyone who's interested - I am a bit lacking in my access to links.

Posted by: 28 Brays Later 8th October 2017, 02:14 AM

Right, I apologise again for this being so late (I kinda knew this would happen which was why I was hesitant to take part in the first place) but I have finally at least got this done this time!! I hope my commentary is worth the wait. xx

no_despacito.zip

01 Well this is off to a bit of a ~quirky~ start with a one minute opening track that is a tribute to Link from Legend of Zelda. It's more of an intro / interlude kind of thing than a song so not a lot to say here (or maybe I'm just hitting bad writer's block from the start). A bit folk-y, sung by an Eastern European(?) sounding guy with quite a rough and heavily accented voice. It probably makes more sense in the context of whatever album it is originally from, but it at least gave me a bit of a laugh at the unexpected-ness. As a song, 5/10? idk it doesn't feel like I should be rating this one at all

02 Continuing with some more folk-y instrumentation (is that bagpipes? accordion? not sure) but with some guitars coming in as well. Flowing nicely from the first track. And then the vocals start... and it's in a language I don't speak and cannot identify from the sound of it. This is good, I like foreign language songs xx sounds a bit eastern European again, and the vocals are done by a male rapper with a pretty heavy accent. A strange hybrid of genres here - like someone took a Rage Against The Machine song, translated it into... Polish? or something and added some weird ethnic instruments to it. I liked it a lot tho. I can definitely get into some weird foreign rap and I really enjoyed the bagpipes-accordion-whatever riffs in particular. 9/10

03 Back to the English language (still with a European accent although not as heavy as in the first two) and another rocky song but with the first synths on the CD so far. The chorus is something about flying to Cambodia and getting lost there. I presume this song has something to do with the genocide there? This is the most 'normal' song on the disc so far, not that there's anything wrong with that as much as I'd not have minded a full 20 songs of folk-rock-rap and Zelda tributes. Nice synths and the chorus is pretty catchy. 8/10

04 Starts out with some slightly spooky pitched-down vocals. The rest of the vocals sound like they have some kind of effect on them as well to have a lo-fi sound to them, and there's some pretty standard indie rock instrumentation going on. Wouldn't be out of place on an alt-J or Ariel Pink album maybe. Couldn't make out many of the words but I did hear the phrase 'nuclear fusion' a few times. It's kinda cool, I think like track 1 it probably works better in the context of the original album. 7/10

05 Another foreign language track (sounds eastern European again, maybe the same language as the 2nd track?), also back to the folk-y vibe. Some cool drum sounds kicking in about a minute in and later on some trip-hop-ish record scratch sounds. This reminds me a bit of a Deandria BJSC entry from last year ('Álmatlan' by Anna And The Barbies) although lacking a memorable hook like that had. Would probably make for some nice background music though. 7/10

06 Oh my, this is a sudden switch up!! Starts off with 20 seconds of a cappella chanting in another language I don't speak (the chanting sounds a bit African but I think the language is a European one, maybe Portuguese?) and then in comes a stomping techno beat *.* the vocal chanting sample is repeated throughout the song and it goes silent midway through and builds back up to dropping that beat again. I absolutely LOVE this one! Excellent production, infectious vocals, would go crazy to it in a club if I were the kind of person who went to such places and if any such places exist that play this kind of thing. The first song so far that I'll give a 10/10 (I stopped using ratings out of 10 to mark songs in BJSC/Unknown Pleasures/Nuggets because I gave out too many of them and kinda devalued the score but they're back now just for this so you can embrace my over generosity xx)

07 Already sounds amazing just a second in. Continuing on the change of pace from the earlier folk/rock tracks, this one is a straght breakbeat/drum n bass banger, with a few rave pianos and dubstep-y wobs here and there and a vocal sample which I think says 'you already know' that is twisted and distorted throughout the song. There's also a bit of a trap vibe to the last minute or so with those signature drums found in every trap song ever following a gun sound effect. It's basically trying to be every dance genre that I like in the space of three and a half minutes and it's pulling it off. Has to be another 10/10 and my new fave so far on the disc. x

08 The longest song on the disc so far at just under 6 minutes, most of the songs on here are under 4 minutes or a little over but there is one more fairly lengthy song to go after this one. This one is mostly instrumental and sounds like it's a dance song either from or inspired by the 90s (but not one that I am familiar with). Based on what I've heard so far I think this CD probably comes from FrankLuck (in which case, we swapped each other's CDs! ayy) which means songs 2 and 5 were probably in Hungarian. But I may be wrong. I'm enjoying this song more as it goes along, it has that throbbing hard dance beat and some cool pianos in the second half. Starting to have a bit of a psytrance sound nearing the final minute too which I greatly approve of. The first half was enjoyable but not massively standout, I'm definitely more sold by the end of the track, it could maybe use a sliiiightly shorter edit to get to the good stuff quicker. But on the whole, bangah, would probably enjoy more with more listens. 9/10

09 It's another electronic-y song with some sparse and ~atmospheric~ echoed vocals. It kinda sounds like it's building up to somewhere it never quite gets to, and then it just ends. This one went over my head a bit but worry not, already plenty of amazing songs on here so far, they can't all be 10/10s. x I'll give this one a 6/10, I wouldn't turn it off ~

10 We're back to the hybrid genre rap songs, this one is in English and I can hear that the song is basically about how it is a mishmash of genres ('I'm too rock for hip-hop / too hip-hop for rock n roll / I'm too city for rednecks / and I'm too country for city folks'). It has some electronic sounds in it as well as mashing together rap and rock. I don't really see where the 'country' part comes in apart from maybe the way he delivers that line, but I'm certainly not complaining at that, I'm not a country fan to say the least. x A few amusing lyrics. A bit of slightly gratuitous swearing in the hook but it doesn't totally ruin it. It's a little bit try-hard and different for the sake of being different - I might like it more if it wasn't in English, for all I know song 2 was just like this and I just couldn't understand what he was saying!! - and probably the kind of thing a lot of big hip-hop fans would absolutely hate but it's catchy and I like the instrumental. 7/10

11 The lyrics 'I changed my mind' and 'I don't love you' are repeated throughout the song and distorted in a similar fashion to the vocals on song 7. In this case it kind of comes across a little overly repetitive and annoying and I don't think the instrumental is interesting enough to carry it. Reminds me a bit of TOKiMONSTA or RL Grime or something but not as good. Not really feeling this one much. 3/10

12 Longest song on the disc at 7 minutes. It's instrumental for the first 3 minutes or so, the first minute sounded like one of Ethanola's ambient dance instrumental songs, the second minute sounded like one of Ethanola's slightly less ambient dance instrumental songs, and the third minute was nice and spacey and psychedelic-y with some vocals coming in. The vocals aren't up to much really, I'd probably have preferred it as a full instrumental. Some nice building back up in the production after the vocal section before it dies back down to the more ambient sound from the start of the song. I think this one would need another listen or two to fully click with me but there's lots of interesting stuff going on in it. 8/10

13 English language vocals but I can't place the accent, I feel like it might be Japanese maybe but that may just be because the vocals are a little bit cutesy (the vocals near the start in particular sound almost like they could be on a Kero Kero Bonito or even a PC Music type song). The main instrumental is a kind of low croaky bassy sound which reminds me a little of Jadakissnia's Instrumentals spinoff entry 'Scorpius'. Interesting sounds and I like the vocals a lot. Very nice. 9/10

14 Back to the possibly-Hungarian possibly-some other indeterminate eastern European language songs and back to real instruments, it's another one with the same kind of folk/rock sound as the start of the disc. Not a big standout but it was enjoyable enough, basically along the same lines as track 5 but a little more 'standard'. 6/10

15 More folk (and a little bit of a ska sound as it goes on) and it's in English this time but again with a REALLY thick accent (is this the same guy as the one from track 1?) Whoever it is seems to desperately want me to start wearing purple and I should probably listen to him because he's scaring me a bit, sounding shoutier and more, er, intoxicated the longer it goes on. A bit of an absurd song but kinda fun in its way. 5/10

16 Genre whiplash! Electronic, some more breakbeats which are the highlight here, has both male and female vocals. It's pretty cool. I don't have a lot to say about this one. 8/10

17 Genre whiplash again! It's yet another folk-y rock-y song but this one is a little different to the previous ones as it has rather lovely female vocals unlike the earlier rough male vocals, and I'm pretty sure it's in Spanish this time, I'm enjoying this one quite a lot, a tad middle-of-the-road but I can always go for some Spanish female vocals. Reminds me a bit of Belanova who were in BJSC a couple of times although with a bit more of a rocky edge. 9/10

18 Another foreign language song and this one is proper ska, sounds like a Madness tribute act... well, for the first minute or so anyway, it morphs into a more rocky sound for the chorus. Lots of genre hopping within songs on this disc. I think it's Spanish again but male vocals this time. I think this is a song about being multi-cultural. x I'm really enjoying this one as well, I love me a bit of Madness and the chorus fits in nicely and is pretty catchy. 9/10 again

19 Fitting in another genre whiplash, it's a dance song but a little lowkey. The structure of the song and the vocals are reminding me a bit of 'Bullet In The Gun' by Planet Perfecto which is a top tune so I approve. 8/10 and would probably grow with more listens

20 The final song is largely instrumental but with some more African-sounding chanting and some 'ohhhh's. Some cool tribal drum sounds and some kind of flute-type instrument (I think) throughout. I feel like I am being hypnotised and possibly being indoctrinated into a cult. But I like it. A strong finish, I think this would have worked well as an opening track as well. 9/10

~

Lots of very good songs on here (the run of songs 6-8 in particular was amazing, looking forward to discovering what those were), the songs kind of felt like they were in a bit of a random order with the constant flipping between dance songs and the folk/rock/ska stuff but that's just a small criticism, obviously the important thing is what the actual songs sounded like! I appreciated having lots of foreign language songs on there because it saved me feeling like I needed to analyse lyrics in this review I tend to really like a lot of foreign language stuff, and certainly a lot of the foreign folk/ska stuff is the kind of thing I'd never come across on my own, not all of it was totally my thing but there were a couple of gems like tracks 2 and 18.

Posted by: FrankLuck 8th October 2017, 01:00 PM

Yep, 'no_despacito' was mine, I guess it took nearly 5 minutes to figure that out!

Tracklist:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh_j9xrwUb0 I was quickly set on the outro, so I wanted something from SOAD as an intro, too. Although I listen to all kinds of stuff, they remain to be my favourite band ever.

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6k4xaguiNo You might remember these guys from ESC 2005, representing Moldova. 'Mioriţa' is my fav of theirs, I'm glad you liked it too!

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5j3RNdBq48 Okay, I must confess that I added some tracks to win some Jade-points (this being one of them), I imagined that you might listen to this together and I didn't want her to hate the whole thing The band is Norwegian btw, this Kim Wilde cover is from their 2005 album (yes, half of this stuff is from 2004-2006 )

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MFVhqcRpN4 We're back in 2016 + Australia (told you that this is a mess, wasn't kidding) - 'Rattlesnake' was entered in the previous Nuggets, you might remember that one.

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAdjj71INsM Oh, of course this is not the same language as track 2, how boring that would be! These guys are Ukrainian and I guess this song alone rules out everyone else. To be honest, I would have removed this if I do the CD for anyone else, but thought why keep the brakes on... This definitely took some time to grow, but I love it to bits.

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll1qkzzibwo Okay, sadly I have no idea how I got to know this one (and I still can't find much about it now, either) - it is from 2004 and reminds me of the good ol' days, I guess this was a thing then, at least in Hungary (not a huge hit, but I can't recall this being totally unknown).

7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGf7i5eG0O8 This was one of my fave songs of last year, it was my personal No. 1 for months. Wanted to send this to BJSC at some point, but I can't see this DNQ - so I kept it for myself. I'm really glad you like it!

8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBMdIFl8UPo Yes, I also think that I should've gone with the video edit (I added that one here). This is from 1995 and was HUGE in Germany back then, I consider this part of (music) history.

9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2GNi-sSrd4 Not the best choice I believe, but I wanted to go with a a bit less well-known 'Members Of Mayday'. My fav is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zMq5NAHEg8, but it was a UK chart 'hit' in 2001 (well, it made 31 ) and I didn't want to be THIS cheap.

10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTQ0yE3gd4o This is one of the weird ones - from last year, I got to like it's weirdness tho (yes, this is that Travis Barker /from Blink 182/, so I guess his struggle is real

11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqA2wQqiUeE I found this when we were doing 'Masquerade' and I got Syndare, who I basically never voted for. I didn't know DJDS at all, didn't remember the Syndare entry, but I got to love 'I Don't Love You' straight away and I decided to send it to BJSC next month. Sadly my love didn't last THAT long, but I still enjoy it quite a lot (and now after 'Trees On Fire' and 'Why Don't You Come On' they became too well-known anyway).

12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TvmAf-LhCQ A fairly new one, now from Austria. I really rarely like these super-long Ethanola tracks, but this is something I adore, definitely takes time to grow tho.

12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nz0CsYQhFw And we're back in Australia and a Jade-entry - glad you liked it too! The super-weird video adds a lot to the whole 'experience'.

13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H21pNwLrbG8 Now back to 2006 and Czech Republic (all the Eastern languages are different, but none of them are Hungarian - you had no chance ) - I see the comparison to BoomBox - and I was 'this' close to get rid of Síť - but somehow it remained to be one of the lucky ones to make the cut.

15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkkIwO_X4i4 Well, this band is actually from the US and I was a bit afraid that you'll know 'Start Wearing Purple', as it was heavily played on MTV (well, in 2005). This was the time where we had loads of house parties and everyone went mad when this was on... maybe you'd need to get drunk first?

16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-coAD0mtEQ Okay, so THIS one is the Hungarian song quite a random selection from Neo to be honest, I might send something else from them to BJSC once.

17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-uwouMzUB4 Another Jade-track, and you're right with this one, it's Spanish. MTV used to have a completely fake international top 10, (one fairly random entry per country), this is how I found 'Nunca Volverá' back then (and 'Síť' too).

18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzf4NbYi010 These guys are Spanish again, 'Mestizaje' is one of my defining songs of the first year of uni (2004) and a house party classic, love it to bits.

19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQlxjSm0qU0 Again, a bit of a random choice, but I really wanted to include something from Heppner + I needed something smoother before the outro.

20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IzjGE_INjs This is the Outro of my favourite album ever, SOAD's 'Toxicity', so I thought it will fit as an outro for my first ever cd swap.


I'm really glad you found some tracks you like, I got to know some brilliant tracks thanks to you (in bjsc/up/nuggets/etc and now here too), so it was really time for me to 'give back' a little + it was a great opportunity to show some of my weird-ass non-bjsc-entries


Thanks again Chez, I really hope that this wasn't our last cd swap!

Posted by: DANKENSTEIN 8th October 2017, 01:32 PM

'pussy power'

track 1:
well this starts with some bells and a guy speaking before the song suddenly coming to a start around the 30 second mark, with a girl rapping about her vagina (yes really), with the main hook of the song reminding us 'vagina's where you're really from'.. which is true for most of us anyway. it's a bit of a bop though with an uptempo backing and a very catchy hook. 7/10

track 2:
another female rapper here, i'm sensing a theme. i like the rap parts of it and the trap-lite beat when she raps. though it gets a bit too rocky in the middle section for me though and i'm not overly keen on the hook, which i suppose is meant to sound like a revolution chant but the vocal doesn't do much for me. 6/10

track 3:
female rapper #3 but this time it's in a foreign language, I'm going to guess german (especially considering which poster i think sent this cd). the german language is quite a harsh sounding one but it fits the production here which is going for a loud hip-hop/rocky beat with synths and electric guitars. not really the type of thing i'm into but it's not bad. 6/10

track 4:
another female rapper, this appears to be the first black female on the cd though and sounds like it could be cupcakke. the production has more of a dance-pop feel and she has a good flow. the hook revolves around how she won't fall off until the 33rd of the month, i.e. never, which is something i can get behind with the power and delivery here. 8/10

track 5:
the first track here that isn't a rap, it's a female singer presumably fronting a band. this doesn't really stand out much for me and just feels like your average indie-pop bjsc entry thats inoffensive enough to get through to the final. 5/10

track 6:
another female singer, this one is quite disappointing in that the production sounds like it's building to something in the chorus but then just goes back to your standard trap-lite beat, it's like 'dark horse' lost its punch. her vocal isn't much to talk about either. 5/10

track 7:
this sounds like girli. she's definitely done better than this though, production wise it isn't much better than the last track but her vocal and lyrics are enough to lift this to a higher score. 6/10

track 8:
a pure pop song here. well at least this has a big chorus, the girl can sing. but again this really isn't my type of music. 5/10

track 9:
quite slow and boring, this one just sounds like every other passable blog pop song that doesn't really go anywhere. 4/10

track 10:
again as with track 8, I can't really add anything else to this. this one is a bit slower and has more 'real' instruments in it, but that doesn't change my mark out of ten for it. 5/10

overall:
not really a fan, apologies for the late and less than flattering review but i suppose you weren't making this with me in mind. my guess is lotita made this as most of the tracks sound very much like what she'd listen to. i'd also say out of the participants ultra violence would like it a lot, perhaps riser too so if you're reading have a listen. 5.7/10

Posted by: Jade-o-Lantern🎃 8th October 2017, 01:33 PM

Oh Frank I shall have to give those songs a listen at some point if you intended for me to hear them as well! Looking forward to finally listening to another song by Art vs Science in particular. *.*

Posted by: FrankLuck 8th October 2017, 01:38 PM

QUOTE(Jade-o-Lantern🎃 @ Oct 8 2017, 03:33 PM)

Posted by: SevenSeize 8th October 2017, 01:46 PM

Some favourites of mine showing up like Jens Lekman, King Gizzard, St Vincent, Daniel Avery (and that Owl Eyes song is fantastic), cool stuff!

Posted by: lot🎈IT🎈a 8th October 2017, 02:47 PM

yeah dan that was mine!!! i'll do my proper reveal after i've typed up my actual review

Posted by: 28 Brays Later 8th October 2017, 02:55 PM

Oh wow, I don't know how I didn't realise that was Serj Tankian's voice on the first track!! I do really like Serj/SOAD based on the songs I know from them. Never would have guessed track 2 was Zdob Şi Zdub haha but I loved their Eurovision entry and of course was a fan of this one too I didn't recognise any of these songs but there are a few artists there I know mostly via other contests on here - King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard ('Rattlesnake' is one of my favourite Nuggets entries!), DJDS (oops at this being the one song I didn't like at all after how much I loved 'In The Flames' ), Travis Barker/Yelawolf, Klangkarussell, Art Vs Science (a bit out on thinking it was Japanese but this was another great song from them, have to check out the video), Gogol Bordello (2005 is a little too early for me to know this song already, I didn't really even listen to music much until about 2009, but yes I've heard of them), Schiller and probably most unexpectedly neo - I have actually had them as a BJSC potential in the past as well! (With 'All The LOVE' - I think I planned for this to be another drum n bass entry around the time I send KOTA and Jay Dabhi but didn't get around to it, I thought it'd come across a little more basic than those two but it's still a good tune).

Posted by: lot🎈IT🎈a 8th October 2017, 04:45 PM

an emotional rollercoaster

01 // intro v serene! it reminds me of something which could be on game of thrones in the background, i'm a huge fan of strings so i thought this was a really cool way to start off the whole album, the crescendo is great 8/10
02 // confusion i really like this, i feel like i recognise the vocalist from somewhere or maybe because she's slightly generic sounding? anyway this was a good way of properly starting it if that makes sense (there was a creators note saying the intro and outro aren't rlly connected to the theme!) 7/10
03 // daze THAT INTRO is bloody stunning, i actually have an instrumental i'm desperate to send to bjsc which has the same kind of vibes! i'm a HUGE fan of the sound the vocalist is going for, it reminds me of rabbii from bjsc rn actually! this is such a good blend and i'm so looking forward to finding out what this one is 9.5/10
04 // love really serene, it sounds quite similar to the vocalist from before from the lil gasps! from the title i was expecting it to be really passionate but it's more subdued, soft and sweet! very parisian coffee shop. i;m unsure how often i'd listen to this outside the compilation but here it really works and i found it really relaxing. 7.5/10
05 // emptiness THAT CHANGE! interesting choice of tracklisting, has the rollercoaster just suddenly dropped?! it's very interesting how both tracks are subdued and quieter and softer, however this track feels very hollow in comparison to the last one, it's eerie in a way and is REALLY effective and the long intro is really compelling. i feel like i recognise the middle part of the song from classical music somewhere but can't name it off the top of my head? now the crescendo then the DROP to the final piano notes is really haunting 8/10
06 // sinister the rollercoaster has now taken a dark turn this MUST be featured in a series of unfortunate events somewhere?!?!?! right?!?!!? why does this low key bop lmao, the choir coming in at the end is fab!! 9/10
07 // panic i was expecting this to be slightly more frenzied, but the lyrics of this one certainly made more sense! i like the bass/ampy kind of sound towards the end! 6/10
08 // pain omg some rock *.* this was a really good change up 8/10
09 // loss going back to those emptiness vibes! kind of brings you back down to the "low point" (i don't mean that in a you're actually making me feel shite way i'm just trying to explain how i'm viewing this narrative!!). there's not much to say about this one as a stand alone track but it works as part of the narrative
10 // longing this one is intriguing because i kept waiting for it to proper EXPLODE an then it HAPPENED!!!1, it's very male adele in a sense at the beginning? the crescendo and orchestra at the end of course is wonderful *.* i love how the voice fades and gives the instrumental a chance to shine! this is probably my favourite so far, utterly euphoric 10/10
11 // memories this is cute, memories is a really good title as it's really nostalgic, it feels like a song a parent might sing to a child in a way!
12 // reassurance omg FEMALE VOX I AM HERE!!! okay the drop in this is absolutely wonderful i really like this one, it's very pupok *.* 10/10
13 // things in the sky... oh a very historic sounding intro! it almost sounded like a battle until the whistle? this sounds very indie boy band but i can't work out if it's from a retro sounding new band or from something in the 80s/90s!! i love the piano medley in this abut wtf at that string meltdown?!?! ooh la laaa~ 7.5/10
14 // bring new fangled hope once again, perfect titling! this is really uplifting and warming, i really need to listen to this next time i go on a proper drive!!!!1 10/10
15 // lets stay like this PC VOICE INTRO!! i'm in already. now this is bloody EPIC and i'm going to get so many plays out of this 11/10
16 // outro is this dream theater?! i'm a fan (omg pokemon *.*) 9/10

sorry that took so bloody long to do, i listened in bits and pieces when i first got it but quickly discovered as a whole this compilation works best together! there's definitely a few songs which i'll be listening to alone but as a whole i really enjoyed this, it was certainly different to the type of music i usually listen to- but i liked it, so this swap has been a success!!! in terms of who it is, i have already guessed it's chez's so i'm sorry again for being so awful, thank you for going through so much effort to making this, it's so well thought out

Posted by: lot🎈IT🎈a 8th October 2017, 04:58 PM

QUOTE(DANKENSTEIN @ Oct 8 2017, 02:32 PM)

Posted by: Cursed Wombat 8th October 2017, 09:37 PM

Thanks lotti I'm pleased I got a review at all as I would've hated for it to get lost forever so thank you for getting round to it. I thought up this concept a while back and it was part of the reason I wanted to bring this back, I didn't make it with anyone in mind, but I was intrigued that I got you as I have seen that despite us having quite different music tastes, you seem to appreciate...well crazier songs going by your BJSC entries this year So I thought you may find something here, very pleased that was the case *.

Basically I often listen to music that projects a clear ~mood~ and sometimes varying different moods, so I thought I could do an album relating each song to the various states of emotion and fit it together as a cohesive whole, and I do often go on these random mood swings and music very much helps me through it. I'm a sucker for making stories (I do teach English after all~) so it kinda formed into one as it went along. Musically, it's all very me, lots of instrumentals, airy, pristine kinda music with lots of emotion, even if not lyrically.

Here's the tracklisting:

01. Ramin Djawadi - Westworld Main Titles - Yeah this isn't part of the narrative, I just wanted to open with the intro to one of my favourite TV shows of the past year! I love it so much, he also does the Game of Thrones theme~
02. J Majik & Wickaman - Crazy World - This is from 2008 and is one of my favourite random, totally forgotten top 40 hits from back then. It's meant to start things off on a bit of a crazy note as you can see~ (Don't think I know the vocalist individually if she's credited).
03. Stellar Dreams - Dimensions - This one sort of exemplifies a big world somewhat adding to the confusion within the narrative, and it has quite wide scope in it's production. Stellar Dreams are a Malaysian duo that make synth masterpieces, I sent Infinity by them to BJSC.
04. in love with a ghost - flowers - Parisian cafe is rather apt! She is a mysterious Youtuber that makes very airy, yet sentimental and sweet songs with long, odd titles (have a look at her channel for more info), but I've really loved it. Kept wanting to send this to BJSC, but worry it's a bit too subtle.
05. films - I'm Sleeping Under the Dead Tree - This is when things take a dark turn indeed ;o Indeed, the emptiness is reflected in the rather sparse production here, yet on the negative side rather than the light feel of the last track. I love films, they're a Japanese ambient electro-post rock classical hybrid kinda group who make hauntingly beautiful music. This one's got a long build up (I'm pretty sure I've heard it used on some show before as well) but it's powerful all the way through.
06. Peter Gundry - The Vampire Masquerade - Yes, very Netflix horror show isn't it? He's a composer who makes kinda dark, medieval classic compositions, this being no exception. Sounds like something straight out of Interview with the Vampire.
07. Forest Swords - Panic - This one represents the title very well I've only discovered this recently, and this is something of an acquired taste, but I love the eerie and distorted, rave-like production and it all fits together very well and a perfect picture of things going a bit wrong.
08. Linkin Park - Breaking The Habit (Enigma TMG remix) - Surprised you didn't notice Linkin Park! Though, it's not one of their more well known songs. When I made this, it was still quite fresh news about Chester Bennington's death and it hit me quite hard as I was a big fan. I was gonna include the original as it's a beautifully tragic picture of being broken, but this Enigma TNG remix adds a sense of urgency to it. He's a dark dubstep producer who has produced some big tunes, particularly his Alice trio.
09. Aether - Dear Lillie - This was actually meant to come after the song after this lol mess, my bad, but anyway, yes pretty much the lowest point in the narrative. Rather tear-jerking, don't know much about the artist, I found it on SuicideSheep, but it's a beaut.
10. Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused to Sing - so yes, this should've come first as a gradual outpouring of grief, which is what this track is. It has a beautiful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8sLcvWG1M4 that I'd recommend as it fits with the song well. I've come to absolutely love him, his prog rock and videos are utterly astounding and tear-jerking, even though I'm still in the process of exploring his albums.
11. Peter, Paul & Mary - Puff The Magic Dragon - This is a bit of a random one lmao, but I love it so much and though it sounds quite sweet and upbeat, it's so so sad if you read the lyrics as a metaphor for loss of innocence
12. Illenium feat. King Deco - Reverie - Dance producer, I got really into him last year and loved his melancholy dubstep-pop sound like this, this always gives me the feels <3 Love King Deco's voice and that drop is wonderful. Would recommend his EP, Ashes as I think you'd like it! Things start to look up here mood-wise to.
13. The Rolling Stones - She's a Rainbow - 60s boyband maybe? It's a quirky little number this, I always see it on 'shoulda been singles' for them and it's actually probably my favourite from them even though I haven't been exposed to them as much as I probably should've given their status oops, anyway love this, so colourful and crazy throughout, always puts me in a good mood.
14. Marcus Warner - If Elephants Could Fly - Same guy I sent to BJSC months back with I guess the spiritual follow up to Africa as it does sound a lot like it in name and style! I love all his classical stuff, it's so beautifully uplifting, and I've been feeling positive lately so this has been a regular on my listening lists, I can't believe he's only 20.
15. Daydreamer - Skyscrapers - I thought this was a good note to end on, it's still uplifting and energetic but with a sense of uncertainty of what will happen next, which I suppose we all have (talking way too philosophical here oops soz), anyway, he was another dance producer I got really into around this time last year, and though Travelling Light what I sent to BJSC was quite different, the rest of his music like this is very much this Porter Robinson-esque, electro synth sound. It's lovely to my ears anyway, would highly recommend the EP, Senses!
16. Tina Guo - Pokemon - *.*, it doesn't fit into the narrative obvs but since gooddelta sent her to BJSC earlier this year with the Super Mario theme, I've been kind of obsessed with her Game On theme tunes and this was my favourite, if anything took me right back to my childhood it's this And I have had a bit of a rejuvenated interest in Pokemon recently (well short lived, what with Pokemon Go).

I'm glad the slightly left field style here wasn't lost on you as I feared it would be for a lot of members taking part, and thanks very much for the wonderful review, idk if you're just generous with your scores, but seeing that many 9s and 10s is wonderful *.

-x-

Just two to go now! *nudges Sam*

Posted by: UltraReputation 14th October 2017, 12:01 AM

Album Review:
This has download really weirdly on my iTunes and has separated into four separate albums so hopefully the order below is the order intended!

01. The voice is very recognisable, I know it so well but I can’t put a name to it! This is a female vocal dance-electronic song & it ends quite suddenly, idk I was expecting it to go on for longer than it did! It’s nothing incredible but nothing bad. It’s the kind of song that I probably wouldn’t turn off if it was on the radio but I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it. 7/10

02. Really liking the start of this, very in your face and loving the vocals! The production is very good on this and is again has a sort of feel of electronic pop to it, I can imagine dancing to this in a club. This feels very 2000’s. The chorus goes off. 9/10

03. Another electronic-pop song *.* The vocals feel very subdued on this, tbh the production overpowers the vocals a bit too much as I can barely here the lyrics. It feels like someone is murmuring stuff under the production It’s still solid though and I’ve heard a lot of worse stuff. I can’t see myself coming back to it though. 5/10

04. The vocalist is so recognisable on this. It’s like a cross between a solo HAIM member, Kate Nash & Ladyhawke, and tbh I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be one of the latter two as I haven’t listened to their albums in AGES. I love the chorus of ‘you set me on fire’ and this is indie-pop at its best. The lyrics & vocals are so good <3 9/10

05. Once again the voice is recognisable and this is more electro-pop, by this point the album is definitely cementing itself as an electropop mixtape with all the songs being pretty similar sonically so far. I’m really liking the lyrics and once again production wise this slays. I like the vocal but I don’t love it, I feel like some of the notes are drawn out a bit too long for my liking. This also feels like something I’d kind of listen to when I’m starting to come down from getting drunk. I get Lorde-ish vibes from this (but not as good obviously cos not much can be x) 8/10

06. More indie-pop *.* This reminds me of a cross between MUNA & Laura Marling vocally. This is good but I feel it suffers a bit being placed in this album as it has solid production & vocals but it is weaker compared to most of the songs come before it which are sonically similar so this gets lost in the shuffle a bit. As with track 1 I feel this is the kind of track I’d listen to on the radio but I wouldn’t go out of my way to hear it. Also the a-yo bit is a bit cringe, def the verses>>>>. Also I like the outro. 7/10

07. Errr the start really threw me off!!! I wasn’t expecting whatever that noise was It feels like I’m experiencing an exorcism in a waterfall with the production & vocals combination. These screeching vocals I usually stan for aren’t working for me here at all, I feel like laughing at times messT. The vocal reminds me of someone trying to imitate MO but completely failing & the song doesn’t go anywhere for me. Though to at least take some positives, this is the first song that isn’t rly indie electro-pop so its nice to have a bit of a change! 3/10

08. Back to indie-electro pop *.* Really liking these vocals and the production is fab. I love the lyrics, something about reaching out for the northern lights & the chorus is fab. This is reminding me a bit of St Vincent sonically and I’d definitely add this to my playlist. Sometimes the production is a bit too much which prevents this from scoring higher with me. 9/10

09. Lowkey took me a sec to realise this was a different song to track 8! I’m waiting for the vocals to kick in for AGES though, took about 45 seconds and tbh I feel the intro was a bit too long. Once again this is electro-indie-pop and fits the general aura of the album. The chorus is way better than the verses which I feel plod along a bit. This is solid but as with track six, this feels weaker due to there being stronger similar songs that come before it. 7/10

10. So this is Royksopp as it comes up with his name on the iTunes and a bit of the artwork is visible! And about 2 seconds into the vocals I clocked that was Robyn so I probs would’ve worked this out anyway! (only Royksopp’s name appears on my iTunes and not Robyn). I only know With Every Heartbeat from their collaborations that (I presume) are both credited on. This is pretty good but its not hitting me as much as I’d like it to. I find the post-chorus bit a bit anti climatic. Production wise it reminds me of La Roux a bit and it’s a nice song to mark half way through the album with, this definitely works best as a middle of the album track, and the outro emphasises that this is perfectly placed on the album. 8.5/10

11. Really liking the vocals at the start of this and this kind of feels the start of act 2 of this album! The production starts really nicely and this is building very well. The lyrics are very good and sounds like the person wants someone to be eased from their break-up. I was waiting for it to go somewhere though with either a good drop or something like Green Light which explodes in the chorus but it never comes. This makes it feel quite anti-climactic and not sure if I’d go back to it that much. It sounds to me something that’d work quite well on an advert for a TV drama. 6.5/10

12. Track 11 transforms into this pretty well and once again I really like the beginning. The vocal is very good and the production is building well. And I’ve heard this before. Icr who it is but I definitely recognise it! This also feels like a song that I’d listen to as I’m starting to become more sober and the vocals and production blend really well. The song feels like one that is best to be heard at night-time and feels something that would be fab to hear at a festival or at the end of a high packed action movie over the credits. The chorus even mentions night (and something about crawling) and I am loving this. My favourite so far I’d say, definitely adding this to my playlist! (and this is the 2nd longest song, messT I usually hate long songs!!!). 9.5/10

13. This is vocally so recognisable and I’m loving this! Loving the oh’s and this is a BOP. Err is this Sugababes??? I have no clue what this is but I SWEAR that’s Keisha’s voice. This is so good and I really want to know what this is. Wait this is Flatline I’m guessing cos that was just mentioned in the lyrics. I don’t even know if I’ve ever heard this before I need new MKS (in 2085 at this rate) if this is Flatline, so good <3 10/10 (I’m guessing this is track 13 as it is without a track number and 13 is the only number missing)

14. PURE SHORES <3 <3 <3 Knew this immediately as it started, one of my favourite songs of all time and one of the best movie songs/girlband song to ever exist. This also flows really nicely from track 12 (in the order I listened cos I missed track 13/15) which also felt cinematic. Since track 11 (let’s call this act 2 of the disk), it feels the album has turned from a electro-pop album to an album with a more cinematic feel. This is just such a classic, the lyrics, the vocals, the middle 8, the chorus, the verses are just all 11/10. I’m singing along rn & its inclusion here is reminding me how bloody good this is. <3 11/10

15. This is starting so well, loving the introduction of words and the vocals are rly good. This is Nelly Furtado, icr what song but I’ve def bopped to this before and I love her Such a good track and this fits really well in the album here, a fab pop track and a song that really stands out on the album. 9.5/10

16. This is really nice, very relaxing and fits with the aura of the past few songs, I can imagine lying down in bed listening to this and making me feel so relaxed! Wait this is Goldfrapp isn’t it?? I know this, that took a while to hit me <3 I love them and this is such a good song and Alison’s vocals are as fab as ever. 9/10

17. Really liking this again and once again feels like a song I can easily relax to. Listening to this album gone midnight was probably the best idea as it feels like a night album I love the vocals and production but I find the verses way stronger than the chorus as I feel the production is a bit too overpowering in the chorus! I’m loving the vocals and definitely want to check out more of this artist’s other material. Another one that’ll def go on my playlists, but it feels it also ends a little suddenly I thought there was like another 30 seconds left tbh when it finished. 9/10

18. Ik this is getting repetitive but I am really liking the vocals and production again! Oh I don’t like that male vocal coming in (wait this is the first male vocal the whole time yet isn’t it?!!!!! I’m glad about that ngl x). This is nice but feels like a weak filler on a very strong album. The chorus is nice but it just all feels very dragging along. (the voice on the chorus is recognisable af, I can’t put a name to it though!!). This feels like it turns into a completely different song about 3 and a half minutes in and it just isn’t working for me at all and kind of turns it from filler to a bit of a dud, it just feels a very random change in pace. 4/10

19. And after mentioning this whilst reviewing track #1, the next track to appear is a number 1 from over 10 years ago (this isn’t that old ffs?!!), WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT <3 All time classic. Yes it is a tiny bit overrated (as I find with most Robyn stuff oops) but it still slays and the production, vocals and lyrics are all incredible. I adored the music video when I was younger and this was definitely one of my staples growing up. So good. <3 This also picks the pace up nicely from track 16 again and gets us back on track for a killer finish! (and due to my tracklist f*** up, it turns out this is the final track!!!!!!!!!!). A fab way to finish with the iconic outro <3 9.5/10

Final Summery:
Ok first of all I have to apologize for how bloody long it took me to reviewing this I absolutely loved this, over half the album was killer bops and I loved the electro-indie-pop first half & the more relaxed & melodic 2nd half and I felt they worked really well together in a CD! There was little filler & songs I disliked on it and I'd recommend this to people who are around my age and wanna discover more noughties music that have a similar taste to mine!

As for who it is, definitely Harve! I've known for ages from your message as I turned detective to see who out of the list of people in this had a sister around my age and considering only about 2 people in this had a younger sister, it was pretty easy to guess who made this I really loved this though so thanks for making it and made so many discoveries as only knew 2 songs imminently (the two UK #1's nevertheless *.*) and this was a great album

I've made quite a lot of discoveries of artists that i'd like to check out from this when revealed & loads of new playlist additions <3 thx again!

Posted by: ᴄᴀɴɴɪ 14th October 2017, 02:20 PM

Is that us all up to date now Chez, or are we still waiting on anyone?

Posted by: Cursed Wombat 14th October 2017, 03:57 PM

Still waiting for RabbitFurCoat to review Iz's, but I've also sent that to Jupiter/Frank and I have it myself so it should get a review from one of us to make it a full house! (Although this already has a better review count than I think about 90% of CD swaps before woop)

Posted by: Good Old Days 14th October 2017, 04:54 PM

Missed it. Looks like very interesting game.

Posted by: FrankLuck 19th October 2017, 03:26 PM

Sorry, I (asked for and) got the pack during a fairly busy time, but I started writing my (pretty basic) review, I'll finish it on Monday the latest (when I have a day off).

Posted by: FreddyVsJupiter 19th October 2017, 03:45 PM

I'm looking forward to doing Iz's. I might get to it tonight or tomorrow or if I get stuck I might do it at work on Saturday

Posted by: Harve 23rd October 2017, 07:22 AM

Oops I kinda lost hope and stopped checking the thread/forum, so I only just saw that Sam had posted her review. I'll read through properly and post the tracklist tonight!

Posted by: RabbitFurCoat 17th November 2017, 06:10 PM

The Wonders of Essos - a (very belated) review

When I received this CD I noticed that all the tracks had been given names as well as an artist (Collio Quaynis), none of it meant anything to me, so I put something into Google to see if I could find out what they referenced. Game of Thrones, it would appear, something I have zero interest in and therefor understandable why I didn't recognise any of it. I looked at who posts about Game of Thrones and matched the list of posters in that thread with that who’d made a CD; CW, Dandy and Iz appeared in both lists so had narrowed it down to three, with quite a clear order of preference in my mind of who I wanted this to be by.

Before I post anything about the songs, I must of course offer my apologies for the incredibly late posting of this review, I’d posted originally I was going to put it on my phone and listen to on holiday, but I forgot to consider how old and shit my phone is, regularly being told that photo I've just taken won't save as I've not got enough memory. and that finding 200mb of free space to put this on wasn’t easy. When I tried to put the CD into iTunes, I don’t know if it was something up with my laptop or the format of the files, but I could only do one song at a time, so ended up listening to the first 3-5 seconds of each song. In doing this, it became easily apparent which of the three above had made this CD, assuming it was one of those of course, and from listening to those intros I can't say I had much desire to find 200mb worth of stuff to delete. It’d have to wait until I got back…

But He’s a Guy – Poppy rock with a slightly whiny female vocal, from past experience this is certainly something I can easily see appearing in a BJSC contest that I’d dismiss from a possible vote instantly. Not sure if it being in a language I don’t understand makes it better or worse.

Extras – More on the rock side than the last song but from the beginning it’s easy to see someone liking both of these songs, this gets a lot better as it goes on, I do enjoy the background counting vocal. Switches between English and something else, I have no idea what. Overall a fairly enjoyable listen.

Journey Around The Free Cities – Third song with female vocals, third not in English. It is, however, a lot different to the previous two but I just find it really dull.

We’ll Last Forever – I’d really appreciate something a little different now, something I could understand perhaps so I might be able to at least complement the lyrics of, or the hint of a male vocal maybe?

It’s Question and Answer Time – It starts very slow, very orchestral, strings, one of the most enjoyable minutes I’ve had listening so far and there’s very little happening. It tries to build but I don’t feel it ever gets anywhere, I like the break from the previous songs but it’s no where near interesting enough as an instrumental to make me want to listen again.

Beautiful and Cruel World – A nice piano introduction, and there it is, the female singing in a language I don’t know. It builds into something rockier but the best thing I can say about it is it’s not as bad as the first track.

Discover of the Summer Isles – Another instrumental that doesn’t really do much. Goes on too long, dull.

The Distant Sky – It’s like this CD has been made for a specific person and accidentally been delivered to someone with the opposite musical taste. Apart from the instrumentals it’s all very similar and it’s all stuff I try my very best to avoid.

Expanse Enterprise – Now I’m not sure if I really like this or it just feels like I do because it’s so far removed and so much better than the last 20 minutes. Repeated listens away from the album, and this is definitely really good. With the speaking samples in it, it sounds like if Public Service Broadcasting had a go at being club DJs, something which, when I think of ‘Every Valley’, I’d like them to try.

Fall of Valryia – Another instrumental track, but far more going on than the previous ones, something I could definitely see myself listening to more of.

Herodotus & Thcydides – A man! In Englsih! Hurrah! Oh God it’s horrific. The track is decent enough but his voice reminds me of someone that I can’t make out, but it’s not a voice I have any desire to hear again.

I Say How Far – Instrumental #4 – this one is ok, I like the way it keeps building up throughout.

It’s all in the Gravy – #5 – it gets quite annoying this, too much going on at times.

Light the Bay with Wildfire – I don’t think I can write anything I haven’t already.

Mannis – This sounds like it’s going to be a thumping dance track and I’m quite enjoying, then the vocal starts and I immediately want it to stop. This could have been good.

The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors – Sounds like it could be something you’d hear Maroon 5 singing on the radio and get bored of very easily.

Tension Time – Another instrumental track, this is alright – too short to really form much of an opinion of it.

This Day and Never Again – Sounds a bit like it could be Nightwish, who I’ve liked everything I’ve ever heard by, but have always struck me as a band I’d enjoy tracks by individually, but I’d struggle to take an album of. It's good, if it is indeed Nightwish I might have to investigate more, if not then I might investigate whoever it is anyway.

The Thorns of Highgarden – A female vocal with very little instrumentation behind it. It’s quite good for the type of thing I’d not normally listen to, it really kicks in half way through and remains good. I really like her voice.

The Three Eyed River Mourns – Another dull instrumental to finish off with.

So, yeah... I’ve found it incredibly difficult to try and devote time to writing about something I really got very little enjoyment out of listening to, but I did want to get round to doing it justice and giving a proper review, even if it is horrifically late and hardly complimentary at all. I’m not sure this review comes as much of a surprise, and I hope it doesn’t. The vast majority of what’s on here is stuff I’d never listen to, which is a shame, but that’s always the chance of these things and is disappointing for both compiler and receiver. But it’s always nice to find some good music and there’s definitely some of that within here, there are certainly three, and possibly five, songs that I’ll definitely be keeping and listening to again. It’s a well put together album and I’m sure that people that love European rock with some pop influence mainly sung by females would absolutely love it.

Edited: Reading the above posts I hope it did find it's way to someone who enjoyed a lot more if it!

Posted by: Iz~ 19th November 2017, 03:26 AM

Thanks for the review RFC, I understand it being late given those circumstances.

You know, when I saw that you'd got my CD, I did worry that you might not find much to enjoy (out of all people in the CD swap, it was probably the worst matchup) as I'd kind of gone for a 3-part CD, obscure songs I've found and liked recently (more of a catch-all term really), soundtrack, and J-rock, with only one of those parts, the first one, likely to appeal to you, the other two parts are generally connected to a piece of entertainment I enjoyed the songs from enough to go back to them outside of their context, so I wanted to blind-test them on people without that context. Sorry about that but I'm glad you found a couple that were interesting, and they are largely the ones I'd expect.

The artist and title are intertwined, I recognised that I was putting in a lot of tracks from the ‘east’, because that’s what I do with music these days, and Game Of Thrones was on the air when I did this so I made East into Essos, and found the name of an obscure bard who hails from Essos and is mentioned in one line in A Storm Of Swords, that’s Collio Quaynis. Even though most of these songs are not songs that would be sung by bards but what have you.

They were supposed to be in a different order which must have gotten mangled in the transfer process so I'll reply in that order here so there's context as to which category each was in. Apologies for any Game Of Thrones geekery in the commentary, I want to explain the titles as well.

Part 1: Collection of Anything
01 – The Night Is Dark And Full Of Terrors – SIAMÉS – The Wolf - When I made this I wasn’t sure if I’d send The Wolf to BJSC or anything (I have, since, in fact, my three most recent BJSC entries are on this compilation, probably further proof for you as to why you don't enter now) and I thought it’d be a great opener to the CD, it’s punchy and catchy and very reminiscent of Arctic Monkeys IMO, I never saw Maroon 5. I thought that comparison, Arctics was why it got an abnormal amount of attention in terms of Youtube views for a green Argentinian band, although the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX44CAz-JhU. Very good debut for a band, I haven’t heard anything more from them but it’s been one of my favourite rock songs I’ve found this year. For the title I chose the R’hllor religion words because of that video, it makes it a very dark song indeed.

02 – The Thorns Of Highgarden – C21fx – Blood Red Roses – A soundtrack-y song I found one on of those ‘epic music’ Youtube channels and stood out from the sea of decent but unexciting tracks that populate those, they're really good for nice background music, less so for song contest potentials unless it’s something outstanding like Miracles. This stood out in a different way, mainly because of the singer. Afraid I'm not quite sure who she is, but I agree her voice is great. It’s really quite menacing towards the end. And the name, Highgarden = Tyrell = roses = thorns = Iknowthey’regoldenrosesanditsWesterosnotEssosshutup it could be sung by Margaery at Cersei or something

03 – Mannis – 360 – Lights Out (Will Sparks & Joel Fletcher Remix) – A punchy and trashy remix that I get really entertained by because of the dirty rapping style, it’s like a long-lost Ethanola BJSC entry, it has that sort of style to it. I expected whoever got this to hate it because of the vocals so that's fair enough. The name is because it talks about a guy who should have had the crown but lost it, and that you shouldn’t underestimate, so as far as GOT goes that's Stannis, and to disguise it a bit I used his nickname, which also adds a bit of ~manliness~ vibe to the song.

04 - This Day And Never Again - Xandria - Call Of Destiny - I wish I'd put a few more Nightwish-y esque tracks in there given who this went to - I normally do. I've guessed, given what you've said about Nightwish in the past, that they are that sort of band as you've described for you, although I find their albums the easiest thing in the world to listen to, but then that's me. Xandria are a rather similar band, very gothic, very operatic, moreso more reliably than Nightwish if that's your thing. I've been following them for a good few years and this is one of their latest singles. If you're interested in finding more I'd say Nightfall and Voyage Of The Damned as my favourite other songs by them but it might be a better hit rate if you pick whatever songs you find. Title is not related to Game Of Thrones, I reappropriated the title from a Fate/Zero soundtrack song because I just really like that title and it sort of fit with the 'this is a moment' spiel this song had going on.

05 - Expanse Of Enterprise - Nanobii - Rainbow Road - Nanobii has an unexpected reach I see. He's basically been my favourite non-anime musical discovery of the year, I've sent another song by him, Chipland (as the name indicates, it's similar to this but loses the vocal samples to be replaced with chiptune) to BJSC that might interest you, I don't know. This however works so well with the spoken parts, I think if clubs had this sort of stuff reliably I might actually go to clubs. Even away from that it's great just spacing out to this, like a dancey version of post-rock. I can see why you made the PSB comparison in that case. Title is just because the whole instrumental baseline combined with that crackly vocal makes me think of space exploration, so... Enterprise. I go on weird tangents to get these titles sometimes.

06 - Fall Of Valyria - Explosions In The Sky - Disintegration Anxiety - Speaking of post-rock, I guess this is it - and I can definitely see why and am glad you enjoyed this one. I've been trying to get myself into the genre for reasons that can be summed up as I think the idea of it is cool, but don't seem to have enough time to let the songs I want to chill out to grow on me and develop meaning. Disintegration Anxiety is an exception to that (and has made Explosions... my best lead for more post-rock in the future), I can detect panic and urgency in it, and sadness and it's definitely rather intriguing. The title is a reference to a destroyed place in Game Of Thrones, so this track going over a wordless destruction scene of that place, I can definitely see and want. As the only instrumental in this section it leads off nicely to the soundtracks (and it being in a different section explains why you liked it).

Part 2: Soundtracks

07 - Discovery Of The Summer Isles - Andreas Waldetoft - Land In Sight - This is from a game. My favourite game of these past two years, Europa Universalis IV, I know the soundtrack inside out by now, Andreas is really good at conjuring up atmosphere, and this is one of my favourites for how laid-back it is, and how it embodies the feeling of a voyager in the 15th century setting out into the unknown, I associate it with my first games as countries in Western Europe and it has some strong memory association there. Title is just basically my feelings towards the piece, a piece about discovery, made slightly GOT-y by adding in the reference to the Summer Isles.

08 - The Citadel - NicolAmarfi - Concord - This wasn't reviewed, it might not have survived the transition, but please don't feel obliged to go and listen to it, from the sound of things, it would have been another dull instrumental for you. For me it's a really pleasant piano piece from the VN Katawa Shoujo, themed around one of the characters, a sophisticated character who's always in... concord with the world. The title is because I could easily see this, in a GOT world, soundtracking the most peaceful part of it, the Citadel in Oldtown.

09 - The Three Eyed Raven Mourns - Tatsuya Kato - Here With You - I put this right after Concord because it's very similar but sadder, it's an emotional backing track from an anime, Mirai Nikki that is, as much as I enjoyed it, the TV equivalent of a hormonal teenager putting all their problems at you. This catches that show in an unusual sad and reflective moment and I find listening to the extended 8-minute version of this really relaxing and enjoyable. Title is a reference to the abilities of the Three-Eyed Raven and how those are similar to the abilities characters have in Mirai Nikki.

10 - It's Question And Answer Time - Takada Ryuiichi - Ready? - Ready is the track that plays over what is, in my opinion, one of the greatest scenes in animated cinematic history, the climactic scene of The Disappearance Of Haruhi Suzumiya (and yes, it is rather subdued for a climactic scene but that's part of the power). That's basically what it is to me, it's a powerful soundtrack song but I can see how it won't go anywhere without that context. Title is simply one of the key lines from that scene, which means nothing to anyone who hasn't watched it but it's fun for me.

11 - I Say How Far - Yuki Hayashi - You Say Run - Bit of a poor title choice but I couldn't really think what else to put. I'm glad you enjoyed this comparatively well as far as the instrumentals went, as it's one of my favourites on this CD. It's a common track from the show My Hero Academia that is played whenever anything that could be described fairly as 'awesome' happens, and so, even though I could be above this as an adult, it just leaves me with the best grin on my face when that does happen. The building part of it is a key part of that.

12 - It's All In The Gravy - Tatsuya Kato - The Dish Towards Tomorrow - I didn't realise I had Tatsuya on here twice but this is completely different from Here With You, if this CD had a comedy track, this is it. The Dish Towards Tomorrow is basically the victory parade music (so, chills based on hype, similar to You Say Run) of the rather ABSURD cooking 'battles' that take place in Food Wars, a series that definitely has a lot of stuff going on. Title is the catchphrase of Hot Pie, a comedic food-based character from GOT.

13 - Tension Time - Naoki Sato - Haritsume Ta Kuuki - My title could basically be the real title for this piece, it's played any time there is a tense moment and time slows down in Assassination Classroom, and I noticed it all the time when I was watching that show, enough to want to listen to it outside of it.

Part 3: J-rock (sorry that this ended up being the longest section, I have a lot of these, they feel different to me, which is why I put so many in but for someone who doesn't listen to this sort of music I can see why they might sound similar. For context, though I love Japanese being sung, I'll explain a few of the lyrics here as you mentioned that was a problem and when I see the lyrics in subtitles I at least get a sense of what the song is about)

14 - Extras - MOB CHOIR - 99 - I wanted to put this at the start of a section because of its counting bars that ramp up the urgency stakes, so I'm kind of glad that it ended up near the beginning for you, if there had been more variety around it... Anyway, this is really unique because of the counting for me, the accompanying visuals are really trippy, reminding me a bit of the Beatles' Yellow Submarine https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XzCSZuuL7Iw/maxresdefault.jpg. Really punchy upbeat one. It's from Mob Psycho 100, and the reason it's called Extras is because it, the lyrics, and the show itself is focused on unimportant, 'extra' people can have skills and motivations too.

15 - Journey Around The Free Cities - Natsumi Kiyoura - Tabi No Tochuu - This song for me really brings out the vibes of being reminiscent of a time gone by, the deliberate instrumental flourishes help with that (actually that is a big part of the appeal of this type of music for me, the way beautiful instrumental flourishes tend to lead into the singing). It is rather different for one of these but I am not surprised it wasn't for you. Lyrics are largely about a lost soul finding another and requesting that they both go see what's beyond all of life's normal interactions. It's from Spice & Wolf, which is set in medieval times about travelling merchants, so the title is therefore a reference to the trading Free Cities of Essos, themselves based on the historical Italian trading cities.

16 - But He's A Guy - Itou Kanako - Hacking To The Gate - I WISH songs like this were common in BJSC, the type of pop that's accepted there is far more basic and dull, without all the musical dives and turns this takes for me. This is actually my favourite song on the CD, although I know that part of the reason why it is so is because the show it's from is so good. It has some unusual lyrics, they are themed about going to rescue someone the singer is smitten with, e.g. 'I'll cross world lines to be with you', but because Steins;Gate (a show I'd easily recommend to anyone if you've ever liked a time travel story before, anime propensity be damned) is that, a time travel story, it uses terminology that you might hear in a lab (like pulses, and miscalculations etc). This (and yes, the pretentiousness of it), fits very well with the show. Without that, I'd still find it a big tune but I'm not surprised you haven't, I don't recall you being favourable to English songs like it. Title is a reference to a memorable line from Steins;Gate.

17 - Light The Bay With Wildfire - EGOIST - Eiyuu Unmei No Uta - This is the second of the three songs in here that I've since entered to BJSC, the third being You Say Run. Actually, your reaction to it, and the reaction it got there, has convinced me that this song is actually a grower for everyone and if anyone who has heard it likes rock/orchestra/femaleforeignlanguagepop at all, I'd really recommend giving it another chance. It was putting it in this CD that led me to enter it there, as I only barely knew it when I made this but out of all the songs on the CD, it's the one I was listening to most as I submitted it and still with each listen I enjoy it more. The reason I go in so much on this is because now, I'm constantly marveling at the beautiful production and the structure which is unconventional but not unwieldingly so, it's an underrated masterpiece. The title is translated as 'A Hero's Fate', and the lyrics match that sort of, it's a a veiled love song sung to the hero by someone who's clearly also powerful and fighting alongside them. The title is a reference to Game Of Thrones, the last direct reference to that, but this song always makes me think of a battle that's going on, and the vibe of it, stopping, then starting and exploding into life just made me think of the way wildfire is used in that show.

18 - Beautiful And Cruel World - Yoko Hikasa - Utsukushiki Zankoku Na Sekai - Title is not me doing some pretentious cryptic crap for once and is actually just a pretty direct translation of the Japanese title. The lyrics are really quite sad translated ('We only beg for death to “wait”'). I think this has some really really powerful vocals for a J-rock song (the instrumental is similar to the track after this but to my mind the vocals couldn't be more different), like blow me away sort of vocals after that quiet piano start.

19 - We'll Last Forever - Ai Kayano - Oracion - I'm not entirely sure why a Japanese song like this has a Spanish title, it means 'prayer', anyway. The vocals being so breathy this time is what makes this song stand out to me. It's not exactly a love song but it does talk about two people who complete each other coming together, and then staying with each other beyond a rebirth. Title is therefore basically a twist on that.

20 - The Distant Sky - Haruka Tomatsu - Courage - A track I've loved for a few years now, it's fairly emotional to me, because of the lyrics (of which, again, the title is now based on), which are based around the courage to find yourself and seize the day in a world that might not last - 'The world of the future that you pictured as far as the distant sky', and the fact it's associated with a relatively emotional arc in the show it's from. It's actually gotten fairly good reception when I've introduced this to other people but at this point, not for you.

21 - Herodotus & Thucydides - Dean Fujioka - History Maker - As a history geek, this is my personal favourite... fake title, as Herodotus & Thucydides were literally the first two history makers according to tradition, and yet by associating them with this I'm actually promoting slash fiction with them, which amuses me. It's not my favourite song on here, if I were to rank all 21, it would probably come last, but I do like it, because of the lyrics largely, and them being in English and directly referencing a subject I like, it chills me a bit. I haven't seen the show it's from, Yuri On Ice, which from all accounts is an anime for-the-gays (that's not why I haven't watched it, I'm just not all that interested in figure skating when the Winter Olympics aren't on), and that is unusual for an anime to have a song sung in English.

Yeah, sorry that didn't appeal to you but thanks for coming through with the review. If I'd been making it with you in mind (I'd asked and I got Wardy, who didn't end up entering in the end, but that was the reason for so many instrumentals and 360, I thought he might like those) I'd have tried to find more stuff like Explosions In The Sky and Xandria and held off on promoting my Japanese pop music love to an unwilling victim.