September 26, 201410 yr I DID!! did u not get my reply??? i did it over my phone so probs not lmao let me send again
September 26, 201410 yr I didn't no :( Gah, think this happened last time I sent them to you as well, silly PMs
September 30, 201410 yr I received '24 Hours'. Not sure what the meaning behind the title is but maybe the mystery is part of it ^_^ Ha, when I first received the playlist, I didn't see the song titles created by the maker of the playlist - they didn't come up in iTunes, only in the folder they are in. Since I have now seen them in the folder, I totally know now why it's called '24 Hours'. The mystery has been solved!
October 2, 201410 yr Well, I MEANT to post this on Saturday but I got sidetracked and have had a busy week. Finally managed to review all the tracks though so here it is: The Silly Seasons 1 – Seems to be an intro track, with a building, sweeping, cinematic track that is pretty lovely to listen to all the way through. Pretty good start, for what it is, which I’m sure is just a soundtrack to build up to the rest of the album. 8/10 2 – Although this isn’t the sort of thing that I’d expect to follow that intro as it starts out very jumpy and distorted before leaping into some hip-hop beats. The lyrics are pretty typical profane American rap, although the main thing I’m doing is trying to identify the voice, it’s not any rapper I recognise. It’s the sort of the track I’d probably only ironically like and it’s a bit slow and clichéd to really have that, so sorry CD maker, I’m not too much of a fan of this one. 4.5/10 3 – But this is way more like it! It leaps pretty quickly into some anthemic-rock guitar beating, and that’s definitely my sort of thing. Very enjoyable all round, not absolutely amazing, but a very nice discovery. I have heard of, or definitely seen mentioned, a song with a title something like ‘You Should Consider Having Sex With A Bearded Man’ and given this song contains that lyric I’m pretty sure this is it, although I had never gotten round to listening to it. The band has a similar name I seem to recall but I won’t Google it right now. But anyway, this is definitely my thing and if the CD maker has included several songs like these I’ll be very cool with it. 8.5/10 4 – I recognise this one! It’s The Heavy – What Makes A Good Man – of various advert (it was on something I’m sure) and Launica DNQ fame in BJSC. I do really like this song, I think it was in the opposite semi to me in BJSC so it grew on me afterwards (that and it was in my ‘Recently Played’ iPod section for a long time so got a lot of familiarising). In any case I was very pleased when I heard it on my initial ‘quick play’ runthrough, great anthemic commercial sounding indie rock slayage. Yay. 9/10 5 – More indie rock. I’m definitely not complaining. Some really nice instrumental parts in the non-vocal bits, lyrics are a definitely in the generic ‘young love’ section (although, one bit of praise for that, lyrically it might have some comparisons with ‘Rude’, but is far cleverer and thankfully is nothing like it musically). The guitar work is really good though and keeps it interesting all the way through. 8/10 6 – A little bit of softer vocals, at first that is, but some harder guitar strumming and a good buildup to the chorus. Again, good instrumental bits. The main thing that stands out with this track is a nice bit of rhythm and the first bit of the chorus. Not quite as good as 3-5 but not bad either, I think it might go on for a little bit too long and therefore lacks a little bit of urgency. 7/10 7 – Oooh, the start of this track is very interesting. A wispy female voice, with a bit of a hard undercurrent, nothing unusual here, and then she explodes into metal screaming *.* Then there’s a nice and strong chorus and as for then… I’m not so sure. It’s too rough to be gothic or power, I’m not sure if industrial or just punk is the exact right word. Anyway, the screams in the background here aren’t the most pleasant I’ve heard but the girl’s singing/harsh vocals are pretty good if the instrumental of the track is a little jarring. 7/10 (bet it would have gotten a 2/10 or lower from literally anyone else :kink: ) 8 – This track wastes no time getting right into some furious upbeat ‘emo’ (I say this because the first thing that springs to mind is an upbeat MCR) rock. That is, it reminds me of MCR, until I realise the vocalist is female and it sounds like… Halestorm (and suddenly I wonder why I didn’t think of Paramore first)!! I had been MEANING to listen to and get Love Bites (So Do I) in my library ever since loving I Miss The Misery, honestly don’t know why I hadn’t checked this out before now but obviously knowing it existed I’ve figured out what it is from the lyrics and sound. Thank you VERY much, like I said I’d been meaning to check this out and now I don’t have to and it’s amazing thanks. 10/10 9 – Some nice happy-feeling rock, possibly country from the voice but if it didn’t have that voice I’d have just said indie-rock again. The voice feels familiar in some way so I wouldn’t be majorly surprised if I knew the artist (or possibly I don’t and I’m just imagining it). Definitely from the American South though. I quite like it, it’s rather catchy, there’s a nice tune and it’s not particularly offensive in any way. 7.5/10 10 – Wow, this starts off in an unexpected way. And I mean in a way that reminds me more of Good Time than anything else. It feels either like Paramore without the rock OR it feels like Carly Rae Jepsen-styled pop, not sure. Which is mildly surprising on this CD given what we’ve had so far, I wouldn’t have expected a full on pop track. It does sound like quite a good song though. 8/10 11 – Trashy pop-rock with vocoders. Like Hot Chelle Rae or Breathe Carolina, although possibly a bit more actual instruments than either of those. Those bands are very much a guilty pleasure if anything so by extension this also remains good although it’s lacking something to make it amazing. 7.5/10 12 - Okay, this absolutely has to be Paramore/Tonight Alive/one of the many bands that inevitably gets compared to either of them (normally Paramore) in every Youtube comments section they have. Of course that’s my catnip so I love this and eagerly await finding out which one of these bands it actually is. 9/10 13 – Perhaps ditto to what I said to #12 because this vocalist is making me think of Hayley even more so, although the song is less like what they’d do, it’s quite acoustic and relaxed while remaining upbeat. I’m starting to wonder if the CD maker has ventured into Paramore’s demos and B-sides. Little bit more twee than #12 but still a decent track. 7.5/10 14 – From that we go to a rather slow crooning guitar melody. It’s okay but a bit non-descript at first. Then the build comes in and it becomes a whole lot more involved which elevates it from a 5/10 to about… a 7.5/10 (god that's really my copout score isn't it?) 15 – A pretty nice American anthemic rock song. I’m going to need some context because with all the familial members mentioned in the lyrics I’m struggling not to see this as a country anthem and I don’t think it comes that close. Lovely music though. 8/10 16 – An atmospheric instrumental that is pretty nice but doesn’t go to huge places, some nice drum work but otherwise doesn’t really stand out on this CD. 7/10 17 – Cool jazzy opening, and then Ed Sheeran turns up in his hip-hop mood. Then more of him join in on the chorus, and we have a song (that is basically Don’t with more people doing it and a bit of a more anthemic feel further on)! I like that it’s very funky, oh I don’t know, I feel I should be more critical of this and the CD as a whole but honestly I’m enjoying this too. 8/10 18 – Oh my this is lovely. Quirky vocals, airy backing, a repeating chorus that I want to never stop , largely made up of aural bliss. Thanks for this discovery, I will definitely want to find out who this is as I feel it’s 50/50 as to whether I know of the artist already and I want that confirm. 9.5/10 19 – Rock n roll is here to stay! Given most of this CD, that’s a good and encouraging assertion. Song is a little plodding and acoustic for me to really love it though unfortunately. 5/10 20 – Some upbeat-dubstep remix of Set Fire To The Rain. As I have not had the song been overplayed recently this is a refreshing slice of familiarity with a bit of intrigue as to who the remixer is, if they are anybody at all. Some parts of it sounds quite Skrillex but I’d be surprised if it was that obvious. 8.5/10 Average: 7.75/10. I tried to be objective with my ratings and they are mostly based on first impressions, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the 7-8 scores grow on me. But this was a really good CD truth be told and I enjoyed listening to it a lot. As for the identity of the CD's owner, I am pretty sure that this is Charlie's CD (or someone attempting to impersonate his music taste). Not just because of the Launica entry, but also the general spread of genres, mainly the generous inclusion of lots of different kinds of rock on almost every track on this CD, plus I'm sure I've seen you mention that Bearded Man track somewhere around here. Thank you a lot for a lovely listening experience.
October 2, 201410 yr Dammit I forgot I'd sent The Heavy to BJSC! Thank you Iz for some lovely comments, I tried to group songs from the same sub-genre together since my choices were fairly eclectic and could have come across as slapdash. Tracklisting: 01 Pylo - Intro 02 Trinidad James - All Gold Everything 03 The Beards - You Should Consider Having Sex With A Bearded Man 04 The Heavy - What Makes A Good Man? 05 The Airborne Toxic Event - What's In A Name? 06 Rupert Holmes - Escape (The Piña Colada Song) 07 Flyleaf - I'm So Sick 08 Halestorm - Love Bites (So Do I) 09 The Gaslight Anthem - We Came To Dance 10 Reachback - Saviour 11 Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue 12 Hey Monday - Run, Don't Walk 13 Best Coast - The Only Place 14 Josh Homme, Chris Goss, Dave Grohl & Alain Johannes (Sound City Players) - Centipede 15 Cheap Trick - Surrender 16 Linkin Park - Drawbar 17 John Butler Trio - Used To Get High 18 Avi Buffalo - What's In It For? 19 Neil Young - My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) 20 Adele vs. Skrillex - Set Fire To Everybody Well, I MEANT to post this on Saturday but I got sidetracked and have had a busy week. Finally managed to review all the tracks though so here it is: The Silly Seasons 1 – Seems to be an intro track, with a building, sweeping, cinematic track that is pretty lovely to listen to all the way through. Pretty good start, for what it is, which I’m sure is just a soundtrack to build up to the rest of the album. 8/10 I picked their EP up from the people who run our student newspaper. The rest is a bit cliché but I really enjoy the intro. 2 – Although this isn’t the sort of thing that I’d expect to follow that intro as it starts out very jumpy and distorted before leaping into some hip-hop beats. The lyrics are pretty typical profane American rap, although the main thing I’m doing is trying to identify the voice, it’s not any rapper I recognise. It’s the sort of the track I’d probably only ironically like and it’s a bit slow and clichéd to really have that, so sorry CD maker, I’m not too much of a fan of this one. 4.5/10 Curveball #1! I heard this first on one of Jimmy Fallon's History of Rap duets with Justin Timberlake, I knew it would be pretty divisive to put on here. 3 – But this is way more like it! It leaps pretty quickly into some anthemic-rock guitar beating, and that’s definitely my sort of thing. Very enjoyable all round, not absolutely amazing, but a very nice discovery. I have heard of, or definitely seen mentioned, a song with a title something like ‘You Should Consider Having Sex With A Bearded Man’ and given this song contains that lyric I’m pretty sure this is it, although I had never gotten round to listening to it. The band has a similar name I seem to recall but I won’t Google it right now. But anyway, this is definitely my thing and if the CD maker has included several songs like these I’ll be very cool with it. 8.5/10 Watch the video. It's beautiful. This was intended as a bridge into the main indie rock section of the CD. 4 – I recognise this one! It’s The Heavy – What Makes A Good Man – of various advert (it was on something I’m sure) and Launica DNQ fame in BJSC. I do really like this song, I think it was in the opposite semi to me in BJSC so it grew on me afterwards (that and it was in my ‘Recently Played’ iPod section for a long time so got a lot of familiarising). In any case I was very pleased when I heard it on my initial ‘quick play’ runthrough, great anthemic commercial sounding indie rock slayage. Yay. 9/10 I still have no idea how this wasn't massive. 5 – More indie rock. I’m definitely not complaining. Some really nice instrumental parts in the non-vocal bits, lyrics are a definitely in the generic ‘young love’ section (although, one bit of praise for that, lyrically it might have some comparisons with ‘Rude’, but is far cleverer and thankfully is nothing like it musically). The guitar work is really good though and keeps it interesting all the way through. 8/10 Again I got hold of this from reviewing it for the student newspaper. I never really listened to them before beyond "Sometime Around Midnight" but the album this is from, Such Hot Blood, is their best one. 6 – A little bit of softer vocals, at first that is, but some harder guitar strumming and a good buildup to the chorus. Again, good instrumental bits. The main thing that stands out with this track is a nice bit of rhythm and the first bit of the chorus. Not quite as good as 3-5 but not bad either, I think it might go on for a little bit too long and therefore lacks a little bit of urgency. 7/10 I take it you haven't seen Guardians of the Galaxy then? 7 – Oooh, the start of this track is very interesting. A wispy female voice, with a bit of a hard undercurrent, nothing unusual here, and then she explodes into metal screaming *.* Then there’s a nice and strong chorus and as for then… I’m not so sure. It’s too rough to be gothic or power, I’m not sure if industrial or just punk is the exact right word. Anyway, the screams in the background here aren’t the most pleasant I’ve heard but the girl’s singing/harsh vocals are pretty good if the instrumental of the track is a little jarring. 7/10 (bet it would have gotten a 2/10 or lower from literally anyone else :kink: ) I was kind of relieved when I realised you'd got my CD because I wasn't sure how many others would appreciate the metal-tinged tracks. My friend who's a massive Evanescence fan sent me this years ago but I'd completely forgotten about it until recently. 8 – This track wastes no time getting right into some furious upbeat ‘emo’ (I say this because the first thing that springs to mind is an upbeat MCR) rock. That is, it reminds me of MCR, until I realise the vocalist is female and it sounds like… Halestorm (and suddenly I wonder why I didn’t think of Paramore first)!! I had been MEANING to listen to and get Love Bites (So Do I) in my library ever since loving I Miss The Misery, honestly don’t know why I hadn’t checked this out before now but obviously knowing it existed I’ve figured out what it is from the lyrics and sound. Thank you VERY much, like I said I’d been meaning to check this out and now I don’t have to and it’s amazing thanks. 10/10 I haven't heard I Miss The Misery, I'll have to return the favour! 9 – Some nice happy-feeling rock, possibly country from the voice but if it didn’t have that voice I’d have just said indie-rock again. The voice feels familiar in some way so I wouldn’t be majorly surprised if I knew the artist (or possibly I don’t and I’m just imagining it). Definitely from the American South though. I quite like it, it’s rather catchy, there’s a nice tune and it’s not particularly offensive in any way. 7.5/10 They're from New Jersey actually! From their first album Sink or Swim, which is the only one I could get away with ripping anything from given their second was The '59 Sound. 10 – Wow, this starts off in an unexpected way. And I mean in a way that reminds me more of Good Time than anything else. It feels either like Paramore without the rock OR it feels like Carly Rae Jepsen-styled pop, not sure. Which is mildly surprising on this CD given what we’ve had so far, I wouldn’t have expected a full on pop track. It does sound like quite a good song though. 8/10 Aaaand yet another Forge find. They're so generic and at least half their album is just watered down copies of songs on Riot! but I don't really care. 11 – Trashy pop-rock with vocoders. Like Hot Chelle Rae or Breathe Carolina, although possibly a bit more actual instruments than either of those. Those bands are very much a guilty pleasure if anything so by extension this also remains good although it’s lacking something to make it amazing. 7.5/10 Yellowcard were a bit of a blind spot for me when I first got into pop-punk so I found this quite late. It's held up pretty well. 12 - Okay, this absolutely has to be Paramore/Tonight Alive/one of the many bands that inevitably gets compared to either of them (normally Paramore) in every Youtube comments section they have. Of course that’s my catnip so I love this and eagerly await finding out which one of these bands it actually is. 9/10 I've become a bit obsessed with trying to write a song like this because I can imagine it being a fantastic gig opener. The singer has since decided to start playing country and actually won Series 3 of The Voice in the US. 13 – Perhaps ditto to what I said to #12 because this vocalist is making me think of Hayley even more so, although the song is less like what they’d do, it’s quite acoustic and relaxed while remaining upbeat. I’m starting to wonder if the CD maker has ventured into Paramore’s demos and B-sides. Little bit more twee than #12 but still a decent track. 7.5/10 Bridging us out of the pop-punk section of the CD, this is just so summery and fell-good. 14 – From that we go to a rather slow crooning guitar melody. It’s okay but a bit non-descript at first. Then the build comes in and it becomes a whole lot more involved which elevates it from a 5/10 to about… a 7.5/10 (god that's really my copout score isn't it?) This was one of the songs that came from the album Dave Grohl made with various people who had made records at the old Sound City studios. Probably my favourite because I'm a sucker for a bit of Josh Homme. 15 – A pretty nice American anthemic rock song. I’m going to need some context because with all the familial members mentioned in the lyrics I’m struggling not to see this as a country anthem and I don’t think it comes that close. Lovely music though. 8/10 Cheap Trick were very much at the forefront of the power pop scene at the turn of the '80s. Really great singles band. 16 – An atmospheric instrumental that is pretty nice but doesn’t go to huge places, some nice drum work but otherwise doesn’t really stand out on this CD. 7/10 I've been hammering LP's new album almost non-stop since it came out and this is the only way I could conceivably get any of it onto the CD. This apparently features Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, somewhere. 17 – Cool jazzy opening, and then Ed Sheeran turns up in his hip-hop mood. Then more of him join in on the chorus, and we have a song (that is basically Don’t with more people doing it and a bit of a more anthemic feel further on)! I like that it’s very funky, oh I don’t know, I feel I should be more critical of this and the CD as a whole but honestly I’m enjoying this too. 8/10 I only like Ed Sheeran when he's in his hip-hop mood so it makes sense that I love this. Don't even remember how I found it. 18 – Oh my this is lovely. Quirky vocals, airy backing, a repeating chorus that I want to never stop , largely made up of aural bliss. Thanks for this discovery, I will definitely want to find out who this is as I feel it’s 50/50 as to whether I know of the artist already and I want that confirm. 9.5/10 Did you think it was Avi Buffalo? I've never actually got round to listening to anything else of theirs. 19 – Rock n roll is here to stay! Given most of this CD, that’s a good and encouraging assertion. Song is a little plodding and acoustic for me to really love it though unfortunately. 5/10 Sacrilege! I usually prefer Neil Young's electric versions of his songs to the acoustics but not in this case. Kurt Cobain used the lyric about burning out and fading away on his suicide note. 20 – Some upbeat-dubstep remix of Set Fire To The Rain. As I have not had the song been overplayed recently this is a refreshing slice of familiarity with a bit of intrigue as to who the remixer is, if they are anybody at all. Some parts of it sounds quite Skrillex but I’d be surprised if it was that obvious. 8.5/10 I'm not really sure if this is a mashup because I could never work out which Skrillex song it was being mashed with. Either way, I always find the first drop hilarious for some reason. Average: 7.75/10. I tried to be objective with my ratings and they are mostly based on first impressions, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the 7-8 scores grow on me. But this was a really good CD truth be told and I enjoyed listening to it a lot. As for the identity of the CD's owner, I am pretty sure that this is Charlie's CD (or someone attempting to impersonate his music taste). Not just because of the Launica entry, but also the general spread of genres, mainly the generous inclusion of lots of different kinds of rock on almost every track on this CD, plus I'm sure I've seen you mention that Bearded Man track somewhere around here. Thank you a lot for a lovely listening experience.
October 3, 201410 yr That tracklist looks incredible! I know nearly half of it and only two of those artists are completely unfamiliar to me so thankfully it landed in another inbox. Flyleaf would be right up your street I think Iz, and Yellowcard's been consistently good over the past decade from what I've heard. Very surprised to see Hey Monday included! Planning to listen to my CD tonight or tomorrow btw.
October 3, 201410 yr Wait that was FLYLEAF? Ha! I only know one or two of their songs (and those are amazing, like you say Jordan, they are definitely up my street, but I've never managed to check out enough that I really know them); I didn't know that one and it seems to be one of their bigger songs if Youtube counts are anything to go by. If Drawbar had been on any other Linkin Park album I would have gotten it (have yet to get The Hunting Party and I wasn't sure I would but it is nice to know I've heard something from it). I recognise the name Hey Monday (and a few others like Best Coast and The Gaslight Anthem although none of them I would have guessed and I don't think I've ever heard a song by Hey Monday or TGA before). Don't recognise the name Avi Buffalo at all then. And no, I was busy when everyone else in my household went to see Guardians so clearly I missed out on recognising that.
October 10, 201410 yr Review of '24 Hours'. First of all, thanks to whoever made this playlist, I enjoyed it. It's definitely cohesive to me, a lot of electronic/dance music, but with a lot of different interesting things in the mix. Quite a chilled affair overall, but with a lot of punch too. Track 1 - Shit, Shower, Shave This kicks the playlist off in a great way. It was a pleasant surprise on first hearing. An electronic trip that reminds me of Underworld, could it be? On first listen I thought of Röyksopp, but now that I have listened to it many times, it's definitely a little more Underworld-y than Röyksopp-y. It's repetitive but that doesn't bother me in this track, it just sort of creates a more trippy feel. 8/10 Track 2 - Aftershave The trippy feel continues. This is a song that almost puts me in a trance. I liked it from the beginning. Interesting song. 7.5/10 Track 3 - Arrival This is kinda like Grimes gone slightly more commercial, not a bad thing (although I've been reading on here about that song 'Go' being Grimes gone more commercial, but I haven't actually listened to it, oops). I like this one too. Makes me nod my head. I enjoy the effects on the vocals. I do wish the instrumentation had a little something extra, perhaps some kick-ass bass or something. Still works though. 7.5/10 Track 4 - Shots This is a very enjoyable deep house track. A good example of something that I was not into when I was younger, but am now. Not the most memorable melody, but I enjoy the song very much. Sort of chilled, relaxing. The male vocals are very suitable to the song, and the bass is great. Maybe this kind of bass is what could have made track 3 even better. 8/10 Track 5 - Where Do We Start This one is not really my taste, but it's still quite enjoyable to listen to. It sounds like Celine Dion produced by Paul van Dyk. One of the most upbeat songs in the playlist. I don't think I would ever choose to play it though. 5/10 Track 6 - On To The Next Bar This is like a video game gone mad. I can imagine Mario raving around to this. It's a fun addition to the CD, but not among my favourites. 5.5/10 Track 7 - Mortal This is my least favourite one. I would probably never choose to play it. It's not horrible, more annoying. Another upbeat one. I dunno, it's too generic for me. 4.5/10 Track 8 - Closing Time So as you may have noticed, the playlist started off quite strong, then got a little weaker for me, but this brings it right back. This is one that I like. I like the little synth riff or whatever in this. Could it be Pendulum? An upbeat, slightly quirky instrumental dance tune. Has a lot of energy and power. 7.5/10 Track 9 - The Kebab Shop This one is probably a grower. At the moment, the way I feel about it is that it tries to be a euphoric dance track, but doesn't quite go there. I like certain things about it, but overall I feel it's a bit messy and doesn't flow very well. It's an interesting track though. 6/10 Track 10 - Calling All Taxis This is quite an unusual track. You could probably call it another dance track, but it's more chilled than some of the others. I like it. At first it was a little bit difficult to pin down, but I quite liked that. I really enjoy the guitars in this. I also like the calm and simple feel and ambience of the track. There are many songs in the playlist that have effects put on the vocals. This is one of them, and it works well. It's just a relaxing track. Over seven minutes long but it doesn't feel like that. I almost don't want it to end when I'm listening to it. 8/10 Track 11 - Come Down This is another chilled dance track. It's kind of like the person at a party dressed in nothing necessarily eye-catching or flashy, but is interesting, warm and enjoyable to be around. It works perfectly after track 10. More effects on vocals. In this one, those are the most memorable parts of the song as that is basically the melody. Enjoyable track. 7.5/10 Track 12 - The Morning After I recognized the beautiful distinctive vocals in this. It's Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes. I don't know if it's her song as I haven't heard most of her third album, so it could be from there, or it could be a collaboration. I always enjoy her so this was a pleasant surprise. A very beautiful emotional end to the album. Also an interesting end, as the playlist has a lot of dance music, but this is very different yet somehow it does work in the context. 8.5/10
October 10, 201410 yr oh is the last one bat for lashes & jon hopkins? i think that's the one i'm thinking of
October 11, 201410 yr One day left for the remaining 12 reviews to come in :o I smell extension. This is Buzzjack after all.
October 11, 201410 yr well I've listened to it twice. Once a few weeks ago and then just now to refresh my memory. Here it is anyhow I Well this is a nice introduction. Atmospheric and some la la la-ing, it sounds like it was made for a TV show. (2:15) 7/10 II Still in the introduction phase, this one has more of an electronica style to it. It's a bit too long for what it is but I do like some of the sounds in it. (5:58) 6.5/10 III A more guitar based chillout song here, and unlike the last two it has a beat to it. It would be nice if I could actually decipher the vocals but at least it doesn't ruin the instrumental (4:07) 7.5/10 IV Nice enough, it's another chilled instrumental with a 'background music' feel to it. Not much else to say I'm afraid (4:22) 7/10 V So finally we're out of the introduction stage and we get the first proper vocal track of the mixtape. Quite catchy, and whilst it doesn't do anything new in terms of indie-pop it is a nice listen (3:29) 7/10 VI Leaning back on the electronica-indie side of things now. It has a nice beat to it. Again like the rest of this compilation so far it's nothing special but I do like the hook. (4:05) 7.5/10 VII I do like a song with many elements. The soft female vocals are great but I also love how she's not used very much to make it sound like an instrumental track with the occasional vocal, also loving the sax and strings here which give it a retro feel which suits the vocal well. All around it's a lovely dance track. (4:26) 9/10 VIII Ooh I know this one. The song here is 'Odyssey Pt. 2' by Dreamtrak which is the original version of an A. G. Cook remix which was sent to BJSC. Would love it if the vocals from that remix were in this version too but it is a fab housey tune. Love how it builds too, with it being nice and loud towards the end giving it a great feel to it. (5:56) 9/10 IX Another housey tune here. Not as good as the last two but it despite that it's still great. The synth used in the melody particularly sounds inspired. (4:52) 8/10 X Very chilled. His voice is quite nice but it's the piano riff (naturally my favourite instrument is the one I play) and the beat/finger-clicking that save it from getting boring. (3:19) 7/10 XI Another nice atmospheric song, and despite the lack of beat it's still quite good thanks to the well-done production. The vocalist is good, I just wish she was louder. Anyway thanks to BJSC I know what this is, 'Wolves' by We Are All Astronauts feat. Ellena Soule (5:36) 7/10 XII It's just a male voice over a piano and atmospheric sounds, and the tempo is really slowed down here, not enough to hold my interest I'm afraid. (4:14) 5/10 XIII A hip-hoppy beat is nice to hear after that. Some nice sounds in the 'drops' of it too but there's not much more to it. (4:00) 7/10 XIV Sounds very filler, doesn't feel like much is happening even when it's finished building. (3:17) 6/10 XV This again feels like it's preparing for the final track. As a song in itself it's not that great but I can kinda appreciate it as a prelude (2:24) 5/10 XVI The production here is lovely. Especially from around 4:00 - 5:30 where we reach the climax of it, it sounds lush. A great note to end on. (7:31) 8/10 Average mark: 7.1/10 Well I'm 99% sure that I just listened to Chez Wombat's CD. :D Overall it's a nice listen ^_^
October 11, 201410 yr Yes, it's very clearly mine, if only I hadn't put the song contest entries on, it could've been a bit more mysterious as to whose it was! Thanks for the great review though Dan. There was no particular theme here, it was just a collection of discoveries I'd made from the Guardian New Music page (which has sadly stopped updating hence the title) which I wanted to share with others (and in some cases already had in the form of song contests :ph34r: ) I. M83 - Ali & Matthias (As you noted, this was indeed from a soundtrack - M83 produced an album for the film You & The Night, a french film about an orgy - I never got round to seeing it, but the soundtrack is lush. The album also contains Un Nouveau Soleil, my BJSC entry from earlier in the year) II. Vermont - Majestat (this is all I've heard from them so far and there's no face I can put to the name or anything, very mysterious. Wonderful build up though.) III. Summer Heart - I Wanna Go (Swedish producer/singer whom I flopped with in BJSC last month with another song , I really love the unique, feel-good guitar/synth combo on all his songs. I do agree the vocals on this are a bit stupidly hard to decipher, but I love the Sunset at end of day instrumental) IV. Mark Barrott - Baby Come Home (I did put rather a lot of instrumentals on here, but that is a sort of music I'm really drawn to. This is ofc. a bit 'background', but it does always put in my mind a tropical island setting, which is lovely.) V. Highasakite - Darth Vader (They're an 'Up and coming' Norwegian band that could be on the way to 'next big thing' but are a bit far from commercial atm. I think they've been entered into Unknown Pleasures a few times too. Anyway, I heard this loads when I was in Australia for some reason - very quirky as seen just from the title but infectious after a while.) VI. David E Sugar - Pushing To Be First (I don't know anything about this guy, but this is a really interesting melancholy electro-house sort of song (quite hard to describe)) VII. Cosmonaut Grechko - Anytime (Glad you liked this! I agree, it is a wonderfully nostalgic and laid back electro song, It all just fits together so well. Again, I know very little about the artist, but this made me take notice) VIII. Dreamtrak - Odyssey Part 2 (Yep, the original instrumental dance track of Odyssey (which I was initially gonna send to BJSC until I found that remix). You can check out Part 1 here, it's very different but still great in it's own way. The vocals on the remix are ofc. ICONIC but I do also love the focus on the instrumental here.) IX. Lockah - Heartless Monster (Check this guy out, From what I've heard of him, he seems quite up your street) X. Vancouver Sleep Clinic - Flaws (I thought you wouldn't like this 'slower' section, so it's nice to see you appreciating this one. He's only 17 years old believe it or not, seen his name around the blogosphere and it's worth it as this is gorgeous.) XI. We Are All Astronauts feat. Ellena Soule - Wolves (I made this well before I decided to send it to BJSC btw :P I'm a bit obsessed with it atm because of that obvs, so so atmospheric and the build up is wonderful, definitely takes a few listens to appreciate but it works eventually. It's a remix of Ellena Soule's Wolves which distorts her vocals in favour of the production, her original version is a bit folk like and stripped back, if you wanna ) XII. Aquilo - You There (Sounds a bit like early Coldplay/Keane so I guess it's something of an acquired taste. They (a Lancashire duo) also seem to be on the brink of potential 'up and coming' but not quite there yet.) XIII. OBESØN feat. Abigail Press - Hazy (Not much to say about this, you summed it up quite well! The slashed zero in the name did intrigue me to this though~) XIV. Haiku Salut - Los Elefantes (They're a Derbyshire female trio whom seem to specialise in making subtle little songs with various 'light' instruments like accordions, xylophones, piano etc., you can hear it all here. Gives it quite an authentic home-made feel. I also sent their song Glockelbar to BJSC last year (which has an absolutely gorgeous video accompanying it, I'm sure I've looned about that before on here)) XV. Tasseomancy - Reality (It doesn't work that well as a song, the video though is essential: RdsbyKtmUgk 80s Game shows are back! *.* XVI. Glass Candy - Warm In The Winter This is actually three years old, though I only became aware of it this year somehow. The production/running beat through the track is indeed brilliant and their vocals add a sense of character and building to it. Definitely doesn't feel like seven minutes. -x- It's quite a random CD for the most part, but I like to think it aptly describes my taste :P Thanks again for the review and hope you found some keepers! :D Edited October 11, 201410 yr by Chez Wombat
October 11, 201410 yr Author so yes, there will be an extension, not least because I definitely don't have time to do it tomorrow (busy at a film festival still for a week). so have until the end of the month!
October 12, 201410 yr BJSC listening has gotten in the way of this for me... however, I'm spending about 15 hours on trains over the next three days so I'll be taking my playlist with me to listen to it again and will review it some point later in the week when I'm back at home. I did have a quick listen when it was sent to me and I was assuming that I'd received Thermo's playlist as it was very electronic in style.
October 13, 201410 yr I'm guessing all these artists are Swedish in origin judging from each track having the artist tag of Scandimazing. What follows is my personal reaction to the songs on this CD. It is not meant as a personal slur as I'm sure many of you would love the music here. Ett A jaunty number that's pleasant enough but that's as far as it goes. Jaunty is not a word I normally associate with memorable music and this doesn't break the rule. 4/10 Tva More jaunty guitar and a sub-New Order synth line that make for another unexciting song. 3/10 Tre Slightly funky guitar this time and stell drums make this another forgettable track. Sounded really dated too. 2/10 Fyra Starts off with a sample about capitalism destroying youth culture. This CD would do it just as well. Yet more drivelly sub-80s dirge (early 90s if I'm being generous) I'm sorry I'm sure the maker of this CD had a lovely time putting this together but this really isn't hitting the mark for me. 1/10 Fem Decent bass line kicks this off but then some really wet singer starts droning and I've lost it again. I loved twee indie pop back in the 80s. But they had tunes. This is all getting very monotonous. 2/10 Sex Intro is more interesting in this one. Dreamy female vocals drift in on a layer of echo and once again it's all very pleasant. Best track so far but then what competition does it have? 5/10 Sju More insistant beat with this at the start but this soon turns into a 4/4 with no light or shade. Is this old or is it just really dated? This isn't even pleasant. Did Silas take part in this again coz I have got a slight feeling of deja-vu here. 1/10 Atta Toms start this off with a skittering underbeat but then we get more sub 80s synth. Some whispered vocals and some synth-trumpet make this a track that Jean Michel Jarre may well have rejected in 1982. And the singing is out of tune. 0/10 Nio This is getting ever so slightly stale for me now. This Cd is very one dimensional and barely strays off the theme here. A lot of the tracks could interchange singers and sound exactly the same. More exceedingly wet (I guess they're meant to be sensitive) vocals in a style that was done infinitely better by The Lotus Eaters in 1981. 2/10 Tio Tinkly piano drifts in mixed with some faint bird song. Dreamy female vocals start followed by some (for this cd anyway) big beats. So far so dreary. I guess a lot of people would say this is probably best listened to at the height of summer not on a wet Sunday night in Devon but this is starting to get very boring. One or two of these tracks would have been fine in a mix of other more varied sounds but I would rather listen to someone like Silje doing twenty times 2/10 Right a quick break to listen to some Electric Wizard or something else that sounds equally nasty and then back for the second half. Elva Slightly better start to the second half. All very dreamy again though after a strong start. Back to business as usual then. 5/10 Tolv More meandering. This just means nothing to me. 1/10 Tretton Slightly eastern opening to this one. Moaning female humming over synth and then it all goes nowhere for the longest time. This builds and builds until finally it turns into a bog standard euro banger. Really not my favourite genre of music. 0/10 Fjorton Anthemic synths and beats then we get a Swedish(?) rapper. This is just abysmal. He makes me long for Einar from The Sugarcubes to start burbling and that is no mean feat. 0/10 Femton I would give up on listening to anything Scandinavian again if this was the first Scandinavian music I had ever been exposed to but I know there is so much better stuff out there. And if I hear that rhythm piano line again I don't know what I'll do. Is that a herd of elephants that pparps in half way through. 0/10 Another quick break and then I'm on the home straight. Sexton Awful vocals repeating the same thing over and over again. Oh hold on he says something else after about two minutes but I really am giving up the will to go on with this. 0/10 Sjuton Here I am longing for the first half of this mix again and this just increases as this track kicks in. Then someone who sounds vaguely remiscent of Peter Gabriel starts singing and at least that sounds a little interesting. More interesting than the rest of this song. 2/10 Arton I really wish something would happen during this track apart from some heavily reverbed female vocals and some parpy synths over a mid tempo beat. 0/10 Nitton Martial drumbeat promises more but the vocal immediately dispels that. Wonky synth line and some slightly (whiny) soulful vocals over synth washes just make me long even more for the end of this mix. It does go more uptempo by the end but it really doesn't help much. 0/10 Tjugo A lot of the intros on the second half of this promise much more than they deliver and this is the case here. Hang on I recognise this. Is this a cover or a remix? This is not that bad compared to the rest of the second half. 4/10 So as the last synth fades into the distance I pack myself off for a snifter of something bracing and get back to my usual listening habits. Thanks for the CD and please someone else listen to this and do the songs justice.
October 13, 201410 yr YES, it's called 'Scandimazing' but I soon ended up with 20 tracks all from Sweden. 1. Okay, so I didn't open with something that would immediately grab your attention but the track is quietly perfect and I'm still growing to appreciate it five years after its release. It's all about the melody! 2. The Embassy - It Pays To Belong Another track that should really be making you feel warm inside. It wants you to like it. 3. Pls don't complain about the bassline this time. It probably sounds dated to you because the vocals recall The Cure so strongly, but to me that's not a bad thing! I definitely thought this would be something you'd like, and with so much going on in the track (those steel drums indeed!) I don't think 'forgettable' is really appropriate. 4. The first track here from this decade and one of my favourite songs ever from this decade, even if it's taken me four years to realise it. And again something that I thought would be your thing. Like seriously, 2:49 reliably sends shivers down my spine. WUB. Last.fm tells me you've listened to plenty of The Radio Dept., albeit only once to this song, so I'm not sure how you didn't recognise this? So now we move from electronically-twinged indie rock to a few things more JARRING. I feel like your thoughts are only going to go from bad to worse. But you've sent a huge variety of BJSC entries so there's scope to be surprised! 5. I'd love to know where all those vocal samples come from. I thought I'd put more of an interlude track (still addictive for me!) so I can accept the criticism of monotony this time. 6. I guess 5/10 is something I should be cheering, especially since it's more meandering and dreamy than the previous tracks, so thanks for holding your attention long enough to listen to this I guess! This is a painfully underrated band. 853 Youtube views wtf. 7. It's from 2005. And it's the same sort of synthpop that's still popular today. 8. Well OBVIOUSLY I had to include some Air France and this is probably their 'busiest' track. I can hear the Oxygène comparisons! 0/10 though? 9. If I had to sum up the entire CD with one track, it'd probably be this because there ARE a lot of dreamy tracks with a single bassline + loads of layers and melodies on top. But if you're calling this CD one-dimensional then you're really not listening to it properly? It's a huge change of pace from the preceding track and if anything I was worried about it being too jarring! 10. I decided against including because it's so out of kilter with the rest of the CD. In which case, maybe you'd prefer that version. 11. That's the LAST track I'm allowing you to call dreary okay. If you liked the others, you'd love this one, but you don't so I'm unsurprised... If you're wanting some big beats then I suggest returning to track 3 and 7 or listening further. 12. Apparently these guys are from Nova Scotia and not Sweden, oops. They sound so convincing! Almost a worthy replacement for Air France. 13. Iberia - In Love (QTR remix) This kinda blew me away when I first heard it. A bit jarring and intense, perhaps. I think you somehow listened to the wrong track because 'meandering' just doesn't work here whether you loved it or hated it. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, from now on I'm just gonna gush about why I love each track because your 'feedback' is becoming less and less constructive. 14. Team Rockit - Gaia HEY AT LEAST IT'S DIFFERENT. If you were drunk you'd like it. 15. We're in full Europop mode here and I'm not sorry. 16. This is a complete ANTHEM even if it is 80% chorus. I do love tracks with a Seven Wonders sample. ( ) 17. A sadly forgotten Italo-house track from 2006. It's gorgeous! 18. I've only JUST found out that this is a guitar-free Radio Dept. side project which explains why the production is so good. 19. Karl X Johan - Never Leave Me (Vinjette remix) I think most people have heard the original so I included this anthemic remix of it. 20. Pallers - The Kiss You gave this a respectable 5 points in Unknown Pleasures. I'm not sure how that translates to a 4/10 track today. LOL. Honestly, I think you got turned off by the first track and then decided you weren't gonna like any of it. I think I did pretty well to make the CD have variety without being downright schizophrenic. Every track is me all over but that doesn't mean it's one-dimensional. I was worried about who would receive it because almost nobody would enjoy the entire thing, but you're a stubborn character so you've not enjoyed any of it. :/ Edited October 13, 201410 yr by Harve
October 13, 201410 yr You gave this a respectable 5 points in Unknown Pleasures. I'm not sure how that translates to a 4/10 track today. LOL. well ain't that a bit awkward
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