Colour Revolt - Naked & Red
Hmmm this one's difficult. In one hand, I really like the vibe of the song, I can't tell what exactly but I know they did something cool with panning, I can feel it, it's a well mixed and executed song, it has a solid instrumentalization; in the other hand, however... I understand what they were trying to accomplish with the 3-minute mark change of vibe, making it more and more distorted and the singer's voice getting cracked and all, but oh well, I wouldn't have done that. It was better when the song's distortion was subtle, making it an eery experience to listen. The 3-minute mark lifted the veil replacing the mistery for disappointment.
Score: 4.5 out of 10
R.A.P. Ferreira - Mythical
Sadly I can't enjoy this as much as I would like 'cause the beat, even while I appreciate the "ye olde" vibe it gives, doesn't quite make it for me. Also, the free flow lyrics aren't that good. They feel like someone parodying a rapper instead of actually rapping. Overall it's not a bad song, but mediocre.
Score: 5 out of 10
Regina Spektor - Oh Marcello
I fucking love Regina Spektor and it's criminal how little I have listened her in my life given how much I resonate with what she does musically speaking. This song is no exception on that matter, but the back and forth movements are a little too dissociated for my liking.
Score: 8 out of 10
Vanessa Mae - Storm
Really talented, but I don't really like what she did with the piece. Cool idea though!
Score: 3 out of 10
Carach Angren - Charles Francis Coghlan
I want to like this, I really do. I think that says enough of how well executed this is, musically speaking. The symphony is telling a story by itself, it's amazing. Now the question that I'm making myself is: can you reimagine this song without the vocalist doing that gutural, metalic voice? The quick answer is yes, I want him to stop singing like that and bring something else to the table. The long answer is, well, it doesn't matter what I want in this case innit? It's what they're trying to do, what they envisioned is what matters the most; like Frank Zappa said, any artistic decision that is based on wheter or not you are going to make money it's not really an artistic decision, it's a business decision. In this case, giving this song a more digestible voice would be a business decision, one that would make no sense if you ask me. Do I like it? No. Will I give it a 10? Yes, and that's my prerogative.
Score: 10 out of 10
iteachvader - Objection Funk
Absolute banger. The "Hold it!" coming from the three together makes so much sense. I've actually never played a Phoenix Wright game, but I saw a gameplay a while ago and it looked fun, and it looks like it has a really nice community which is NOT obvious. I can't remember how the background music was, but I assume everything I'm hearing in this song is taken out of the game? I'm asking that only because it reminds me of Sonic Battle's OST which I really really like.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
Postmodern Jukebox ft. Emma Smith - One Week
Sometimes I feel like I was a kid for longer than society asked me to be, and I felt ashamed for not being able to live to that standard. I didn't want to grow up, but I knew that I had to, eventually. I don't know if I consider that I have grown out of that feeling entirely, but I do know that, at times, I feel like a kid again, and it's amazing. Finding this song was like that: I had never listened to this group before, even when I've consumed a lot of Youtube for the last 10 years. I had never listened to the original song either, so the experience of listening to this song for the first time was mesmerizing: I thought this was a group that covered old jazz songs and modernized them. Boy I was wrong. I was working from home that day, it was early in the morning. I worked little to nothing that day, 'cause I ended listening to this group non stop, and comparing the originals, finding a lot of cool music that I haven't listened before. I felt like that kid that didn't want to grow up again, finding something new, being amazed by it, diving deep and letting the time go by. But I didn't feel ashamed. Why would I? I've done much more than I could've imagined 10 years ago. Losing an entire day having fun is not losing it at all. Maybe being an adult is realizing that you don't have to take everything so seriously 'cause the world will still go turning even if you stop and take a breather for a little. Maybe I'm still a kid that has learned to behave like an adult when he has to, and I've come to terms with that, for I'm sure that I'm fine with who I am right now.
Score: Soliloquy out of 10
Tove Lo - Grapefruit
I like a lot of what I'm hearing. The background beat, her voice, the modulation in the pre-chorus. Yeah no it's an absolute yes for me, this one. This is what indie pop should sound like. I'm not suggesting that there should be a million songs like this, since that's the problem with indie pop today; I'm suggesting that this level of creativity and musical prowess should be the standard. She (or whoever wrote this song) obviously knows a thing or two about music theory.
Score: 10 out of 10
The Beths - Expert in a Dying Field
Ooooh I wasn't entirely feeling it until the harmony in the last "dying field" verse of the chorus. This is a generic indie song, but it's the BEST generic indie song I've listened in a while. The lyrics are quirky but in a good way. Her voice is "girl that doesn't open her mouth enough" but in a good way. The instrumentalization is basic, but in a good way. This is the Roger Federer of indie songs: they make it look easy as fuck, but as soon as you try it yourself, you realize how trully amazing they are. Now I'm questioning if the 10 out of 10 I gave to Sweden still holds.
Score: 9 out of 10
Boi What - Plan Z
Ah haha yeah pretty cool, I laughed. Wait this is AI generated? What the actual FUCK that's amazing!
Score: 7 out of 10
Cani dei Portici - Farfalle
The poetry in the lyrics is exciting, suits well with the noisy ambience of the music. I'm not into it for one bit, but it's refreshing, in a very very weird way, to hear something as special as this.
Score: 2 out of 10
Chappell Roan - Red Wine Supernova
I couldn't put into words why I wasn't liking this song at all until the "you just told me you want me to fuck you" verse and it became very obvious: it's just a bad song, probably targeted to people who will listen to it and say "wow I'm obsessed with this I literally can't stop listening" or "so clever" when it's not, it's not clever at all. If she thinks that wordplaying champagne supernova and then saying "so baby let's get freaky let's get kinky, let's make this bed get squeaky" is clever, well... Maybe I'm the one who didn't get it, maybe it's meant to be dumb and just fun, because it is! It is kinda fun! It's just not for me.
Score: 4 out of 10
Mili - Chocological
I'll start with the low points of the song: the phrasing, which is obviously meant to be a tool to make the song feel fast paced and give a child-like vibe to the song, is a hit-or-miss, and for me it missed. Second low: I understand that the point was doing some storytelling through the lyrics, but there's an excessive amount of world-building for a not-so-lengthy song. You are not Tolkien, get to the point faster. That being said, the good parts: the contrast between the second part of the lyrics and the music is interesting, giving a bitter sweet ending in a song that's literally about sweetness. The cello through the song is appeasing. And well, speaking of storytelling: it's fascinating how little details in writing can be so impactful in what the writer is trying to convey; the chocolate castle was her dream, was her work, her life, it was her, but even when he ruined everything by eating it, she still states that is "our" castle, not hers. She doesn't say "you ate my chocolate castle", which to me would be factually true, she says "you ate our chocolate castle", because that's what she feels what the castle is, even when he has already destroyed it and made it clear that he didn't care for it as much as she did. I don't know man at this point I'm just procrastinating. It's a nice song.
Score: 7.5 out of 10