Spintown: April 2020

Thursday, April 16, 2020

SpinTunes 16 Round 4 Reviews

SpinTunes ended awhile ago, but I never posted my reviews here. The songs from this round can be listened to & downloaded for free HERE.

Steve Stearns - Surf Of Die
Music sounded great, the vocals were good, and the lyrics flowed well. I have no idea if surfers use the lingo that you gave them in the song, but it sounded ?surfery? to me. I can’t really think of anything bad to say. The lyrics were a bit humorous being so over the top with the stereotype, but it wasn’t a laugh out loud type funny. The music set the tone & I was chill & relaxed the entire way through. This will be hard to beat.

Temnere - In Flames
Doesn’t mention Trump or the coronavirus, but it’s kinda an obvious jump if this isn’t about that. Doesn’t have to be though, you left it vague enough that people can fill in their own blanks. Which is good. I mean taking on politics in SpinTunes is very risky. You get 1 judge who isn’t all that great at staying objective about your message & you’re at the bottom instantly. The opening was a bit long, but it sounded killer, so I didn’t mind. The instrumental bridge was again great. I’ve got no idea if you brought your vocals up in the mix any from previous songs, but after the first listen, I listened again without reading the lyrics & I was able to pick up the vast majority of them. There were still places I struggled a bit, but I don’t know if that’s just me or not.

Jerkatorium - Oh Pandora
This is great storytelling, and it’s another song I’d struggle to find anything bad to say about. I think it would think this is a winner on most days. After repeated listens I just don’t find the level of enjoyment I got from Steve or Temnere. I think it’s because I don’t find the chorus as catchy. It’s the “Oh Pandora” line. Just doesn’t flow like I want it to when I’m singing I guess. Stupid reason to knock the song? Probably, but I’m struggling to find negatives with any of these songs. So you just have to deal with it.

Ross Durand - One Last Drink
Again great storytelling. A couple places that didn’t flow too well or seemed forced (backwards ABC’s). The production was a lot simpler than the other songs, but that doesn’t really matter. What you did fit the song, and it didn’t make it less entertaining. At the moment you & the Jerks are in the same boat. You got great songs that would normally win or have a good chance at it. Unfortunately I got 2 other songs I can’t really find anything bad to say about. I haven’t made my final rankings at the time of writing this, but I expect you both to fight over the 3rd & 4th spots. Which says a lot about the level of songs in this round.