  |
Message |
thetoads
ubw newbie
Joined: Feb 19, 2008
Location: Kingswinford, England
Posts: 27
|
| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 6:20 am |
 |
THE TOADS have changed their reviewing format having belatedly realised:
Who are we to judge others and leave a mark out of ten?
Many thanks |
|
|
| Back to top |
  |
|
thetoads
ubw newbie
Joined: Feb 19, 2008
Location: Kingswinford, England
Posts: 27
|
| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 7:00 am |
|
THE TOADS review: "Anymore" by Seneki
A flowing bassline and rimshot rhythm accompany the haunting ethereal vocal line from the start until the entry of the muscular guitar chords which encourage the drums into more fervent action.
At around 2m20 the guitar urges change and promises much, although this is a false dawn, leading back into more of the same until the 3m50 mark where the feel changes again, becoming more reflective and questioning with some excellent guitar layering leading into a short hint of solo.
The performance all round in this track is faultless, the rhythm section is tight and punchy and the guitar playing very good. If anything more should be made of this.
Arguably, Seneki's key attribute is the excellent and distinctive voice of their singer, however, the beauty and haunting nature of his voice is lost a little due to it being used constantly for the duration of the track. In it's current form the track becomes a little "samey" and could use more contrast. The length is ok, but perhaps more instrumental breaks would help the listener to really appreciate the voice when it appears?
I enjoyed Seneki's distinctive sound and the hint of Led Zeppelin and especially, Fish era Marillion in their music with the additional harder edge.
A little focus on the song structure to achieve greater contrast is needed to really hold the listener's attention.
Seneki have what it takes to be great. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Seneki
ubw luminary
Joined: Oct 21, 2004
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 610
|
| Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:30 am |
|
That's possible the most constructive and useful review we've ever received, guys. Cheers! |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
thetoads
ubw newbie
Joined: Feb 19, 2008
Location: Kingswinford, England
Posts: 27
|
| Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 1:35 am |
|
THE TOADS review "To be Here" by Nicolej Brink
Nicolej's distinctive voice enters sets the scene accompanied by chiming electric piano chords reminiscent of Phil Collins at his peak. A distant guitar enters after this introduction ushering in a beautiful interlude before the vocals continue to to tell their story.
A fill at around 2 minutes brings in a slight lift in the feel of the song with layered guitar arpeggios and sustained organ-leading to an accomplished guitar solo to finish the song.
The song has a definite verse-verse-verse structure, with interest being maintained by the gradual building of the layers of sound. The playing is faultless and production is excellent.
I have to admit that soft rock as a genre is not one that I enjoy greatly, with much of it being very safe and lacking any sort of real depth. However, I felt that this song belonged to the genre only due to the choice of instruments, particularly the slightly dated electric piano sound.
The use of repetition in the lyrics and structure made me wonder what a skilled remixer would make of this work and failing that I would enjoy hearing a more stripped down acoustic version. Voice, guitars, organ, simple percussion perhaps?
I have a feeling that "To be Here" would become a greater, more powerful song as a result, giving more space in the mix to reflect on its power and losing the "soft" prefix that does it no favours.
I like this song and am very impressed by the performance and production but the orchestration and choice of dated synth sounds prevent it from being more relevant. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|