I thought judging 45 second jingles was hard. I did. But in a way this was harder. Judging from these four songs I am fully confident that we have four deserving finalists in this last round. For this round my opinion (probably) doesn't matter. And that's a good thing, I think. I could easily see all four of these songs being someone's favorite. I'm submitting this now because I will keep changing the order of all four songs and drive myself crazy if I don't.
Blimp Exhaust - Miss Leon
I liked the song on first listen, I liked it even more on second listen and after reading the lyric I was a full blown fan. The arrangement works really well for me, like the strings coming in on the second verse and dropping down to piano at the last verse. I like the repeating lines as a bridge or a extended chorus build up before the last verse. This one just feels right to me.
Edric Haleen - Reality
You had me liking the song from the beginning, I liked the announcer intro. And I think your singing works great here. The synth lines work very well for this setting. I love how you took a ticket booth as a means to tackle such a grand idea. I think it feels a little heavy but I think it works. There is no doubt that you're creativity did not let you down with this one.
RC - Home
You've capture the feeling of a lost place and time nearly perfectly. I like the tone of your vox on this one, it really supports the emotion of the song. The arrangement is good from the panning at the beginning to the layers of guitars (perfectly mixed distorted guitar.) The bridge works great and I like that first rhyme and the feeling it captures. The guitar solo is nicely placed and it, too, supports the song. You've taken the shabby ticket booth and turned it into a longing for a place that doesn't exist and you've done it with style.
Ominous Ride - Waiting For Julietta
I love the fact that you took the ticket booth and turned it into a look at this brief relationship. There is something about the melody in a couple of places that makes me think of a oldie to classic rock melodies. It reminds me of songs like "Bus Stop" by the Hollies and "Red Rubber Ball" by the Cyrkle (written by Paul Simon) in places. But the slower pace and the lyric gives it a weight that works beautifully. I mention all that because I love how much emotional weight the singer is giving us in a relationship that is barely a day old and started with whiskey. It's a great combination of new love and longing that has an underlying element of "what the hell did you expect?" This song also has an arrangement I love. The vocal harmonies are great, the pauses in the melody in places is perfect. The simple bass line supports the song and if it were more active could ruin the feeling. Okay, I'm gonna mention the vocal harmonies again. You use them so damn well from a doubled line to an alternate melody. They are great.
Dr. Lindyke - HDR
I like how you took the movie aspect of the picture and ran with it. And incorporated the ticket booth in the lyric as well. The piano sounds good and works remarkably well with the drum track. I don't hear bass in there which is surprising because it sounded find on first listen. Although the bass in the piano fills it out nicely.
Brian Gray - Grind
I like the chord choices and the use of slight dissonance compared to the more melodic parts. You've really taken the ticket booth and turned it into a snap shot of life under the big tent. It's both personal sounding and ironic. The circus style music is just enough off to make it give a hint of wrongness but not creepy or jarring. I'm impressed with the music and the angle you took.
Trader Jack - Miscreant Love
Well, that is quite the journey. I'm not sure I've gotten my mind around this, but I know I like it. There are moments in the melody that I love. There are lines in there that are awesome by themselves. Taken as a whole it's like a story song that doesn't really tell a story, rather it tells a state of mind. At least to me. And I like it.
Menage A Tune - Johnny's All Weather Drive-In
I love that first verse and the steamed windows line. It was a little odd of going to kids in PJ's after that, but it tells a nice story. I like that you focused on the drive in as a way to think of the good times. I figured that would be more prevalent in angles to take but it really wasn't.
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