All opinions on this blog are biased, from a classically trained worker-monkey (myself).
Download here:http://psifork.bandcamp.com/album/only-godzilla-can-judge-me-condensed
Okay, here goes:
The album has a fantastic cover (bro, I'm lovin' that dreamcast). Strange album name, but dammit, any reference to godzilla is awesome.
The Negative:
1
- It feels like all of the songs start with some sort of drum loop of sorts. Honestly, these drum loops don't start the song powerfully enough, and I can just expect some sort of minimalist looping with these drums into slowly changing phrases, marked by occasionally sound effects. The way he started this out honestly lost my interest.
How can he fix this:
Start out more powefully! Sometimes, a single chord is more powerful than a thousand drums:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ud_wGMXRnQ
As reference to Rach 2: How he starts with a powerful progression of chords really leaves a lasting impression on the audience, brilliantly stating the mood for the rest of the piece and how it might change. These openings in Psiforks albums really just make you think "boring...drums". So, figure out less minimal, more powerful ways to start out songs.
Another great example of how to really create a mood for a piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XL2ha18i5w
(note, Psifork, if you have an opening and closing track, try to reference some of the powerful tracks from the album in the closing, and maybe hint at material of the tracks in the opening. Pure rhythm isn't strong enough, sorry bud)
2-He tries to do too much at once. Really, I just get lost. Too many clashing voices (as exemplified in his song l2k3). The melody needs to be hear-able, especially for what seems to be a rhythmic approach that our friend here is taking. He is relying too much on the beat. A lot of good melody adds to the drive of the rhythm. (example: 8:10 to 9:45 in this recording = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ENNXLb3pXI) What Ravel does in the linked recording is that he really makes the melody rhythmic, it works with the rhythm to make you want to jump up and do some silly dance! Also, do remember, less can be more (classic example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6yuR8efotI). A good melody can work in any octave, on any instrument.
This brings me to his 3rd problem
3-especially in the song "L2k3", his melody is very jumpy. Jumpy melodies are fine, really. But if you are going to jump, do it on a chord tone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6yuR8efotI
first 14 seconds, whenever Bach goes down to a lower string, it is always on a chord tone (I don't remember the exact progression, but I believe the piece starts with the notes G-D-B-A-B-D-B-G) Notice how it outlines a G Major chord (we take away that A because it is not on a strong beat, and the D is included since it is a perfect fifth and thus establishes the key G-Major). (also, for the record, the strong beat in classical is always on the odd beat, So: ONE, two, THREE, four, FIVE, six, SEVEN, eight)
the importance of Bach outlining this G Major chord is that it allows him to jump around in it. If you want to have a jumpy melody that catches your listener by surprise, set up a chord progression to follow. Jumping up and down octaves to repeat the melody is a great idea!
The good:
I feel like the tracks "everyday salesman", "RRR~1" and "Dental Pain" are fine examples of what this artist will be doing in the future (yet even better). It feels like here he has a clearly understanding of melody, and not having too many voices (there are some points that I feel are not as good as they could be, but those might be just to my preference...)
I especially like Dental Pain, 3:25 is particularly genius, because the melody is clearly hearable (the static noise doesn't interfere too much, and actually adds a nice little grove)
I would love to hear the voice he takes up if he continues going off into those styles, those tracks were fun, exciting, and generally worth listening through the other glitchy stuff in the album. (Be aware, I am no expert on glitch-chip, so I put on my "avant-garde hat" for some of the tracks.)
All in all
6/10
He has a lot of room for improvement, but the tracks he does well are nice and well-rounded. If you're a fan of glitch, you'll probably like his stuff more than I do. Keep rockin buddy, I hope my suggestions help you become someone really capable of changing this scene for the better
Signing off,
Monovfox.
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