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Reviews for "Modern Day Mafia"

This is an NGADM 2015 review.

Hey man! I have to say you really stepped it up this round! Your production is a lot better than the previous entry (like, a LOT better, so nice work on that). Your percussion is pretty punchy (though your kick and snare sound a little overpowered at times) and your guitar has some nice body to it, and I really have to praise you for all this :D

I think where this song falls a little flatter is probably related to the composition and instrumentation. The idea of a flute + electric guitar is pretty foreign to me; but there's nothing all that wrong with it given that you're were going for a specific feeling. It's more that that there's very little rhythmic variation in what the flute itself plays. A lot of this is exacerbated by the fact that for a lot of the song, the guitar is playing similar (or the same) notes as the flute. I think you'd be better off playing longer notes on the guitar, and perhaps more varied melodies on the flute, much like you did around 00:54 (this section is probably the strongest in my opinion.)

I also think the saxophone is a little incoherent - it's not the kind of instrument I'm accustomed to hearing in the background. In many ways it feels almost irrelevant and is present merely for flavor. There are definitely some sections where it works, though. I suppose I'm mostly saying that this song could be more coherent than it is - it's very hyperactive but lacks a cohesive structure and a lot of the transitions and introductions of sections feel a little arbitrary to me. One prominent example that springs to mind is the chippy percussion you introduce toward the end. It felt quite out of place for me and while it was cool, it didn't quite make sense or draw me into the track.

That said, this is definitely an improvement from your previous entry, and I think you were a much stronger contender for this round! A lot of my criticisms are arguably subjective, so you're obviously free to take them or not, because if you feel that this kind of theme is exactly what you'd want to hear in a song, then don't let me stop you. Creativity and experimentation are what we're all here for and despite some of my negative comments, this was an enjoyable listen :)

frootza responds:

LOL. It is muted trumpet but I love you guys for mentioning that.Yeah man what can I say though my mixing sucks I study composition at a reasonably high level but sometimes it just isn't enough. I am hoping we can get to recording this and serenity in a studio soon so that things make more sense. If you or any of the judges for that matter are interested in the jazz theory behind the flute guitar trumpet counterpoint I'd be happy to help out. Thanks again dude!