I like the smooth guitar at the beginning, but I think you may have overdone the reverb a bit. The vocals sound smooth, distinct, and up-front in the mix (which are all good), but I couldn’t help but notice that the lyrics have a lot of cliche phrases riddled throughout (“don’t give a fuck,” “sucks to suck,” “what do I know,” “nothing left to prove,” etc.). I also thought the minimalism at :54 didn’t really help the piece that much. The composition is pretty lack-luster, and you use reverb to fill in the texture. You also scoop up to a lot of the notes at the beginnings of phrases in the vocals, which is a cliche of pop that I personally think is poor (although common) technique. The fade-out ending also struck me as lazy, and I thought the melodies were pretty underwhelming. You seem to have a really formulaic approach to making tracks, and it really shows. I know I’ve been really tough on you here, but I think you didn’t quite put enough originality or effort into the composition here to make it stand out amongst this round’s pool of competitors. That said, the mixing and mastering is still really strong, and the piece has a good sense of atmosphere and catchiness. Keep at it, Steelside! ;)
7/10