Reviews for It Will Blow Over

[etherealwinds]

Thanks, I thought I was alone for a while!
That part at 2:42 is so damn satisfying to listen to. As usual, really catchy track. I think the mix sounds a bit underwhelming for the most part. The string/pads doesn't really shine through too much in my opinion, and the track could do with some more bass to really flesh it all out. I feel that the percussion could pack a bit more of a punch too. I like that you mentioned 'Christmas' in your genre because the bells were transporting me to December. Hope you go back to this track because it's really good! :)

McGorilla42 responds:

Thanks for the comment, Jordi

Yeah, I feel like the success of this rested largely on the mix because it isn't a hugely impressive track when it comes to the composition, and it falls short in that regard on a few fronts. Again, I'd rather not point out what I feel is wrong where everyone can read it but I think you can probably tell from what you wrote ;) Also, no lyrics RIP.

[Spadezer]

Through this whole contest I've never been able to learn what your usual style is lol. The use of autotune is interesting. Interesting I mean it's so over the top obvious that it's not distasteful. I wonder how it would've sounded if you used midi input to pitch the notes instead of using a pitcher plugin or something. I only ask because that would maybe change the desired effect.

Cool work though.

McGorilla42 responds:

I'm not totally sure that I have set style that I work in or what it'd be defined as. The first three songs of the competition are in a style that I used to write in primarily, but moved away from in the last year or two. I think that what I really would've liked on this track would be vocoded vocals, but I haven't had a chance to figure out how to get that working! I guess that's sort of similar to what you describe with using midi input to pitch the vocals?

Thanks for listening, Spadezer! :)

[johnfn]

haha i dunno the glitch part is my favorite section, mainly for 2:59 <33333333333 it's things like that where i actually get scared of how good of a songwriter you are, like how parts of your songs have such an effortless grace to them that i cant seem to replicate >>:( but enough about me this is a good song !! okay

McGorilla42 responds:

Haha, thanks, John. I feel like the 'guitar solo;' at 2:59 could be developed into an entire song in and of itself and it's definitely the one part of this song I felt was quite strong! Maybe I'll do that one day :)

[TaintedLogic]

I applaud your change in style for this round. I think the clap sample is really generic, and could also be a bit stronger in the mix. Luckily, you layer in a snare later on that makes the off beats stronger. More so than your other pieces for the competition, the autotune was rather noticeable here, but it actually seems pretty fitting for the piece IMO. I also like the lyrics themselves. Unfortunately, I don’t think this is one of your better mixes. The synths especially could’ve had a bit more room to breathe, most noticeably the low chords during the refrain. I appreciated your efforts at trying some glitch effects at 2:40 or so, but they came across as a tad cheesy. The piece comes together pretty well, though. The outro is conclusive, and overall the sound design (while occasionally marked by cliches) has a cool, retro vibe. Keep at it, McGorilla42! ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.75/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

McGorilla42 responds:

Thanks, TaintedLogic!

Absolutely agree with everything you had to say and I appreciate the criticism. You actually nailed pretty much every issue I felt this track had, so it almost feels good to know that what I thought was wrong, was actually wrong (if that makes sense?).

I wanted this to be more spacious but I ended up cluttering it a fair amount and the mix became a bit confused. I actually really struggled with many of the synths and the section at 2:40 was WAY out of my comfort zone, but I learned a lot doing it :) Surprised you enjoyed the lyrics -- funnily enough, I didn't get around to writing any proper lyrics, so these were a scratch take that I intended on replacing, but I had an idea in mind when improvising the words.