This is an NGADM 2015 Review.
This round kills me a little inside, because this song is just so good… and so is Midi’s. It’s quite shocking how well matched the two are, when they’re so stylistically disparate.
I suppose what I’m saying is that this song is amazing. Amazing compositionally, amazingly sung and produced, quite well mixed and mastered, exciting and effective structurally. Not only that, but it’s very memorable and quite instantly catchy. In the last few days, I’ve had this in my head a surprising amount, especially the part at 1:32. Both- no, all four of you, are very talented. This is an epic project, and it feels massive and impressive in scale.
I find this track extremely "grabbing". The simple, uplifting melodies and chord progressions are fantastic and well executed, and another aspect that I find so important to how I analyze this track, is the sheer size of it all. You’ve got four singers, fully written lyrics, multiple instruments (most or all of which were physically recorded, I imagine. I mean, you could have used a piano VST or something, but it doesn’t sound like it to me.) The obvious amount of effort that has gone into this, even at a glance, was almost reason enough for me to swing in favor of your track. I suppose there were some things that held me back, like a few production nitpicks. But other than that, this is an incredibly solid, near flawless piece; and I love it!
The lyrics, once again, are really good. In my opinion, they weren’t as strong as in The Prodigal. I felt perhaps that some of the single syllable words covering multiple notes were a little unnatural, like “may our feet be-e” for example, but not terribly so. That’s a nitpick if there ever was one, haha. I definitely enjoyed a lot of the harmonies more and I think in general the *vocals* (as opposed to lyrics) themselves were stronger. They were clearer, and in general fit more appropriately into the mix. There were a few moments where I thought they should be a little louder, but honestly… no instances of this are worth mentioning. The levels in general are great!
The mix in general is great as well. There is almost nothing that sticks out to me as out of place, too soft or too loud. I suppose the snare might be a little loud in the quieter parts, such as 01:44 to 02:10, but just *barely*. The mastering is strong and transparent, and the song feels pretty even across the spectrum. There’s even a bunch of nice stereo stuff going on as well, lots of small subtleties that are absolutely gorgeous… especially when I actively pay attention to them. It’s too easy to tune that stuff out for me nowadays, because unless I’m actively analyzing a song I miss a lot of the small stuff like that. Great work!
There’s so much to praise about this song, and so little to criticize. Despite some difficult decisions and how close everything was, I definitely think this track deserved to win. I think Midi’s did as well, so I guess I’m glad that one of them won, lol. I guess it came down to some subjectivism and some going with my gut.
Overall an amazing song, from some amazing people. You two dudes make an amazing team. Congratulations on First Place!