Fingernail on 10/12/2008 at 12:14
Seeing as we're nothing if not try-hard wannabes with a humoungous desire to have our egos puffed up from across the internet, I thought I'd present the newest thing to be put forward as an object of critical consideration by my band, The Debt Offensive.
You can hear these songs either at our myspace, or in a far-preferred format, and preferably as a single sequence (context is important!), by downloading this thing from here: (
www.thedebtoffensive.com)
It is a zip file of just over 21 Mb.
We made this thing for ourselves but we also made it to be enjoyed by people, so please do respond in any way you feel appropriate. I recommend listening either in headphones, or by turning your speakers up. It's not gonna sound great if it's too quiet! Enjoy!
quick linkz (
www.thedebtoffensive.com/tdoep.zip)
(
www.myspace.com/thedebtoffensive)
henke on 10/12/2008 at 20:51
Just listened to it 3 times through with headphones, sitting in my La-Z-Boy and staring at the ceiling and I will be reviewing the individual tracks as concisely and crushingly honest as I can.
01. Anita
The lyrics are kinda weak. 2/10
02. Do you ever feel like dancing?
Instrumentally it's nice and the lyrics here aren't that terrible. 4/10
03. Orphan City
This is not good. The singers voice just doesn't mesh well with the instruments here and the lyrics are too flowery and sound insincere. 1/10
04. The Hop Exchange
This works. This is the only track where it sounds like the band is firing on all pistons and everything just fits, y'know? Even the singers voice and the way he sings gels well with the rest of the band. 7/10
Also, the id-tag for Orphan City doesn't have a track number, placing it in the wrong place when you import it into iTunes.
Renault on 10/12/2008 at 21:06
I think when he said "respond in any way you feel appropriate" he didn't really mean "crush our soul by telling us how much this sucks."
Snake on 10/12/2008 at 21:16
Constructive criticism...or destructive.
Fingernail on 10/12/2008 at 22:06
Hey, that's not really bad criticism as it goes. You don't get the lyrics, some things don't work for you; that kind of thing is only expected sometimes. Thanks anyway!
Shug on 10/12/2008 at 22:55
While I didn't find the initial three tracks as offensive as henke, I do agree with him that the fourth is the only one that I'd listen to again
PigLick on 11/12/2008 at 00:15
ok heres is my take -
Anita - the only bit I really enjoyed was the instrumental refrain in the middle, nice little latin groove going on, singing was annoying, although his voice has improved since the last effort.
Dancing - hmm bit morose, without any real payoff. Some real bad pitching from the vocals here, although the double-tracked vocal in the chorus is a nice touch, you should be doing more of this kind of thing to fatten up the vocals.
Orphan City - This made me want to turn it off once the vocals came in. Just really boring, nothing to get hold of. Again the only salvagable bit was the heavy guitar section near the middle somewhere.
Hop Exchange - easily the best of the bunch, if only because it has a decent groove, there is some excitement there. Vocals start off poorly but get much better through the song, even some kind of Nick Cave moments there. The intro is good, that sound is what you should be trying emulate for all your material, after the first 3 songs, it really stands out.
Summary - There is probably enough ideas there for one good song, out of the 4. Vocals are the weak point, as has been mentioned, but hey I dont really like Nick Cave either, so thats not to say it'll never work. But needs to pitch correctly, very often slightly under the note.
I would like to hear more aggressive guitar and snare playing, work those instruments harder. Actually quite like the bass playing, terrible tone though.
it does make me wanna start up a band again though, I miss writing and playing.
Fingernail on 11/12/2008 at 00:43
Quote Posted by henke
J
01. AnitaThe lyrics are kinda weak. 2/10
It's a song about (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Garibaldi) Anita Garibaldi, which could be a sort of crucial missed piece of context.
Quote Posted by Piglick
Dancing - hmm bit morose, without any real payoff.
That was sort of the point, yes.
Thanks for the feedback, though. I guess all I can really say is that this isn't your cup of tea. Whether it's anyone's other than our own remains to be seen!
PigLick on 11/12/2008 at 01:26
Well it can be if you take criticism on board rather than just saying "you dont understand what we are doing". Lyrics should speak for themselves and not need any extra context.
