Monday, November 29, 2010

Song of the Day 21: 'Retrospective' by Outspoken

Wait a minute...something's not right. There's a "Day" replacing the "Week" in the title. That only means one thing: Song of the Day is back. This isn't like the stuff Reogan wrote for Song of the Day back in the past; I guess it's "Marim's edition". This is only going on until this week is over though. Anyway, this is pretty much like the normal Song of the Week reviews that I do each week. However, there are some quirks. 1) I'm posting everyday this week (that ought to be interesting), and 2) I'm reviewing songs that Met composed himself. So now that you have the information of what the heck is going on, let's get started. So yeah, the song I'll be reviewing is Retrospective (the second song from the top).

Okay, so the beginning (the first seven seconds) starts out with a decent introduction, consisting of a simple melody to begin everything. At 0:08 that beginning melody drops out, and it's now an electronic pattern lasting until 0:16, where the beat comes in. There could have been more at 0:08; it seemed sort of empty there. This is a good reason why the beat comes in since it helps fill in the gaps. At 0:23 the melody at the very beginning comes, which goes along rather nicely with the beat. It quiets down at 0:32, although perhaps a little too quiet. It does get louder though, and the harmonies with that electronic pattern really help bring out the melody. At 0:48 the melody melts into more of a background section then the melody. At 1:04 the beat changes into more of a clapping rhythm here, although the parts where the beat is accented is a little too loud that it drowns away everything else. At 1:13 more is added into the song with some synth. At 1:28 it transitions into mainly a beat with somewhat of a melody. The transition into this section was a bit choppy; it directly goes into there without much in between. There definitely could have been more here as well, and the melody that is the same as what it was at 0:23 could have been way louder. It even took me a while to hear and recognize the melody that was being played. At 2:00 minutes some symbol helps create more of a beat, which really helps with keeping up with how fast the song is at this part. There's also some high notes being played here which leads to the transition of a section somewhat similar when the synth was being played at 1:13, but with more percussion. At 2:18 there is a low melody being played, although not much is being played. It still makes a difference though, so at least it's there. This continues until 2:42 where there's a low and muffled melody (the exact same as the previous ones). This section is pretty decent, where the beat and synth work well with the melody to make it sound good. The melody drops at 2:56 and goes back to mainly the percussion and the electronic stuff that Met knows more about than I. This entire section lasts until 3:26 where the song becomes much calmer. Again, the transition could have been better here. However, I like the section. It's much more relaxing than the rest of the song. At 3:45 there's more of an upbeat electronic section here, but it still has that relaxing mood to it. The electronic section also acts as a harmony that works well with the song also. The beat sounded a little off at 4:17, but that's mainly because it changed. However, it still didn't really fit with the rest of the song. It sounds much better at 4:25 though. At 4:32 the song goes back into what it was at 3:45, with that nice mix of upbeat and relaxing music. At 4:58 that melody comes back again, which replaces the synth that was there before. At 5:04 the beat goes back into that clapping rhythm as well. Once again, the melody could have been louder. At 5:14 it transitions into a section mainly consisting of a semi-catchy beat that leads to a small cymbal crash, thus ending the song.

Pros: I liked the melody, and the way it was displayed through many different sounds was unique. There was a nice mix of calm and upbeat music near the end, especially around 3:45 and 4:32. The song really isn't all that bad.

Cons: Okay, the transitions to each section could have been better, especially at 1:28. The dynamics should be worked on, especially with the melody. Sometimes the beat didn't fit, mainly at 4:17.

Overall: This song isn't bad, but it does need some work. It does have some good melodies and harmonies though, but there were a lot of things that need some work.

Rating: 7.1/10

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