Some talented artists presented a full selection of music for me to choose the top 5 tracks for the week, and while I'm confident with my choices, there were a few close calls with the order. While I will preface by saying that there could be a bit of quality improvement in most of the tracks in terms of mixing, I thoroughly enjoyed the product after looking past these issues.
However, I hope that the mix quality continues to improve in the coming weeks. Half of delivering a solid track is in the performance, the other half is in the presentation - the mix. While I understand the struggles of the Soundclick.com artist in the department, hence I see past it, keep in mind that this will throw off some listeners and hurt you when it comes to reaching out to a broader audience.
That said, here's a very solid top 5 for the week.
Chayse MacLair - Just Breathe (f/ Boss Game)
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10660166
Jonny B - Thank God I'm Me (f/ Jay Tres AKA Infinite Styles)
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10661196
Jo-Kane - Up In The Club
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=9790449
Valo - Honorable Mention
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=8513429
Aztek - Can You Feel Me?
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10639145
The #1 and #2 spots really came down to quality, and the W in this department goes to Chayse Maclair's "Just Breathe." While it's not a track that will wow you with lyricism, for me, it has that all-elusive "it" factor. Chayse & his guest, Boss Game, deliver a very effective collaborate hook over a gritty, string-happy backdrop. Really, the beat is the grabber here and both Chayse and Boss deliver nicely, riding the beat both flawlessly and effortlessly. Chayse starts with a nice verse to get the song going and Boss Game finishes off nicely. A solid track that's enjoyable but, most importantly, has good enough quality to make my playlist.
Following that is an introspective effort from the ever-improving Jonny B, enlisting Infinite Styles to deliver a fire middle verse. This track has a very interesting beat and nice hook, something that I'm sure anyone can relate to and can be seen as somewhat of an anthem. It works well. Jonny delivers a couple of open and honest verses here that really let you into the man behind the mic. The main flaw in this track, though, comes apparent when the second verse drops. Hearing the clean, crisp quality of the second verse & hook highlight the poor mix of Jonny's verses. I'm not sure where the extra echo is coming from, but it seems like it was intended, as opposed to a poor mic. Lose that effect to make this more bearable. Or, maybe the backup vocals are off? Either way, get rid of it and this song get even better. Storytelling lyrics here are damn solid on all verse and are worth a few listens.
The #3 song is a very surprising song by Jo-Kane, "Up In The Club." From the onset of the song, I was a bit inclined to skip it, but I let it ride and was not disappointed. The beat is interesting, laid back, and very fitting for the overall track. Once the hook drops, though, I'm a bit disappointed. I thought it was just going to be a track talking about fine chicks in the club, which I've heard too many times to count. However, it's actually a quite complete story of a man visiting a strip club for the night, detailing what happens and, most focally, how it affects his relationship with his girlfriend. It concludes with an internal debate that shows all sides of the narrator, which I won't spoil here. What I'm getting at is that it's an interesting story that makes you want to continue to listen and find out where it goes. So, two spots to improve here. First, I was hoping for a third verse to really wrap the story. While I can guess what happens by the way the second verse ends, a third would have really cleaned it up and put a bow on this track. Second, of course, is mix quality. I have heard more recent work from Jo-Kane so I know this can improve. Regardless, a surprisingly tight track.
Valo slips a spot this week to #4 with the eerie yet ugly truth presented in "Honorable Mention." While I'm not really sure what the hook was talking about (sorry, didn't get it), the verses were solid lyrically. The stories were well-written and true to life, which I can appreciate. Listening to some other Valo tracks, you can tell he's certainly a good storyteller. The quality here wasn't bad, just turn up the vocals a tad. The actually delivery of the verses, though, was a bit muffled and hard to understand. I think it was speech clarity failing here more than the mix. It took a bit of effort to hear each word and decipher what was being said. Was great when I heard the words, but I shouldn't have to work to do so. It's hard to have both emotion and good delivery on a song like this, but it has to be done.
Wrapping up the top 5 this week is "Can You Feel Me?" by Aztek. What saved this track from slipping out of the top 5 was the beat and the hook. The verse were well-written and worked well with each other. It was definitely a track that had replay value, and whomever sung the hook did a great job with this. However, I can certainly tell this was done in two different studios. The auto-tune effect on the verse is overdone and does not match the artist. Actually, I think the song would sound just fine without any auto-tune because the artist has a deep voice. Typically, higher-pitched voices sound a bit better with those effects. Getting past the mix yields an interesting story of a borderline-psycho man who refuses to let go of his woman -- at any costs. The vibe from this track is also head-nodding and the smooth delivery of the verse works. Overall, a solid track worth the listens.
And there's your top 5 for the week. Certainly some songs here for your playlists despite some missteps with the mix quality in some tracks. I think the storytelling in a few of the songs was very well done and I'm digging the thought behind the words. I'm hoping for more of the same next week.
N. Talekt
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