Month: August 2020

Broadjam Artist: Patrick E. Muth/Catnip Pat
Song: WHO OWNS THE SUN

Reviewer: David James

Positive Comments: Lovely intro, which sets the scene for the song wonderfully. The song has a great atmosphere. Although the lyrics are straightforward, they complement the ambience of the song brilliantly. The instrumentation is first class and sounds totally authentic. The melody is compelling and grows on the listener with repeated plays.

Constructive Comments: I’ve marked down the vocal pitch and the quality of recording because in parts of the song I thought the vocal and the music were competing for the same space and clashing slightly. I think a slightly toned down vocal delivery or pulling back on instrumental track would rectify this. I’m not a big fan of the count in at the start, but maybe that’s personal to me. All in all though it’s a lovely song…genuinely romantic and beautiful.

Broadjam Artist: Bob Birthisel
Song: Powerful Anthemic Rock – INSTRUMENTAL EDIT

Reviewer: paul sandberg

Positive Comments: this instrumental hits all the marks – love the snare tone with just the right amount of reverb. Nice groove established with a very nice lead guitar throughout – sounds free and yet adhering to the melodic sense of the song. bass growl is wonderful and the guitar tone is great – love how the 2nd guitar (that carries the feel) is perfectly placed in the mix – not too forward, not too back – just right!

Constructive Comments: keep on keepin’ on – this is a very nice track that I’d like to listen to frequently. well done!!! Well produced, well thought out, well performed… what more do you need? LOL

Broadjam Artist: Neutrino Pulse
Song: April Angels

Reviewer: paul sandberg

Positive Comments: liked the percussion effects as well as the guitar tone and washes. Middle break at around 1:25 is quite nice, I was hoping it was going to build before resolving back into the intro groove.

Constructive Comments: I felt that the keyboards during the first minute of the song were too far forward in the mix, making a duel with the guitar melody for your ear, while it should have been back in a supporting role.The song abruptly cuts off just after the 3 minute mark – was that by design???

Broadjam Artist: MGB
Song: ANSWER MAN

Reviewer: paul sandberg

Positive Comments: get a real Joe Walsh feel from this – solid production with good instrumentation. Groove moves right along, nice drum tone and solid mix.

Constructive Comments: the vocals on the chorus seem a bit strident to me – perhaps roll off some of the highs. The vocal is a bit pitchy in the first verse and I felt that the melody didn’t always roll with the groove. The middle instrumental break seemed a bit out of character with the rest of the song – shortening it might help as it currently seems to be making too much of a statement.overall this is a nice track.

Broadjam Artist: Dave Haddad (CenterPeace)
Song: Moroccan Star

Reviewer: paul sandberg

Positive Comments: well produced, nice guitar tone, drums are warm. musicianship is first rate – reminds me a bit of Ronnie Montrose’s instrumental album Open Fire.

Constructive Comments: a really nice track, about my only negative is that in the big build up halfway through the song, there seems to be too much going on – a fight between the guitar and the keys… otherwise this is very sweet.

Broadjam Artist: Smokin Joe Pilloud
Song: American Dream

Reviewer: CWMullins

Positive Comments: Heartfelt stuff. Sincerity really comes through. That counts for a lot. I like that line “dream your American dream.” Just an appealing sentiment, especially here in summer 2020 as I write this! Vocalist has a handsome voice, if that word is OK. I enjoyed hearing this, though it’s not really the kind of thing I listen to a lot…

Constructive Comments: OK it’s picky but I found this doing reviews for rock-alternative, and that doesn’t seem right to me. Sounded like contemporary country to me. But genre, you know, it’s subjective. Good song is good song. I guess what holds me back a bit from liking this more is, it really does seem to be about the singer’s story, which si great, but then the chorus has that great line “dream your american dream,” like the song is about all Americans…kind of throws me off a bit. I’m overthinking it, I’m sure…

Broadjam Artist: Monday Funeral
Song: Let your light pour in

Reviewer: CWMullins

Positive Comments: Really mixed on this one, because I hear a lot of good stuff. Opening has real atmosphere, then the song kicks in, all good. I’ll get to the other side in the “constructive” section. I also like how the arrangement modulates to keep the interest level up. I’m going to rank these overall a bit higher than I should, because I hear the goal, I think.

Constructive Comments: as a songwriter who didn’t get lucky with a singer’s voice, I don’t like to say this, but I think this performance is hurt by the vocals. It’s a kind of voice some people respond to, and at times the voice reminded me of someone but I couldn’t think who. To me it’s a bit “nails on chalkboard.’ Hey can’t please everyone!

Broadjam Artist: Lostfollicles
Song: I am me – You are you

Reviewer: CWMullins

Positive Comments: Fun song. I like that it’s not just “over me” or “over you,” but both. Actually I have a song with a similar lyric lol. Maybe I’ll add it on here, it’s called “I was Me and You Were You.” Anyway, this has a bit of a retro feel to me, like 80s alternative rock, but that’s probably my age showing. Fun little number!

Constructive Comments: As a songwriter, i think adding a “bridge” to a song is kind of a lost art, or outdated! But a song like this could use one, break it up a bit, make it a bit less repetitive. I didn’t rathe the “hook” high, to tell the truth, I’m not a big hook guy, I like a song that’s god from start to end. That said, the chorus isn’t a real grabber. It’s fun, but maybe not an earworm…

Broadjam Artist: Empty Atlas
Song: Valleys

Reviewer: CWMullins

Positive Comments: I think there’s a market for a song like this, there’s bands out there doing stuff not all that much better than this, for what it is. Like Killers? Singer has a very appealing voice, great tone, intonation. Right at the end the song kicks in, I wish it had done a bit of that earlier. That extra OOMPH in the rhythm really is a nice touch.

Constructive Comments: To me at 5 minutes, and with a melody line that is a touch repetitive, this got to be a bit of a slog, until that last 30 seconds where suddenly it’s like the band woke up and started to kick. As for the lyric, I didn’t catch all of it clearly, so I can’t say I really caught onto what the deal is with the “valley.” But that’s probably on my poor hearing….

Broadjam Artist: Dave Haddad (CenterPeace)
Song: Subliminal Messages

Reviewer: CWMullins

Positive Comments: Well recorded and performed. The song itself is not to my taste, but nothing is to everyone’s taste. I have to give kudos though for the success of the recording despite whatever I think about the song itself.

Constructive Comments: So yeah, it’s a matter of taste, but I found the song structure, both music and lyric, just a bit too repetitive. As for the lyric, it wasn’t clear to me why the “lies” are “subliminal.” It kind of sounded like “subliminal” was just a cool word, but the song is about ordinary crap in a relationship that probably isn’t subliminal at all lol. Super picky, sorry!