Rate the Song Above You

Okay, so the idea for this topic is simple (and also a ripped-off forum game, but whatever).

Numerically rate the song posted above you, and give a brief reason for your rating. Then put a song (i.e. its name, you can't append an actual song) at the end of your post, and the next person will rate that one.


A few additional guidelines:

So off we go. I'll start: "Sticky Thread" by Local Natives.

(Yes, that is a song. Yes, I always start my "Rate the Song..." topics with it. If you don't get the double meaning I suggest thinking about how it relates to a forum. )

5/10.  I just find it hard to like too much... or too little.  Vocal-driven songs are subjectively not my thing, and semi-objectively the vocals here do not seem distinctive.  It's also repetitive, and the electronic percussion is blatant.  I suppose the lyrics are the thing, and though they apparently have some meaning to them, I have to repeat that the song is repetitive, which actually doesn't make the same lyrics better over again.


"Falling" by Malory.

5/10.  The quiet guitar is nice but nothing special; the vocals are far, far louder, and don't even attempt to match up with the other instruments; and then there're random orchestral swells.  It's like some old mediocre song SUDDENLY with a spoken-word pseudosinging tale over top.  Basically this seems to be a way of making a poetic story accessible, but it just doesn't work this way for me.  There are melodies and then there are stories, and if you want both, you've got to compromise a little.  Not that this "story" even makes sense when I listen to it.


"This Year" by Hurricane Bells.

5.5/10.  The parts where the guitar was more bizarre in the verses nearer the beginning (metallic and chorus-laden?) were very interesting, even if repetitive, hence why the song gets above a middle score.  But of course the vocals and synths are uselessly generic.  And that's about all there is to it.


"Rising Flood" by the Shore.

2/10.  Surprisingly I've heard this before.  Every single instrument is flat and watery and I really can't say anything else about that.  It has a tune, but... it just isn't appealing in any other way.


"Omaha" by Counting Crows.

5/10.  It's not as if it's bad, but nothing changes in it.  All the instruments blend into one sustained sound that would be interesting were there anything else there.  Basic strumming, a strictly 4/4 beat, and plain words just don't do it for me anymore.


"Three Seed" by Silversun Pickups.

(Yes, that's bass, haha.)


7/10.  I remember I used to like this one.  All the audible instruments (guitar and what I assume is keyboards) are awfully high, so there's not much depth to the thing as a whole, even in the vocals.  The whole composition just sort of floats on the surface, not in the good way.  I always liked the chromatic quality to the chorus, though, and that's most of my rating right there.


"Waiting For The Sun" by the Shore. 

6/10.  It's actually not bad, but it just has a very contained sound, as if it could've all been done with a couple of keyboards in an empty room.  For all I know, it was.  I like that it's distorted, but it doesn't feel very imaginative...


"Diamond Eyes" by Deftones.

5.2/10.  The choppy looping acoustic guitar was fine, though nothing special and unnecessarily repetitive as one might expect.  Less suitable were the vocals, which just didn't seem right for singing in general.  And the strings... I wish people wouldn't feel compelled to add strings all the time, though in this case, it's the only interesting thing despite the superfluousness of strings in general.


"The Mall and Misery" by Broken Bells.

6.8/10.  I used to listen to this a lot, actually.  I'm not fond of the synths from the intro and sometimes throughout;the light overdrive (I think?) and various spots of delay are nice, especially in the choruses; the clean bridge is not my favorite and seems vaguely preachy.  Vocals are fine but not great.  The end is sudden and I feel like they should've made that rotary effect a bit louder.


"No Complaints" by Beck.

7.2/10.  It's actually very delicate and nice with the arpeggiation and (properly-executed) harmonies.  It would merit an 8-9 if it didn't have such heavy-handed addition of orchestral swells, which are a foolish touch.  Good song though.


"Glass Arrows" by Circa Survive.

5/10.  With the strings-like opening I was expecting a stronger guitar line to come in.  I did not appreciate the synths (and to a smaller extent, the actual strings) the way they were used in this song; the drums were uninspired 4/4 fare as usual.  Of course the vocals were distinctive, and the guitar was fine enough, but it wasn't great.


"Suitcase" by Circa Survive. 

7/10, not bad at all.  It has that weird type of pseudo-American flute line, which becomes rather too synthy by 3/5 of the way through, but given that it doesn't pretend to be anything but atmosphere music, I didn't mind overmuch.  Nothing groundbreaking but it doesn't have anything that I dislike, so I suppose I must like it fine.


"Busy Bees" by Silversun Pickups.