Palpable

I personally prefer MP3 when judging so that the download is quicker and takes up less room. But we don't have an official preference, and it can be nice to have the lossless version on hand if the song passes.

Fantastic arrangement, don't need to change a thing. But I'll second Vig's comment about the bottom being an issue. The arrangement is on the muddy side and if those frequency ranges are cluttered it can hurt clarity (strangely). I heard timing issues with a few instruments like the organ and EP too, which wasn't great. Perhaps a bit heavy on reverb as well, for the energy you're going for. Honestly, this is a borderline call for me, but I'm gonna tip against. It feels like it's lacking that last bit of spit shine. Hope you go back and close this out for us. NO (resubmit)

There's lots of little things I would improve here, but it's hard to deny that the overall package has a lot going for it. Creative arrangement ideas, expressive performances and sequencing, and a real sick moody vibe. I think Larry's on the money when he says that a few years from now, you'll probably hear all sorts of ways you can improve this, Cristian, but I think you've met our bar. Great job! YES

I was pretty impressed how well this built and transitioned, staying on that same key phrase. You did a lot to stretch it out and I wasn't bored at any point. The 0:55-1:25 section was especially interesting, the way the gaps in the phrase gave it some variety. I don't blame anyone for hearing this as noodly, but it totally worked for me. Production was solid, I liked the collection of instruments and mood. Nice work Kristina! YES

No, I gotta side with the NOs on this. The arrangement has energy and good ideas, I'll give it that, but I was not as taken with the instruments used. They felt pretty functional overall, without a lot of character. And the fake brass still sounded fake, but if that kind of thing can work, it's in a song like this. The mixing as noted was way on the bass side, which hurt it overall. With better mixing, I might see a pass, but I wasn't 100% with the instrumentation either. A great start though. NO (resubmit)

Yeah it's on the hot side, but there's no arguing with the intricate drum writing and expressive lead performances - this was badassy. Really not much negative to say about this. Next time skew a little less hot, Liam, but keep making music this good. YES

Intro was on the weak side with those fake strings, but once this kicks into the real song, it's rock solid. I never would have guessed these were fake guitars. The mixing leaves something to be desired for certain, I can understand Larry's concerns. There's too much panning for my tastes (the middle felt empty), and the mixing is a bit cluttered. Overall, it squeaks over though. The arrangement is damn good, which makes up for a lot of the shortcomings. YES (borderline)

Yeah, what Vig said about it being washy was dead on. Lots of reverb and focus on the lows - it robs the energy away. The difference between the fake lead guitar and the guitar used at 1:17 (which sounds real to me, or at least realistic) was staggering. Real or not, stop using the former, switch to the latter. This is a very creative arrangement and I hope you continue to work on your production skills so that they are more in line. NO (resubmit)

These gentlemen have it covered. I will compliment your sound design, you've got some wild ideas and some are done very well. But despite that, the mixing is sloppy and the quality of sections varies greatly. The piano part in particular neither fit what came before it, nor sounded realistic. Ultimately, there isn't a lot here besides some crazy instruments. NO (resubmit)

Hmm I have more production issues than you guys did. I thought in the sections where the bass was going, there needed to be more mid to the track, it sounded kind of dull. In contrast the breakdown around 3:30 sounded more full, strangely, and really sparkled. It could be an issue with the compressor clamping down the rest of the track when the low-end goes full bore. The source usage was also kind of odd. I heard snippets of source here and there, and then sections where the melody was obvious. Hard to have the timestamp mean something in that case - I'll say the source was a little marginalized and I would have liked to see it used more overtly. With both those concerns, I'm gonna call this a NO, but it's a close vote. I don't think it would take much to push me over to a YES, but something needed to be stronger. NO (resubmit)

Gotta love it when Larry has covered what I want to say. The panning was strange and the drums very flat. They needed more bite for sure. A lot of his critiques about this not leaving second-gear were on the money, and having stronger drums/bass would help the energy a lot. You've got some good ideas here, but the execution isn't up to the same level. NO (resubmit)

I too love the treatment but can't abide by some of the sections in the first half, the piano sounds way too unrealistic. I think it's more the instrument choice than your actual playing, which seems solid throughout. 0:38-0:49 was an especially weak section for me. Second half fared a lot better, especially the quietest parts. I dunno, guess I can't fault a YES vote, but this doesn't sound like a pass to me because of those few problematic sections. NO (resubmit)

I always have my doubts with short sources, but man, I think you guys missed a lot of source usage. This is what I heard not even counting chords: 0:00-0:47 0:47-1:03 (strings, can see not counting this because it's so simple) 1:20-1:35 1:35-1:51 (strings) 1:51-2:07 2:09-2:36 3:14-3:30 That's over 50% not even counting the string parts. Song is awes. YES

First of all, great choice of sources to mix together. I'm not sure how you saw the connection between the two, but it fits quite well. I agree with Jesse that the drum writing was repetitive, but you had enough filters and dropouts in the percussion that, combined with the melodic elements, I was engaged the entire time. The hand percussion was an especially good addition. True, the kick could have been improved, having almost no high end, but had enough oomph to carry things. I dunno, I'm not seeing much here I don't like. YES

I'm somewhere in the middle on this, but more in Larry's camp. Perhaps a bit gimmicky (I could do without the turbo drums and the sample at the end) but produced well enough, and had some cool ideas for arranging this. Definitely a creative remix, and there was enough glue to hold it together. I can understand the NO votes, but I go YES

I think putting a conditional on the panning is fair, it literally is a five-second fix. We stopped using conditionals for things like mixing changes because sometimes the remixer may not be skilled enough to even fix it. I'll go ahead and email Kevin, I think I'm the same camp as Larry and Will.

Can't really disagree with anything Larry had to say, but I was still feeling this overall. Maybe the arrangement pulls me just enough in the right direction to want to pass despite the slightly muddy mixing. The chorus sounds awesome in particular, and I love the solo following the second chorus. So expressive, great tone. The drop out around the 3-minute mark could have been smoother but it wasn't a big issue. Let's give this the green light. YES

I can't sight-sing, which has (lamely) prevented me from ever trying out for an acapella group, but this would suit me well. I'm also somewhere in the baritone-tenor range. Did you have any specific ideas in mind for what to tackle, Britney?

I find it humorous that I got way more behind this with the Chun-Li parts largely marginalized. My big beef with the last version was that those parts were getting in the way. In this version, Guile takes the center stage for most of the song with the Chun-Li riff adding some texture that isn't even that obvious unless you're listening for it. The important thing is it works. Definitely in a YES state now, great job fixing this one up. YES

Hmm I actually thought Brandon did a nice job tightening this up from the past version. At least, my crits about the overstuffedness seemed to be addressed, whether by mixing choices or arrangement changes. This held together a lot better, seemed to have a good focus, etc. It's still not perfect. Vig's comment about the kick not cutting through rang true for me. Overall, the beat here is a little weak, and the drums might be a little dry. Kind of a toss-up IMO, but I'm willing to come down on the YES side. YES

I didn't hear the previous version, but I have to agree with what's been so far. The drums took up way too much of the space, which hurt the atmosphere to some extent. The stiff strings didn't work in your favor like they can in some hip-hop songs. The parts where you laid on the kick were weak because the kick itself had almost no snap - without that crucial high-end, the rhythmic focus is lost. And that's not even taking into account the song as an arrangement, which was a little meandering. I generally like your style, Wina, and I think you took a few risks here, but this one didn't sit right with me. NO (resubmit)

Sorry, still not feeling this one. This is an improvement over the last version I heard, but there are still many issues. The drums were weak and repetitive, and overall the song is too predictable and sparse. At times, the writing clashes too. I really like the idea of pairing these two sources, and I think at this pace you're gonna continue to make better and better stuff, but this isn't gonna be the one that gets you there. NO (resubmit)

This had a MOD-like quality reminiscent of the original soundtrack. In a way, it's cool to reference that nostalgia, but ultimately I felt your track was underproduced and sparse. The drums were weak, and the instruments were on the plain side, though there were sections where your care with detail was apparent. Another issue was that there wasn't much dynamic range between sections; e.g. 3:07 sounds like it should be a more dramatic moment, but the song doesn't get any more full or energetic. Some good ideas, but I don't think this is ready for primetime just yet. NO (resubmit)

Piano was very fake sounding and indistinct, so that got the arrangement off to a less than promising start. The strings that were added thereafter also had a choppy quality to them, and the lack of humanization was an issue throughout. The writing was interesting, but I wasn't feeling some of the harmonic movement when you changed the chords; the writing was awkward at times. Jesse, I gotta agree with Larry - I'm not sure what you're hearing that you think this is a pass. There's promise for sure, but this has too many issues that need to be addressed. NO

Yeah gotta agree with the first two votes here. The instrumentation sets a cool mood but the song is a bit too simple - sounds are on the plain side, no strong melody or focus to guide the arrangement. It doesn't surprise me at all that you originally planned to use a vocalist, because this would sound better with one. If you decide to continue to rework this as an instrumental, I'd advise you to try to create a stronger focus and maybe layer some of the percussion to really fill it out. The bass could also use some automation so that it doesn't sound so rigid. NO (resubmit)