| Category | Rating |
|---|---|
| Track Structure | 9 |
| Interest | 9 |
| Melody | 9 |
| Performance | 9 |
| Lyrics | 9 |
| Enjoyment | 9 |
| Recording Quality | 9 |
| Commercial Appeal | 9 |
| Overall | 9 |
Next up we have a new track from Craig (Pigeman) called Babylon Is Doomed? which I am told he recorded from beginning to end in one evening, which only goes to show when the muse hits, go with the flow and good things can happen.
So what he here, a heavily gated drum loop with claps no less we are immediately back in that golden period somewhere around the eighties when rock acts on both sides of the atlantic began to experiment with synths and heavy fx. When the great synth drone which makes up the bass (think a heavy low end legato note playing the bass riff like a cello but with more low end that seems straight out of the Fixx songbook. We also have a jangely chorussed guitar that seems part Kim Karnes's Betty Davis Eyes mixed with Hall and Oates. Then we have a DX7 like bellpad playing a simple minor motif to get the mode going. Obviously this choice of instrumentation is straight up my alley, I am both comforted by the instrument choices and surprised as this is not your usual Craig sound. Next surprise is a slightly lower key that Craig chooses to sing in, keeping the vocal tight and keeping any nasal qualities out of his voice is a great choice as well, the vocal is clear for me and tells the story well, never resorting to shreaking or straying too far from the key and keeping it tight with the song. Lyrically we have your earth is going to hell, do something before it is too late, end of the world type scare tactics lol, but Craig always has a excellent turn of phrase and dont think he could let any down lyrically if he tried. Good story, told simply, gets the point across, without too much preachy self indulgence :) Arrangement wise, song is tight, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, small instrumental break after each, doesn't overstay it's welcome or introduce anything that wont propel the track forward. Again a tight little song, no self indulgence, bravo :) So we have a very interesting experiment, taking elements from the 80's, mixing some modern synth elements, keeping a tight rhythm track, a very nice in key vocal that is always clear, a nice minor chorus. Mix wise, Craig always mixes his drums loud and keeps his guitars metallic, think by now we know this is how he likes his tracks to sound so have no moans about that, you either like it or don't and luckily I like this brash American sound so no problems for me. I keep mentioning this 'American' thing I know, but there is definitely a US sensibility about Craigs work that always seeps through rather than berate him for it, I rather enjoy this sound so will defend him for that every time :)
Hopefully song will do well, and be embraced and he might do more of this more experimental music (which should be under Rock by the way it's not 'that' experimental lol) Hopefully he will get those synths and guitars out again very soon and give us some more goodies. One of my Faves of his, like it a lot :)
To listen to the track Click Here