HERE WE GO!!! ROUND 1:
Brian Lloyd - I'm not sure I like the cutting on the arrangement, especially when the edits aren't quite in time. It doesn't sound like you found the element that tied everything together and built on it, you just cut stuff up.
Greg Dixon - Tasteful edting...I like the cuts into the arrangement. The mix is straightforward. I like the way you worked with the thickness of the recordings. Everything sounds well-placed. My only bitch is that this mix feels like it's looking for that one thing to take it up over the top. Find that and you're golden.
McSnare - Another good edit job on the arrangement. I like the cleaner intro. Those delays on the drums sound like someone's spinning a whip in front of a stereo pair of something. The unbalance of the mix is really cool. I'm not sure I quite have the nads to leave a mix as asymmetrical as this. I LOVE the smack on the snare drum...lemme guess...samples? Not sure I like the super-brittle guitar texture, but otherwise, yet another killer mix.
Bennals - OMG the treatment at the top is lush. The dimension between the big bass and guitar and the kinda smallish vocal is GREAT. Unfortunately, the drums don't feel like they keep the promise that the intro made. This is also an incredibly hot mix. You didn't like much in the male vocal, huh? Rough. Not bad, but the drums don't feel like they belong to the rest of the track. The cymbal crashes get a bit distracting, as well.
BigMetal - It kinda sounds like you just threw up the faders and panned stuff and called it a day. Plus or minus some reverb. The vocals sit too far back in the mix...and this is coming from a guy who's pretty notorious for burying vocals. Get 'em up front where I can hear them. Start there, because I'll tell you that they are the most important thing in this track.
Billybehdaz - another cut into the intro. Nobody liked that? huh. So far, this might be the darkest mix I've listened to. Again, those vocals are critical to this. Without them, this is a song of three or four chords and 2 parts.
Careful Collapse - No organ in the intro. Nice. Kinda the opposite of what I did. Wow. Holy crap is there shit ALL OVER those drums. Interesting way to feature that. I think the delay on the female vocals is about twice as fast as it needs to be. Wow...all that filtering on the guitar is cool, but the way it's used feels a little distracting...maybe because I can only hear bits and pieces of it...if you can find a way to keep it more obvious and still unobtrusive, it'll be a cool effect. No organ ANYWHERE, huh? Gutsy...kinda leaves it empty. That slowdown ending is sweet, though.
DarkHorsePorter - More vocals. Get 'em up there. They're laying flat in the back of the track. Everything feels pretty flat, and the guitars are pretty much dominating the mix. They aren't what's important or dramatic in this song, at least not to the point where they should be the loudest part of it.
Devin K - Interesting treatment of that organ at the top. I kinda like the cuts. Another one where the vocals are too far back. Bring them forward. Both in terms of brightness and volume. Vocal arrangement ideas are good, but they need to be executed more seamlessly.
Jason Thompson - interesting cuts on that bassline at the top. Beatles, much? Except Ringo's kit was always on the left. The organ in the verse sounds weird. Like a delay that's drunk and stumbling on itself. I like the use of synths in the ending, but that feels like it needs more drama to me.
J_Hall - WAIT. Nevermind.
M Carter - Looks like you win the shortest edit award. Damn that's a lot of bottom end. And those vocals are something else. HISSSSSSSSS. BREATHE IN...kinda minimal...no female vox, huh? unusual. Everyone else seemed to be so fond of them. I like how you found an idea and ran full-bore with it. I'm not 100% sure it's my favorite mix of the bunch yet, but I'll definitely applaud you're sticking to a theme!
Scott Oliphant - Big dark drums. Normal arrangement. Vox are a touch dark for me. Other that that, solid mix. Sorry if the commentary on this feels a bit shortish, but you basically put up a good solid mix that's generally well executed but doesn't do anything unexpected.
TW - Bring the vocals up. Don't be afraid to turn up the high end on some of it, too. It needs the help as far as clarity is concerned.
AGP - Vocals are up. Another asymmetrical mix. Until the end. Interesting. The guitars feel brittle. Woulda been nice to hear some more girth out of those. The female vox feel a little dark to me.
ATOR - Like the treatment. Clear. You managed all the saturation well. I like the delay work. Great work with the ethereal aspects. So far, you've done the best blending of the synthetic aspects with the acoustic aspects.
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Oops...looks like I have some real work to get done. I'll pick this up later, but this should be a good start.