Excellent vocals--clear and beautiful, with pretty little ornaments and touches of vibrato here and there. The instrumentation is restrained and lovely. I love where the melody goes in the chorus, really catchy and unexpected, and probably my favorite melodic hook in this set of songs. The physical details in the first verse work really well to paint a vivid picture. The only complaint I might have is the lack of dynamics across the song as a whole, though the ethereal backing vocals towards the end do help ramp it up a bit. Oh and there’s a punch-in around 2:04 that sounds really obvious (though I guess maybe it was supposed to sound that way--it sounds that way at the end, too, but is less obvious because of the BVs).

Lovely/strong vocals. Pretty arrangement. Very tastefully done. I wasn't surprised that this one won.

just the right amount of contrariness to my expectations. The instrumental music is okay, but it seems like a vehicle to present the vocal. The vocal is strong enough to carry the song anyway, though.

Nick Soma—Your vocal always has an interesting, appealing character. I’m not sure whether it’s your faint accent or something unusual that you’re doing with the vocal melody. Either way, I like it. I ordinarily prefer a more rockin’ song, but I see how the tender sound is essential to your concept here.

Nuke Skyblaster Reporting for Duty!!!—The vocal mix is weird enough to be distracting. I mostly like the song, though. I’m not sure the trumpet adds a lot; you might have been better off with a bass or drum to establish a stronger rhythm.

see-man-ski—Way to lay down a groove. This song is really relentless; there’s never a sense of relief. I don’t know if that’s what you had in mind or not. The mix seems like it could use more presence on the low end.

The Serviettes—The effect on the vocal is kind of distracting. This is another song where the two-instrument restriction seemed detrimental. This screams out for a wailing guitar line, but you can’t cut either of the instruments that are in this mix.

Third Cat—I don’t know what to make of the super electronic music paired with such an organic vocal. This feels avant garde, in a good way. I’m surprised this wasn’t ranked a little higher.

Shadows

this is my favorite song from you this year. Your singing is so much more interesting in this song- you sing out, and explore more color and range in your voice. It reminds me of the earliest merisan songs in the nur ein archive, which I love. The voice has more emotion and soul. I particularly love how you gradually bring in the second vocal in the bridge on unison, and then let it split into homophonic harmony, and then having a descants on the last chorus. There’s something a little enya about the bloom of bridge vocals. The interplay of the guitar and piano helps create this desperate, intimate sound. I love it. A well deserved win!