An Ode to Insanity:

To be brutally honest with a title like "Ode to Insanity," I was kinda expecting a young hobby bedroom shredder cutting loose with Malmsteen-ish fury on his Ibanez RG-whatever they're called, lol.

What I got instead was an emotionally poignant commentary on the psychosis of the street-thug coward with a gun. VERY inciteful VERY articulate- and being from Boston I'm on the same page with this dude politically I'm guessing. The only lyrical suggestion I would make (and it's a small one) would be to change the line, "The gun's your own power," to "The gun's your ONLY power," it would emphasis the notion that without the gun the "character" in the song is a spineless, selfish, coward, that he HAS no power of his own. Very good lyrics, not overly poetic, but they express your thoughts clearly, and concisely, which is good, no ambiguity here. If there's one thing I can't stand it's songwriters who want to make a statement, and wind up just making riddles. That's NOT you. I know exactly what you're trying to get across.

Sound: Let me start off saying this is NOT my genre of choice, but I really appreciate this song. It's not "metal" it's not "emo" it's not "hard-core" as if those terms even mean anything anymore. It's on the pop-side, and I only say that cause it hooks you. It's got pop hooks, but it's got substance to it as well. I REALLY liked the guitar tone- just the right amount of distortion. The solo was great too, it was functional, did what it was supposed to do- even contained an element of wry humor or sarcasm or something. You didn't put it in there to wail and flash your chops, you put it in there cause the songs needed it at that point- I respect that. The effects on the vocals were a little much- but I really liked how you panned them left to right. Your voice is a little bit monotone, I think a backing vocal track in the choruses without ANY effects would pull this together really well. I liked how you started with an intro before kicking into the riff, and I like how it changes a little towards the end.

Composition: I dig the riff big time, what can I say. I play guitar, I can appreciate a good riff, whatever the style. This is VERY tight, well played, it all "fits" very well, very professional in many ways. I liked the solo too, PERFECT. I liked that it's not over-done.

Creativity: I've heard a lot of similar sounding tunes before, fans of Quicksand or Filter or what's that band?- Linkin' Park? (like I said not my usual genre) would appreciate this a LOT. This tune HAS what most of the "hard-rock" genre is missing these days, and that's content, commentary, insight, intelligence. This is the kind of song a band like Staind wishes they could write IMO.

Well that's about it- good work. I'll be checking out more of your stuff, just for my own listening pleasure. If any of it REALLY grabs me I'll write another review, but I've got some catching up to do.

'An Accurate Representation of my Emotional State'

First listen: my first impression is that this an excellent song. The refrain says, '...the one thing he don't have...' Off, hand I can't think of one thing THIS doesn't have. Good melody; catchy beat; very good lyrics; blow away lead: it has the whole package.

Second listen: the song builds very nicely from a very sparse beginning in the opening verse, to a very rich ending. The simple bass and drum interplay, along with the nice vocal melody make this work even in the sparsest places. However, the second verse after the drop down refrain is my favourite verse part. The guitar there reminds me of a beatlesque arrangement - 'I Got a Feeling' or something off the White Album. Like it. The very best part, however, is the lead which is as good as you hear anywhere, albeit not as long as I would have liked. It has a cool sound and is very well executed.

This is an excellent tune, excellently played. You should be happy with this one, JP.

Blessings,

Cam
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John Paul Carroll (aka Fluidity) has become a firm Gilmore favourite since I reviewed his excellent This Time in January of this year. A native of New Zealand, he pursues a strain of rock music that has won him a string of admirers in a very short space of time. The secret to all that appeal is in the name of the band, fluidity by name, fluidity by nature; rock music with endless appeal done with that special antipodean style exemplified by Spilt Enz, Crowded House et al. Fluidiy is, to my mind, a worthy successor to those bands, mixing an English rock sensibility with a NZ outlook that is easy on the ears, but punches its weight when necessary.

The English rock sensibility can be traced to the early 1970's when rock seemed to have a calling, as well as a neat way of getting riches and bitches. There is, indeed, a trace of the early Pink Floyd in both the delivery and structure of Lucid; a finicky but productive arrangement, some gorgeously crafted peaks and a suggestion of either Barrett or Waters in the vocal style. That is a comment I have applied to this artist before and I mean it as a sincere compliment. Quality rock is a hard act to pull off - ESPECIALLY in a 'home recording' environment.

The level of sophistication JP can bring to the affair is only slightly tempered by that ever present scourge but no one but a right basket like me would ever notice that. What other ears will notice is that the music scene in New Zealand is alive and well and - judging from some search results - all living right here on Soundclick. Even so, I'd be willing to put my money where my mouth is that there aren't that many to come up to the level of work Fluidity has so far delivered to some very delighted ears. Delay no longer, click now and give your ears a rock treat courtesy of a kiwi, you don't see that often ya know....

Highly Recommended. But I am well biased.

I’ve come to expect strong, clean production from Fluidity, and this track is certainly no exception. From the very outset, when the muted guitar is like the ticking of a clock, the arrangement of this piece maintains the listener’s interest. I like the manner in which, right after the beginning when the drums kick in, the sound leaps from the one ear to the full stereo width. Cool. However, it’s not the gimmicks that make this. The two reasons for the song’s production strength are, first, the subtle guitar work and, secondly, the expressive vocal work. More importantly still, this song works because the vibe matches the message – even if the message is a bit nebulous. More on that in a minute…

The lead work - from the gliding short licks to the extended solo portion - are all very well executed. I really like your playing, JP, strong and versatile – lots of expression in your fretwork. The canned drums, as usual with your songs, are nice and crisp. I don’t share the (largely) irrational prejudice that some people have against drum samples. I like the sound of these drums: ‘thumpy’ and sharp.

As I mentioned, the vocal work is intriguing. The expression is good and the tone right. The production as well contributes to the interest, for the aural placing of the vocals is interesting and varied. They begin in the right ear, but then move to the middle. At some points they are phase-shifted at other times either doubled or split-panned. A special reverberating, effect-soaked moment marks the refrain. All of this makes combines to make listening interesting.

Now, I mentioned that the vibe matches the message. It would be a good idea for some of the people who ask me to review songs to listen to this track. I say this, because this is a well-crafted tune, judged by the single most essential criterion: the sense of the song matches the sound of the song. I can’t emphasize enough how important that is: it is the very kernel of good song writing. I simply don’t hear enough of that, but I hear it on this track. Good work, JP.

When I reviewed Fluidity's This Time (January 2006) I absolutely loved it. It's musical style, detail and indiosyncratic production put me strongly in mind of early Pink Floyd (in their acoustic moods). It still sits on my hard drive and I play it often so if you haven't heard this little gem yet, I strongly advise you to check it out. Putting this gentle, loping track against Prediction=Presumption is like crushing a butterfly on a wheel. Where This Time has a beauty and liquid grace that fair takes your breath away, Prediction goes about its business by pummelling you into submission with sharp dose of classic rock.

The more I listened to it, the more it put me in mind of the vocal style of The Cure. Mind you, they could NEVER have rocked out like Fluidity, who seems to have special touch for this. Either that or he has taken a great many less downers than Crawley's finest. I'm not exactly sure the vocal production treatment actually works, although the performance and tone certainly do. Maybe a touch too much reverb? No matter though, because when contrasted with the rest of this excellent, very appealing rock dynamo, it's very small change indeed. I said in my first review of this artist that the name really sums up the music; tight, precise and as mobile as mercury, Fluidity deliver with a professionalism that is a joy to experience.

John Paul Carrol (aka Fluidity) has only been around Soundclick a short time but going by the reaction to these two tracks, I don't think it's going to be long before a lot more ears latch on to this New Zealand based musician. For me, the juxtapostion of these two tracks - This Time and Prediction=Presumption - shows that Fluidity is no one-trick pony. He is as at home with a much heavier style as he is with something as light and delicate as This Time. I gave that track a Highly Recommended rating because of it's style, and I do the same with this track. I'd also advise Fluidity to stretch out a bit and cover a few other sites besides Soundclick because there are plenty of sites who would lap up this material (Songplanet and MP3 Unsigned are two instant love matches with Songplanet being the more rock leaning site). Oh, and I'm keeping this track too...

Highly Recommended, rock as it should be...

I am a well known fan of the whole folk rock thing, and not just because it is part of my own musical heritage. I like the whole guitar/voice thing of it, especially when the vocals are of special interest; good harmonies, distinctive styles a la American folk rock or individualistic vocalists and quirky moods from the UK variety. This Time falls into the latter category even though the artist is from New Zealand the music somehow has a quintessential English sound, albeit one from the late 1960's/early 1970's paying particular attention to either Pink Floyd in their many acoustic moments, or Syd Barrett as the ulitmate source of quirk (and splendour...)

This Time starts off in a tame way, an acoustic guitar picking the highlights of the melody before being joined by the vocals which blows the whole oooh-this-will-be-mellow feel to dust. It's the very oddness of the vocal treatment - and an instrumentation that fully supports that style by being understated but meaty when needed. The acoustic guitars nailing the mast the the wall around 2:15 is a very nice touch but by then believe me you will be wanting to hear where the rest of this is going to lead. It's so easy for artists like this to pick up the tried and true, sticking to the thing they know best. There are not that many who are willing to REALLY stretch themselves, and that's the reason Fluidity is an apt name for this act.

Moreover, as much as the treatment and instrumentation of this track is worthy of major compliments, it's actually at heart and absolutely GREAT song - in a kinda/sorta Pink Floyd in Grantchester Meadows way. The sections when the guitars come in I was creaming my pants about earlier (as well as the end section) so strongly reminds me personally of the Floyd's best loved acoustic work, and in some weird way the vocals too. The way these come out, it could be either Roger Waters OR Syd Barrett depending on what section you are talking about. Whichever it is, this is a great track; well performed, incredibly well arranged and with a meaningful, passionate song at the heart of it.

Highly Recommended and I'm keeping this one. You betcha.