Spoiler: Reactions
eSwatini // Monster Manual Mash - Ginny Di
This is the kind of thing that makes me want to stick forks into my ears. In no way a slam on D&D, and not even a criticism of the work that into this, just that the 'retheme popular song with nerdy references' genre really repels me on a fundamental level.
Peru // Satellite - Homeboy Sandman
I thought this was pretty rad. There were maybe a few moments where the central theme of detached observation kind of inevitably resulted in it not really popping with as much feeling as these places could inspire, but those were outweighed by the number of times that I could feel some quiet love and acceptance of these places for what they are. Just kind of noticing humanity and work and letting it be. Very satisfying production, too. Nice.
Mount Celeste // Bomb-Sniffing Pomeranian - Stinkbug & Coda
I don't normally go for tracks that are both this busy and this overtly digital although, for being that combination of things, this is kind of a bop. It's so busy that I'm still probably not going to remember any of it after it's over bar a vague sense of 'video game noises happened at me for a few minutes' but it was fun to have around while it was on.
Scythia // Dancing Mad - Andrew Thompson
I have absolutely no experience with Final Fantasy beyond the handful of tracks that people keep throwing at me in song contests, so there is no emotional catharsis to be found here in a track being rendered in a big orchestral fashion at extreme length. It sure sounds a lot like what I'd expect a big, serious moment in a Final Fantasy soundtrack to sound like. I can't imagine myself volunteering to listen to this again.
Portland // Keep It on a Burner - Margo Cilker
The bar-room country aesthetic is not where I'd normally end up by choice, but Cilker immediately struck me here as a performer brimming with charisma, and I was quickly along for the ride. A good brass part always goes a long way with me anyway, and I really dug the horns here in support of that powerful voice. One of those songs that makes you want to hang out with and learn more about the narrator. I will be listening to this again.
Chile // I Need to Be in Love - Carpenters
I don't especially connect to the string ballad aesthetic (I keep saying that a lot this contest and I promise I do like quite a wide variety of music) but Karen Carpenter's voice is obviously really strong and she sells the kind of 'showcase song from a musical' feeling that gives it a timeless quality.
Slovenia // Drowning in the Sound - Trivium
It's not my bag but, as big fast metal rockers with unappealing vocalists go, it's palatable.
Mali // Paper Nihilist - Watsky
(my entry!)
Watsky's been put into the contest a handful of times before - once by me, and one of the other times was how I discovered him for the first time. One of the many big Song Contest Ws for me over the years - he's the first rapper I ever fell for and remains a fixture in my listening habits, closing in on my top five most-listened artists ever. And as it looks like he's calling time on his music career in order to move onto other artistic pursuits, I wanted to submit my favourite track from his final album, Intention. It's a slightly patchy record but one that follows his pattern of experimentation and evolution after his (IMO) magnum opus, 2016's maximalist X Infinity. "But I gotta chill and scissor-kick my inner critic" is a line that always brings a smile to my face in a song that expands on a favourite Watsky theme of finding meaning in mundanity.
Old Zealand // I Always Knew - The Vaccines
Really solid. A great depiction of someone slightly commitment-averse being caught by surprise by the depth of their feelings. The building drums are an easy highlight here.
Antarctica // A Ghost's Pumpkin Soup (Pumpkin Hill) - Sega Sound Team
I cannot in good conscience award points to a song that feels like it is constantly threatening to have Knuckles edu-rap me about how drugs are bad, kids.
Japan // Venom - Jiluka
It is possible that I will have to award points to a song that feels like it is constantly threatening to have Knuckles edu-rap me about how drugs are bad, kids.
Sweden // Like Orpheus - Orphaned Land ft. Hansi Kürch
Obligatory 'it's not my bag' but it is nevertheless cool to hear some Middle Eastern accents, both vocally and instrumentally, in a track like this. It definitely made it a slightly more interesting package to me than your standard million-mile-an-hour metal epic.
United States of Erica // Five Feet Nine-and-a-Half Inches Tall - Dick Kent
Safe to say I got quite tired of being told how tall various people were, quite quickly. Has skit energy without being particularly funny.
Eritrea // The Downfall of Us All - A Day to Remember
It has not been a vintage contest for ya boi CDB.