Skankin' Sweet
Oh hey, this guy hangs out with Joey Badass! I'm not sure if this song is something I will retain any memories of one hour from now, but I'm looking forward to summer as much as the next guy, so fuck it. This was fun. 6.5/10
Enigma
I never got into these guys even when I liked this kind of stuff, and now it's just a mess. There's nothing coherent about the song construction at all; like all of the worst prog metal, this is basically just a arbitrary selection of riffs stuck together at random. Are some of them decent? Sure! But this is barely even a song. 3.5/10
Kalamazoo
As someone whose favourite vocalists mostly can't sing - wow, what a grating voice. This became way more interesting than I expected it to be given the trudging, Billy Joel beginning, but it never really turned into anything that I'd ever choose to listen to. 4/10
What They Do
It is to my great shame that I've never really been able to get into The Roots. Their classic mid-90s stuff, in particular, just kind of sounds muddy and indistinct to me. This was far from bad, but I was basically ready for it to be over halfway through. Ending instrumental was nice though! 6/10
Season 2, Episode 3
This sounds like the dude from How to Dress Well giving up all the turbid whinging and kicking back with Mega Man games. I can dig it. 6.5/10
Jekyll
I want to like these guys but nothing ever really connected with me. This got intriguingly weird halfway through, but despite enjoying the Latin vibes, this kind of smooth neo-soul represents a disappointing middle ground for me. I'd probably love it if it either veered spacier and more fragile or went full funk on the downbeat, but as it is I can only really admire it from afar. 6/10
Out of the Black
ROCK MUSIC WILL NEVER DIE. It'll just slink off into mediocrity until we forget it was ever exciting. Don't ask me to listen to a full album of these guys, but this was a fun four minutes. 6/10
Killer
If I hadn't read the comments about this apparently being some super-talented one man band, I could've believed this was a focus-grouped new single from an ex-One Directioner. I don't know if the apparent talent and passion behind this makes that better or worse, but either way this is rubbish. 3/10
Skies
Hahaha oh wow it's been a while since I listened to Protest or anyone remotely like them. I was actually shocked by how much I didn't completely hate this. It's still basically Fall Out Boy for nerdy Rush fans, but there are worse things in the world than that. 4/10
While the Earth Sleeps
This is so completely and unquestionably 90s that it almost sounds like some kind of other world now. It's actually kind of okay, even if it is totally silly! All the different elements come together really nicely at the end. I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. 7/10
Down to the River (Live in Bellwoods 42)
I was kind of enjoying this until the vocal performance got all histrionic. It's cool that dude is passionate, I guess, but it's totally incongruous with the solo guitar arrangement. There's a cool song underneath here, but the performance does very little for me. 5.5/10
Ranking:
1. While the Earth Sleeps
2. Season 2, Episode 3
3. Skankin' Sweet
Out of the Black
Jekyll
What They Do
Down to the River (Live in Bellwoods 42)
Skies
Kalamazoo
Enigma
Killer
And if you don't know, now you know.