grand cross

[Philip K Dick]

x

[trent bortknob]

you forgot the pitchfork review

Armon Pakdel - Grand Cross

9.6/10

Despite what many might think, Armon Pakdel is well known across hundreds of nations all over the world. His solo project has been around for several years and has a very important meaning in the lives of many. It would be safe to assume that Grand Cross is also going to be around for a long time and have an enormous impact on the lives of many people.

Armon Pakdel's music has had a large impact on American Culture. This is partly because people of most ages can relate to it, and this brings many people together. Generally, a music fan who displays a dislike for Pakdel is considered an outcast, and it would be safe to say that Pakdel plays an important role in American electronic music and shouldn't be taken for granted.

After listening to this album nonstop for the past several weeks, I've been able to conclude that Grand Cross doesn't negatively affect me at all. A In fact, Grand Cross produced some positive effects to my sweet little ears, and oh does Grand Cross ever rock. Last year, 5 major car brands running ads some sort of new model used songs from Grand Cross as the primary soundtrack to the ad. A person might think a song from the album would be bad to sell a car with, but in fact with the artistic and cultural impact it had, Pakdel was able to gain a great number of followers. And a whole shit load of money. And yet, while listening to the music that is performed on this album, you can't help but notice how much it sucks. Like, really. It's horrible, unlistenable garbage. Nobody should listen to this stupid shit. Fuck this artist and his stupid music. Fuck it.

Grand Cross seems to be a much more important album than most give it credit for. Next time you see or think of Grand Cross, think about what you just read and realize what is really going on. It is likely you under valued Grand Cross before, but will now start to give the credit it needed and deserved.

[Philip K Dick]

lmao i like how your review doesnt actually say anything

[trent bortknob]

yo but im finna listen to this sometime

[Philip K Dick]

finna

[trent bortknob]

starting the album, it took me a bit off guard. the instrumentation was definitely more well executed than a lot of your previous electronic efforts. "frost" is almost straight up dance pop music. i did think the melody to that song was pretty catchy. i wish the vocals didnt use autotune so excessively.

don't take this as an insult because it's not, but i really think taking at least 6 months of consistent vocal lessons would do wonders for you. i think all of the weakest aspects of your singing come from a lack of training. you have a pretty diverse and unique voice, but in some ways it seems to me like you're not in full control of it. that's just my take at least.

that being said, i do think you've been improving. the vocals in lightning rod were pretty good! i mean i could tell they were still autotuned, and some of the quicker runs didnt come through well, but i thought they were well done for the most part.

i'd already heard prometheus buries his brothers and i think a different version of swampstepper. i'd heard walking proxy too, but i didnt know it was on here. it honestly didnt really fit with the rest of the songs, which is not to say i didnt like it, i just thought it stuck out. i didn't really like gridlock, i dont like dubstep really and that's what it reminded me of. it was an interesting enough sound scape sort of thing i guess. i already told you what i thought of the new version of arrivederci, but to reiterate, i really liked the simplicity, the light hearted, honest sadness masked by the upbeat feel of the original. one of my fav recordings from farther snake is the one of just me on piano and you singing it because it feels really honest in a way.

in typical armon fashion, the album flew by in a swift 20 minutes or so, making it feel less like an album and more like a slightly longer EP. that's not necessarily a bad thing, but in a sense i did think it felt lacking. maybe mixed with all of the other grand cross installments it will be more complete. while it's obvious that you've improved and are exploring new directions for your music, it's hard for me to really give too much useful critique because this is just a type of music i'm not very familiar with. i'm not really an electro dance pop guy, so trying to review it is pretty difficult for me. all i can say is that it still sounds like armon music, whether or not that's a good or bad thing is up to you i guess.

[Philip K Dick]

i didnt use that much pitch correction

[Philip K Dick]

and about the length, its one part in a 4 part series. i thought of the idea to have it split up so i could release them as i go instead of building it up too long and releasing them all at once.

[Philip K Dick]

http://www.starwars.com/play/online-activities/crawl-creator/index.jsp?cs=gfvedx8d8q

[trent bortknob]

it is a pretty subtle difference, you should have just not used it at all IMO. the issues with your vox are the same with or without the slight pitch correction, so my original critique remains valid, and the autotune is still somewhat audible in frost. yes, it's less, but it could be none. i still recommend you work on placement, support, and relaxation. i'm working on all of that too, and i think you're somewhat ahead of me in the game, but i still notice those fundamental issues in your vox most of the time.

[trent bortknob]

the vox on that are way better than the ones on social shapes

[trent bortknob]

i didn't know how to sing back then

[Philip K Dick]

im surprised you like i though you would hate it

[Philip K Dick]

i cant record good guitar so i tried to make it garage punk band sounding

[trent bortknob]

i dont hate it cuz the vox are better than the original + garage punk is p cool (not that it sounds very garage punk anyway)

[ExistingViolation]

Can I get the lyrics to Frost?

[Flash]

i really liked lucid. a stronger bass would sound really good in it imo. the lo-fi sound is sweet

as for the album:
frost is a fun track. it ends kind of suddenly, but it's really good.
prometheus has a great intro, i expected more build-up to the part that starts at 0.37 because of that. didn't like it as much as frost.
swampstepper is my fav track on this album. i love the riff. once again i miss a punchier bassline to complement the groove, but maybe that's just me. anyway the riff and the vocal melodies are really really sweet
lightingrod is pretty - not really to my taste, so idk what to say
walking proxy has a nice riff and i dig what you did with the vocals all throughout. i can see why taylor says it doesn't fit with the rest of the album, but i kinda disagree, since in the end the focus falls back on the vocals and wp is no exception.
as for gridlock, i can tell what you were going for, but i didn't like it. the effects on the vocie were too in-your-face sometimes, and it didn't build up for arrivederci - i actually think it would be better if it went before walking proxy.
i didn't like arrivederci until the end. never heard the farther snake version, but i'd like to hear more of that piano.

[trent bortknob]

shoulda done the gotye cover in a lower key so you could sing the chorus.

[Philip K Dick]

i really liked lucid. a stronger bass would sound really good in it imo. the lo-fi sound is sweet

as for the album:
frost is a fun track. it ends kind of suddenly, but it's really good.
prometheus has a great intro, i expected more build-up to the part that starts at 0.37 because of that. didn't like it as much as frost.
swampstepper is my fav track on this album. i love the riff. once again i miss a punchier bassline to complement the groove, but maybe that's just me. anyway the riff and the vocal melodies are really really sweet
lightingrod is pretty - not really to my taste, so idk what to say
walking proxy has a nice riff and i dig what you did with the vocals all throughout. i can see why taylor says it doesn't fit with the rest of the album, but i kinda disagree, since in the end the focus falls back on the vocals and wp is no exception.
as for gridlock, i can tell what you were going for, but i didn't like it. the effects on the vocie were too in-your-face sometimes, and it didn't build up for arrivederci - i actually think it would be better if it went before walking proxy.
i didn't like arrivederci until the end. never heard the farther snake version, but i'd like to hear more of that piano.

thanks for the feedback, im happy you listened to it. and im happier you liked most of it!

[Philip K Dick]

shoulda done the gotye cover in a lower key so you could sing the chorus.

yeah i wanted to transpose whern i got to the chorus but the samples i recorded were in d minor and i didnt want to put all that work into redoing them