Everyone loves a rockstar…or this is what a good music review is from my years of exposure to various aspects of the music industry and studying popular culture… a lot. Music is an art form that you tell people who can’t listen to what you’re hearing and why it’s worth their time. It sounds easy right? We all have an opinion. Musicians don’t have the edge over the general radio listener and if you want an in their own words experience, interview them or ask them for feature quote if they are accessible!
What does make a good review? You want to capture what it is about the artist and the song that makes it worthy of your recommendation. Today I looked at a review that was barely adequate by a musician for a local band and nothing about it made me want to go and see the band or buy the song despite listening to the band, watching an interview and researching the band whose live sound is very different to their studio project.
First and foremost you are endorsing this band and you should justify why you think other people would enjoy their music. You are putting your name and reputation to something in a review and you should be creating the choice that your reader has to check out this band or at least you make enough of an impression so that your audience remembers them.
A good starting place is that you want to provide a context for the artist or band, this the creates relevance and situates them such as “local boys” or “ an upcoming chanteuse”, so ask yourself where are they in the music industry and career? What other angle makes them interesting? If you can’t answer the latter, research it.
When you are documenting a musical experience, research and preparation are just as important as conveying your enthusiasm or you come off like a “fangirl/boy/drone/content scraper” or someone who isn’t really into the band and is just doing this for [reasons dubious and mysterious].
Next, ask yourself what musical genre is this, what is their aesthetic and who is the audience? Consider how you might label something and how the normal listening population would label your artist. So that if you were a grunge rocker, what does “easy listening” suggest to a general audience? I know I personally I’d think smooth jazz or pop music of a balladic temperament and I’d be pissed off that I ended up at a band sounding more like the progeny Nirvana and early Foo Fighters if I was planning a relaxing night out. I’d complain and ask for my money back. Then the band is faced to refund an angry customer and they find out who called the Silver Chair tribute show an easy listening experience in reviews.
Good ways to end a career in music and pop culture journalism before you’ve even hit as a blogger…Artists, their management and very angry punters have long memories, when you put your name to something like a review, you are essentially creating a brand relationship with the artist, even passively. Long memories, like elephants, rookie mistake I made in my first year as the Lonely Archaeologist.
Who and what does your band sound like? Those are your audience and who you are writing to convince to get out and buy the album/song! And I do mean buy it because musicians endure a lot to get to the stage they have multiple albums and have played more hours to almost empty rooms than…drifted off there. How do you describe the song or sound of the artist? A description like “scratchy vocals” over “big guitars” clearly indicates it is not easy listening! That firmly could be could said to be rock. Know your band, keep in mind your audience and their audience.
The way you describe a band should be poetic but economically descriptive prose anything is using filler vocabulary – a good writer doesn’t need to use generic adjectives like calling the band “mind blowing” or “epic”. A test I use is that is what I’m describing useful to someone who is yet to listen to this song/album? You can quite easily say it has “chunky guitars, brother” and it reads like an analysis by an unimaginative year 12 student doing rudimentary musicology. Like a song, you have to find a hook in 2 ways, song content and song sound.
Content is what the song is saying and why you think it is relevant for your intended audience. “I really loved it!” is not helpful to someone- always looks the “because” that should have featured in place of the exclamation – who might get a kick knowing it’s a kiss off anthem that captures the angst of Kurt Cobain but the lyrics have the drama of a Taylor Swift song. What a weird love child that had to be!
Then there is the sound, “mind blowing”* and other effusive praise again it doesn’t tell me why I should listen and keep reading your review and then possibly listen to a good but not great song by a promising act beyond the first uncomfortable riff …because it hurt my ears. That is literally what happened today, it seems like a lame response but science has found humans have short attention spans. Then I read a review and went back on advice and listened to the whole the song really- it just has an inaccessible beginning. So be specific!
Are they a big band reimagining of classic pop and rock hits – say a la PMJ or a string quartet of album of Brit rockers, The Killers, featured on hit tv show, XYZ*.
…sideways divergence…And don’t scrape pictures from their Facebook page without asking the photographer, not the people in them. You may be treading on another artist or worse and end up with a copyright issue. You can google what happens with those…have a media policy and develop some ethics if you intend to write a lot of reviews. You can use a picture of an album cover under fair use for review. Your reputation is only as good as your integrity…
Back on track. You really need to get people past the intro of a song and into the first chorus so they’ll commit to the full song and album. A good description should be like: “They have a classic rock sound with clear grunge influences like Other Bands* and when heard live, their sound for Previous Album was pared back to a raw, emotional state that only a black hearted bitch from the underworld of Asgard couldn’t love*.
Fans are in for a pleasant surprise with This Album* – it’s so different beast to the live sound of BlahBlah*! This is their second outing in the Australian music scene, act two is different and sophisticated mix compared to their debut, First Album Recorded In A Garage By the Drummers Dad!*
Well known for the hit ‘I’m seeing Thor tonight*’, this record is a juicy, polished reimagining of Ask!Me!* They have grown up with a more full, refined sound with trademark catchy big guitar riffs in ‘Love This Song’*. It is an anthem for an army of the living dead and a giant wolf.*
Clearly the year touring the nine realms* and new bassist, Almost Loki* and have created a textured edgy version of ‘Love Hit Song’* also appearing on This New Album* with ‘Also Love That New Song’* .
It’s really a new hiphop swing rockabilly jamming with spoons and dubstep sound for BlahBlah* and an interesting change of direction artistically, it’s a great option for those who are new to the AskMe* music scene or devoted fans that enjoyed their live numbers or That Famous Garage Album*!”
Finally, ethically don’t ask a band member, their management or a family/friend of the band, to review a band and expect an uncritical and helpful review. Always disclose your relationship to the band if it’s more than catching the bus with the bassist. If you want in their words, quote them or write an interview. Many local to medium acts are more than happy to answer email interviews or even meet for coffee (the expectation is that you buy).
A great strategy I picked up from my friend Matt is that if you really do want to interview/review a band, make it relevant to them and your review’s intended audience. And then buy the song/album/a ticket to see them if you possibly can and make the relationship reciprocal artistically. Musicians gotta eat, instruments need maintenance and power doesn’t pay for itself.
Tell Facebook it was mind blowing with that blurry stage shot you took. Sell the band to the world (or at least me) with your review.
*Names are fictional and yes I saw Thor 3. I’m giving people until the weekend to write my how to write a film review film review, only this time using a real film! review. Stay tuned.
Clara Santilli, 2017, this is article may be reused under fair use. Please buy always music and remember to attribute artists!
Catfabulous Pawductions Presents: The Lonely Archaeologist. 