Written by Enniv Zarf
Second Life Indie Music Review
The Bushy Beard Pub
I have to say this has got to be my first rather not so positive review!
Funny thing is that I was just talking to my friend about SL music and how he doesn't go to concerts especially the singers cause there are just so many singers who are totally out of tune. Right before I left he even said to me that he hoped my ears won't hurt. Guess what, it's hurting.
Literally the first sound I heard out of Mash made me jump right out of my chair and I was about to just tp away.
But I thought that would not be the right thing to do if I were to actually be serious about reviewing music. If all I ever do is positive then what am I doing really? I want to be supportive, but I said from the start that I will be honest. I'll just try not to be too mean. And also maybe that was just a fluke, and I have to give him a little chance...to maybe change my mind.
Mash is from Dublin Ireland and is actually both a watercolor painter as well as a guitarist and singer.
Well the good side is Mash's guitar playing is descent, at least something that I can live with. His playing is clean and clear and his sound is pretty good. There aren't any intonation issues, well since it's a guitar.
But his singing is just off. There are serious intonation problems and pitch inaccuracy that isn't just a "style." Admittedly there was a song near the end that I actually could actually listen to, basically whenever he's not trying sing in his higher register.
All in all, Mash has got to get his intonation issues under control. I am often surprised how people are so enthusiastically applauding something who have such serious issues that in RL would never get any attention...well maybe not. There are problems like that in RL too.
I will say though Mash does have a great voice quality when he sounds good. But it's rare to hear the couple of moments when he sounds descent, and these are when he uses his natural voices to sing. Most of his higher register sounds where he's really pushing doesn't work and is harsh and off pitch. That's a problem I find time and time again with a lot of singers in Second Life. They try so hard to get this "voice" this "sound" to sound like what a singer is supposed to sound like. But it doesn't work. You can't try to force that kind of sound, you can only have that kind of sound.
So if Mash just let his natural voice come through more often and just relax his singing a bit, I think he will sound tremendously better. And then if he can really work on those intonation problems, then Mash can actually be a great singer that could be great to listen to and enjoy. But for now, I would say he's on my not so great to listen to list...sorry Mash.
Well I don't want to make this anything personal. I have nothing against Mash at all. I think he's doing his best and wants to provide good entertainment. But please, please Mash if you are working on this, please work on that intonation problem and I will definitely revisit my review for you!
Take care everyone and until next time!
