Moody, atmospheric, slow-burn songwriting. The various polyrhythm layers work well, although I'm not a huge fan of the scattered drums. Lots of sibilance in the vocals. This feels like it'd be perfect on a film soundtrack to set a mood, but within this batch of songs it sounds kinda like a solid album track in the middle of a bunch of singles. I like it quite a bit and repeat listens have definitely revealed it to be a bit of a grower, but against strong competition I found this one not sticking in my head as much as my higher-ranked songs.

I might be oddball in that I did not find this song boring. Slow? Sure, but it's telling an emotionally deep story that I got into, maybe because I'm getting old, and thought was done pretty effectively. I like that this is a bold choice in this round which makes it stand out, polyrhythms well-integrated in a way that adds a subtle bit of push to the groove. I really did want the big end to this, or something that would build up the tension a little more over the course of the song, right now I felt like each new layer came in and was so gentle that without the contrast of the big ending, I didn't really get a chance to feel the cumulative impact. Like, I didn't feel indeterminate or undecided at the end, or deeply unfulfilled, I just sort of was like, oh well I guess that's that then. If it stays without the big ending, I'd kind of want a bit more tension somehow. At least, I kind of wanted the song to end on a more indeterminate note than the A. But I thought this was a slow burn that worked, unlike everyone else.

This is dripping with ambience, and I like the texture and mood you create here. I also really enjoyed your take on the challenge--the different riffs are all clear, and the layers interlock in interesting and pleasing ways. The lyrics on the whole are a little vague, but you get some good, striking, vivid imagery in there too, like that whole last verse. I liked the instrumentation on the whole, good choices of tone and instrument throughout, good vocal delivery for the style. The drums did feel a little odd to me... it seemed like there were some fills just thrown in there at slightly strange, random places. My main issue with this song was that it felt like it was headed somewhere and never really got there. It seems like a good song to listen to and just get lost in when driving late at night, when it’s all very quiet and dark, but it never seems to resolve and really deliver on the promise of the rest of the song. I would have liked to have heard the grand ending you had originally planned on. P.S. for what it’s worth, I was the one who suggested this challenge, not Mo. Do you owe Grumpy Mike some money now?