I love the way your words flow, and you've come up with some fantastic melodies here, especially on the pre-chorus which is beautiful. The "fall upon" part of your chorus really reminds me of something that I can't put my finger on and it's driving me slightly crazy! The overall vibe reminds me a little of Antarctica Takes It! who I liked a lot. Some clever moments throughout the song, I like the whistled hook, the gang-vocal "world's smallest violin!" and the speed-up and rhythmical shift at the end. For some reason the one part of this that bugs me a little is the shift from pre-chorus to chorus where the wistful emotion of that sweet melody feels a little undercut by the abrupt shift to bouncy banjo arpeggios.

Two very good songs and I still haven't figured out which one my vote is going to. But either way, excellent work to both of you, thanks for being great contestants, throwing yourselves into the challenges and repeatedly upping your games!

Shadows:

Sort of the inverse of the Cavedwellers song in that I really enjoyed your lyrics but the music, not so much, and I didn’t really like it at first listen, but it grew on me as I listened more. I know you said you were returning to True JE from all your genre-dabbling, but this still felt like pastiche to me, I’ve just heard far too much of this cliche ultra-twee Apple commercial indie folk with the whistling and banjos and such, I kind of shut down when I heard the chorus the same way as when I heard those millennial whoops in Homestretch, and had to spend some more time actively listening to appreciate the song. The prechorus melody is beautiful, and the chorus has been stuck in my head. The lyrics are interesting and evocative; I really liked the last couple of verses with the Sonny Liston by way of Mountain Goats reference and the satisfying “world’s smallest violin” line.

Those mandolins in the opening are also a Nur Ein "en guard", albeit gentler--a slap with a velvet glove. The syrup-sweet intro immediately makes me think Need Stilts by our very own Glenn Case, which is a great company to be in but big expectations to meet. Every melody line is great here but I wanted more contrast between the verse and chorus melodies, which start very similarly. That jaunty whistling sits right in the uncanny valley between self-awareness and kitsch, but it serves such an important role in this arrangement as a melodic palette-cleanser that I think it was the right decision to include it. The mix is tasteful but I really want to hear a live drumkit on this, maybe with brushed snares (think Violent Femmes). I love love love these lyrics: vivid metaphors like "my mouth a gunshot wound" instantly paint a picture, and I kept discovering gems like "trading intimate injuries" on each listen until I was ultimately won over. I wish there was a little darkness or tension anywhere in the music to complement the lyrics but there is none; the juxtaposition against ebullient indie-pop feels ironic in a way that undermines the song's sincerity. In theory I like the idea behind the speed up at the end but every time I noticed it I was taken out of the song, which is probably not what you were going for.