WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.329 --> 00:00:04.950 Well, it's certainly been a while since I did a review of a Brony musician and 00:00:04.950 --> 00:00:10.650 with TrotCon 2017 now fairly well behind me. I think it's about time for me 00:00:10.650 --> 00:00:16.170 to correct that oversight. Up first the EP of a brony I had the pleasure of 00:00:16.170 --> 00:00:20.010 meeting at TrotCon, who gave me some great advice on how to improve my 00:00:20.010 --> 00:00:27.380 musical reviews. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:54.370 "Soaring Higher" by Luck Rock is an EP that was given to me during TrotCon 2017. 00:00:54.370 --> 00:00:59.800 The CD features six of Luck Rock's songs, five of which can also be found on his 00:00:59.800 --> 00:01:05.020 YouTube page. The CD also has a wonderful cover image designed by Scarlet-Spectrum 00:01:05.020 --> 00:01:10.840 on DeviantART. Simple in design but beautiful and execution it is a 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:17.320 great first introduction to Luck Rock's first released EP. Now before I examine 00:01:17.320 --> 00:01:21.670 the songs, I first want to state that my critical background and training is in 00:01:21.670 --> 00:01:26.619 narrative and visual analysis; with only a cursory knowledge of audio and musical criticism. 00:01:26.619 --> 00:01:30.970 I understand how to read thematic elements in lyrics and how to 00:01:30.970 --> 00:01:35.170 catch certain musical cues and patterns but a great deal of my examinations 00:01:35.170 --> 00:01:39.520 where technique or quality of rhythm are considered will be based upon my 00:01:39.520 --> 00:01:44.200 personal music preferences and past experiences. Having listened to Luck 00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:48.520 Rock's work several times now, I can notice certain patterns throughout his 00:01:48.520 --> 00:01:53.560 work. First and foremost is that Luck is noticeably and comparatively recent 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:58.360 content contributor. Looking at his YouTube page confirmed this as the 00:01:58.360 --> 00:02:01.899 majority of the content available was also on his EP at the time of this 00:02:01.899 --> 00:02:06.610 recording. Listening to the quality of his lyrics, I and a few other listeners 00:02:06.610 --> 00:02:10.119 noticed and agreed that there were occasions where Luck's delivery of 00:02:10.119 --> 00:02:15.459 certain lines was noticeably shaky and his lyrics sometimes didn't quite mesh 00:02:15.459 --> 00:02:20.500 with the background music, especially in "Spike, I'm Cheering for You" and 00:02:20.500 --> 00:02:25.750 "Altius Volantis". This isn't really a bad thing as the music in the brony community has 00:02:25.750 --> 00:02:29.980 always had a relatively independent or homegrown sound to it, for obvious 00:02:29.980 --> 00:02:35.590 reasons, and Luck Rock not only has a very nice voice but the flaws that do 00:02:35.590 --> 00:02:39.090 show become less prevalent and noticeable in his more recent material 00:02:39.090 --> 00:02:43.900 implying growth. I think with a little bit more practice and training in 00:02:43.900 --> 00:02:48.849 singing and mixing, Luck can definitely go far. Moving from the quality of his 00:02:48.849 --> 00:02:54.490 lyrics to their content, I can tell that Luck Rock's songs have a very narrative 00:02:54.490 --> 00:02:59.200 flow to them. They are telling stories and their lyrics are often extremely 00:02:59.200 --> 00:03:01.740 thick, sounding almost more like spoken word 00:03:01.740 --> 00:03:07.410 poetry at times. "Spike, I'm Cheering for You" is the first song on the EP and it 00:03:07.410 --> 00:03:11.850 is a loving rock tribute to the best character in the show, outlining his 00:03:11.850 --> 00:03:16.620 greatest moments and the fantastic traits of Ponyville's resident dragon. 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:21.090 As a spike fanboy I was excited to hear this song when Luck Rock described it to 00:03:21.090 --> 00:03:23.550 me. While the verses can be a little thick 00:03:23.550 --> 00:03:27.510 with content and the technique flaws I mentioned above are stronger in this 00:03:27.510 --> 00:03:32.130 song than probably any of the others on the EP, the underlying music itself is 00:03:32.130 --> 00:03:36.840 wonderfully performed, the chorus is delightfully charming and there were 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:40.980 quite a few moments where I genuinely laughed, especially in the description of 00:03:40.980 --> 00:03:42.220 all the princesses. 00:03:42.220 --> 00:03:45.960 I had a smile on my face throughout reminiscing on spikes 00:03:45.960 --> 00:03:50.310 various adventures throughout the series. While probably the weakest song 00:03:50.310 --> 00:03:55.840 technically on the album, I still enjoyed myself immensely. "Altius Volantis" is the 00:03:55.840 --> 00:04:01.220 next track. A rock song about the Wonderbolts, as told by Rainbow Dash. 00:04:01.230 --> 00:04:04.920 The song has a great rhythm, moving both speedily and gracefully through the 00:04:04.920 --> 00:04:09.750 verses and giving the image of flying through the clouds. The song is very well 00:04:09.750 --> 00:04:14.489 mixed, with Luck making use of some new techniques to deliver his message. With 00:04:14.489 --> 00:04:18.690 rather thick lyrics once again, this song is much better at hiding technical or 00:04:18.690 --> 00:04:23.910 lyrical missteps; with only one really coming to mind. On the whole, I loved 00:04:23.910 --> 00:04:28.020 listening to "Altius Volantis", as it had an extremely liberating vibe to its 00:04:28.020 --> 00:04:31.530 sound. As one of Luck's more recent releases, it's 00:04:31.530 --> 00:04:36.419 truly proof that Luck is getting better at his craft. "Luna's Dream" is quite 00:04:36.419 --> 00:04:40.680 different from the rest of the tracks on the EP, being much slower in pace and 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:45.870 having more of a ballad or lullaby sound to it. Content-wise, the song seems to be 00:04:45.870 --> 00:04:50.040 inspired by the conclusion of "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep" with the 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:54.810 singer singing to Luna, wishing her sweet dreams. Extremely relaxing and 00:04:54.810 --> 00:04:59.010 technically stronger than most of the songs on the EP, "Luna's Dream", while not as 00:04:59.010 --> 00:05:04.230 exciting as the other songs on the list, is no less an enjoyable listen. Of course, 00:05:04.230 --> 00:05:07.680 you all know that since you've been listening to it since this review 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:12.350 started. "Starlight's Anthem" is the last of the non bonus tracks. 00:05:12.350 --> 00:05:17.210 This track has some incredible mixing work done on it. Luck clearly had fun 00:05:17.210 --> 00:05:20.900 working on this, as the music is incredible. The lyrics are extremely 00:05:20.900 --> 00:05:25.760 creepy - even using Starlight herself to strengthen the overall themes - and it has 00:05:25.760 --> 00:05:30.710 a great chorus that I can't help but be a little creeped out by. This is a great 00:05:30.710 --> 00:05:34.850 tribute song to a great villain and probably my favorite song on the entire 00:05:34.850 --> 00:05:40.700 CD. Now I was informed by Luck Rock himself that the two bonus tracks, 00:05:40.700 --> 00:05:45.380 "MA Arson" and "The Supreme Leader of All Things Pony" were designed to be humorous 00:05:45.380 --> 00:05:50.540 and not taken seriously. This is a good thing as "MA Arson", produced by 00:05:50.540 --> 00:05:57.020 Quicksilver, is absolutely demented. Hilarious and very well done, but 00:05:57.020 --> 00:06:01.430 demented nonetheless The idea of Applejack being an arson 00:06:01.430 --> 00:06:05.450 trying and failing to light Rarity's boutique on fire, followed by other 00:06:05.450 --> 00:06:11.120 failed efforts, is very funny to me. The song is incredibly short but the lyrics 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:14.720 are also slimmed down to the bare minimum, which I think really improves 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:18.980 the overall sound. Luck Rock sounds great and Quicksilver's instrumentation 00:06:18.980 --> 00:06:24.770 is enjoyably catchy. The last song on the EP, "The Supreme Leader of All Things Pony" 00:06:24.770 --> 00:06:29.540 is also a joke song, made when a friend of Luck Rock's said he didn't like 00:06:29.540 --> 00:06:35.180 Braeburn. Only a minute long, this song is almost sinfully catchy and probably the 00:06:35.180 --> 00:06:39.590 funniest song I have heard in a while. The song is great with a fast paced and 00:06:39.590 --> 00:06:43.460 simple melody but if you really want a treat, click the annotation above to see 00:06:43.460 --> 00:06:49.160 the accompanying video. You won't be disappointed. So that was Luck Rock's 00:06:49.160 --> 00:06:54.980 "Soaring Higher" EP. As a first release, it is extremely admirable. With a few 00:06:54.980 --> 00:06:58.910 technical or technique issues, but nothing which destroys the enjoyment of 00:06:58.910 --> 00:07:03.040 the whole. I am glad I listened to it and I hope to hear more from Luck Rock in 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:07.500 the future. You can subscribe to him on YouTube and follow him on Twitter, both 00:07:07.500 --> 00:07:12.160 of which I highly recommend as I want to see him continue and improve within the community. 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:16.420 Thank you for watching and remember that every fandom needs a critic. 00:07:18.660 --> 00:07:23.560 My thanks to Luck Rock for all his help in providing the files and music for 00:07:23.569 --> 00:07:27.770 this episode. He really went above and beyond to help and I really do hope you 00:07:27.770 --> 00:07:32.030 all give him a ton of love and support. If there's a work of the Brony fandom 00:07:32.030 --> 00:07:36.139 that you would like me to review, be sure to follow me on Twitter and submit your 00:07:36.139 --> 00:07:41.030 suggestions. Also be sure to Like, Comment and Subscribe for more fandom reviews 00:07:41.030 --> 00:07:45.979 and reactions. And for more pony content, be sure to support me on Patreon so I 00:07:45.980 --> 00:07:49.160 can provide you guys with more in the future.