"Sidewalk Mogul" - juhu
I am on the same page with what MrFox said in his review regarding the songwriting aspect, I think it could use a more defined melody and/or improvisation to break away from being too repetitive, personally, I would suggest giving the piano a "solo" to start playing melodies. Otherwise, I think it's solid and works as background music.
"We Run This Town" - Mellow Browne
It gets a little bit too repetitive for me, both in terms of rhythm and harmony. I like the section at around the 2:00 minute mark I just wish it would happen earlier and led to something different, maybe a break or change in rhythm. It already sounds like something from Terminator so maybe that's a good reference to "steal" some ideas.
"Jazz A La Ciutat" - EsteveCorbera
My only criticism for this track is that the use of the sustained strings (which I guess are synth-based or a combination of virtual instruments) as I think are not necessary and has an unnatural feel since it's a constant sound that doesn't ""breathe", I think replacing them with a piano or Rhodes playing sporadic chords would suit the track better. At the end of the day is just personal preference but what I´m trying to say is that less is more.
"Stadentwickler" - KukoBass
I think it lacks energy, going for a minor chord progression was not the best decision IMHO, also the main lead and cello having always a full sustain makes it too overpowering.
If anyone has tips for separating the (central) piano and the acoustic guitars (left and right) in the mix, I'd be thankful. They use a very similar sound spectrum and just panning won't do the job.
From a purely mixing viewpoint I´ll say check Dan Worrall´s video on his Superseparator trick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6C2E7I8Cy8 I have yet to try it on track of my own but it sounds promising.
From a songwriting point, there are many options, changing chord voicings, arpeggios, and rhythm to separate the two instruments in time and register.
"City 17" - Doc Jon
Not much to add other than great sound design, excellent transitions, and very creative use of rhythm and melodic figures.
I especially enjoyed the intro, in my mind, I wanted to make something like that but struggled and gave up on it.
"City Background" - Crosshatched
In this case, I think de-emphasizing the melody went too far, at some point in the middle it feels like there's a sequencer picking notes from a scale at random without much care. The harmony and chord progressions are interesting but it lacks any sense of real movement, at least a clear tonal center to then steer away from.
"Megacity Vibration" -TrojakEW
I had a very similar idea on the use of arpeggios and ostinato to represent building blocks, you used those great in this song!
The sound design and texture are great, and the line between sfx and music blends in a very pleasant way.
Super clean mix as well, very impressed with this one.
"A Better Tomorrow" - Chase24
It´s hard to tell, but If the heavy guitar and drums were replaced with something more laidback, I think it would be a solid track for this month's theme. Even the short breakdown before the ends gives a better image of what it could be. That doesn't mean that distorted guitar has no place in city building ost, but maybe not in lead or power chords but rather as background textures, more processed to be more similar to a synth.
"Stranger City" - Elcubano
It gets the job done, and Is repetitive enough to be enjoyable but not so much to get tiring, the only thing I'm missing is a lead synth to improv here and there. Good job!
A friendly reminder:
. Second half do not add much more to the track but it is not bad either. What I missed here is another part to represent some disaster in the game. I would really like to hear how you would use the same theme for that, more aggressive part of track. I would definitely stick more the the idea of the first half of the track and go straight to the opposite mood in second half in the same way. I think this would be awesome track. Still it is my favorite track this round because this first half is really something, hat down. Also mix sound good. Also as I mention for others I would also here add bit more air to it. As we getting older we have more problems to hear higher frequencies.