TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Hyper Birds - Super Competitive Song]

I like the spacey atmosphere and beat at the beginning. The production is solid, and the sound design, while a bit cheesy, fits the mood nicely. The melodies at :55 are great, although by around 1:30 they feel a tad repetitive. The active percussion line helps keep things moving, and the drum solo at 2:04 was a nice touch. Lots of rich crashes and hats in the top range to balance out the frequency range. The more frantic lead at 2:27 is good for some variety too, and it starts feeling more dynamic with the ascending line at around 2:55. The chord stab at 3:10 was a nice idea too. Overall, this piece gets a bit repetitive after a while - some more dynamic melodies or even a modulation would help give it more variety. That said, the production quality is strong, the sound design is fun, and the energy and upbeat mood enhance the catchy rhythmic content. I’m not a huge fan of fade-out endings, but that’s probably my only complaint with the arrangement. Overall strong work here, BasiatordeCoronatus! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9/10

[stolthet]

I like the quirky percussion towards the beginning, although I’m not sure I like that the percussion gets so much blander when the guitar comes in at :22. The guitar riffs are nice and relaxed, and I’m enjoying the filtering and atmospheric details by :40 or so. The bass harmonies are a bit dissonant with the lead, but in a way that fits the experimental texture. The section from :37 to 1:36 could’ve been a tad more dynamic, and I also might’ve liked to see a smoother transition to the breakdown at 1:46 besides a fade-out/fade-in. That said, the ping pong echo effects are really nice during the final minute here, as are the cheesy synth brass pads. Overall, I have no complaints with the production quality or sound design either. Really evocative piece, Aweror. You won me over with the spacey mixdown, relaxed mood, and instrumentation. The composition could’ve been a tad bolder, but overall solid work! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
8.25/10

Aweror responds:

thanks so much! i hope everyone judging nguac knows that the feedback is really helpful!!

[ALGO - Attack (NGUAC 2021)]

I like the beat at the beginning and the funky white noise effect. The texture is pretty minimal and dry, and despite the cool rhythmic content the composition could’ve been a lot more engaging after a while. The production quality is solid, and once the bouncy piano at :46 comes in the piece starts to come together. That said, overall this track didn’t feel very dynamic, and also seriously lacked melodic content. The build-up into 1:31 was strong, but it ended up being a tad anticlimactic after reverting to the same piano riff at 1:33. The additional vocal samples during the second half were a nice touch, though. Overall, I’m really enjoying the sound design, mixing, and catchiness of the piece. The composition was a tad bland, though, and it would’ve helped to have a thicker texture and a stronger sense of progression throughout. Still, I can tell you’re a talented producer. Keep at it, ALGOfficial! ^^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7/10

[Cave Siren]

I like the water sound effects and relaxed atmosphere at the beginning. The drum beat and twittery synths at :34 come together nicely, and there's a good sense of climax into :44. There's a bit of dissonance in the harmonies by :45-:50 or so, and some of the riffs end up tripping over each other a bit. The drop was a little more straight-forward harmonically, and had some cool rhythmic syncopations to boot. The sound design and mixing are both pretty good here. The piano line at the breakdown at 2:05 or so seems a bit generic and stale, but the synth guitar thereafter helps thicken up the texture and make that section feel a tad more dynamic. The re-entry of the vocals at 3:15 or so was well done, and the added harmonies at the second drop at 4:03 fit in nicely. Overall, I'm enjoying the upbeat mood, instrumentation, and production quality here. Some of the compositional details could use some more fleshing out, especially the melodic elements. I also think that the structure felt a bit dragged-out at times. That said, overall it's a strong, memorable, and catchy piece! Keep at it, Ziondiac. ^_^

Ziondiac responds:

Thanks for the feedback and vote.

[Get to the Checkpoint]

I like the murky harmonies and crisp drums at the beginning. The mid-range bass in the foreground is a little dry and overly harsh-sounding, and the part at :40 seemed a bit aimless. I like the production - the mix is loud and well-balanced throughout. The rhythmic content at 1:01 is enjoyable, although much like the rest of the piece that section also doesn't feel very dynamic. For most of the piece, the texture is very thin and the frequency range is pretty limited to the mid-bass range. There are a lot of cool isolated ideas here, but the arrangement is a tad choppy. Some smoother transitions might help tie the piece together a bit more, but that's hard to accomplish when most of the variety in the piece comes from fairly sudden additions or subtractions of instruments (e.x., 1:32, 2:26). It might help if you had some consistent elements of the texture, like drums or pads, that played throughout. It might also help to consolidate some of your ideas here - the piece feels like it's going in a bunch of different directions at once, especially with the unexpected drop at 3:04. One thing you could do is analyze the structure of a track you really like and try to emulate it as closely as possible, even if it ends up sounding like a pretty generic verse-chorus-verse-chorus-breakdown-chorus-outro. Other than that, I'm enjoying the sound design (especially that ghostly melody synth at 1:55), drum beat, and mixing. Keep at it, CJspellsfish! :)

[loopd ft dr funkenstien]

I like the chill electric piano and guitar melodies. This is another example where the rhythmic intricacies in the drums kinda clash with the rest of the texture, though. You clearly have a great sense of harmony, but I think you're trying to do a bit too much with the rhythm in this track. At some point, some variety in the underlying instrumental tracks/chord progression would've been a welcome change. The guitar solo really does make the piece special, but I think it would be more effective if it was a little more broken up, as opposed to just a meandering 2-minute-long musing. Overall, though, this is really enjoyable. Once again, the mixing is strong, and the sound design and melodies in particular are really nice here. Keep at it, Desiel391! ^^

[Obito The Great]

I like the somber, pensive mood at the beginning and the dreamy guitars. The strings sound a bit inauthentic, but also help enhance the emotional quality of the piece. The rhythm is a little hard to follow with the beat at :20 - seems like it has a very different pattern of rhythmic emphasis than the rest of the texture. The mixing is pretty good, though - it's loud, clear, and well-balanced throughout. It's also a bit hard to follow the structure after a while - there are a couple of sudden transitions, like at 1:23, that make the arrangement feel a bit choppy. It might help to think a little more about "storytelling" here - the progression feels a little formulaic after a while. It was smoother in the beginning with the strings, but after a while they fade away and don't come back. Overall, there are a lot of cool guitar riffs and some creative percussion in here to keep me engaged. The arrangement could flow a bit better, but the production quality is solid. Keep at it, Desiel391! :)

[bad party]

I like the vehicle revving sound effects at the beginning and the airy pads. The sample of someone opening a soda can was a bit too loud, but the rest of the sound design is pretty fun and groovy. That said, the synth bass is a tad cheesy, and the drums could use some more reverb or other mixing effects. The more melodic content at 1:13 was a nice touch, although I think the synth bass/harmonies were a bit too loud by comparison. The texture really starts coming together at 1:54, although by that point it also feels a tad repetitive. An atmospheric bridge or melodic solo somewhere in here would’ve been a welcome change to the texture. That said, the production is pretty strong, and the sound design grows on me the more I listen. The composition might need a tad more attention to detail in the future, but I’m definitely scouting you. Keep at it, Zzox! ^^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Wings II]

I like the rich atmosphere and crisp beats at the beginning. The pulsing on those pads at :07 is really nice, and the relaxing mood and neat sound design help keep me engaged despite the slow progression. The re-intro at 1:22 seemed a bit dragged-out, but I liked the sense of build into 2:35 and the more melodic flair there. The mixing and mastering is also pretty solid here. Later on, I would’ve liked to see a tad more variety. The dreamy mood and cool synths only go so far to keep me entertained. A secondary melody, modulation, or sound design switch-up would be quite welcome by around the 4-minute mark. That said, you’re clearly a talented producer with a strong sense of progression, harmony, and production. I also really like a lot of the risers in this piece. The somewhat eerie outro was a fun surprise, too. Keep at it, Ziondiac! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8/10

Ziondiac responds:

Thanks for the feedback and vote

[Heatwave]

I like the catchy beat at the beginning. The synth at :03 sounds a bit cheesy and unpolished, as does the guitar at :10. I think the arrangement is a bit choppy, with frequently sudden transitions and not much sense of flow between riffs. Some of the riffs are also blatantly too loud, like at 1:42, or quite dissonant, like at :58. I think an important next step for you would be to work on creating variety more by layering harmonies on top of each other, not just by changing the one harmonic riff that’s playing every 5 seconds. Try to choose 5-7 pitches you want to use in your piece, lay out a simple chord progression with 4-8 different arrangements of those pitches, and then create different harmonic lines that use notes from each of those chords in turn. That way, you’ll get a richer texture to your track while also limiting the potential for dissonance or clashing harmonies. When you feel like you’ve done that, send me a PM and I’ll leave you another review. Until then, keep at it, YingYong215! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
3/10