TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[Experimental] TRANQUILITY]

I like the groovy guitar chords at the beginning. You’ve certainly captured the concept of tranquility well. The beat is also really nice from a pacing perspective - it comes on really strong when it first comes in, then gradually mellows out, like the guitar is teaching it how to vibe. There are some faint atmospheric synths that slip into the texture at around :45, which are nice, and I’m also really liking the saxophone solos later on. The piece doesn’t quite feel structurally complete, though. The piece just felt like the full texture was falling together when it ended in a spacey haze. The compositional details I’m hearing here are great, but at the end of the day the piece still feels pretty minimal and repetitive for most of its (short) length. That said, the sound design, atmosphere, and mixing are all plusses for me, and I can’t help but be won over by the blissful, easy-going mood and rhythmic content as well. Keep at it, spicymango002! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[Solaraloe - Takedown [NGUAC 2022]]

I like the groovy synths and heavy compression at the beginning. The drum samples are a bit generic, although until the beat comes in it’s a bit hard to follow the rhythm. I enjoyed the sense of climax into :58, although the drop was a bit minimal and bottom-heavy. I did like the dissonant, pitter-patter synth riff that comes in every 8 bars or so, like at 1:30. The drop felt pretty dragged-out, and the sudden change in the harmonic framework at 2:10 was a bit jarring. At some point, I would’ve liked to hear some more prominent melodic content, more harmonic depth, and/or a fuller texture. You manage to keep the texture interesting with the industrial-sounding snare at 3:26 and vocal effects later on. Overall, I think the mixing, mastering, and rhythmic content are really strong here, but the composition feels both bland and disjointed. You transition between the sections a little too quickly, with the sweeps and risers not really doing much to stitch together the disparate instruments and harmonic patterns. Still, a lot of the isolated ideas here are really neat, like the jazzy pads at 2:10. They just need to be integrated with the earlier sections in a more compelling way. Keep at it, Solaraloe! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.5/10

Solaraloe responds:

Thanks for the feedback and encouraging words!

[cafe]

I really like the airy and tranquil vibe at the beginning and the creative use of filtering on the brass instruments. You could even play up the richness of the atmosphere by adding some compression and/or giving the mid-tones a boost in the mix. Otherwise, the composition here could’ve been a lot more dynamic. You set the tone for the piece really well, but you also don’t fully explore or resolve any of the underlying tension here. It’s a really lovely and evocative piece, but I wanted to see more harmonic depth, variety, and structuring here. In terms of structuring, the mini-fade-out at 1:16 was a nice touch, though. Keep at it, Shosha! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[「The Key to the Insanity」]

I like the synth riff at the beginning and the busy bass riff at :05. The percussion at :11 feels a tad dry, though - I might try to soften it a bit with some wet reverb and other mixing effects. The harmonic content is pretty repetitive here, but you manage to keep things interesting with the rhythmic content, sound effects, and drum fills. The tempo automation at 1:40 was a good idea, but I might suggest adding some reverb or something just to keep up the flow during the transition at 1:48. I really like the beats and 1:50, though - bubbly synth sound effects, groovy bass, and all. This piece really finds a second wind during the last minute or so in my opinion. The modulation at 2:27 was a welcome escalation in intensity, although the harmonic content could still use some more variety in my opinion. The texture still feels pretty minimal for a lot of the piece - you might add a mid-range pad or something to balance out the mix more. That said, I’m impressed with the rhythmic content, progression, harmonies, and production quality here overall. Solid work, Shikoshib! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[Dance of the dead]

I like the eerie mood, quirky synths, and ghostly pads at the beginning. The cute melody at :18 is a nice touch, although the bass that comes in at :35 makes the texture sound pretty muddy. I’d suggest taking some of the reverb off of it and tightening up the equalizers in the other instruments. I think the composition could’ve been more fleshed-out. There’s a lot of tension in this piece that never quite gets fully explored or resolved. The result is that this track seems fitting for a video game loop, but leaves me wanting more as a stand-alone piece. You nailed the sound design and atmosphere here, though. Keep at it, Shabbyjazz! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
7/10

CielOuvert responds:

Although irrelevant to this competition, this track started out as background music for a Minecraft mod that I was a part of, the theme itself was that of the undead and their lair underground, so this somber little theme would be played whenever the players wandered the dead cities. Hence why it does sound like a video game loop. Alas, they scrapped the undead entirely so I just made some finishing touches to it and made it a more complete track.

Anyway, thank you for your review, as always it's very in-depth and thorough.

[¡Hurry Walker!]

Really creative use of vocals and phone ringing at the beginning. The synth at :07 is a bit cheesy, and I think the drums could also be stronger in the mix here. Some more compression or more careful equalizing could help with that. The texture sounds a bit thin, especially in the mid-low range. Layering on a bass or low-range pads or something would give the mix a better sense of balance. The lead synth has a nice, frantic vibe to it, but the rhythm is pretty square, which makes it hard to maintain interest over time. I like the transition at 1:09, although the part thereafter seems to be a 30-second-long build-up that doesn’t really lead much of anywhere. That said, I enjoyed the comedic screaming sample at 1:40. Overall, the composition feels a bit disjointed and choppy here, with some half-baked ideas (like the higher-pitched melodies at the end) that I thought you could’ve explored a lot more. The sound design is pretty generic, and the mix, while loud, is not particularly sharp or well-balanced. That said, I really enjoyed the rhythmic content, vocals/sound effects, energy, mood, and variety. Keep at it, SerebetGM! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6/10

[echo]

I like the distortion effects at the beginning. The vocals sound a tad dry when the distortion isn’t on, though, and the drums and bass are pretty muddy and indistinct in the mix. The mix is also pretty quiet in general, so it might be advisable to add some compression to the drums and tighten up the equalizers as a way of making the texture sound more crisp and full. The piece starts coming together a bit more at :38, and I like the arpeggios at :51 too. The chord progression is pretty cliche, but the quirky instruments and fun rhythmic content help keep me engaged. Despite some variety in the rhythmic elements and pacing, the piece feels pretty stagnant after a while, as the harmonic framework could’ve used some shaking up after a while, and I also would’ve liked to hear some more memorable melodies in this track. Overall, you earn a lot of credit here for a creative sound design and good sense of rhythm and progression. That said, the mixing and mastering work could be a lot tighter, and the composition needed a stronger sense of ebb and flow after a while. Keep at it, SaturneKx! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6/10

[He'll knock all day]

The chords at the beginning sound really cryptic and foreboding, which isn’t bad in and of itself, but it didn’t flow well into the more light-hearted mood at :18 in my opinion. I also think the chords at the beginning could’ve been spaced more carefully - if you put the notes of the chords too close together in pitch, they tend to sound pretty clunky and heavy, even if the chord itself is in a major key and supposed to sound happy. The beat at :18 was cute, although you spam the open hats a bit every 4 measures or so. The texture is pretty minimal and ominous-sounding, but I like the groovy saxophone riffs and rhythmic content in general. The filtering at 1:27 on the drums feels a tad out-of-place, a bit artificial compared to the sound design. Later in the piece, the harmonic content gets very repetitive, and it feels like you could’ve created more of a story here with some more dynamic melodies or a more prominent climax somewhere in here. The piece begins to go in that direction towards the end, but it’s short-lived, and the texture is still pretty minimal. I’d suggest using some mid-range pads or other harmonies to fill out the mix a bit more. Overall, the production quality is probably my favorite aspect of the piece. I really like the mood, instrumentation, and progression too, but harmonically-speaking, the composition feels a tad bland here. You’ve created a catchy atmosphere for the piece, but I wanted to see it lead up to something more compelling than the 4-note melody at 2:38. Keep at it, sandmangaming! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6/10

[Sample - Robbin Dat Bank]

Creative use of white noise/sweeps at the beginning. The riff at :13 is catchy, but doesn’t really blend in with the atmosphere. Some of the later synths come across as a bit cheesy (like :25, for example), and the texture remains pretty minimal for most of the piece. You switch out the lead instrument quite frequently, but the harmonic content remains very similar. I think it would help keep the listener grounded more if you kept the instrumental palette more constant and worked on creating some more dynamic harmonies. I also think the texture is missing a lot of mid-range tones - some continuous pads or something to better balance out the mix would’ve been welcome here. I think my favorite element of the piece is the mastering quality - all the instruments sound clean and clear throughout, and the drums are especially crisp and full. Overall, I think the compositional elements need some more fleshing out here, and the sound design could’ve been more evocative, but the production quality is solid and you have a good sense of rhythm and atmosphere. Keep at it, SampleTeam!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
4.75/10