TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Hotline Miami : SHOGANAI - Rolling Punches]

I like the tranquil mood at the beginning and the airy quality to the texture. The energetic drums and saxophone melodies blend into the texture really nicely, and the mix is pretty clean, despite the heavy use of reverb. I think the arrangement/phrasing of the piece might need some work, though. The transitions are a bit rough in general, and most of the variety in the piece comes from adding and subtracting instruments over time, as opposed to more advanced methods like changes in volume levels, filtering, automation, etc. Some more ebb-and-flow to the piece within individual phrases might give it a stronger narrative appeal. That said, I really like the sound design and rhythmic elements here, and overall the piece comes together really well. Keep up the good work, achair225! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8/10

[Tempest]

I like the frantic synth arpeggios at the beginning and the rhythmic content. The drums fall a bit flat in the mix, though, especially the kick. I’d suggest some compression, sidechaining, and/or other mixing effects to make them sound punchier. The synths have a fun retro vibe, and also blend in nicely with the piano at 1:00. There’s a bit of dissonance in the harmonies at 1:22, but otherwise I’m loving the variety of the solos in this piece, from the piano and guitar early on to the moody riffs during the breakdowns to the synth melodies later on.

Production-wise, I think there’s some room for better balancing some of the instruments in the mix. The guitar is really overwhelming the harmonies at 1:40. I’d double-check the equalizer there to make sure you’re cutting off the bass frequencies in the guitar (and if you don’t know what I mean, PM me and I’ll explain further). Other mixing effects, like reverb and filtering, could also help spice up your piece at times. The breakdown at 2:24 provided some much-needed structural variety in the piece, and was also rather melodious and flowing, like the rest of the piece. Your transitions are all really smooth here, and you make great use of drum fills and such, as opposed to typical EDM build-ups. And despite my complaints about how the drums are mixed, the drum patterns themselves are really creative too.

The modulation at 4:00 was also good for some variety, and you transitioned into and out of it seamlessly. Toward the end, the piece does tend to sound a tad repetitive, although I like how you brought back the guitar for a last hurrah at 5:30. The bridge at 6:00 was a bit bizarre, though - it didn’t quite fit the flow of the piece in my opinion. That said, you’re clearly a really talented composer. Your melody-writing is one of the best I’ve seen in the competition so far. Cleaning up the mixing and smoothing over a couple small nicks is all you need to make this a top-tier piece, my friend. This track reminds me of video game music from the 90s and early 2000s, which is always a good thing. ^_^ Keep it up, Aardvark04!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[Daze]

I like the ghostly atmosphere at the beginning. The synth bass at :17 is pretty neat, too, and the build-up into :36 was also enjoyable. The drums sound a tad dry, and the drop is pretty minimal. I think my biggest problem here is with the mixing, though. The compression is very heavy here, to the extent that the texture sounds pretty distorted and off-balance. The re-intro and second build-up work well, and you did a good job of varying the drop the second time around. Transposing that harmony synth up the octave was a good idea - it almost sounds like a human voice that’s been pitch-shifted. I also liked your idea of putting the kick and clap slightly before the beat here. It gives the entire piece this wonky emphasis that meshes well with the quirky synths. The sound design is probably my favorite element of the piece. The composition remains pretty minimal throughout, although the compression does help to fill in some space in the mix. Some elements of the piece are a little generic - notably the arrangement with the two cycles of intro/build-up/chorus. I also think the piece could’ve used a more proper outro and a stronger sense of variety within the phrases, especially during the drops. Even punctuating the drops with a vocal sample or drum fill would’ve helped. That said, the piece is really catchy, energetic, and as I mentioned has some killer instrumentation. Keep at it, AALKARAZZ! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7/10

[Insert title here. Song made with computer]

I like the quirky, eastern-sounding instrument at the beginning. I think the ping-pong echo effects on it are a little too heavy, though. They sound a bit harsh in my earphones. The texture is pretty minimal, but the rhythmic elements of the pads and percussion help keep me engaged. The piece has a pretty straightforward ABACA sort of structure, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I feel like the “B” (at :31) and “C” (at 1:00) don’t add much to the piece. You’re dropping some new chords, with a slightly different rhythm, but it’s unclear how those sections are supposed to fit in with the wonky, blissful vibe of the “A” (at :12 and other places). There’s not much of a transition between A and its counterparts either time. As a result, the piece doesn’t really feel complete. It feels like the seed of a cool idea that’s a little half-baked. The ping-pong effects grow on me as I listen to the piece for a second and third time, but if you’re going for the “minimal EDM that stays engaging because of its cool sound design” vibe, I’d suggest at least having some more filtering/reverb automations to keep the piece sounding dynamic and fresh. I do really like the sound design, though. The percussion is very out-of-the-way, which makes that echo-y synth feel even more wonky and flamboyant. It’s a cool idea for a piece. I just wanted to see you do more with it. Keep at it, Aalasteir! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
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
5.5/10

BottleTopBillFanclub responds:

Thank you for your message, I find your input and insight valuable.

[Goam]

Really creative sound design and rhythmic elements here. I think the texture gets a tad too busy at around :16, though. There are a lot of heavy, distorted, bass-range synths in here, and they’re stepping over each other a bit too much. It might help to transpose one or two of these instruments up the octave so that you have more of a balance of higher and lower pitches. Part of the problem is that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of mixing and mastering work here. The synths don’t blend particularly well together, and the entire texture sounds pretty indistinct and bottom-heavy, especially at the busier parts. There’s also very little melodic content or creative transitions to give the piece a sense of narrative. I like a lot of the isolated riffs, especially the quirky eastern-sounding one at :56, and I think the structure of the piece makes for a good loop. I just wanted to see you do a bit more with the composition of this one. It’s a catchy beat, but it doesn’t progress much beyond a gritty rhythm section and abrupt, 10-second bridge. Sorry if this review comes off as too negative. I think if you took a few more compositional risks in this track, they would be rewarded - more variety in the harmonies, a fuller palette of instruments beyond bass synths, etc. Let me know if you have any questions about my feedback, and thanks for coming out for the NGUAC! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
3.5/10

AVKid4 responds:

Definitely appreciate the feedback, I'm pretty new at this stuff/kinda pick it up as I go. so any advice is constructive

[Liquid Lullaby]

I like the cutesy mood at the beginning and the creative variety of instruments. The bass feels pretty heavy to contrast the mallet-like synths and smooth pads. The pacing of the piece felt a little slow at times, but you kept it interesting with the bridge at 1:30. The strings at 1:30 sound a bit inauthentic, and some other elements were a little generic (like the drum samples), but overall I appreciate the variety in the texture here, driven by some strong transitions and fun melodic content. The mix feels a bit strained at times, but that’s probably at least in part because there’s a lot going on at a given time. The strings sound particularly indistinct at 1:45 when the bass comes in. It might be a good idea to check the equalizer there to make sure you’re cutting off the bass frequencies in the strings (and if you don’t know what I mean, PM me and I’ll explain further). I also like how you began and ended the piece with the piano recordings. The recording quality isn’t perfect, though. I’d suggest cutting out the little pops and background noise you can hear at 2:12 to 2:15 or so. Also, if you aren’t already, I’d suggest downloading a metronome app and listening to it with headphones while you’re recording. That might help you keep the meter a tad straighter at :14 or so. So, in sum, the production is a tad rough around the edges, but I really like the composition. The piece feels whimsical and light-hearted, full of variety and yet very smooth-flowing. Solid work, 314leafcutterant! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
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
7.5/10

[Trenches]

I'm not judging your group, Kurtiskong, but I'm thoroughly impressed with this one. The atmosphere pulls me in right away, and the powerful vocals and ominous guitars are really compelling. If one word needs to be re-recorded, it might be "needed" at 1:18, and I also think the autotune briefly poops out at 1:08, but otherwise the vocal performance was really strong. The ending cuts off a tad suddenly, and I might've asked for some additional variety/layering during the second chorus, just to up the emotion to hit the piece home. But I really like how you stuck with your hip-hop roots for the beat while taking on a new genre with such gusto. Overall, fantastic work here, dude. Well-deserved frontpage! ^_^

Kurtiskong responds:

Thank you. I appreciate the feedback and kind words! :)

[Early Access - Closer]

I'm not even judging your group, but I think you nailed this. The vocals are so well used, the production quality is top-notch, and the rhythmic content/drops are amazing. In a lot of ways, the arrangement and sound design are pretty generic, and the vocals do get a tad repetitive towards the end, but that's definitely not going to stop this from being stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Fave'd and DL'd! Keep up the good work, man. ^_^

EarlyAccess responds:

Thank you so much man, i really appreciate that, ill take all the advice into consideration when it comes to making future songs! :)

[vice]

I like the soulful, eerie synths at the beginning and how they contrast with the dense energy of the drums and mid-range bass that come in shortly thereafter. The rhythmic content here is great, but I might've liked to hear some more melodic content. The breakdown at 1:15 helps keep the piece interesting by injecting some tranquility in between two sections characterized more by chaos. The production quality and sound design are both really admirable here, but I'm still not sure a piece this minimal is really my vibe. Still, you're clearly a really talented producer. Keep it up, man! ^^

mothlightx responds:

God damn. You have no idea how much this in-depth of a comment is appreciated. Lots of love for still giving it a listen (and some solid-ass criticism) regardless of if it's your vibe or not. <3

[i dont want to]

I like the mechancholy tone to the guitar at the beginning and the defiant lyrics. The vocals aren't quite prominent enough in the mix for my tastes sometimes, but I think you did a great job switching up the instrumentals here. The melodies at :43 really hit the spot, and that also applies to the solos at 2:12 and the final climax at 2:50. The transitions in this piece are especially good, from the echo-delay effects going into the bridge at 2:35 to the delayed "to" at 2:50. I also like a lot of the other details, like the slightly mocking tone you get in your voice at 1:54. I know I've criticized you for the abrupt endings in the past, but I think the fade-out here comes across as a bit lazy, and also is way too drawn out. Even just strumming the tonic chord at 3:20 probably would've gone over well. Overall, though, I think this is my favorite piece of yours that I've reviewed. It grounds the listener in a sense of inevitability with the lyrics, while having a lot of fun surprises in the composition - in many ways the opposite of what I heard earlier with your more recent tracks. Either way, keep it up, man! ^_^