TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-Before You Go- [HQ VER.]]

I like the upbeat mood at the beginning. The strings at :16 sound a bit inauthentic, but otherwise the sound design has a bright tone that fits the harmonic content. The texture starts to come together nicely by :30, and I like how the piece continues building up in intensity until the drop at 1:15. The harmonic content gets repetitive pretty quickly, but you did a good job of varying the instruments, and the mixing is solid as well. The breakdown at 1:46 has a nice emotional appeal, and I like the injection of energy at 1:59 as well. This piece is very smooth-flowing overall, with well-crafted transitions and a strong sense of direction throughout. I would’ve liked to see way more variety in the second half, though - secondary melodies, variations in the harmonic content, etc. The arrangement (including the key change at 3:15) and sound design are also pretty generic. Still, you’re clearly a talented producer with a good sense of progression and harmony, and this is a catchy and fun piece. Keep at it, DJDannyTV! ^_^

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
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

ImSmoothie responds:

I really appreciate your comments!!
I am going to take all these things into consideration from now on :)
Thanks for accepting me in the elimination round!!!!
I'm already happy to have made it this far <3
Best of luck for everyone who made it to the finals!!

[dekiru - crystalline (NGUAC24)]

I like the thick pads at the beginning and dark, quirky chords. The piece is a bit slow to progress at first, and :48 doesn’t quite feel like the big “moment of arrival” that it could’ve been - in other words, the build-up to :48 is a bit underwhelming. The sound design at :48 is cool, but the texture also sounds pretty minimal. The mix is crisp and loud, though. The transition into 1:36 was a bit sudden. The flute riff at 1:56 was a great idea - I really like the tranquil and evocative sound it has there. After that, the rest of the piece was a bit repetitive and, once again, lacking in harmonic depth. I also would’ve appreciated some more variation in the drop the second time around.

Overall, this is a catchy piece with some neat instrumentation. It just needs a bit more shape (gradual transitions, strong sense of overarching direction, etc.) and fill in the texture to round it out a bit more. Keep at it, Dekiru! ^_^

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?)
1/1
Composite score
6.75/10

[Waves upon Moonrise (NGUAC Knockout 2024)]

I like the airy synths at the beginning and bass-y kick at :31. The mix is a little quiet, but otherwise well-balanced and clean. The melodies at :52 are really nice, and the piece flows really nicely into the secondary melodies at 1:55 or so. It’s around that time that the drums struggle to pop through the mix, though - make sure you’ve turned up the ratio on the compressor up to 4:1 or 5:1 on that kit. As much as I like the sound design in this piece, I also feel like it could’ve had a bit more range. The synths kinda sound like they’re all from the same sample pack in my mind. The compositional details here do help keep things interesting, though - the bass slide and stop-start transition at 3:38 was fun. The piece was still missing a big refrain or climax to really hit it home towards the end, though. Overall, the atmosphere, melodies, and instrumentation are really enjoyable here, but the mixing could use a tad more polish and the composition could’ve been a tad bolder at times. Still, this was an enjoyable and evocative piece, DefectiveSmile! Keep it up. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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
7.5/10

[City of the dead]

I like the eerie sound design at the beginning, and the crisp drums at :13 are cool too. The ghostly melodies at :27 are pretty nice, but also could use a bit of a boost in the mix. In general, the piece is pretty slow to progress, and the arrangement feels pretty formulaic, with regular changes every 16 bars, and mostly consisting of slight switch-ups to the instrumental palette. The section at 1:25 has an extra level of tension to it, but by 1:40 or so the low-mid synth plucks are kinda tripping over each other - might be a delay effect that’s a little too strong. The harmonic content comes together well for the final refrain at 2:20, but the mix is pretty muddy at that point. There’s a lot of reverb in the texture, and the ghostly melody still isn’t really coming through. I’d run the EQs of the harmonic content a little tighter in the low and mid-range and ease back on the reverb a tad. Stereo widening on the pads might also help. Overall, the composition could’ve been a bit bolder, and the mixing could use some more polish, but I really like the sound design, ominous mood, and rich atmosphere of this. Keep at it, CielOuvert! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[~cC~ Hands Up, Alien Overlords!]

I like the blissful melodies and rhythmic content here. The pads at the very beginning sound a tad clunky, though - it might help to space out the notes a bit further apart, even if that just means moving some of them up an octave. The brass lead sounds pretty inauthentic, but in general the sound design is pretty cute. The re-intro at 1:00 was a nice change-of-pace, and I like the prominent bass line here. The organ solo at 1:16 totally rocked, and the phased synth at 1:46 actually made for a pretty cool transition into the meter change at 2:01. The tempo change at 2:20 was also a cool compositional detail. The production quality is pretty good here, too. I especially like the crisp drums and well-balanced frequencies throughout. The final refrain at 2:21 could use a bit more distinction/variety compared to the first two, if only to provide a stronger sense of overarching progression to the piece. The dragged-out final cadence at 2:35 was a bit over-the-top, but I appreciate the flair of it nonetheless. Overall, this piece has a lot of fun twists and turns that are integrated with smooth transitions - a really advanced compositional skill to have. I also like the mixing and (for the most part) the sound design. Keep up the good work, CelestialChaos! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
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

CelestialChaos responds:

Thank you so much for the review! I appreciate the kind words for the melodies and transitions, I improvised a lot of them and was really happy with how they turned out. I’m definitely less confident with sound design as well as mixing and mastering, so I’m glad I had the opportunity with NGUAC to try some things out and get some solid feedback!

Also, just to be a music nerd… at 2:01 it’s a subdivision change, not a mater change. It’s still in a 4/4 meter, but the triplet is used as the subdivision instead of the eighth note. Sorry, couldn’t resist! Thanks again for putting on a great competition, and I look forward to coming back again next year!

[desolation]

I like the portamentos at the beginning and the airy vocals. Love the rich atmosphere and prominent sub-bass here, and the reverb and delay effects are just luscious. The drums aren’t quite as far forward in the mix as I would’ve liked, and after a while the piece could use a stronger sense of progression. The brief bridge at 1:10 is a nice touch, and I like how you went in a different direction with the second half of this piece with the piano at 1:37 and a brighter, more upbeat tone. It comes together well by the end overall, but the outro at 2:23 could’ve been a tad more creative. The harmonic content could’ve been a little more well-varied and dynamic here. Still, you won me over with the atmosphere and sound design. Keep at it, cantbemyself! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

cantbemyself responds:

Thank you so much for the detailed review! I'll try my best ;)

[WTF]

I like the cute, plucked synth riff at the beginning. The low-pitched effect that first appears at :18 sounds a bit cheesy, but I appreciate the creative rhythms of that section. The production is a tad over-compressed, but otherwise solid. I appreciate the more tonal section at :49, and I’m impressed you recorded all the vocals yourself. Interspersing the vocals with the glitchy breaks from earlier at 1:08 was a good idea, but the piece could still use some more harmonic depth and a more fleshed-out structure IMO. The descent into wet reverb hell at the end was a nice touch, though. Overall, I like the experimental texture of this, but elements of the sound design could use a bit more polish, and the compositional details needed a bit more variety. I applaud you for taking such a bold compositional approach, though - full credit on uniqueness for sure. Keep at it, Camelymusic! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.25/10

camelymusic responds:

thank you for the feedback!

[Forest of Eternity]

I like the upright bass and organ synths at the beginning. It’s a little hard to follow the progression, though - there are a lot of disparate ideas thrown in here in close succession with little in the way of a smooth transition, at least harmonically. Some drums, or just some more gradual pacing, might help you signal to the listener more that the harmonies are about to change substantially. That said, the production quality is strong here, and I really like the instrument selection and harmonies. The arrangement of this piece just sounds very disjointed. There’s a lot of repetition after a while too, so the piece doesn’t really sound like it’s going anywhere as part of an overarching narrative. There are a lot of great individual ideas, of course - like the bass line at 3:22. The last minute or so has some really creative rhythmic content and a cute and upbeat mood, but it sounds like a completely different track from the 4 minutes before it. I would challenge you to analyze the structure of your favorite song - as in, assign each distinct section a letter and then track the order of the letters - and make a piece that has the exact same structure. I think this exercise will help you prioritize cohesion a bit more in your composition. Until then, there are a lot of catchy and fun individual riffs here, and I also really like the sound design and mixing. It’s just very jarring to listen to as a full-length track with so many different distinct sections and abrupt transitions. If you end up doing the “copy the structure” exercise, please PM me and I’ll give you another review on that track. Keep at it, BigBlueBazooka! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
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?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[Timeless]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the cute vocals in the background. The build-up at :28 was well-done, and I like how you stripped away the beat at :41 to ease into the drop. The drop was catchy, although the rhythmic content was a bit square, and the mix sounds pretty over-compressed there. I also think the drop drags on for just a tad too long, although the more melodic elements at 1:37 help add some variety. The breakdown at 1:50 was a nice change-of-pace, but could also use a little more flair (maybe a secondary melody or other attention-grabbing element, especially since it lasts for a full 40 seconds). The piece flows smoothly into the second build-up/drop cycle, but I would’ve liked to hear a little more variety in the drop the second time around as well. Overall, this piece is really catchy and well-produced and has some neat sound design, but the arrangement is a bit generic and repetitive. Especially within some of these longer phrases (especially the breakdown), the composition just needs a stronger sense of ebb and flow. Still, the mixing and mastering are really strong, and the punchy synths and fat bass are big pluses. Keep at it, Axsou! ^_^

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
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
8/10

[Belong (NGUAC 2024 Version)]

I like the distorted crowd noises at the beginning, although the harsh mixing effects on the guitar at :04 are a little bit too much IMO. I really like the vocals - very smooth and conversational delivery. The lyrics are relatable, too. The chord progression is a bit cliche, but the rich atmosphere of the piece and the quirky distorted edge to the mix help add some uniqueness nonetheless. I think the piece would benefit from a more fleshed-out structure, even if that’s just adding a brief solo or atmospheric bridge or something. Still, you won me over with the polished production and introspection. Keep at it, AveragePhoe! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10