TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Brain Rot (with Celcius)]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning and the frantic synths at :12. The rhythmic content is great, and the mixing is loud and crisp, if a tad over-compressed at times. The drop at :51 was a tad anti-climactic IMO. The re-intro at 1:42 comes across as a tad formulaic, although it does flow nicely into the section at 1:55. Again, the drop at 2:08 felt pretty minimal and thematically isolated from the rest of the piece. The sound design is probably my favorite aspect of the piece, though - a lot of quirky and well-mixed instruments in here. Solid work overall, guys! ^^

[MECHANIZED]

This is the sort of stuff I remember you making! I like the gritty bass at the beginning and how you start breaking them up with the dreamy guitars at :17. The more melodic flair to the piece by :35 or so is also a very welcome development. Later on, the arrangement feels a tad choppy. I'm enjoying the rhythmic content, and the production quality is particularly impressive here. That said, I'm not sure you quite capitalize on the momentum of the solos at :35 by reverting to the gruff undertones at :53. I similarly enjoy the more slow-paced emotional height at 2:02, but it also feels a tad isolated from the rest of the composition - not much build-up into it or break-down thereafter. Almost feels like this piece is torn between two personas - the soaring melodic ones and grouchy rhythmic ones - and the rhythmic ones win out at the end of the day. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I think the composition would be more interesting to me if you had tried to thread the two personas together a bit more. In short, you can totally shred on these solos, and your mixing skills are really strong. The transitions (or lack thereof) are what's giving me pause. Either way, glad to see you're still around, man! I remember listening to your stuff as far back as 2015. ^_^

Ritz190 responds:

Big thanks for the reviews and glad to see you still active around here as well!

If I'm being honest about this song it's def a blend of 2 personas that clash fundamentally. These set of songs were more focused on working with limited tools and time as i wrote this using garageband on my apple ipad using an irig to record guitars and bass. I agree with you about the transitions there wasn't much though put into that aspect and the ones that are there are basic and repetitive. These days my main focus has been my band but I feel my chops up somewhat with these kinds of projects.

I appreciate your feedback!
Peace!

[Virtua Hotel (WIP)]

I like the groovy bass line and crisp drums. The synths are a bit cheesy, but the melodic content and variations in the sound design starting at around :55 work well. The production quality is pretty good too, and the more atmospheric elements at 1:13 help fill out the texture nicely. The piece could've used a stronger sense of narrative later on, but it's still really catchy and smooth-flowing. The guitar solo at the end starts to take the piece in a very different direction. I love the energy level and atmosphere around the guitar, but it also seems like a bit of an appendage to the piece - not fully integrated yet. Piece has a lot of potential, though. I hope you revisit it! Cheers, Ritz.

Ritz190 responds:

Oh yeah this song is nowhere near finished but I still wanted to share. I really miss the days when I posted what I had finished or not for feedback like this.

Cheesy elements in my music is a guilty pleasure on my part but I try not to make it the main focus. Guitar for sure needs work and I was def unsure of how to approach it when putting ideas down but I at least have a direction now.

I'll def expand upon this using your feedback.

Much appreciated as always!
Peace!

[ONESEVENFOUR]

I like the contrast between the spacey pads and gritty, distorted bass at the beginning. The prominent hi-hats and chopped vocals are great. The snare may even be a tad too loud relative to the rest of the mix, though. The bassy bridge at 1:06 was good for some variety, but overall the structure gets a tad repetitive after a while. The atmosphere and mixing are highlights of this one for sure, though. Keep at it, Hairmilk! ^^

[Coconut Village]

I like the airy pads and vocals at the beginning. The harmonies feel a tad busy/dissonant, but over time I warm up to them. The drums are nice and crisp, but also tend to crowd out the vocals in the mix. The "B" riff at 1:15 was good for some variety, and I really like the transition at 2:09. The piece doesn't really have a strong sense of direction to it after a while, although the atmosphere here is really evocative and fun. Neat piece overall! A bit dissonant, but certainly creative and well-mastered. Cheers!

[tired!]

Very different tone as the last piece I reviewed. The cutesy synths and energetic beats give it a strong sense of drive. Again, you're really good at mixing the vocals. I'm jealous. XD The entire mixdown is really loud and clean, too, and I really like the pitch bending and other effects on the vocals at :57. The last chorus with the heavy guitars was a nice way of hitting the piece home, and I enjoyed the prominent hi-hats during the outro as well. Sweet track, man! ^^

[i think i'm sinking, but it's all i've ever known]

I like the relaxed, organic vibe at the beginning. The vocals sit really nice in the mix, and their tone has a really evocative weepy quality to them. You nail the higher-pitched parts too. The distortion at the breakdown at 2:00 didn't do too much for me, though - the pacing of the progression is pretty slow during the middle of the piece, although I like the airy quality and nature sound effects at around 2:45. The mixing and mastering in this piece is really good too. The electronic elements and piano riffs towards the end give this piece a sense of constant variety, which contrasts nicely with the otherwise languid pace of the structure. Strong work overall. Keep it up, monikrr! ^_^

[Can't]

I like the perky piano riff at the beginning and your characteristically crisp and creative drum patterns. Again, I'm tempted to say the texture of the piece is minimal, but the piano just feels so full and echo-y that it helps fill out the texture nicely. I also wasn't sure this piece was what I would call "jazz" at first, but I can see some of the jazzy harmonic elements start to come through at the piano solo at 1:20. There are also a lot of cool additions to the sound design later in the piece, from the airy guitar and percussive elements to the prominent hi-hats. The core harmonic framework here is pretty simple, but you have built such a luscious tapestry of sound around it. I also think the abrupt ending of the piece works really well here. Another 10/10, LLAAPPSSEE! ^^

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

This may be the most minimal or faux-"traditional" piece I've made to date. It's the first in a theme of tracks that would come to be over the years.

A bit of an oddity in my work. I think I'm a bit hypocritical in my taste. I love densely ever-changing complicated pieces and I also like loop-based chill-out stuff. Timbre & texture really help though. When it works, it works.
If it ain't jazz in the beginning what would you call it? I guess I attune to a nebulous idea of jazz...the free spirit/syncopation/improv/self-styling? There are many sub-genres and sub-sub-genres XD. None of that really matters to me. I simply want to make stuff. No pretense. I find myself dipping into any of those lines. I'm really just trying to stuff myself into some kinda relatable hole. Especially on a website that offers only some niche genres. As an autodidact you do what you do. Human brains gotta box stuff up though, it's what we do. I'm not much of a music theorist. I just make stuff and try to force into a pretty little dress.

The ending of this leads into an old song I've not release yet.
Really appreciate the thoughtful reviews. Thank you.

[Glow]

I like the dark, moody tone of the (E-piano?) at the beginning. The airy guitar-like instrument at :56 is awesome, and you contrast the smooth legato of the guitar nicely with the plunky piano riff at 1:26. At times, the mix sounds a bit over-compressed here, but that may just be the bitcrush. It's hard to tell. The piano solo at 2:10 helps hit the piece home nicely. Despite the somewhat bizarre sound design and rhythmic content of the piece, the fairly "tame" structure of the piece helps me stay grounded and follow the flow of it. Strong work yet again, LLAAPPSSEE! ^^

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

It is a rhodes throughout for the general ambience. There is no guitar in this. I think what you're hearing at :56 is a kalimba sample? I can't remember, heh. It may just be modified and resampled e-piano plucks. A lot of the sounds in this track have some kinda distortion on them. The mix is hopefully a bit stuffy...cottony; warm...like a thick blanket or something. I could be making fluffy excuses, too. Maybe the mix ideas just don't pan out in retrospect. Bizarre can be good or bad, no? Hopefully intriguing. I'll leave tradition/expectation/normality to someone else. This is mine -- warts and all. Someone's oddity can be another persons normality? Wait till you hear some of my other stuff? :P

[TheSheepman'sKnots]

Yeah, I'm beginning to regret the fact that I didn't discover your music earlier. Rhythmically, this is an extremely creative piece. The crisp drums, pulsating synth riffs, and pensive piano lines all blend in really well, and the texture overall feels really grating, harsh, and distorted, despite being pretty minimal and even furtive-sounding for most of the piece. Really evocative work, my friend. You've earned yourself a new follower. Cheers!

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

It's ok. You're here now, and that's all that matters. There's too much everything out there and it's wonderful you've found me here, in this little corner of the digital world.

The pensive/furtive feeling you mention is pretty spot on. Was also trying to capture a sorta frightened/mysterious/beckoning vibe.

In the book, the MC finds himself impossibly transported to a dark hotel hallway once he exits an elevator. Far down the corridor he can see a very dim light coming from the Sheep Man's room and navigates towards it.

Thank you for your follow. I'm brewing the spiked kool-aid now.