TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Velocity]

I like the groovy synth riffs throughout. It’s a really catchy piece with some neat sound design and rhythmic content. Something about the progression feels very cut-and-pasted, though. The main source of variety is these sudden changes in the instrumentation that shift the texture and tone of the piece pretty quickly, but don’t really contribute to an overarching narrative or structure in a meaningful way. I think the composition would have a more organic ebb-and-flow with some stronger melodic content and more advanced methods of creating variety (volume changes, filtering, automation, etc.). Production-wise, there’s a lot of reverb in the texture at times, but overall the mixing is pretty good. Sound design, mood, and catchiness are definitely the highlights for me. Arrangement just sounds a bit disjointed, is all. Keep at it, Dracoflame! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

[The Voyager]

I like the creative rhythmic content in the background for the first 30 seconds or so. The kick drum is a little heavy given the minimal content for the first minute. The beat at 1:05 is really cool, and I’m especially enjoying the stop-start rhythm of the synths. The piece felt a little starved for melodic content early on, so the riff that comes in at 2:08 was refreshing. I still think it could’ve used a tad more development of the melodic themes, but in the meantime the sound design and atmosphere help keep me engaged. The progression is a bit slow-paced overall, and I would’ve liked to see some more structural variety and ebb-and-flow to the texture over time. I think you could’ve made better use of the treble range of the frequency spectrum here too. Highlights for me include the mixing, instrumentation, and mood. You definitely made good use of the echo effects on those synths. Overall, the composition might need a tad more fleshing out, but it’s still really catchy. Keep at it, DjRemedy! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
7/10

[[bright0n] movements in liminal space]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the crackly percussion. The progression is a bit slow-paced, and I think you could’ve foreshadowed the entry of the synth at :39 a little better. The twinkly synths at 1:30 sound pretty dissonant against the atmospheric backdrop, but also didn’t seem to serve a larger structural purpose (as, for example, a build-up would). While there’s some variation in the instrumental palette later on, this piece has very little variety in the harmonic framework or melodic development for such a long track. I liked the bridge at 3:40, even if it was a bit brief. I also think there’s a tad too much reverb in the texture at times, which makes the mix sound a tad indistinct. Some of the samples sounded a bit grating compared to the smooth atmosphere, for example the melody synth at :39 and the percussion at 5:25. The main descending chord progression is pretty cliche, and could really use some variation during the long stretches of ambient moodiness (especially the first half of the piece). The first half of the piece also has a lot of square rhythms that make it hard to stay engaged - straight eighth notes usually don’t keep the listener’s interest for long if they’re the main thing going on at a given point. Overall, the atmosphere, phrasing, and flow of the piece are my favorite attributes. Compositionally, the piece is a bit underwhelming in places, but you seem to have a good sense of harmony and progression, which is a good baseline for being able to write bolder melodies and richer textures. Keep at it, DJLiquidVoid! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.75/10

[Dalmatrix - woodrose windows (Saidez Remix)]

I like the airy synths and crisp beats at the beginning. The sidechaining on the vocals at :25 sounds pretty cool, but I think you overuse this effect over the course of the piece. I think a more legato vocal sound would be especially impactful in a place like 1:30, where there’s more of an emotional height. Sometimes, the progression here is a little slow-paced, but it tends to pick up as the piece goes on, which is nice. The mixing is one of the best elements of the track imo, with well-balanced frequencies and clear instruments throughout. I like the contrast provided by the lower-pitched vocals at 2:38. It seems like it’s sampled from Blink-182, but also that it’s been modified so that it’s hard to recognize. The energy, flow, and sound design towards the end is also really nice, and I like how you returned to a more stripped-down texture featuring the vocals prominently for the outro. The main melodies might’ve needed a tad more variety, but at least there’s that cute new riff at 4:54. Overall, this is really solid work. Most of my complaints are pretty detail-oriented, and I especially like the sound design with this one - very smooth and trance-like, with great blending. Keep at it, DJ-Saidez! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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
8.5/10

DJ-Saidez responds:

The Blink-182 sampling (along with vocals from another song) was from the original song (not my choice), and the original artist has since stopped that practice. Other than that, I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's still one of the works I'm most proud of to date, even though I was worried that towards the start of the second climax I had way too much going on (like 7 different sounds competing for the spotlight, not counting drums)

[POWER LASER]

I like the catchy beats at the beginning. The ominous plucked synth sounds pretty cool, but there’s a bit of dissonance in the harmonies by around :05. The transition at :39 didn’t seem to fulfill any structural purpose, and overall the minimal texture and lack of harmonic depth here makes it hard to stay engaged. The rhythmic content and progression are pretty good, but I wanted to see you flesh out the composition a little more and make better use of the entire frequency range. Otherwise, the piece gets very repetitive and stagnant after a while. Essentially, this track only shows me a very narrow range of skills - rhythmic, some mixing effects, sound design, etc. That’s not to say that you don’t have other skills, but I’d encourage you to go for a more well-rounded approach in your future tracks, with more compositional risk-taking, memorable melodies, and variety. Hope this helps. Keep at it, DIXLOX! :)

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

[Sunflower]

I like the smooth pads at the beginning. The sidechaining is a bit heavy on the kick drum, but some of the other mixing effects (reverb, filtering, etc.) complement the atmosphere of the piece well. The guitar riff at :50 is really nice. The texture really fills out nicely by 1:55 or so - loving the arpeggios there and the rhythmic bass riff. One thing that’s lacking in this piece is variety, though - harmonic depth and structural contrast would go a long way towards keeping a relatively lengthy piece engaging over time. The heavy compression is also bothering me a bit, and it’s especially noticeable with the generous use of reverb here. The short outro with the strings was a nice touch, though, and overall the sound design and atmosphere are the strongest elements of the piece imo. Keep at it, Diossel! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

[Crash Handler]

I like the airy synths at the beginning and the catchy chordal riff. The vocal samples and ominous bass at :15 are a little cheesy, but the minimal drop at :32 was pretty cool. The mix is loud and clear, though, and you’ve used mixing effects like reverb well. The bit at 1:18 (which, I think was trying to imitate an ECG?) was pretty creative, but the synths involved sounded pretty square and generic. I like the melodies during the bridge at 2:05, which in turn lead nicely into the build-up and second drop. The second drop itself could’ve used a little more variety and flavor, especially in the absence of a proper outro here. Overall, my main concern here is the incredibly generic arrangement, instruments, and harmonic content, and the sound design could’ve been more interesting and varied as well. Still, I think you have a good sense of rhythm and some solid production skills. The composition is a bit bland, but the catchiness and quirky transitions help keep things engaging. Keep at it, Dim-J! :)

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
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
6.25/10

[Frigid Dreamscape]

I like the majestic arpeggios at the beginning and the rich atmosphere. The beats at :25 are also cool - nice and crisp drums really create a nice sense of drive despite the flowy, trance-like atmosphere. Personally, the bass at :53 didn’t work quite as well for me. It sounds a bit too heavy given the character of the rest of the piece, and also dominated the mix too much. I’d suggest scaling back the reverb a bit on it and maybe filtering out some of the bass’s higher-pitched frequencies with an equalizer or something.

In fact, once the texture gets busier at 1:50 or so, the reverb and lack of balance in the frequencies is really distorting the mix. I can tell because the drums sound way fainter here, and I’m guessing it’s not because you lowered the volume. An important step towards fixing that is cutting back on the reverb, but the main thing you need to do is use more filtering. You shouldn’t really have any frequencies beneath 100 Hertz or so in the melody synths, or anything besides the bass and kick drum, really. Ideally, you’d select your instruments before composing a piece, keeping “slots” in mind - assigning one or two instrument each to the bass range, mid-low, middle, high-mid, and treble range. That way, even if the 2 instruments belonging to the same frequency range are playing at once, you can keep them sounding distinct in the mix using tools like panning, sidechaining, and stereo widening. In reality, most producers don’t usually do this “slot” technique, but while you’re learning how to mix and master your tracks it can be really helpful.

Anyway, back to your piece: sometimes, the rhythm is a bit square (a lot of straight eighth and quarter notes in the harmonies of individual instruments, notably at 4:55). This wouldn’t be a huge problem if it was just the harmonies or arpeggios that did this, but it also occurs in the melodies, which makes them significantly less memorable or interesting.

That said, the progression is enjoyable here. Very dream-like and evocative. The flow of the piece is really smooth overall, but it’s also hard to make the one-climax model work well over the course of 6 minutes. I’d suggest aiming for a little more ebb and flow over the course of the piece - if, after listening to your piece once, I can pretty easily draw a line on my notepad that represents the “energy level” of the piece over time, especially a really long one like this, it could probably use a more interesting arrangement. Also, the piece lacks a strong sense of “arrival” at any one point, which is probably related to the somewhat linear structure.

I’ve been really tough on you in this review, but I want to emphasize that the main criticisms I have boil down to a couple of core issues: mixing and structuring/arrangement. In fact, mixing is probably the main one for me. I can tell you have a good sense of harmony and progression. The square rhythm is a relatively small problem, and you’ve done a lot of other things to keep the piece interesting besides the arrangement (sound design, atmosphere, etc.). Keep at it, DiamondEnderman! And let me know if I can help point you in the right direction on filtering/mixing techniques. ^_^

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.25/10

DiamondEnderman responds:

thank you for the feedback! Greatly appreciated

[NG Competiton Song 0.01]

I like the atmosphere right off the bat. The rhythm is a little hard-to-follow, though, and the texture is a little too busy at times. The drums sound a tad dry - some more reverb might fix that. If anything, the melodic instruments probably have too many reverb and/or delay effects. They sound pretty over-saturated and inauthentic. There are also a few sudden transitions in the piece, notably at :50 and 2:02. I also think the mix emphasizes the strings a bit too heavily - there seems to be an interesting melody playing at :58 on some sort of mallet instrument or synth, but it’s hard to make out. I think a lot of these problems could be solved relatively easily if you had better samples, though. You seem to have a good sense of harmony and rhythm, but the instruments you’re using don’t always blend well or complement each other. A good rule of thumb is that you’re usually better off using synths (i.e., instruments that are meant to sound electronic) rather than electronic samples that poorly mimic acoustic instruments. That said, depending on the DAW you use, you can usually get a lot of higher-quality samples for free. The ones you’re using here just aren’t those. That said, the composition here is pretty good, and I enjoyed the atmosphere and rhythmic elements throughout. Keep at it, Desiel391. :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
5.5/10

[Kick In The Teeth]

I like the smooth ‘80s-sounding pad at the beginning. The beats at :15 sound a tad dry, especially compared to the heavily reverberated synths. The progression is pretty cool, but also doesn’t have a lot of harmonic depth. The heavy synth bass at 1:30 was neat. Overall, the structuring here feels a bit formulaic. There’s a lot of tension in the piece - it’s very ominous, after all - but there isn’t much of a point of resolve or even escalation of the drama at any point. I think you could’ve capitalized a lot more on the apprehensive tone of the piece to do more with phrasing and dynamic contrast. Otherwise, the piece sounds a tad robotic and drone-like. I also think you could’ve used the treble range of the frequency spectrum more throughout the piece, just to fill out the texture more. Still, I applaud the sound design, atmosphere, and rhythmic content for keeping things engaging otherwise. The mixing is also decent, although I would’ve scaled back the reverb a tad. Keep at it, Deathincan! :)

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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.75/10