TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Fly Away]

I like the atmospheric fade-in at the beginning and the bright pads and piano. The chord progression is a bit cliche, but the production quality is great, and I’m digging the upbeat mood and energy. There’s a great sense of build-up into :47, and the melodies there are nice too. The drums are a tad over-compressed, and the melodies feel like they could’ve been a tad more dynamic after a while, both in terms of melodic contour and rhythm. The atmospheric breakdown was a nice touch, but the arrangement of the piece is also pretty generic. I also would’ve liked to see a second refrain that was more distinct from the first one, just to give the piece a stronger sense of overarching development and storytelling. I think what really has me sold on this piece is the atmosphere and emotion - the piece sounds not just happy but also triumphant, like it’s coming at the conclusion of a grand adventure. And while I’ve been critical of some of the compositional details here, the sound design, mixing and mastering, and harmonic content are all quite strong. Keep at it, Aquilyzer! :)

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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

[STARGIF (Audio)]

I like the cutesy synths at the beginning. The pads at :13 sound a little unpolished, but I like the stringed instrument and 8-bit synth bass that come in shortly thereafter. The texture changes pretty rapidly at 1:00. I think some sort of drum pattern or sweep/crash to help smooth over those transitions would be welcome. When the drums do come in at 1:20, they’re a little too quiet to have a major driving impact on the texture. That said, you clearly have a good sense of harmony and progression. The mix is a tad quiet, and the texture seems pretty devoid of effects like reverb and compression at times, which could be a major area of exploration for you going forward. Reverb in particular could help smooth over some of the rough transitions here and make the cutoff of the string melodies (like at 1:59) sound more natural. Compositionally, though, the piece is already strong and has a good emotional appeal between the nostalgic-sounding string melodies and cutesy synth arpeggios. Keep at it, Anonymous-Banonymous! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.25/10

[Investigation]

I like the ominous synth bass line at the beginning. The reverb is very heavy, but with the minimalism I suppose it’s a fine way of filling out the texture. The quirky synth at :38 is awesome, and I’m enjoying the filtering/volume changes at around :47. Otherwise, the piece is pretty slow to progress. It would make great background music for a video game or animation, but as a stand-alone track the composition is a bit underwhelming. More variation in the energy level, and also some more melodic content, might help make it more engaging. The more square part at 3:30 was a nice touch of variety, but it still maintains the minimal, plucked sound to the texture throughout. The percussion at 4:59 was a nice addition, but like a lot of elements of the soundscape it had a bit too much reverb for my tastes. The texture started sounding really muddy at around the 6-minute mark, and the reverb is likely a major culprit. I like the higher-pitched synth at 7:00 or so that matches the contour of the bass line. My favorite part of the piece is probably the mysterious and apprehensive mood - you set the scene in my head really well with this one. The sound design is also pretty neat. I can tell the piece is meant to loop, and I suspect it does so pretty well, especially in-game. A cleaner mix and bolder composition are the main tools you need to get a higher score from me. Until then, keep at it, Aelkamal! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
5.75/10

[Fish & Chips]

I like the crisp drums at :14 and the rhythmic content. The gritty synth bass at the beginning sounds a bit unpolished for my tastes, but the mixing and balance of the piece is really strong, and the quirky elements of the sound design really help keep me engaged. The breakdown lead at 1:15 with the ping-pong echo effects is awesome. Harmonically, the piece could be a tad more creative - despite the unique sound design, the foregrounded content of the piece is mostly outlining the chord progression, as opposed to giving the piece a stronger sense of melodic direction. The melody at 1:43 helps break that pattern, but also seems to lack dynamism itself after a while. That said, the instrumentation, rich texture, and strong production quality still have me sold on this piece. Going forward, working on melody writing and “storytelling” will help you turn the 8.75 I’m giving you into a 9.75. Until then, keep it up, Ackai! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[Wyoming]

I like the spacey pad at the beginning and the distorted bass. The lead synth at :20 is a bit cheesy, but I like the upbeat mood and quirky percussion. The pad that starts fading in at around 1:05 clashes a bit harmonically with the lead - it sounds like they’re competing for attention a bit too much there. The breakdown at 1:25 came on a bit suddenly, but I like the bright pads at 1:42 and the rhythmic content. The melodic variations later on are nice, and I’m usually not a huge fan of fade-outs, but I think this one works well here. Overall, this is a cute and well-structured piece. Sometimes, the reverb on the pads is a bit too much - I think that might be part of the reason why the harmonies clash a bit at times. Still, solid work all around. Keep at it, 50Steaks! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
7/10

50Steaks responds:

To be honest I couldn’t agree more. Back when I made this I was still putting extreme reverb on some instruments for some reason. An interesting point you said about the breakdown coming suddenly, it never occurred to me but yeah there’s no real indication that it would revert back to the intro. I think you hit the nail on the head with this, and I would rate it 3.5/5 as well.

[Canyon [NGUAC 2021]]

I love the energy and sound design right off the bat, especially that airy synth at :08 and the frantic percussion. The meter change at :41 was a pleasant surprise, and once the orchestral pads come back in at around 1:15 I get a good sense of just how well the mix holds up. The vocal samples later on aren't necessarily my favorite, nor is the pseudo-fadeout ending. That said, the evocative string solos at 1:20 and the fun synth at :16 that sounds like whistling are some stellar sound design choices, and as usual with you the overall composition is great. Keep at it, Scott! ^^

[Hehe]

Whimsical and full of variety! I love it. "Hehe" is a really fitting title, too. The instrumentation is top-notch, and the production is clean. Sounds like it should be the backing music for a montage in a movie. Take my 5 stars, and don't spend them all in one place! :D

[See You Never (Feat. Maderlin Weng)]

I really like the cutesy beat at the beginning and the bright mix. The sub-bass sits really well in the texture, and the trumpet solo at 1:48 really hits the spot. The multilingual lyrics are great, too. Maderlin has a really airy and crooning voice that fit the character of the song really well. I really like how the trumpet, vocal refrain, beat, and mallets all converge during the last 30-45 seconds or so, and the coda with the phone message was clever. The mastering sounds professional here, ACXLE, but I think my favorite part is the sound design. Keep up the great work! ^^

acxle responds:

thanks TL :)

[oof]

I like the beat, and the tempo automations were a creative idea. I think the mix sounds a little dry, and some reverb and other effects could help smooth over the dissonance and keep things interesting amid the minimalism. The sound design is really unique, although the vocal samples sound a little distorted and murky. The track is mastered really loud, but is in danger of clipping at a couple of points. The rhythmic content is pretty cool, especially during the last 45 seconds or so. I think the piece could've used a stronger sense of direction at times - it had a start/stop vibe in the structure, but little sense of overarching narrative or development. Either way, it's a cool beat with some clean production. I just think you could rein in the volume levels a tad and fill out the atmosphere a little more. Keep at it, Aoraz! ^^

Aoraz responds:

Thank you! I will keep this in mind for future projects. Even after 10 years I am still struggling with mastering my songs correctly haha