TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sentimentality]

I like the groovy percussion at the beginning and the quirky pads at :14. The sound design in this piece is awesome, and you nailed the sound design too. The melodies at :46 are nice, even if the refrain sounds a bit choppy overall with all the stop-start phrasing. The guitar at 1:19 was a fun surprise. It sounds a tad out-of-tune, but in a way that contributes to the quirky vibe of the track overall. Some of the chord progressions are a little cliche, but I like the variations on the refrain the second time around at 2:40. The blissful mood and instrumentation really have me sold on this one. Keep it up, Walpang! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

Walpang responds:

Woahh I finally got approval from TaintedLogic :0

[Desert Fever]

I like the drone at the beginning and the flutes and sitar riffs you fashion around it. You’ve really set up a haunting, cinematic flair to the piece, and by around 1:20 the vocals are just chilling. The injection of energy at 2:45 was a welcome change - something sounds devious about that string line, and the contrapoint with the horns later on was a nice touch. The percussion at around 3:20 is awesome. The (vocals?) that pop in at 3:35 or so had a bit of a strange articulation, and some of the transitions later in the piece (at 4:18, for example) were a bit sudden. Naturally, you follow that particular one I just mentioned with a gorgeous string melody, and my slight, nitpicky concerns with the piece fade away yet again. I also really like the moaning vocals that fade in at various places in the piece, notably at around the 7-minute mark. The last couple of minutes, starting with the danceable fanfare at 8:00 or so, provide for a climactic conclusion to this momentous work of art - and then you outdid yourself again with the cello melody. This piece is a truly special cinematic event, Vocif. Well worth the 60-70 hours (but that’s easy for me to say). Well done. Also, consider this an early invitation to join the judging squad for next year, if you want. We’d love to have someone with your acumen on the team. :)

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

[Rainwave]

I like the mellow riffs at the beginning. There’s a bit of atonality in the texture by around :15, but I'm really enjoying the lyrics. The echo/delay effects on the vocals were a bit cheesy, and might’ve felt more well-rounded with some richer atmosphere around them - reverb and chorus effects and such. The way you articulate some of the words at the ends of lines (“stride,” “tide,” “brine,” etc.) was a bit overdone, and occasionally the vocals sound a bit flat there too. I’m really enjoying the additional layering at 1:08, and the intensity of the refrain at 1:22 was really nice. The echoed bit during the second hook at 2:24 was a fun detail. The solos at 3:18 are really nice too, although the percussion that was playing at that part sounded a bit dry in the mix. I like the acoustic guitar and the percussion instrument itself, though. The ending comes on a bit suddenly, but the plethora of dynamic melodic content still helps complete the arc of storytelling here. Overall, some of the vocal editing and compositional details didn’t quite work for me here, but I still really admire your guitar and vocal skills, sense of progression, and memorable melodies. Keep at it, Verbicidemusic! ^_^

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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[Our Last Day]

I like the crisp drums at the beginning and the gritty guitars shortly thereafter. The breathy vocals add some nice texture to the mix, but it’s a little hard to make out the lyrics. Upon reading them, though, I really like the dark content. The melodic riff at :32 is really catchy, but I think the refrain at :42 would’ve been a little more effective if the vocals had a little more substance in them. The intricate rhythmic content at 1:20 is nice, and the groovy bridge at 2:10 came just in time since I was itching for a break from the verse-chorus structure. The riff at 2:27 is super neat, and flows really well into the verse riff at 2:46. At some point, it might’ve been nice to hear some more structural variety that had some more pronounced changes in the energy level, dynamics, or atmosphere of the piece. Still, you nailed the instrumentation, rhythmic content, production, and mood with this one, and the modulation at 3:25 is a nice touch to hit the piece home. Keep it up, TSRBand! ^_^

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

TSRBand responds:

I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for all the notes and the work you guys put into the comp :) It's been a lot of fun!

[Stargazer]

I like the smooth guitar riffs at the beginning. The transitions between the phrases could’ve been a bit more fluid, though - it seems like there’s an extended, awkward pause at :24 and then some overlapping recordings at :51 (or maybe just an early cutoff). The harmonic content gets pretty repetitive after a while, but I’m enjoying the subtle variations, like the chromatic line at 1:08 and the shorter note lengths at 2:08. The texture could’ve used some more fill at times. The occasional string swells were nice, but some drums or even a consistent drone would’ve helped fill out the soundscape a bit. I like the transition at 2:50, although at that point it might’ve been nice to have a more emphatic or variational final refrain to hit the piece home. Still, this is a really cute-but-minimal piece with a fun, organic sound design, smooth progression, and pleasing compositional details. A bit of a bolder approach to the composition would’ve been welcome, but I’m beginning to think the laid-back vibe here hews closer to your style. :) Keep at it, Thomastique! ^_^

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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.5/10

Thomastique responds:

Thank you! I appreciate the feedback 😁😁

[Amazona NGUAC 2020]

I like the atmospheric fade-in at the beginning and the energetic flair at :07. The echo-y synths and heavy filtering towards the end of phrases give the piece a bit of a wonky flow, and the harmonic content is rather minimal, but it’s still really catchy and the reverb helps fill out the texture. Some aspects of the sound design are pretty generic, notably the drums, and the piece is often rather slow to progress. I like the stripped-down approach you took to the section starting at 1:57 - I wasn’t expecting that, admittedly. There isn’t a lot of melodic content in the piece, and I think the atmospheric bit at 2:25 would’ve been a great place for that, although the bird sound effects were some nice substitutes. There’s a great sense of climax into 3:47, and the texture feels especially well-balanced and full thereafter. The piece is still missing some more memorable melodic content, and despite the smooth transitions and rich atmosphere I think you could’ve done a lot more with this piece compositionally. Still, the production quality is solid and I enjoyed the return to the more energetic, bass-heavy bit of earlier at 5:42. Overall, strong work! Keep at it, TerraNation! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
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
8/10

TerraNation responds:

Yes iknow what i have done wrong and right on this song and i will be fixed for final release of it, I normaly take mutch mutch more time to work on my tracks short limit time for contest is abit hard to make something very very solid.

But i let you know when i finish this with a final touch and it will be even better.

[Nebulous - Paranoia (NGUAC 2020 | R3)]

I like the cutesy melodies at the beginning. The skipping beats at :16 threw me off a bit, and the “reset” at :27 was rather abrupt. The gritty, minimal drop at :53 works pretty well, but lasts a bit too long for my tastes. That said, the second iteration of that section (1:34) with the creepy vocal drone in the background at least brought some variety. I think you could’ve made better use of the treble range of the frequency spectrum throughout this piece, although the experimental flair of this piece does help keep things amusing. The sound design and production quality are both strong, and the rhythmic content is rather creative throughout. Overall, the arrangement seems a bit choppy at times between the gritty drop sections and the blissful synth riff at 3:44 (and other places), and the piece lacks a sense of resolve without a more well-integrated relationship between the two. Still, this is a neat track thematically (girl saying “don’t be afraid” actually gave me nightmares) with some strong mixing and mastering and engaging instrumentation. Keep it up, ShockblastDeluxe! :)

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

[Happy people want to dance]

I like the quirky pads at the beginning and the build-up into :20. The white noise is a little heavy at :21, and the mix feels a little strained underneath all the reverb and compression there and at :41. The transition at 1:02 was pretty neat, and I’m enjoying the melodies and sound design there too. The filter on the main pads could’ve used some variation at some point, but I like the minimal approach you took to the re-intro and the build-up back into 2:19. The melodic variations at 2:19 are nice, but the instrument playing them sounded a bit generic. I’ll also note that the drums didn’t quite pop in the mix like I wanted them to here. Still, the catchy rhythmic content and blissful melodies are both plusses, and the cool transitions and other compositional details helped make up for the somewhat generic arrangement. Keep at it, Retrize! :)

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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Remembering the Fallen]

I like the emotional quality at the beginning. You’ve done a great job of playing up the somber mood in this piece, like with the descending line in the melody at :18. The entrance of the violin at :38 is absolutely haunting, and the somewhat predictable phrase pattern (i.e., every other measure has a significant number of moving notes) helps channel the emotion further. The percussion at 1:14 sounds a bit flat, but I’m liking the call-and-response action at 1:34 and the trumpet solo shortly thereafter. The piece comes together rather well by 2:20, and I think it was also a good choice to return to a more minimal piano line for the coda. Part of me would’ve liked the mix to be a bit fuller-sounding at times, or for the final climax to be a bit more of a point of arrival, but at the end of the day it’s hard to find fault with the solemn and languid tone of the piece. Probably your strongest work yet, Potato-stick! These are some truly moving melodies.

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.75/10

potato-stick responds:

Thank you for the incredible feedback and for taking the time to deeply listen to understand my artistic intentions! I agree that my percussion is a bit lacking. I am scoping out some percussion libraries to buy on Black Friday so I finally have more than the fairly limited options that Nucleus offers. I will make sure to take your advice and apply it towards future works :)

[NaNo - Happy pluck]

I like the quirky risers at the beginning and the cutesy, tranquil synths. The sound design and production quality are both really strong here, and the vocals at :45 work well. The refrain at :47 is catchy and cathartic, but the melody line sounds a bit strained in the mix, almost like it takes a backseat to the pads. The chord progression is a little cliche, but the melodies help keep me engaged, like at 1:36. The transition at 2:09 was a little bizarre, perhaps because of the bare texture during the transitory moment (it actually happens again at 2:33). The cheery pads during the outro were a nice touch too. Overall, solid piece! Some of the arrangement details are a bit generic, but the mixing is really good, and you’ve won me over with the upbeat melodies and catchy rhythmic content. Keep it up, NaNoOficcial! ^_^

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
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10