TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-[{WANNABEWALMART}]-]

I like the smooth guitar and bass lines at the beginning. The static and, later, the drums are a bit too loud relative to the harmonic instruments, though, and the entry and cut-off of the instruments can be really sudden at times, like the drums at :45. The beats are catchy, and I like the mood and atmosphere. Otherwise, this piece just needs a much more fleshed-out structure, with more variety in the harmonies, energy level, and instrumentation. The pitch/tempo automations at 2:15 are really cool, though, and besides the overly loud drums, the production quality is pretty clean throughout. Keep at it, TEN8mystery! ^_^

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
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
5.5/10

[WOBA - BECAUSE (TAIKON REMIX)]

I like the quirky atmosphere at the beginning and the bottled-up, frantic percussion. The synth riff at :28 is cute, and I’m enjoying the build-up into 1:03. The drop is catchy, but the mix sounds a bit tight and over-compressed, with not a lot of room in the equalizer for the snare and bass. The arrangement and chord progression are also a bit generic. That said, I like the “B” melody at 2:31, which in turn transitioned back into the second build-up well. The rhythmic content here is strong, and in general I like the sound design too. I would’ve liked to see you vary the drop a bit more the second time around, but that’s more of a missed opportunity than anything else. Overall, it’s a fun and catchy track with some flashy synths and a rich atmosphere at times. Letting the mix breathe a bit more and making the arrangement a bit less predictable would really take this to the next level. Keep at it, TAIKON26! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8/10

[Dreamly Depths]

I like the beat at the beginning and the triumphant-sounding melodies at :10. Some of the effects are a bit cheesy-sounding, like the unpolished bass that comes in every 4 bars starting at :04. Some parts of the piece, especially the first 90 seconds, could also use some more harmonic depth - a bass line, pads, or other harmonies to fill out the texture a bit more. You do create a good amount of variety throughout the piece, but sometimes the transitions between themes are a bit abrupt, like at 1:31. That section, at 1:31, is probably my favorite of the piece, though. The melodies are really catchy and dynamic, and the chords backing them up create a richness in the mix that’s lacking during other parts of the piece. You also transition nicely back into the main melody at 2:32.

At some point, it would be nice to strip away the beat or otherwise switch up the instruments a bit more than you’ve done here. An important variable to use to create contrast in your song is the energy level, and the same beat playing for 5 minutes makes the entire piece seem a bit stagnant after a while. Otherwise, there’s not much in the way of novel content during the last couple of minutes of this piece. It almost sounds like a straight loop of the piece after 2:31, other than the first 10 seconds where it’s just the beat. Either way, varying the melody slightly or adding some additional harmonies towards the end could be a great way to give your piece a sense of overarching development.

Still, I like the sound design, mood, and mixing here. I think the composition could be a tad more fleshed-out and well-varied, but there are a lot of fun and catchy riffs here. Keep at it, Stilverguy! You’ve earned a scout. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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
6.75/10

Stilverguy responds:

Thank you for the critic! It's nice to get advice from someone with a deep understanding of music! (usual ppl that give me critiques, are my friends that don't really give me much) I'm considering making an update with the advice you gave me. Thanks again

[Long Lost Stories]

I like the emotional appeal of the piano at the beginning. Some of the chords sound a bit clunky, especially the 4th one in the progression - maybe it would help if the notes were spaced a little further apart. The mallets (?) at :47 are a bit too loud relative to the other instruments, and in general this piece is very slow to progress and has some very square rhythms. A lot of the instruments blend well together, but an exception is the high-pitched chordal harmony at 2:03 - it’s just a bit too harsh-sounding and loud to fit into the atmosphere. I’d suggest removing some of the treble-range tones in it with an equalizer, turning the volume down, and adding some wet reverb to it.

The main problem with this piece is the lack of variety. The pace of change is just too slow to keep the listener engaged, the harmonic framework is the same throughout, and the rhythmic content also lacks interest. At some point, I wanted to hear some more dynamic melodies, a bridge or breakdown where you really switch up the instruments, or a similar point of variety. There are some more syncopations by the end, and you clearly have a good sense of harmony and progression, but frankly the composition could be a lot bolder here in half the time. Still, I like the harmonies, mood, and most of the sound design here. Keep at it, SrAlpaco! ^_^

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?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.25/10

SrAlpaco responds:

Thank you for the feedback! I'm still learning so it helps a lot!

[nightmarish funk]

I like the percussion and groovy synths a lot, wow. Really good sound design and rhythmic content here. The intro vocals with the indistinct texture feels a tad out-of-place at first, but at the end of the day it’s good for some variety. Very melodic and well-varied piece. The high notes in the melody starting at 1:11 were are great way of wrapping up the piece, and that whole section sounds like a horde of cartoon zombies is coming to get me. :O Really smooth loop, too. This is awesome, dude! Keep up the good work. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.5/10

SpoiledJif responds:

OMG THANK YOU!!! I DIDNT ACTUALLY THINK ID MAKE IT TO THE KNOCKOUT ROUND <33

[2295 MOAI]

I like the exotic-sounding vocals at the beginning, but they’re a little too loud in the mix relative to the beat and harmonies at :05, and could also use more of a sense of atmosphere with some reverb/other mixing effects. The build-up starting at :31 was pretty cool, and I like the melodies at :38 a lot, although the mix sounds a bit strained there. The mid-range pads in particular sound distorted - I’d make sure to cut off its frequencies below around 200 Hz, and maybe add some stereo widening or something to make sure it’s not competing with the lead and bass in the center of the mix. The drums also probably need some more compression - make sure the ratio on that snare is turned up to at least 4:1, because it’s not quite staying upfront in the mix during the refrains. The flute at 1:07 was a nice touch, and there’s a good sense of build-up into 1:31 too. You start overusing the pitch automation effect by around 1:38, but the second refrain at 1:44 is also enjoyable. Overall, the arrangement is a little generic, and the production quality could definitely be sharper, but I like the mood, atmosphere, melodies, and sound design here. Keep at it, SpecialGuacs! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Like Clockwork]

I like the spacey pads at the beginning and the quirky rhythmic synths below them. You’ve got a catchy groove going by around :25, but I wanted to hear a bit more of the rhythmic elements of the texture in the mix - the pads just seem relatively a bit too loud. The airy percussion at :56 was also a nice touch. Overall, I wanted to see a bit more variety and harmonic depth here. The piece could use both a sub-bass and a higher-pitched melodic element (vocals, synth lead, or otherwise) just to fill out the full frequency range more. I’d also like to see a bit more phrasing at a granular level with this piece - there are several different sections, but none of them sound like they’re going anywhere at a given time since all the transitions are stop-start style. So overall, I’d encourage you to flesh out the composition and balance out the mix here a bit more, but I liked the sound design, catchy beats, mood, and atmosphere of this one. Keep at it, SparkNG! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
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
6.25/10

[Freakazoid]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning, although the texture is very distorted and the transition into :17 could’ve been a tad smoother. That said, I like the groovy synth bass at :17 and the quirky lead synth that comes in shortly thereafter. There’s a bit of dissonance in the texture starting at around :45, although by 1:01 I’m enjoying the punchy melodies, even though it’s really hard to hear some of the instruments. I’d double-check to make sure that none of the harmonic instruments (i.e., everything besides the bass and drums) have frequencies below about 200 Hz in the equalizer. The main melody has a bit of a strange contour, with a lot of notes that feel a bit superfluous. It might be a good idea to simplify it a bit the first time around, just to get your listener accustomed to the superstructure, then when it plays again at 2:02 and beyond you can use all the notes you used before.

The breakdown at 2:37 helped add some structural contrast, and the prominent bass line at 2:54 and syncopations at 3:12 were good for some variety too. In general, the rhythmic content and sound design of this piece are really good. By 3:30, I’m really liking the “hierarchically flat” distribution of sound here, where there isn’t one particular riff or instrument that captures my attention much more than the others. That said, it could still be easier to hear all of the instruments in the mix. By the time the main melody returns at 4:04, there’s a bit too much dissonance in the texture again. I think you tried to do a bit too much with this final refrain harmonically. Also the transition at 4:57 is pretty sudden, and the outro with the descending bass line feels a bit out-of-place. These sudden transitions could often be smoothed over with just a little more foreshadowing, even a sweep, drum fill, or some filtering.

Overall, there are a lot of good ideas here. Love the ghostly mood and the catchy synth riffs. At times, the harmonies clash a bit, and the production quality could be a lot sharper, but the compositional details are really fun and the instrumentation is great. Keep at it, Snoot-Doot! ^_^

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

[Deep Thoughts Take You Somewhere]

I like the furtive piano riff at the beginning. The beat at :15 is catchy, but a bit dry in the mix. The snare in particular could use some reverb or other mixing effects. The instrumentals are also really quiet relative to the beat - maybe some more compression is in order. That said, the compression/sidechaining is very heavy on the string pads at :59 - just sounds very unnatural, and kinda disrupts the flow of the atmosphere in what is otherwise a very flowy and legato-sounding instrumental track. In general, I’d like to see you do more with the structuring here. Sounded like the piece was just getting started when you go into the outro at 1:28. There also could be more melodic content at some point, and in general the harmonies are missing some bass tones during the climactic part at around 1:20. Otherwise, I like the atmosphere, melancholic mood, sound design, and progression of this one. I just wanted to see a bolder composition and a bit more polish and pizzazz in the mixing and mastering. Keep at it, SnipeshotGames! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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
6.5/10

SnipeshotGames responds:

woah thanks for the in depth review!

oh also this was just a short little melody i made in 2 hours so

[Ember Fields - Sleepy Poundcake (Maidens Collection)]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning and the busy drum beat. The harmonies are pretty dissonant starting at around :09, but by :30 or so it clears up, and I love the somber string line at :45 or so. This piece could use some more variety in the energy level and instrumentation, and in general some more distinct structuring. The beat and pads are pretty much a constant for the whole piece. It just needs more narrative appeal. The string melodies are a good start in that regard, but at some point I would’ve liked to see you strip away the beat, or switch up the chord progression more, or at least do more with filtering, automation, velocity level changes, etc. Still, I like the mood, sound design, and production quality of this one. Keep at it, SleepyPoundcake! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7/10

SleepyPoundcake responds:

Okay this is quite a review. Thanks a lot!

I did do this one thinking of a more simple, easy melody to follow without much fireworks, mostly carried by the somewhat somber feeling to it. It's also why the track I posted after this has a lot more variety to it, I was aware of this being simpler that way.

I'll definitely be taking your comments into account for future tracks of this kind.

I'm also glad to see my mastering has improved, because believe me I've had a lot of trouble with that as I learned.

Thanks again!