TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[How to train your cat]

I like the majestic strings at the beginning and the creative use of percussion. The melodies are fun and the phrasing is great. There’s also a great emotional quality to the track at :39. At times, the pace of change is a bit fast, especially towards the beginning, but it’s all very flowing and well-shaped. If I had to complain about something, it would probably be the mixing - there might be a tad too much reverb, or maybe just some more filtering work to do, but the harmonies get a little lost at times, and the percussion could’ve had a bit more punch throughout. Overall, though, the composition and sound design are fantastic here. Really fun piece, Elias! ^^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10

Santi-Montali responds:

Thanks! Yes, you are absolutely right about the reverb. It's amazing you noticed since there was clear guilty, a reverb in the premaster bus. By the time I made this I didn't care much about it hehe.

[Forced Desire]

The tempo automations at the beginning are cool, although the synth there sounds a tad harsh in my headphones. I’m not sure the frantic pace of the synth by :28 lined up well with the more reserved-sounding beat at :29, but I like the riffs there too. The beat is a little dry, and the synths sound a bit square and generic. I’m also not sure the simple drum fill at 1:45 was a super effective transition into the full-textured synth patterns at 1:50. There are also a lot of moments in the piece like 2:22, where you completely switch the palette of foregrounded riffs in the texture without much warning.

I think transitions are something you should really focus on going forward. Investing in some more advanced techniques like filtering and automation would probably help, but cross fading and drum fills can work well in certain contexts. A good rule of thumb is that relatively sudden transitions usually need to share at least one core common element on either side of the change in order to be smooth enough (a common bass riff, pad drone, arpeggiated harmony, etc.).

The other main problem I have with the piece is the lack of variety in the harmonies. You switch up the instrumentation pretty often, but you don’t really introduce any new riffs or variations later in the piece. Try to include a bridge or breakdown in your piece that has a different harmonic framework or chord progression than the rest of the track. In this track, 2:55 was probably a good opportunity for that, but instead of a contrasting melody or mood, the main riff plays there again.

Overall, though, I admire your sense of harmony, rhythm, and atmosphere. The mixing is also pretty clear and well-balanced. Smooth transitions and variety are the main things to add to your toolbox next, but this is a great start. Keep at it, Dysutopia12! :)

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
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7/10

[conjunction]

I like the atmosphere and the nature sound effects at the beginning. Sound design is nice and majestic too, and the percussion is creative. After a time, I thought the birds were a bit overused, and the progression a little too slow-paced. The mixing is solid, though, and there’s a good sense of build into 1:50. The harmonies get a tad lost under the bass during the drop, but I like the mellow bridge at 2:20 - gorgeous melodies too. The second drop was nice, although I might’ve liked to see a proper outro. Overall, really solid work here! The atmosphere, sound design, rich and full textures, and melodies are all huge pluses. The arrangement was a tad generic, but you certain kept me engaged with the blissful harmonies and cool transitions. Keep it up, Dursope! ^_^

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?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

[Dakota Rineer-Fire]

I like the furtive tone at the beginning. Piano sounds a bit inauthentic, but it fits in better once the synths come in at around :30. I like the generous use of hi-hats in the beat too. The progression is a little slow-paced, although the drop has a really cool tension about it, and the melody is nice too. I think you overuse the crash that appears at 2:00, 2:03, 2:07, etc., though. The mixing is solid - loud and clear, if perhaps a tad overcompressed. The sound design is another plus overall for me, and it has a great sense of flow. The eerie melodies are a huge highlight, and the subtle variations on the second drop were really nice, with a nice touch in the arpeggios at 4:12 during the final repeat. The arrangement is a tad generic, especially with the build-ups, but the variety helps. Solid work overall! Keep it up, Drak02. ^_^

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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.5/10

[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