TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[warning chime]

I like the piano arpeggios at the beginning, but the low chords sound really muddy and clunky. It might be that the pitches they play are a little too close together, so the individual notes don’t sound distinct. The entire piano part really ducks under the mix at :17, though - it just sounds much quieter than before. You can fix that by adding an equalizer to each instrument in your DAW’s mixer, and then removing the frequencies below 200 Hz for every instrument except the bass and the kick. It also couldn’t hurt to balance out the frequencies a bit more with some higher-pitched tones, even moving the piano part up the octave if you have to. That said, I like the beat and the rest of the sound design, especially that sultry-sounding instrument at :50. Stripping away the atmosphere at 1:09 was a good idea, although once the harmonies come in at 1:18 it’s hard to hear the sultry lead. Overall, there are a lot of cool individual riffs here, and the instrument selection is pleasant, even if it doesn’t sound like authentic brass, but the composition could use a stronger sense of ebb and flow over time - bolder melodies, more variety later on, and a more fully fleshed-out structure. That said, the biggest problem here is that the mixing needs much more clarity - I need to be able to hear all the instruments clearly throughout. That said, this is a catchy piece with a cool mood and atmosphere and some nice sound design. Keep at it, Ryan! ^_^

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7/10

rYANCOOPERmx5 responds:

very detailed feedback, thank you :D

[Alice in the Mysterious Circus]

I like the upbeat mood at the beginning, the build-up into :10, and the frantic, jazzy piano line at :11. There’s a major shift in the instrumentation at :30, and the synth there sounds a bit cheesy, but the riff it’s playing is still really catchy and cute. The triumphant tone and full texture at :50 sounds like the winning screen on an old video game. By around 1:20 or so, you start overusing the transition with the rising sweep. Sometimes, it might be nice to foreshadow changes in the instruments in advance, just to make some of the major shifts less jarring, especially in such a fast-paced piece. The modulation at 1:58 was a nice touch, though - really upped the ante towards the end of the piece. The production quality could use a bit of cleaning up in places - the piano sounds particularly muddy during the busy sections - but I know FL Studio Mobile has some constraints in that regard. Overall, this piece is fun, energetic, and full of cool melodies and a lot of variety. Strong work! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
8.5/10

Ru2Tu2 responds:

Wow I didn't expect such detailed explanation and analysis! As an amateur who is making some melodies and songs just for hobby, it was a super luck to participate this contest. I really appreciate it.

[Can't Get It Right]

The percussive effects at the beginning really set up the experimental nature of the piece well. Even after the first harmonic elements come in at :36, the pacing is very slow, and the mix sounds pretty dry. Some more mixing effects - filtering, automation, reverb, etc. - would really help jazz up the minimal texture early on. By the 1-minute mark or so, I’m enjoying the rich pads. The sudden change in the filtering at 1:47 really threw me off, and the second time it happens at 2:07 doesn’t feel any less jarring. There’s also a bit too much static in the texture, and the compositional details here are a very distinct combination of tranquil, echo-y pads and jumpscares.

Despite the array of distorted effects and rhythmic oddities, this piece is still a bit too minimal to keep me thoroughly engaged throughout from a compositional standpoint. All things considered, I enjoyed the production quality and sound design, but the combination of an experimental texture and not much harmonic depth is, frankly, not doing it for me. I think a piece like this could work a lot better if it had a stronger sense of direction over time. Based on the author’s description, the way you made the piece is very creative, so serious props for that. The PS-25 sounds beautiful, and I like the screaming noises you recorded too. Keep at it, RezDragon! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
0/1
Composite score
5/10

RezDragon responds:

Thank you for your honest and very constructive criticism. I haven't been making music for very long and am always trying to improve my work with each piece/album I put out.

To explain why the track seems unfocused is because... well it is, I'll admit that. All of my music is played entirely freehand and I try to give it focus/purpose/direction in editing. It's why I don't really describe myself as a musician, rather just a sound designer who happens to make music. I guess you could say I focus way more on the producing side than I do the composing side. I've come into making music only recently (since 2021) and I am very much learning as I go, but this also means I haven't really, I guess you could say developed, a skill for composing before playing yet. I describe my creative process as "i make noises and then put them together and hope they sound good."

I don't mean for this to come across as defensive, just basically "i am an idiot who likes cutting up audio just a little too much."

[Fomalhaut, Mouth of the Southern Fish]

I like the powerful chords at the beginning and the quirky synth lead at :26. The pitter-patter bass at :36 isn’t my favorite sound design choice, especially since all you can hear of it until :49 is the very top of its frequency range. The mix sounds a bit strained up until that point, though, with the heavy pads generally distorting the other instruments. I would suggest cutting off their frequency range below 200 Hz with an equalizer. By 1:12, I’m enjoying the busy beat and pulsing atmospheric pad, although the open hat at 1:24 takes up a bit too much space in the mix.

The cute melodies at 1:50 are a nice touch, and you transition back into the heavy mid-range pads smoothly at 2:13. At around 2:30, the delay/sidechain effects on the pads are throwing me off the pattern of emphasis in the rhythm a bit. The minimal bass line at 3:10 is a good switch-up to the texture, but the spacey sound effects shortly thereafter were a bit cheesy. The melodies at 4:12 and 5:00 were also a good way of hitting the piece home towards the end.

Overall, I enjoyed the progression, rhythmic content, and atmosphere of this piece. Cleaning up the production quality and maybe polishing up the sound design a bit would give you back a point or two here. Keep at it, rejd! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
6.75/10

rejd responds:

Thank you very much!! This is my first time trying Psytrance anyway and I appreciate the thorough feedback/criticism!! Glad you enjoyed my silly song about a star hehe!!

[(Peiton DS) Pride's Reverie [Original Song]]

I like the eerie mood at the beginning. The beat at :15 is nice and crisp, but also a bit dry - maybe some reverb would help. The production in general is clean and clear, but also a bit over-compressed at times. The vocal delivery is great, although I wanted them to be a bit more up-front in the mix, which might’ve helped me discern the lyrics better. Especially at around 1:10, the harmonies sound a lot louder than the vocals, and otherwise the instrumental tracks are minimal enough that I wanted some depth there at some point.

The chopped vocal section at 2:13 was a neat idea, but like much of the rest of the piece it felt just a bit too minimal. And 2:44 is another section where it’s really hard to discern the vocals. It sounds like you need more compression on the vocals and less on the drums and other harmonies.

By 3:15, I’m really able to fully admire how you’ve gradually switched up the harmonies in a subtle way, even though it’s the same chord progression and rhythm. Love the energy behind the vocals at 3:47, although the length of the vocal phrase, combined with a lack of melodic direction until about 4:40, makes it hard to stay engaged. The lengthy instrumental section at the end also didn’t add much in the way of novel content.

Overall, I really like the sound design, mood, atmosphere, and lyrics here. The composition is very dragged-out and minimal, though. More variety, harmonic depth, and a better-balanced mix would really make this a top-notch track in my view. It would also help to cut down on the filler content between vocal phrases and create more ebb and flow within phrases to maintain interest over the longer vocal sections. Still, this is definitely a unique piece in the competition given how you’re using the vocals, playing with tempo automations, and varying the harmonies over time. Keep at it, reethepeethe! ^_^

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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.25/10

[I want you to be here]

I like the tranquil atmosphere and soothing vocals at the beginning. The cute melody at :38 is a nice touch, too. The lyrics are great - really direct and heartfelt, matching the character of the vocals. The blending on the vocals isn’t perfect, but they sit really well in the mix. The instrumentals could use a bit more variety, though - a solo or atmospheric bridge or something, just to break up the monotonous verse-chorus pattern of the body of the piece. I also would’ve liked to hear a proper outro - right now, the ending cuts off pretty suddenly. That said, I did notice that the cute melody is back for the final refrain at 2:22. Overall, I really like the sound design, production quality, mood, and atmosphere of this piece. A little more range in the instrumental tracks would really take it to the next level, though. Keep at it, redboat! ^_^

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

redboat responds:

thank u sm dis an old song from 2023 too :3

[Brain Fog]

I like the pensive synth arpeggios at the beginning and the ominous atmosphere at :06. The crisp beats at :13 are nice too, and the build-up into :32 was enjoyable, but extending the transition with the arps kinda ruined the flow of it IMO. The drop at :38 is pretty minimal, and when the arps come back in at :51 I can barely hear them. I think the bass is seriously distorting the rest of the harmonies in the mix, which you can probably fix with some more equalization and potentially stereo expansion on the arps. In general, I’d like to see some more harmonic depth here - thicker layers of harmonic instruments, including some that are in a higher frequency range to balance out the otherwise bottom-heavy mix here.

That said, there are some really cool compositional details here, like the rapid-fire synths at 1:46. The rhythmic content is definitely neat throughout. I also think it would be good to cut down on some of the filler/transitory content, like the long section at 2:35 where a pulsing, atmospheric pad takes up most of the texture. That said, the bright-sounding mid-range synth at 3:05 was a good way of creating some variety, and you transition nicely back into the refrain with the main theme at 3:37. The bass is still distorting the mix during the final minute or so - please double-check to make sure that you have an equalizer cutting off all of the frequencies below 200 Hz in every instrument besides the bass and kick. You might also need to limit the upper range of the bass a bit to make sure it’s not interfering with others.

Overall, this piece is catchy, smooth-flowing, and has a great atmosphere and a lot of cool individual riffs. The composition just needs a tad more depth, and the production could use some cleaning up here and there. Keep at it, Randomdude456! ^_^

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

Randomdude456 responds:

hearing someone give a review like this on a song i made warms my heart so much... thank you for the feedback!!!!!

[Lizard Wizard of the Bayou]

I like the frantic guitar riff at the beginning. It’s a little hard to follow the rhythm at :18, but the added atmosphere there is a nice touch. The solo at :34 is a bit dissonant with the harmonies, but I like the vocals at :50. The vocals sit well in the mix, although the lyrics themselves are occasionally a bit cheesy. During the vocal sections, I also wanted to hear a bit more of the drums - maybe some more compression would help.

After a couple minutes of verse-chorus oscillation, the piece was due for a switch-up in the texture, so the solo at 2:54 was refreshing in that regard. That said, I’m not sure the filler transitory part at 2:42 was necessary - it kinda saps the momentum of the piece at a time where it’s theoretically building up to the intensity of the solo. There are also moments in the vocal phrases where there don’t seem to be enough syllables to fill the line, so you stretch them out in a way that causes the vocal phrases to lose their edge - 1:55 is a good example of this. Contrast that with 3:10, for example - there’s just more intensity to the delivery there, which is much better (although the lines “man built within” are also pretty stretched out).

By the end, the piece also sounds a bit repetitive. It might’ve been nice to switch up some aspects of the refrain the final time around at 4:46. Overall, I think the pacing of this track needs to increase a bit before the menacing feel of it really comes through. You definitely have the voice for that, but the delivery could be a lot more flowing. Some more variety in the instrumentals throughout would also help keep the listener engaged. That said, I enjoyed the sound design, concept, and progression of this a lot. Keep at it, Proktology! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.75/10

[Why?]

I like the beat at the beginning, even though I’m pretty sure I recognize some FL Studio presets. :D The gritty guitar at :06 is cool, although the drums are really struggling to stay on top of the mix once the texture gets busier. The mix is also very bottom-heavy, with a lot of individual instruments competing for not much stereo space down there. That could be a part of the problem with the distorted drums. The harmonies in this piece definitely get more well-varied as the piece goes on, but overall they’re still pretty minimal. I’d like to see more variety in the harmonic content, including more higher-register ones to balance out the dense bass riffs. I’m also a little confused why the 2-bar beat at the beginning played again at the very end - in the context of the rest of the piece, it sounds a little out-of-place both times. Overall, you clearly have a good sense of rhythm and progression, but the composition here needs more fleshing out and the mix could be sharper and clearer. Still, I love the ominous energy this piece has. Keep at it, Octusic! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
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
5/10