TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Break the barrier]

I like the punchy beats at the beginning and the ominous synth line at :12. The call-and-response between the distorted pads and glittery synth at :36 is also nice. There are a lot of good compositional ideas in isolation, but the transitions between them can be a bit abrupt. The texture is very minimal for most of this piece, with the drums occupying most of my attention. Clearly, you have a great sense of rhythm and a strong background in production, but the composition is a bit bland and the mix could also be a tad better balanced between the rhythmic and harmonic elements. I’d focus on cleaning up the choppy arrangement by employing more gradual transitions and also adding harmonic depth and more dynamic melodic content. Your strong production background should help you incorporate additional layers to the texture well. Keep at it, Monkeydj! ^_^

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
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.5/10

Monkeydj responds:

Thank you for the feedback! I'll keep it all in mind and try to get better

[MintXeido - WHOLESOME!]

I like the bright mood and rich atmosphere at the beginning. The chromatic tone at :40 was a nice touch, adding an air of mystery and suspense. The texture has way too much reverb and delay at 1:00, and it’s especially jarring because of the abrupt transition there. The crisp beat at 1:20 was a nice touch, and certainly offers some contrast from the tranquility of the cute synths. I wasn’t a huge fan of the stutter effect at 1:36 - I feel like an ambient piece like this is better emphasizing flow over rhythmic density. There’s a good sense of build-up into 2:26, but it ends up being a bit of an anticlimax. The mellow arpeggios at 2:30 are nice, but a lot of this piece is very minimal in texture, which makes it hard to stay engaged after a while. The key changes during the build-up from 3:14 to 3:32 were neat, and 3:34 serves as a major “point of arrival” for the piece more than any other. I’d like to see some more dynamic melodic content at some point - the tension in this piece doesn’t quite feel resolved otherwise. Also, at around 4:00, the drums are seriously ducking under the mix. I would dial back the reverb a tad and make sure that you’ve equalized out the sub-bass frequencies (<200 Hz) in all of the harmonic instruments. The ominous outro at 4:30 is neat, and I like how you found a major tonic chord by the end. :D

Overall, I like the sound design and mood of this piece a lot, but there were some compositional choices that were a bit too experimental for my tastes. I’d like to see you fill out the texture with more bass and mid-range tones for most of the piece, and also polish up the mix a tad. Still, there’s a really evocative atmosphere here, and a lot of cool compositional details to capitalize on further if you ever decide to revisit this. Keep at it, MintXeido! ^_^

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
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

MintXeido responds:

Thank you for the honest and detailed review. As a self-taught composer who has been producing tracks as a hobby for four years, your feedback really helps me see how much I’ve improved over the years. I’m truly glad and honored to hear that this piece has brought emotions from me to you. ^ ^

As always, happily expressing my emotions with beauty and passion,

MintXeido.

[Bullet Hell]

I like the crisp beats at :20 and the ominous pads at :30. The first 30 seconds of the piece didn’t add much to the overall progression, though, especially since the synth plucks don’t really appear in the “body” of the piece. The lead synth riff at :46 is nice, as are the arpeggiated patterns at 1:02. At some point, it would be nice to hear some harmonic variation on the main riffs. The switch-up in the instrumental palette at 1:34 creates some structural variety, but the piece still feels pretty repetitive with the same 4-chord pattern and two or three other harmonic riffs pervading the piece. On the other hand, the mixing is solid here, and I really like the rhythmic content, especially in the drums. Give this a tad more variety and maybe some more melodic development, and I’d easily rate it a point or two higher. Keep at it, MeowMusicStudios! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[I've Seen It All (Cover)]

I like the train horn at the beginning and the quirky percussion thereafter. The vocals at :20 are really majestic and smooth. They also contrast nicely with the deeper, more robotic-sounding vocals at :34. The blending at :48 is really nice, and I like how the brass and other instrumentals really swell into the texture at around the same time. The string solo at 1:00 is really lovely.

My biggest concern with this piece is the mixing. The drums get a little buried during the busier sections, and sometimes the vocals also struggle to stay on top of the instrumental tracks. You might have to get a bit stricter with the equalization. Definitely make sure the harmonic instruments have the sub-bass frequencies (<200 Hz) completely eliminated. A bit more compression on the drums might also help.

You nailed the high notes at 2:03. I can tell the two voice parts were recorded using two different setups, but in a way it provides a nice source of contrast. The last minute and a half of the piece are especially melancholic with the haunting strings and defeatist-sounding vocals. The lengthy drum fill at the end felt a bit unnecessary.

If I had to complain about something in the composition, it might be that the arrangement feels a bit cyclical after a while. I would like to see an extended bridge or atmospheric breakdown or something at some point, just to break up the verse-chorus structure a tad.

Still, this is really strong work overall, Mememano and Andyg0z. Certainly the best vocal performance I’ve heard in the contest so far. Lovely and authentic-sounding instrumentals, too. Polish up the mixing a tad and this is easily a 9-range track. Keep it up! ^_^

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

Mememano responds:

Thx! It's a cover song we love. We will take your advices to get better at it! Thanks :)

[Love is a Drug]

I like the jangly guitar riff at :06. The tuning might be slightly off, though, because once the synth comes in at :11, the texture sounds a tad atonal. The vocals are pretty good, but the recording quality is not great. It might help the lyrics come through clearer if you articulated your consonants a bit more carefully. Occasionally, the notes don’t quite land right, and should probably be re-recorded, like “head” at :50. I like the blissful melody at :58, and you nailed the higher-pitched vocals at 1:13. At 1:30, the vocal delivery isn’t quite on beat.

Later in the piece, there’s a bit too much reverb in the texture. It’s hard to make out some of the harmonic instruments. In addition to dialing back the reverb, you might also try using an equalizer to remove the frequencies below around 200 Hz from the harmonic instruments. That will help clean up the mud in the lower end of the frequency range.

Overall, I like the sound design, progression, and atmosphere of this piece a lot. The mixing and vocal and guitar recordings just need a tad more polish. Keep at it, MajorDanger! ^_^

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

[Clique]

I like the cute synth riff at the beginning. The beat at :09 is very loud by comparison, though. The saxophone at :18 was a fun choice, even if that instrument sounds a bit inauthentic. There are a few rough transitions here, like at 1:07 and 2:24, and overall the harmonic content is very repetitive. At some point, the sax melody either needs more harmonies built around it or a “B” melody to complement it. Finally, long stretches of this piece are very minimal in texture, most notably 2:33 to 3:38. To keep the listener engaged, I would either cut these out or create more variety within them, likely with additional instruments and/or mixing effects that add interest. Overall, I like the sound design, upbeat mood, and rhythmic elements of this piece a lot, and the production quality is also fairly good. It just needs more variety and some thicker harmonies to flesh out the composition. Keep at it, LunarEchoesOfficial! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6/10

LunarEchoesOfficial responds:

Thanks for the feedback! I see the flaws and will work on improving them in future projects.

[something demo]

The organ chord at the beginning sounds slightly grating, but contrasts nicely with the bright piano line above it. The mallets at :38 aren’t quite sharp enough in the mix for me to follow the rhythm easily, and overall the texture is pretty dissonant by around 1:05. I like the gradual swell into 1:23 and the reset with the steady bass thereafter. Admittedly, this piece doesn’t quite come together for me. The ritardando at the end was a good idea, and I like the sound design a lot, but the composition was a bit repetitive and lackluster. Also, at the end the percussion (besides the prominent crashes) gets really buried in the mix. I really would’ve liked to see more harmonic variety and melodic development, and also some more gradual transitions and sharper mixing for the percussive elements. Definitely make sure that the harmonic instruments don’t have any frequencies below around 200 Hz left in the equalizer. But a little compression, especially on the kick and snare, is advisable. Overall, there’s a really neat mood, atmosphere, and instrumental palette to build on here. But the composition and mixing could use some fleshing out and polishing up, respectively. Keep at it, LpixXxel! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
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
6/10

LpixXxel responds:

thanks for the feedback!! i'll refer to this if i ever decide to improve this :)

[ANTIMORAL]

The piece is a bit slow to develop at first, but by around :25 the glissando effect and rhythmic elements of the lead synth are pretty cool. Despite the added distorted percussion and glitchy effects, the piece is still pretty minimal until 1:16 or so. I like the added bass riff there, and the piece is flowing nicely, just at a bit of a slow pace. There’s a bit of dissonance in the texture by around 2:15, and the mix also sounds rather distorted there, with what I’ve been calling the lead synth really ducking under the harmonies. I’d suggest using a mixer to add an equalizer to each harmonic instrument in this piece (so, everything besides the bass and drums) and then cutting off the frequencies below around 200 Hz. That’ll make your piece sound less muddy and distorted in the bass end of the frequency range.

The cute synth melody at 2:46 is good for some variety, and I like the build-up in the texture until 3:37 or so. The transition at 3:37 was a bit sudden, but it was a refreshing change-of-pace to have the beat stripped away for a while. Admittedly, the drum instruments are not my favorite in this piece - they sound a bit dry and unpolished. That said, I like how you quickly weave the melodic motifs from the first 3.5 minutes of the piece into the breakdown section by around 4:10. The transition at 5:13 is pretty rough, although by 6:05 you’ve smoothly transitioned back to the bass line from the first part of the piece.

I think it would benefit this piece if you consolidated some of your ideas and focused on giving the track a stronger sense of direction at a given time. There are a lot of long, drawn-out phrases in this piece that don’t really seem to lead anywhere, like the part from 6:56 to 7:34. It’s pretty minimal, and the lead there is playing in such a narrow frequency range that it just doesn’t feel that dynamic or memorable of a melody. The prominent melodies you do have in this piece also don’t feel as compelling as they should, with long strings of repeated rhythmic patterns that dance around the same small handful of notes without much overarching contour. I would encourage you to aim for looser melody writing that has an “end goal” in mind, whether that’s hitting a certain high note toward the end, or quickening the density of the rhythm over time, or otherwise taking the piece in a new direction.

By the end, the main melodies and other motifs in this piece feel a bit repetitive (which, for an 11-minute piece, is pretty unsurprising). On the other hand, it’s impressive that you are able to make an 11-minute track sound this cohesive while also covering so much ground structurally. I like the high-pitched synth at 10:26 - it certainly adds an air of mystery, but also finality, to this track. Overall, you’ve clearly displayed a good sense of harmony, rhythm, and structuring here. I have four areas I’d encourage you to focus on going forward: 1) a cleaner, tighter mix with stricter equalization; 2) smoother, more gradual transitions; 3) sound design that’s more original and blends better together; and 4) loose, pithy melody writing in which every note has a purpose. Sorry if working on all of these things is a bit of an overwhelming directive, but frankly you’ve given me a lot to work with in these 11 minutes. :)

Keep at it, Llamations! Your creative energy really comes through with this piece, and I’m looking forward to seeing you channel that energy into making your music even better. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
6.5/10

Llamations responds:

Thanks for the feedback!

[Laser]

I like the upbeat mood at the beginning and the cute synths. The texture is bouncy and melodic, but there’s also a lot going on, so I’d take some extra precautions to make sure the drums really pop through in the mix. Make sure every harmonic instrument (so, everything besides the drums and sub-bass) has the frequencies below around 200 Hz cut out with an equalizer. That should make your mix sound a bit cleaner.

Despite the riser leading up to it, 1:10 is a pretty abrupt switch-out of most of the instruments in your piece, and by the added harmonies come in at 1:27, the mix once again sounds a bit strained. I can barely hear the harmonies that come in at 1:46. At some point, it’s really hard to make each instrument sound distinct in the mix when multiple ones are competing for the same frequency range. Stereo widening is an advanced tool you can use to physically keep some backing harmonies out of the middle of the stereo space so that it’s more audible in each ear, but you might need to get stricter on the equalizer ranges of some of the harmonies in the second half of the piece to make this work. You might also consider transposing the harmony that comes in at 1:27 up an octave, just so it’s not competing too much with that mid-range bass.

Overall, I like the composition and sound design here a lot. The mixing is my big concern, and to a lesser extent I’m also concerned about a couple of abrupt transitions. Not only is the big instrumental palette switch-out at 1:10 a bit jarring, but the very end of the piece is very abrupt as well. Still, this is a fun, catchy, and blissful track with some great melodies. Keep at it, Keratrock! You’ve earned a scout. ^_^

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