TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Lucky Break]

It's a tad difficult to follow the rhythm at the very beginning, but it gets easier when the saxophone comes in. Really evocative and seductive vibe here. Part of me wishes the drums and bass were a little more prominent in the mix, just to give it a more full-textured vibe, but you've helped add some fill with the frantic solos at 1:10. It is a little hard to follow the contour at times, and I think it would've helped if there was a tad more atmosphere to support the sax - even some other woodwind pedal tones to smooth over the bursts of melodic riffs. Still, you wrapped up the piece really well with the mellow beats at the end. Overall, sound design wins the day on this one. I agree with you about the "untethered" nature of the solo section, but it's still one of my favorite recent works of yours. Keep it up, SFW!

[Freedom]

I like the cinematic flair at the beginning and the synths. I think you've still got a lot of orchestral elements in here, especially with the vocals - not that that's a bad thing. The re-intro at 1:27 reminds me a lot of old-school Newgrounds, and this piece still has a lot of variety and sense of direction over time (at least in terms of tone/sound design), much like your longer cinematic tracks. I think the drums could've been more prominent in the texture, though - that strikes me as a crucial difference between this and most techno/trance tracks. The melodies are really good, and the mastering quality is strong as always. The modulation at the end does indeed have a bit of a different vibe from the rest of the piece - although maybe it's more of the vocals that make the different there. Either way, solid work! Good to see you're "returning to your roots," as it were. :)

[Mihari]

I like the cutesy piano riff at the beginning and the melodies. The beats at :47 are really nice, and lead into the refrain at :59 well. The mix is super clean, and the flashy synth pads and the hip-hop-inspired beats create a refreshing and well-balanced sound design. I like the rich pads at 2:55, but I would've liked to hear a little more variation on the main melody during the final refrain. The outro had a nice melodic flair too, though, and overall this piece is really smooth and upbeat. Keep up the good work, 8-bitheroes! ^_^

8-bitheroes responds:

Thanks for the support and feedback, much appreciated!

[The Midnight - Explorers (MegaSphere Remix)]

I like the bright tone at the beginning and the airy vocals. Great sense of climax into :35, too. It's a little hard to make out the lyrics sometimes, but the upbeat tone and crisp beats help drive it along. I think you might've been able to do a tad more with the instrumental tracks during the verses, but the melodic flair of the build-ups (like at 2:35) was a nice touch. It has a nice sense of flow about it, but might have needed a more distinct bridge/breakdown section to provide more structural contrast. Overall, though, really engrossing atmosphere and solid mastering. I also like the piano melodies during the outro a lot. Keep it up, MegaSphere! ^_^

[Salubrious!]

I like the cute, pizzicato-y synths at the beginning. The sound effect at :02 sounded a bit out-of-character with the rest of the piece, and I think the transition at :16 could've been smoother. That said, the rhythm in the piano line sounds nice and old-timey, almost like ragtime. The melodies here are really catchy, and the texture has a lot of variety and flavor. Thematically, it sounds nautical somehow. I think some of the transitions were a tad rough - even some risers or sweeps might've helped. I also would've liked to hear more of a proper outro. That said, the sound design and melodic content are definite strengths here. My foot's going to be tapping for a while, man! :)

[Two Thousand And Twenty Dreams]

I like the emotional strings and bright piano. Reminds me of "Clocks" by Coldplay with the vaguely melancholic descending chord progression. Later on, it gets more upbeat, and I like the injection of energy at :50 or so. The cutesy melodies there are nice, although I thought the risers and some of the synths and drum samples were a bit cheesy. The piece has a nice flow to it, although the middle section might've been a tad too dragged-out for my tastes. The mixing is pretty good, although it had a bit of a contained sound at times (maybe a little too much filtering?). I would've liked to hear some more variation on the main melody during the final refrain, but the piano "echo" during the outro was a nice touch. Solid work overall! Looking forward to hearing what you produce for contest season. ^_^

DJ-DG responds:

Thanks so much man! Honestly yeah, it does feel cheesy when you mention it... but I just wanted to make something that sounds super happy haha
Hopefully I get far enough this season to really put some more work out there :D
-DJ-DG

[Heavy Weather]

I like the indistinct atmosphere at the beginning. The texture is pretty distorted, and part of me wishes the melodies were more foregrounded in the texture during the first 45 seconds or so. The transition into the descending string line at :41 was a little sudden, but I liked rhythmic section thereafter and the melodies at 1:15. The quirky sound design at around 1:40 and the slightly barer texture serve as welcome elements of structural relief, and I really like the cute, squeaky sound effect at 2:13. Nice work overall! Definitely feels like it's ready to be the soundtrack of an animated action movie or something. :) Keep up the great work, CG!

[Everlasting]

Oh man! How did I miss this? I like the rich pads at the beginning, even if the texture seems a bit dry at first. The mix sounds like it's getting a bit overwhelmed by around the 1-minute, but the blissful melodic synth riffs help keep things moving. The harmonic content is pretty repetitive, but I liked the emotional piano riff during the breakdown at 2:25. The build-up into 3:24 isn't really something I'm used to hearing from you, but you certainly followed through nicely with the elated mood of 3:25 and the melodies into the 4-minute range. Honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of a lot of your drum samples in the piece. A lot of them sound thin, static-y, and generic. I also thought the piece itself dragged on for a bit too long. There wasn't much in the way of novel content after 5 minutes in or so that couldn't have been incorporated into the piece earlier. The variations at around 7:00 are nice, but somehow that section feels more like a bridge than a "tie-together, final refrain" sort of moment. Anyway, I'm getting too nitpicky on the structuring. This piece is quintessentially very Lockyn-ish, with the bright melodies, crisp melodies, and energetic breaks interspersed with downtempo piano sections. Glad to have you back, buddy! Looking forward to hearing more in the near future. ^___^

[Unda Animus]

Happy new decade, Detious! I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the pulsing pads. The reverb on the claps is a little heavy at times, and the texture could use a little more variety after a while. That said, I really like how moody and relaxed it is, and the filler riffs/details help keep things passably interesting (like the drums at 2:45). Solid work. Looking forward to hearing more from you in 2020! ^^

[Fantastic Journey]

I like the bright tone of the strings and the gradual swell into :27. Pretty awesome use of sound design throughout. I believe I detect a bit of Rossini at :30 - and other places too. :) The piece wavers between many different emotions over time, and I wish the progression was a tad more fluid at times. That said, I like how you "carry over" some elements between passages (like the drums at around 2:00) to keep the structure coherent. Really seems like William Tell inspired a lot of this piece, which also helps give it some thematic grounding that I often don't hear in your works. I really like the full-textured mellow section at around 3:45, which makes the lively section at around the 5-minute mark all the more climactic. The horn melody at 6:20 was a strong conclusion to the piece as well. Overall, fantastic work as usual, Vocif! I think these lengthy orchestral pieces constitute my favorite sub-category of your work. ^_^