TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Love Again]

Good to hear from you again, Steelside! I like the instrumental tracks with the soulful guitar, but sometimes the vocals felt a little over-processed and breathy for my tastes. The lyrics themselves are good, and the 2nd verse hit especially hard. The composition might've needed a little more fleshing out. Given the pretty minimal texture and excess of reverb, I was looking for a stronger sense of development in the instrumental tracks - maybe a guitar solo or energetic bridge or something. Either way, I appreciate your brand of bluesy minimalism, Steelside. Hope to hear more from you soon. ^^

[F-777 - The Lost Vikings (2015)]

I like the sound design and atmosphere at the beginning. At first, it's a little hard to follow the rhythm of the main melody, but it gets easier once the beat comes in at :37. The mix is a little over-compressed and distorted, but I still appreciate how loud and well-balanced it is. The harp samples at the breakdown are nice, and I like the harder-hitting mid-range bass during the more melodic sections too. The spacey outro is a nice touch too. Looking forward to hearing some more recent compositions of yours soon. ^^

F-777 responds:

Thank you!!! ya that's make sense too tho I should of added some element to make the intro more concise and followable. Writing this down for future songs. Ye the compressions not great....welll really bad even XD. I do have this still on a hard drive so I might try a new 2020 version. Glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks brooo!

[Beyond The Clouds]

I like the feeling of apprehension at the beginning and the catchy brass riffs. The vocals at :30 add a bit of flavor, and it almost sounds like a group of children chanting. The piece really comes together at 1:24, where there's a more melodic flair to the texture. The adventuresome whimsy of the piece never subsides, although sometimes I think the vocals are a bit distracting and don't complement the other elements of the texture very well. Still, I admire your sound design and composition work, not to mention the amazing production quality that's typical of your tracks. Keep at it, Vociferous! ^^

[Guru (feat. JT the Human)]

I love the quirky, glitchy vibe at the beginning and the smooth vocals. The content of the lyrics is also really good. The production quality is fantastic, and the angelic vocals at around :45 are great. I really like the crisp, mellow drums and the variety in the vocal textures here. This piece is both relaxing and thought-provoking. The rap part at around 2:45 was also really good, although I might've liked to hear the vocals be a bit stronger in the mix there. The texture here is really smooth and flowing, and I love the variations on the chorus at the 4-minute mark. If I had to complain about one thing, it might be that the instrumental track could use a stand-out moment, as the instrumental hierarchy is pretty similar throughout the piece. That said, the variety in the vocals and the overall tone of the piece sell it really well. Fantastic work overall, everyone! ^^

Phonometrologist responds:

Oi is there a point in replying after over a month and a half? Well, It's been a super busy December, and I'm getting back into the hang of things now. If you took the time to write out your thoughts about the piece, it is the least I can do to say thank you. I, too, really think the rap part brings the whole piece to a nice finish, and I also agree with you that I prefer having more instruments being more in the forefront of a mix/arrangement. However, it's the mixing style for the genre they were going for where the vocals ride over the top, and the instrumentals are more reserved. I understand it, but I always preferred a dirty mix such as the classic albums in the Rolling Stones, or the musical lyrics that blend well with the music as in Radiohead and M83. This is their baby, though.

[Where The Beast's At]

I like the ominous sound design and rich atmosphere towards the beginning. There's a good sense of climax into the drop at 1:04. You've really shown off your filtering skills and strong sense of rhythm. I like the cutesy VGM vibe at around 2:25 too, and the sing-songy "la la la"s at 2:35 help enhance that feeling. They also flow really nicely back into the pre-chorus thing at 3:02. The sound design during the outro is genius, and I loved the creepy atmospheric details at around 4:15. Nice job with the ritardando at the very end too. Overall solid work yet again, MrKoolTrix! ^^

MrKoolTrix responds:

Thanks for reviewing, TL! :D

[Western Punk]

I like the ominous sound design and atmosphere at the beginning. The texture is a bit minimal, but the percussion and sense of apprehension keep me engaged until it starts picking up at around :51. There's a bit of dissonance in the texture there, and I think the climactic part in the middle needs a bit more fill in the lower-mid frequency range to sell the intensity. I think you nailed the mood and atmosphere of the piece overall, and it has a good sense of flow and sound design as well. The composition might need a bit more fleshing out, and the tonality of the piece threw me off at some points, even though I know it's meant to sound creepy. You might also need more of a proper outro to the piece. Feels like it ends right after a climactic section, which is a bit jarring. The mixing is good, although during the climactic parts I wanted the drums to be punchier. Overall, though, solid work here, GALICROSS! :) Feel free to ping me again when you release your next track.

GALICROSS responds:

Thanks, I
I rework this music on the drums and more atmosphere

[Fulcrum]

I like the jazzy flair and crisp percussion. The texture is a bit minimal and staccato-y, but I like the addition of the groovy plucked bass at :20-ish. The solo at :35 is really wonky, with a lot of dissonant notes and large interval jumps that make it a bit hard to follow the harmonic framework. The mix is a little quiet, and could even use a higher saturation of effects to keep things interesting towards the beginning. The organ solo at 1:40 was super nice, and the texture fills out better in the second half of the piece. I really like the bright brass chords at around 2:25, too. The structure is a bit meandering and disjointed at times, but the piece comes together well by the end. Despite my general sour attitude towards sudden endings, this one seemed fitting given the rather quirky tone of the piece overall. You’ve also managed to give the piece a similarly quirky title. I applaud you for continuing to take so many compositional risks with your work, even at this late stage of the competition. Despite some minor gripes with the arrangement and harmonic details, you won me over with this one. Keep at it, Vocaloutburst! ^^

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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10

vocaloutburst responds:

As always, thanks a ton for your reviews man!!! Tbh, I was REALLY worried about this one cause this is pure jazz XD. In this round, I felt like I was hitting a really bad block, so I went with creating a track that I was most comfortable with and that's honestly jazz stuff. I was afraid that it wouldn't sound very fitting in the contest, considering that most of the submissions so far were orchestral or cinematic. So it really means a lot to hear that you still enjoyed the piece regardless of the style!

[Flow]

I like the reverse pianos at the beginning and the gradual swell of the atmosphere into :14. The texture is quite rich, and the overall tone of the piece rather soothing and warm. There isn’t a strong sense of development for the first half or so, but the sound design and trance-like style help make up for that. I think there are some sudden entrances and shifts in the instrumental palette that detract from the flow of the piece, like at 1:34. Overall, the arrangement is pretty choppy here at times, and I would’ve liked to hear a more gradual climax into the more dramatic part at 2:03. The tempo change at 2:20 was a nice touch, though. I think the mix is a bit dry at times, especially towards the beginning, and could also use more bass to maximize the impact of the final climax. I like the dreamy outro, but I’m also not sure how to weave the narrative of the piece together between the sudden changes in mood here. In my estimation, the main problem with the piece is the somewhat disjointed structure. Everything else is truly a minor complaint, and you know I love your cinematic flair, sound design, phrasing and dynamics work, and melody-writing. Keep it up, CloakedSoup! ^^

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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

CloakedSoup responds:

Thanks! I actually wrote like half of it in a couple hours. lol I'm definitely going to come back to this and completely re-work it.

[Voyager]

I like the laid-back western vibe at the beginning and spaciousness of the texture. The melodies in the guitar at :20 or so are beautiful, and as usual your sound design as a whole is amazing. There isn’t as strong of a sense of development during the first couple of minutes as with most of your pieces, and I was a bit surprised when the already pretty thin texture took another step back at 1:34. The viola’s vibrato at 1:49 sounds a bit hyperbolic, although the texture comes together well by around 2:10. I might’ve liked to hear some more bass tones, especially in the percussion during the climax. The solo at 3:02 is probably the highlight of the piece for me. While the lead melody was a bit too loud imo, this section has a satisfying whimsical tone and tranquility that I find particularly refreshing following the busiest section of the piece. I think you could’ve fleshed the piece out a little more structurally, as there isn’t as much phrasing and variety here as I’m used to hearing from you. Still, the emotional quality of the climax is in the right places with this one, and I really like the character of the more mellow parts. Keep at it, Syamori! ^_^

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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9/10