TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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

[Escaping Limbo]

I like the thunder and rain sound effects (or, perhaps a recording?) at the beginning. It really sets the scene, and the bright chords add a profoundness to the tone of the piece. The texture smooths out considerably by the 1-minute mark, with your characteristic flowy wave-like style. The piece feels conspicuously empty at around 1:25, which I thought was a somewhat odd choice for what isn’t a particularly climactic part of the piece otherwise. I love the feeling of floating at 2:04, which is contrasted with the heavy chords at 2:42. The piece really gives off the sense of capturing a journey. At 3:04, there’s another one of your somewhat unexpected modulations, but at least the equally odd harmonic shift at 3:16 maintains the jarring chord progression across that section. I like the sound of footsteps at 3:30 (I’m not sure they’re footsteps, really, but it seemed to fit the journey metaphor). There’s such beautiful phrasing at the section starting at 3:55. The pitter-patter rhythm and delicately articulated swells complement each other so well - haunting work there. I also like how the piece periodically resets itself throughout this middle section. You’ve set up a really intricate arrangement here, and it doesn’t always work for me (5:04 seemed like a pretty sudden stylistic change, for example), but you’ve mostly found some particularly effective ways of transitioning between the various sub-themes of the piece. The reverse piano action at 5:30 was another strong compositional detail that adds to the pensive mood of the piece. I think 6:15 really serves as the arrival point of the piece - it feels so cathartic and freeing. Admittedly, the crackles in the background there didn’t quite work for me, though. I don’t think they built on your previous use of sound effects very effectively, and I almost thought the first one was some sort of recording mistake. There’s another rather awesome transition at 6:52, and the little sound wave manipulation going on at 6:56 works well to draw the listener’s attention to the background just before the rain starts up again. You’ve really taken some risks in this piece between the reversing of the piano and the generous use of sound effects. The ending is a bit jarring for me - seems like the grand crescendo of background noise was more for dramatic effect than to serve a more contextually appropriate compositional purpose. Perhaps that’s a bit stringent, though. Overall, this piece is fantastic. I’m particularly impressed with your continued ability to make such a simplistic sound design so engaging and varied, even across different pieces. If I was getting even slightly bored with your piano compositions this summer (which I was not), these last couple of rounds would renew my interest in a heartbeat. Well done, Ale! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
9.25/10

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Wow, thank you for the in-depth review! I am glad you liked the sound effects. I did not record these myself, but they're all CC0, free to use sounds. I intentionally stayed away from any popular or often used ones. I tried to get effects with as few downloads as possible, but only if they had just as high quality/fit the piece as well as the popular ones. Thus, there are a few exceptions.

I wanted to make something really different for this round, for many reasons. I realise the risk in composing only solo piano pieces for a competition like this. Regardless of how good they are, they would feel a bit boring in the long run if they were all too similar. My laptop can't really handle too many instruments in Cubase at the moment, but it quite easily processes sound effects. I also wanted to tell a story and set an atmosphere with this composition. I felt it especially important to set the feel, as this track is partially dedicated to something Jordi was/to some extent still is going though.

I knew it was also a bold choice to say the least to compose something this long. It's a habit I have by now, as it has happened before. But certain pieces just require that kind of depth to portray what is intended, I think. I've been very happy to hear that people haven't found this piece too dragging despite its length and heaviness, though! I actually had 11 or 12 minutes of material at least, but I fought hard to cut it down to the most important elements of the story and progression.

I'm glad you like the footsteps, btw! As for the crackles, I have to agree with you there, to some extent. I had to keep it in for conceptual reasons, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find the kind of sound that I feel would've really fit there. I suppose I should've started a fire myself, and kept my microphone at an apt distance. Maybe next time :)

I'm glad you appreciated my risk-taking. For this NGADM, I've really tried to capture a balance between being creative and taking my pieces in all kinds of crazy directions, with reigning them in so that others can fully enjoy them too. Hopefully, it's working somewhat okay, at least...

"The ending is a bit jarring for me - seems like the grand crescendo of background noise was more for dramatic effect than to serve a more contextually appropriate compositional purpose."

=> This is one critique I have to disagree with, though. The very start of the piece is a loud thunder strike, followed by some rain. The very end is reversed rain, followed by a loud reversed thunder strike to null out all other sound. To me, this signifies a full, seemingly never-ending loop; limbo. So I would argue it is kept in mostly for compositional purpose, and perhaps you found the effect lacking?

Thank you again for always writing such extensive reviews. I can always tell that you've really listened to the songs, when you describe the parts that stood out to you in some way.

[We Are All Doomed]

I like the heavy bass and atmosphere at the beginning. The crisp hi-hats and quirky percussion at :15 were a nice touch, too. The heavy mid-range bass really helped inject some energy and drive into the piece, but I thought the kick at :40 sounded a bit too thin and contained. The creepy pitch-shifting on the organ riff at :57 was a great touch, and despite the relative minimalism and lack of harmonic variety, you nailed the mastering work, sound design, and rhythmic elements here. I really like melodies at 1:50 or so too. You begin to overuse the creepy pads a bit during the middle section, but the ongoing use of the mid-range basses helps keep things interesting until the re-intro at around 2:50. The drum fills at 3:20 were really creative too. There could've been a little more variety between the first and second drops, but honestly the drops are so good that I don't mind as much as I usually would. There are a couple of rough transitions between the more atmospheric and bass-heavy parts, but I'm glad you brought the atmospheric section back for the end. Strong work overall, Larrynachos! Fave'd and DL'd. ^_^

EDIT: just realized this is the 1,000th song I favorited on the site, LN, so you should feel special. :^)

larrynachos responds:

The 0:40 part should have had a crash with every kick, it feels empty to me too x.x

Your review is pretty much 100% how I feel about this track lol. Although I thought I might have been able to snag that last half star from you. Maybe on the next one!

Thanks for the review TL! Your feedback has played a big part in my growth :D