TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Take the Day]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning and the creative use of percussion. The mixing is pretty quiet, and I suspect the piece could use some more compression, or maybe just a more careful use of volume levels. The string melodies at :32 are really nice, and I like the flow of the piece thereafter. I think there could’ve been a bit more structural variety here, even if it is a relatively short track - a breakdown or bridge that strips away the percussion and focuses on phrasing. The part at 1:52 is kind of like that, except its position in the arrangement makes it feel more like a coda than a bridge. I also think you could’ve made better use of the treble end of the frequency spectrum throughout this piece. I think it would’ve helped heighten the drama towards the end of the piece to transpose the strings up an octave and have the percussion do double time. Instead, the emotional height of the piece is at around 1:35, which doesn’t do enough to dispel the pent-up tension inherent to the piece. That said, I’m really enjoying the sound design, flow, and melodies here overall. Also, I really like how the part at 1:52 is just a slower version of the harmonies for the previous sections - it’s a fun detail that also makes an otherwise pretty sudden change-of-pace work rather well. Keep it up, AriothXerril!

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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[Heart of the Game]

I like the cutesy synths and bouncy beats at the beginning. The rhythm is a little hard-to-follow at times, especially in the melodies, but the sound design and solid production quality are both big pluses for me. The little breakdown melody at :43 is a lot more measured and well-paced, and I like the effective ABA structure. The mood, atmosphere, mixing, harmonies, texture, and instrumentation are all really strong. It’s not often that I give such high scores to such short pieces, but there’s a lot of variety and engaging riffs packed into these 86 seconds. Well done, Arevin! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
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
9.5/10

[Nonet]

The dissonance at the beginning is really evocative and interesting. The pacing is pretty slow here, but the call-and-effect between the piano and strings helps keep me engaged. I like that a lot of the sound design is orchestral (somehow it fits the character of the piece), but you use fade-outs at a couple different points (like at 2:55), which sound a bit unnatural. It’s also hard to get a strong sense of overarching progression from the piece. Sometimes, the mix is a bit dry - I think it would’ve been easier to follow the flow of the piece if there was a richer atmosphere. There are also a lot of stop-start transitions throughout, which makes the arrangement feel choppy. I like the dissonance during the middle section (4:30 - 8:00 or so), but it still felt like it was lacking a strong sense of direction there. The heavy chords at 8:05 or so sound cool and rich, but they suffer from the same problem as much of the rest of the piece - lacking an ebb and flow sort of narrative. While sudden transitions seem endemic to an experimental piece like this, the one at 10:18 especially threw me off. Overall, I applaud the bold harmonic approach you took here, and the sound design and production quality are also solid. I’d like you to think more about structure and atmosphere in the future. The dry mix and meandering phrase structure both hurt you here. Still, I appreciate the compositional risk-taking. Please PM me if you ever decide to revisit this piece sometime. Keep at it, Arborescence! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6/10

[Ice Sheets]

I like the tranquility and bright tone at the beginning. I think the atmosphere could’ve been a bit richer with some sort of legato drone or something to fill out the texture. Right now, it’s very minimal. The mix is also very quiet, and the piece lacks structural completeness. The mood and harmonies are great, but I’d also like to see you take some more risks compositionally and create a stronger sense of direction with the arrangement. Overall, this is lovely work, but it needs more dynamism and structural contrast to scratch all my itches. Keep at it, AliceKasaan! :)

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
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.75/10

[ALGO - ALANE (Remix)]

I like the catchy beats at the beginning. The sweep sounded a bit harsh in my headphones, but does an effective job of transitioning into the vocal part. The vocals themselves sound really cool, but are a bit quiet in the mix sometimes. You might try compressing them a little more aggressively, and maybe using some more reverb too. By contrast, the reverb at 1:03 was a little overwhelming, but the chopped vocals at 1:18 and the groovy bass riff are both really cool. The second verse is nice, and I especially like the quirky wavering effect on the vocals (at 2:29 and other places). I wish the second drop had as much variety as the first, and also that there was more of a proper outro to the piece. That said, you’ve done a lot of cool work with the mixing effects and rhythmic aspects of the piece, and the sound design in particular won me over here. Keep it up, ALGOfficial! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

[4nZwar3 - Rebirth]

I like the bright tone at the beginning. The fade-in technique was a bit one-dimensional, but there’s a good sense of climax into :24. It’s a little hard to keep track of the key signature at the beginning - lot of funky chords that trip over each other a bit. The riffs at :24 are super catchy, although the sidechaining there is a bit heavy. I like many of the quirky synths and cutesy arpeggios/harmonies. Sometimes, there’s an instrument that sounds a bit harsh in the mix - 1:30 is a good example. The first post-chorus also might’ve dragged on for a bit too long, but you did a nice job with the re-intro at 2:30. The piano melodies there are really nice, and there’s a nice, subtle build-up into 3:18. I was enjoying the flow in the second half, although the build-up at 4:18 seemed a bit forced and less legato than the rest of the piece up to that point. Same thing at 4:55. I think you tried to do a bit too much with the piece towards the end - the energetic house beats at 5:04 feel a little out-of-place, although the piano outro is a cool touch. In the description, you label the piece “repetitive,” but I think some more cohesion towards the end would actually help you out here. Overall, the piece has a lot of strong, engaging, and catchy riffs and decent sound design and production. I’d caution you not to over-compress the mix, and also to streamline the arrangement a bit, possibly by cutting some of the section from 4:18-5:28. Otherwise, solid work here, 4nZwar3! Keep it up. :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

[The Last Petal]

I like the heavy piano chords at the beginning and the dark, foreboding tone. The reverb might’ve been a tad too heavy for my tastes - it’s either that or the chord spacing that’s distorting the piano a bit at :10 or so. The melodies are nice, although there could’ve been a bit more variety in the instrumentation, especially early on. The kick drum at :37 sounds a tad too heavy for a piece like this, but it still helps give an extra little punchiness to an otherwise very flowing piece. The vocals and strings at 1:15 add a nice bit of variety, and the violin chords at 2:00 are a nice touch. I think what this piece needs compositionally is a stronger sense of direction. The sound design has a great potential for emotional impact, but in order to capitalize on that you need more dynamic contrast and phrasing - gradual build-ups and breakdowns that give the piece a stronger narrative flow. Otherwise, you’ve pushed all the right buttons here with the production quality, harmonies, and atmosphere. Strong work, 4203! ^^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
9/10

[God's Winter]

I like the emotional quality at the beginning and the rich harp arpeggios at :16. The rhythm is a bit square throughout, and it could use some more prominent melodic content during the first half. The string riff at 1:10 is a good start on that front, but the piano during the final climax still feels like the main affair. The mixing is pretty good, although sometimes I wanted the drums to be a bit stronger, especially during the more energetic parts. The sound design is a big plus here, though - beautiful use of strings, harp, and piano. Overall, strong work! The piece really won me over with its majestic tone and flowing piano riffs. Keep it up, 0ldm4nn!

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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

[Draten-Megalovania Remix: Ultralovania]

I like the catchy synth riffs at the beginning, although the little volume automation on the 6th note of every bar was throwing me off for a bit. The lead has a bit of a harsh edge to it, but it fits the character of the piece overall. A bigger problem is the mix, which sounds very distorted during the busier section at :29. I can barely hear the drums there, and I think the bass is causing the synths to duck under occasionally too. The ominous part at 1:18 was cool, although once again some of the harmonies sound pretty indistinct. This is especially noticeable when the main riff returns at 1:46.

An important step towards fixing that is cutting back on the reverb, but the main thing you need to do is use more filtering. You shouldn’t really have any frequencies beneath 100 Hertz or so in the melody synths, or anything besides the bass and kick drum, really. Ideally, you’d select your instruments before composing a piece, keeping “slots” in mind - assigning one or two instrument each to the bass range, mid-low, middle, high-mid, and treble range. That way, even if the 2 instruments belonging to the same frequency range are playing at once, you can keep them sounding distinct in the mix using tools like panning, sidechaining, and stereo widening. In reality, most producers don’t usually do this “slot” technique, but while you’re learning how to mix and master your tracks it can be really helpful. Try looking up how to use an equalizer in your DAW.

Still, the composition is pretty good - cool melodies, smooth flow, good sense of atmosphere. Some of the sound design is a bit cheesy here, but my main concern is still the mixing. Hope this helps. Keep at it, Draten! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
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?)
.25/1
Composite score
5.5/10