TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Roads (In the works)]

The ambiance at the beginning is a little eerie, and the bass and beat bolster that effect further. The jazzy vibe and the occasional dissonant moments (e.x. 1:17) are nice touches that round out the character of the piece. I think there's still a lot of room for you to take a more compositionally daring approach with this, but the sound design and atmosphere have me itching for more. Welcome back, Trunotfals! I'm loving your new style, too - as I recall you composed a lot of EDM back in the day. ^_^

trunotfals responds:

So glad to see you commenting on my music again!!! And yes I still make edm, haha, I just havent made like, ANYTHING for almost three years.

[Sakura Raceway]

Hahaha I like the cheesy melodies and upbeat tone. I know you made this in an hour and stuff, but I thought the bridge at :55 was a little bland - the very least you could do to spice it up would be to add some punchier drums to really make that solo pop. Still, the cutesy details of the piece, right down to the ritardando and plunky last note at the end, made me smile. Solid work, LE!

Also, somehow this feels a little slow-paced for Mario Kart, but maybe that's just because I always put the game on "aggressive items." >:D

LunacyEcho responds:

yeah i totally agree, definitely could've done more with the drums—i was just experimenting with some new samples i got. thanks for the review!

[Uncontainable Love]

I really like the emotional appeal of this one. The piano melodies are beautiful, and you did a great job with the string swells at around :47. It was a little sudden when the instrumentation almost completely changed at :28, but it still sounded pretty smooth because the same melody was playing on either side of the transition. The orchestration here is a highlight at the end of the day, especially towards the end of the piece when it adds so much variety and flavor to the track. The outro with the piano is just the icing on the cake, too. Love the string drones and full-circle compositional approach here. Lovely work, CS! ^_^

CloakedSoup responds:

Thanks a ton! :D

The idea I was going for was to present the melody plainly in the beginning and then have it blossom like a flower with the orchestration (Hence the cello melody + viola countermelody at 0:28 before everything else slowly fills up the space). The orchestration was definitely the main focus while I was working on it and I'm glad you enjoyed that aspect of it!

Thanks again for the great review!

[SWEDEN (MINECRAFT)]

Woah! Been a while since I've heard from you. I like the tranquility at the beginning. The rich strings at :47 are really nice, and there's a great warm tone to the piece once the texture starts filling out at the 1-minute mark or so. The sound design here is especially admirable. The mix could've been a tad louder, but you definitely emphasize the contrast between the beginning and the climax quite well. I like the portamentos during the drop - really nice touch that adds some dynamism to the chords there. Naturally, the full-circle approach to the composition that you took here is really effective. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, Dave! Hope to see you posting more on NG in the near future. ^^

Daveisgr81 responds:

Thanks! I'm still around - been a long time since I've been here!

I hear you about the volume, it was a problem during the mix :/

[Hold Me, Love Me]

I like the dreamy quality and cheesy synths. The progression is a little slow-paced at times, and the chord structure is a little bland. I think you overdid the reverb on the percussion, especially during the fills at 1:54. The melodies at 2:03 are nice, but the bass and drums get a little drowned out at that section. The smooth flow and atmosphere really help sell this piece, and the seductive saxophone is a highlight for sure. Some of the harmonic details might need more fleshing out, but this is a solid start. I'm far from being a "retrowave nerd," but I'm looking forward to hearing more of your experiments with '80s synths. ^_^

sleepFacingWest responds:

thanks! Yeah, when I think big 80's drums I imagine cavernous reverb but I think I overdid it. They're a bit boomy. I think I need to book up on actual 80's production methods to capture that feel.

[Summer Vista]

Nice! I'm not used to hearing jazz from you. I like the relaxing guitar melodies and percussion. There's a tad too much reverb on the drums, though - it sounds a bit unnatural. The sound design is well done overall, though, and the filtering work at :56 was a nice touch. The piece doesn't have a ton of variety in the texture, but I think the piano solo about 2/3 of the way through goes a long way towards breaking up the structure of the piece a bit. The variations on the drums towards the end were pretty unexpected, but they serve as a fitting echo of the rhythmic contour of the rest of the piece. Solid work, 8-bitheroes! ^^

8-bitheroes responds:

Thanks for the feedback sir! Have a great day :)

[ROBOIZ OST]

Sounds creepy. I like the bass riff at :16 and the rhythmic details with the percussion. It's a bit of a minimal texture overall, and the kick drum was a bit heavy imo. That said, the eerie melodies and neat sound design carry the day with this one. Catchy piece, CG! ^^

[The Firefly Waltz]

I like the cheesy piano riffs at the beginning and the cutesy electronic elements that come in soon after. The melodies at :20 or so really remind me of 2014 Johnfn. :) The panning is a little heavy for my tastes, though, and some of the transitions are a little sudden (like :34). The melodies at :50 are really good, but I can't help but feel that the balance in the texture is a little off at 1:05, with the chords/harmonies overwhelming the melodies. Same thing at 1:27, but at least you've got a thematic justification for it, lol. The melodies in the last minute, especially with the flute at 2:25, are also solid. I especially like the heavy bass drum at 2:10 or so. Overall, strong work! I hope you'll post here more frequently over the summer - also, we should catch up sometime. PM me. ^^

[MELT (Credits Theme)]

Okay, this is awesome. I love the orchestral sound palette and the crisp drums. There are a lot of fun riffs and industrial-sounding percussion samples that really contribute to the character of the piece, and the rhythmic elements are quite strong as well. Strong work! ^^

[Decryption OST (Main Loop)]

I like the sound design and atmosphere. The texture is a bit minimal, though, and the mix is pretty quiet. I like the strings that start becoming prominent at around :40, and the slight dissonance in the texture at times as the synths reverberate. The sudden cutoff of a lot of the instruments at 1:40 caught me off guard a bit, but the minimal piano solo there is really nice. I like how you bring back the bass and the quirky synths towards the end. Overall, this is really different from your previous work, so it's good to see you experimenting with new styles. Might've needed some drums or other fill to make it function as a stand-alone piece, but as a video game soundtrack it's both atmospheric and not too distracting. :) Keep it up, CG!