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TaintedLogic

4,928 Audio Reviews

2,609 w/ Responses

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The piece is a little slow to progress, though, and the grainy percussion at :36 sounds a bit harsh in my ears. You also could’ve had a stronger transition into the melodic content at :54. The production quality is solid, even if the mix is a bit quiet, and the texture seems well-balanced and full for most of the piece. The harmonic transition at 2:07 was interesting, and I certainly liked the new synth that was introduced there. Unfortunately, the piece loses a sense of cohesion when you ended up failing to integrate much of the content of the first 2 minutes into the second half. Still, I actually enjoyed the second half more, with its more vibrant melodic content and quirky instruments. Both parts of the piece have some pretty sudden transitions, and I also thought it was a bit odd when the piece ended in the middle of the melodic phrase at 4:31. Overall, nice work with the harmonies, sound design, mastering, and atmosphere of this one. The arrangement of the piece could be a bit more coherent and fluid, but that’s probably my main issue here. Keep at it, Nerostratos! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
8/10

I like the atmospheric pads at the beginning, although the bass at :15 is a little too loud. The mix as a whole is very quiet, and the beat at :44 is also very loud relative to the other elements of the mix. There are a lot of harsh clicks in the texture, and the entrance at 1:01 is pretty sudden. The harmonies of the piece are enjoyable, but the piece has a pretty minimal texture throughout and a pretty simplistic overarching structure. I’d suggest using a few more mixing effects to give this piece some more atmosphere - reverb, delay, etc. You could start by using an equalizer to take some of the treble tones off of those stereo clicks. Overall, this is a catchy beat with some cool melodic ideas mixed in, but the production issues and underwhelming composition detract from my enjoyment of it. Keep at it, TheB34R! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
3.5/10

I like the quirky synths and progression here. The rhythm sounds a bit square towards the beginning, and the piano sample sounds a little generic and inauthentic. The production quality is good, although the bass might be a tad too loud at times. The vocals at :30 are nice, and I like the build-up into :45. The drop has some really cool rhythmic content and sound design, especially with that melodic synth, but the thin claps didn’t do much for me, and I think there’s some distortion between the kick and sub-bass. I’d like to hear the bass prioritized more here. The melodies at 1:31 are also refreshing, although the harmonic progression of the piece is a bit generic, and you start overusing the vocal samples by around the 2-minute mark. I would’ve liked to hear a little more variety towards the end, although the different instrumentation at 2:30 did help. This piece could also use another atmospheric section or something to give it more structural contrast. Still, I’m enjoying the sound design, progression, melodies, and mixing overall. Keep at it, Nyctophilia! :)

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
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
8/10

I like the powerful string pads at the beginning. The chord progression is a little cliche, and I think you overdid the mixing effects on the synth at :06. The reverb and delay there are a bit much. Still, the bass slide at :27 was pleasing, and the filtering work at :30 is nice. The rhythmic content at 1:10 is cool, although the mix sounds a bit overwhelmed around that point too. The sidechaining might be a bit too heavy. Generally speaking, equalization, filtering, panning, and stereo widening should be doing most of the work of keeping your mix sounding clean, not compression. Compression helps with loudness, but when it’s overused (like this) it can cause distortions of its own, which are audible in the way the pads wash back in my earbuds after the kick plays here. I like the big build-ups in this piece (e.x. 1:10), which added an emotional appeal to a piece that otherwise didn’t have much dynamic melodic content or harmonic variety. Still, you did a good job channeling the energy here and keeping things interesting by regularly switching up the sound design. Keep at it, Naval76! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.75/10

brass samples sound pretty inauthentic. The melodic content here is really strong, and the composition has a great sense of flow and energy. The structure is a bit disjointed at times, as there are a lot of different melodies and motifs to keep track of. I also think you could vary the energy level of the piece a little more here. The texture seems pretty full and engaged throughout. A slower-paced, more atmospheric section would’ve really reset the stage for some more impactful harmonic development later on in the piece. Despite these nit-picky structural complaints, you keep my attention pretty well throughout the piece with the constant barrage of catchy riffs and memorable melodies, and no one transition feels jarring or sudden in particular. It’s just that, as a whole, it’s hard to follow the flow of the piece after only a couple of listens. That said, I like how you saved the most climactic section of the piece for last at 4:23, and there are some elements of structural repetition that help give the listener more of a solid grounding in the arrangement of the track. Production-wise, the piece was also strong, although there were times I wanted the drums to be a lot more prominent in the mix, as they’re pretty much the only constant in the texture throughout the piece. Still, you clearly have a great sense of melody, harmony, progression, and rhythm. Keep at it, Boshydude! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

I like the smooth pads at the beginning. The piano at :09 was a little unexpected, and also sounded a tad dry. Maybe some more reverb in the texture there would help fill in the atmosphere? The beat is smooth, though, and the texture really starts coming together at :35. Nice job with the sound design and production here. The progression is a little slow-paced, and I would’ve liked to hear some stronger melodic content earlier. That said, the breakdown melody at 1:10 is nice, and I love the juicy chords and rhythmic content at 1:27. The extended breakdown at 2:02 is good, and feels very reminiscent of the beginning, which contributes to the sense of story behind the piece. More solid melodic content at 2:38, and the extended emotional height at 3:12 helps tie the piece together well. The chord progression sounds really unique in this piece, and by the end the piece has a great, blissful, and victorious feel about it. The end is also a tad sudden, but otherwise this is solid work all around, Colin! Keep it up. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
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

I like the vocal samples at the beginning, but the synths sounded a bit harsh, grating, and unpolished. The production quality is pretty good, although there’s a lot of reverb in the texture at times. The filtering at :48 was cool, although the piece was a little slow to progress, and the persistent minimalism doesn’t help alleviate the slow progression. The transition at 1:26 was pretty sudden, and there aren’t a ton of moving notes in the texture for long stretches of this piece. The drums also get a little distorted in the mix at around the 2-minute mark. There are a lot of catchy and fun riffs in here, but they don’t feel like they’re a part of the same story yet. The arrangement of this track is very choppy, with rough transitions everywhere and little sense of direction for most of the piece. I’d suggest working more with automation as a way of transitioning from one section to another. I also think you need to increase the harmonic depth of your tracks by layering on more pads, melodies, or back-up harmonies onto the material you already have here. Unfortunately, this just doesn’t sound like a very coherent piece to me yet. I'd encourage you to keep working at it, though. You certainly have a decent start with the rhythmic content, sound design, mixing effects, and production value. Keep at it, calicrazedbeats! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
0/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
0/1
Composite score
2.5/10

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The dreamy arpeggios are great, and I like the frantic drums and bouncy synths at :14 a lot. The production quality is strong, and the piece has a good (yet rather fast-paced) sense of progression. There are a lot of transitory moments in the first minute, and I kept waiting for a more distinct climax before a stable emotional height. Perhaps 1:23 is that section, although I would’ve appreciated some more harmonic variety and dynamic melodic content to really sell the emotional impact. My favorite part is 2:10, which has a great, dark, eastern vibe that’s also very catchy and blends seamlessly into the section with the arps at 2:35. That said, the final iteration of the refrain melody at 3:07 was very rushed, to the extent that it doesn’t quite feel satisfying by the end. I think you need to pace your piece more carefully next time. It’s like you want the piece to progress from build-up to drop to post-chorus to bridge to build-up again in a very narrow timeframe, but that’s pretty jarring for the listener, especially on the first cycle. This could easily be a 5-minute track - don’t sacrifice coherence because you’re overly concerned about a piece being repetitive. That’s probably my main complaint of the piece, and I think it’s part of the reason why the composition doesn’t have the emotional impact that it could here. The rushed structuring leads to a point where it’s hard for the listener to pinpoint a distinct “arrival point” during the climactic sections of the piece. Still, this track has some strong mixing and mastering, sound design, atmosphere, and rhythmic work. Keep at it, Kyrowo! :)

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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
8.5/10

Kyrowo responds:

Thank you very much!

and yeah - the whole structure is still kinda hard for me to realize due to my confused mind:D But I'm working on it! It's one major point I have to consider for the future that im already dealing with :D

Thank you for your kind review and rating! I'll try to improve everything you mentioned there :)

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The synth lead at the beginning sounds a tad unpolished (or maybe detuned?), which I’m not sure I like. That said, the bass at :51 really helps fill out the texture, and the melodic synth at 1:07 is also a really valuable addition to the mix. The riser at 1:50 is pretty cool, and I like the melody at 1:58 too, although I think you used way too much reverb in this section. Along with the sidechaining/compression, it makes the mix sound pretty distorted here. The heavy breaks at 2:15 are cool, though. I think you could’ve done more with the drums throughout this piece - they’re pretty bland. The modulation at 2:49 was a good idea, although I thought it was a little too unexpected to work well at the particular spot you chose. The piece comes together pretty well at around 3:30, although I would’ve liked to hear some more variations on the melody there to really hit this piece home. Overall, most of my complaints are compositional details and easily fixable production tidbits. The sound design, melodies, progression, and mastering are all really good overall. Keep at it, H1K0! :)

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.5/10

I like the whirring synths at the beginning and the stop-start transition into :14. The vocals are haunting, and the mixing effects give them a fitting robotic flair. The chord progression is pretty cliche, and at times I wanted the texture to be more full, such as at 1:01. The gritty edge to the texture is nice, and the bouncy synths and vocals keep me engaged here pretty well. I also liked the little drum fill at 2:08. It was a fun and somewhat unconventional choice for a bridge/breakdown. The last minute or so of the piece didn’t quite do a great job of hitting it home, though. The content was pretty repetitive, and you never really satisfied my craving for more harmonic variety towards the end. Still, the track has a fun mood and sound design and solid production quality. I also enjoyed the vocals - that’s an asset that a lot of your competitors have not employed to the fullest extent. Keep at it, DarthWeather! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

Hi. I'm Andrew. Audio portal junkie since 2010, supporter since 2017. I always want to improve what I do! I make music, run the NGUAC, post poetry on BBS, and am the all-time #2 audio reviewer. I love this site, and I want to make it the best I can! ^_^

Andrew Mikula @TaintedLogic

Age 26, Male

Policy Research

Bates College

Wellesley, Massachusetts

Joined on 8/16/12

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