TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Faraway]

I like the upbeat mood and quirky synths at the beginning. The occasionally dissonant chords are nice, as is the build-up into :35. The production quality is good too, but even better are the melodies starting at :52. Really dynamic and fun lead riff. The rest of the sound design is cool, too - from :35 to 1:27, it almost sounds like there’s a distorted vocal sample on the off-beat. The re-intro at 1:27 was another good idea, and gave you another opportunity to show off a knack you have for cool syncopations. I love how in the second refrain you can hear the full vocal line, although some more variety in the harmonic content there would’ve been welcome. If I had to complain about one thing in this piece, it might be that the arrangement and aspects of the sound design are pretty generic. Still, you’ve put together a well-produced track here that’s both melodic and danceable. Strong work, Klimen3y! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

Klimen3y responds:

It's a pure dream to have such a complicated review under your own creation! Thanks)

[Rapid Eye Movement]

I like the relaxed mood at the beginning. The spacing on the chords is a little too tight to maximize the level of expression, though - they end up sounding a tad clunky and indistinct. Still, I like the crisp drums at :20 and the cute synth at :41. The piece is pretty slow to progress, but has a great rhythmic appeal and sound design. The breakdown at 1:15 was a good idea, but also a bit bland - might be a good opportunity to add a “B” melody or other new instrument. The piano at 1:50 is a nice touch, but it could’ve been a bit more creative rhythmically. Towards the end of the piece, it seems like it’s missing a big moment of climax or resolution. Overall, I like the moody atmosphere, instrumentation, and experimental texture of this piece. Also, the production quality holds up well, although the mix is a tad quiet. More importantly, some of the compositional details just need a tad more fleshing out. Keep at it, Katatatatataris! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
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
7.25/10

Katatatatataris responds:

Thank you for the review! I’m very grateful that this contest has such good judges, I could definitely hear what was lacking in this song lol. Next year I’ll make it into knockout

[Call me feat. FL studio]

I like the tranquil mood at the beginning and the transition into the rhythmic club beat at :26. This piece has a good sense of atmosphere and some cool compositional details (like the glitchy effect at :45), but some of the transitions are a bit abrupt. The low-mid-range melody at 1:01 is cool, and really helps play up the ominous mood pervading the bulk of this piece. I also like the build-up into 1:27, and I applaud you for taking such an experimental approach to the rhythm at 1:40, which really helped jazz up an otherwise fairly bland drop. The eerie bells and relaxed pads at 2:20 threw me off a bit - that’s another super sudden transition - but also helped bring the piece full-circle towards the end. Overall, there are a lot of creative twists and turns in this piece that make it stand out among the other house/trance tracks in this competition. The production quality also holds up well, and I like the sound design and rhythmic content as well. The choppy arrangement/rough transitions is the one major item to work on in my view. Keep at it, Justik! ^_^

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?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

JustikShow responds:

THX! 😊

[BLACK HEART]

I like the pitter-patter synth riff at the beginning and the low-mid pad that comes in shortly thereafter. The synth guitar at :17 is much heavier than the rest of the texture up to that point, and also has a bit of a square rhythm at first, a missed opportunity to do more to keep the listener engaged IMO. The drums are rather quiet compared to the guitar and harmonies, so a bit more compression and some stricter equalization might be in order. There’s also a lot of reverb in the texture, so that could be a culprit as well. It’s also really hard to rein in the volume levels of FL Slayer in my experience. The mixing is probably my main concern here - it’s really hard to hear the drums during the last 5.5 minutes of the piece, and generally drums should be the loudest instrument in your track.

I like how you switch up the texture by around 1:05 and generally create a lot of harmonic variety in this fairly long piece. That said, along other parameters, particularly the energy level, I think this piece could use some more variety. You have almost 7 minutes of high-octane content here, which ironically makes it hard to keep the listener engaged. I think you could create more of a compelling arrangement with some more narrative appeal if you had interspersed a breakdown or atmospheric bridge or something at some point. The closest thing you come to that is probably 4:49, but even then you could go that much further by playing more with the volume levels and filtering. I feel like you tried to squeeze just a few too many ideas into this piece, frankly.

Overall, you clearly have a really good sense of melody, harmony, and progression, and a lot of creative energy behind the composition. Working on the mixing and variety in the dynamics/energy level are the main two factors that could take this piece to the next level. Keep at it, JorelSimpson! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
7.75/10

[Defier]

I like the eerie bass riff at the beginning, but the percussion is a bit too staticky and takes up a lot of the mix. The eerie mood is a huge plus, although some of the transitions are pretty rough, and the instruments often sound a tad indistinct in the mix. For example, at 1:02 the bass is completely overwhelming the mid-range pads. It might help if you remove some of the low-end frequencies from the harmonies (i.e., only the drums and bass should have any frequencies below 200 Hz) in an equalizer. That said, you clearly have a good sense of harmony, and this is a well-structured piece with some cool compositional details (like the synth screech at 1:37).

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.25/10

[inductance]

I like the sound design and the beat at the beginning. The delay effects on that one higher-pitched synth makes it a bit difficult to discern the pattern of emphasis for the first 30 seconds or so. Once the beat comes in at :35, it helps resolve that. The mix is also a bit distorted during the busier sections of this piece, with the drums struggling to stay on top of the harmonic instruments at times. I’d double-check to make sure the harmonic instruments don’t have any frequencies in the sub-bass range (i.e., below 200 Hz or so). The harmonic content in general is pretty repetitive here, but you also introduce some new instruments and riffs (like the wintery melody at 2:52) that keep things pretty fresh for a while, although later on I’m not sure it’s quite enough variety for a 7-minute-long track. I would’ve liked to see you play around a bit more with the energy level at times - while you sometimes strip the beat away, the piece always has an energetic flair, especially for the last 3 minutes or so, which gets a little tiresome after a while. An atmospheric bridge or something really would’ve hit the spot. The outro is also a bit dragged-out and cliche, but I appreciate the rhythmic content nonetheless. Overall, the piece has some pretty generic sound design and compositional details, but also some nice melodies, a smooth progression, and a great spacey mood. My main concern is probably with the production quality, which, again, could be sharper, especially at the low end of the frequency spectrum. Still, you got my foot tapping and my head nodding along here, Jfm404. Keep at it! ^_^

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Stuck]

I like the twittery pads and chord progression (short though it is) at the beginning. The piece is pretty slow to progress, but the transition into :35 was cool. It’s a little jarring that the new instrument cuts off suddenly shortly after the second chord in the progression plays between :35 and :55. I like how the piece is starting to develop a bit more by :55, with more staccato-y elements punctuating the chords and giving it a sense of energy. That said, the overall pacing is still very slow, and the big descending slide is overused after a while. I like the mysterious-sounding pads that you start using in the final minute or so of the piece. You’ve actually covered a lot of ground in terms of sound design during this piece. There isn’t really a sense of resolution to the tension you’re building up here, though, and for much of the piece the texture is too minimal for that tension to be satisfying in and of itself. Overall, there are a lot of good ideas here, but as a whole the piece doesn’t feel complete. I think this style of slow-paced experimental piece can work, but you need more phrasing and variety within the 30-second chunks that have the same instrumentation. I’d also like to see you flesh out the structure a tad and create a stronger sense of atmosphere, maybe with some additional harmonies and/or mixing effects. Still, this is a creative piece with some cool sound design and moody elements, and I think it could be really special with a little more work on the phrasing. Keep at it, jeffbeard! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[lonely evening]

I like the somber mood at the beginning and the gradual fade-in of the mid-range synth. The synth that comes in at :12 is a bit harsh-sounding, and doesn’t blend particularly well with the rest of the synths. I like the crisp beat at :24, but I thought the sudden transition to a busier beat at :48 was a bit jarring. The texture sounds a tad too busy by around the 1-minute mark, but the “reset” you had at 1:12 was a good idea compositionally. I also like the slidey lead at 1:26, and the transition back into the main melody feels a bit smoother at 1:39. Overall, there could definitely be a little more variety in the piece, especially the second time the main melody plays. The sound design isn’t my favorite, and the mix sounds a bit strained during the busier sections. Still, I like the mood, harmonies, overall structure, and a lot of the compositional details of the piece. Keep at it, Jdartcollections! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
6.75/10

[kerosene]

I like the sound design at the beginning. It’s a little hard to follow the meter at first, but it gets better once the beat comes in at :15. I’m not a huge fan of the over-processed, vocaloid-sounding voice. The lyrics are pretty dark, but I especially like the first 2 stanzas and the “3 a.m.” one. The mix is definitely a bit rough around the edges, and during some of the busier sections it’s hard to hear the drums. The texture could also use some softening at times, especially at the top end of the frequency spectrum, maybe with some more wet reverb or stricter equalization. There are a lot of cool effects in this piece, though - I especially like the gradual ascension into chipmunk territory at 1:45. Overall, the piece is a tad experimental for my tastes, but it’s still very catchy and creative. Keep at it, jamie-bs! ^_^

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

jamie-bs responds:

thanks for the opinions dude! its one of the first songs ive made in this style and i agree that its pretty rough in general-- i mixed it myself and im still learning how to do a good job on that sort of thing (the demo mixes were WAYYYY worse). i do agree i coulda futzed with the drums a lil more i kinda wrote them and then forgot about them in the chorus.

[Le PuleIDK]

I like the regal-sounding strings at the beginning, but I was a little confused by how quiet they were and the sudden staticky hits for the first 23 seconds. Anyway, at :24, I like the pleasant blend of the bright-sounding piano and strings and the hip-hop-inspired beat. As soon as the harmonic content was getting a bit stale, you hit me with a very different chord progression at 1:12. There’s also quite a bit of dissonance at 1:37. Maybe it would be advisable to transition into this “B” section more gradually, and likewise more gradually transition back into the “A” section at 2:25. I also think some of those transitory moments would be a good chance to strip away the beat and add some contrast in the energy level. Still, the mixing and mastering is really strong here, and I like how you brought the piece full-circle at the end with the staticky bit. This could really be a top-notch track with a more deliberate arrangement and maybe a couple of instrument swaps (the brass at 2:25 sounds really fake). Keep at it, JadeAE! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7/10