TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Why are you Afraid?]

I like the pensive arpeggios at the beginning and the rich vocals at :18. The vocals at :48 don’t quite come through as clearly as the others, and overall the piece is a little slow to develop, with a pretty constant energy level and instrumental palette throughout. I like the ominous deep voice and laughter at 2:20. In a similar vein, the whispered “why are you afraid?” vocals at 1:38 and 3:20 are also a nice touch. That said, the fade-out ending came across as a bit unnecessary - 3:25 or so feels like a very natural place to end the piece to me.

Overall, the sound design and atmosphere of this piece are top-notch - sounds very ominous and ritualistic. But it could also use a bit more harmonic variety, as well as some bolder compositional choices in general. The mix could be a tad sharper in places, and occasionally the vocals struggle to stay on top of the instrumentals in the texture. The low strings sound particularly muddy throughout - I’d suggest some more careful equalization. The drums are probably the only instruments here that should have frequencies below around 200 Hz left after post-processing.

Still, you have a really good sense of rhythm, harmony, and progression, and the vocal layering is very well done in general. Keep at it, etherhermit! You’ve earned a scout. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.75/10

[Ducherezze [heaven]]

I like the wistful tone of the synth riffs at the beginning. The piece is developing nicely by :31 or so, but then it quickly peters out, and the rest is a bit minimal and also not very related to the first 30 seconds, until the “last hurrah” at 1:15. I think it would be good to flesh out both the composition and the instrumental palette a bit more here. The piece has a cute but melancholy vibe, which I really like, but you’re not really making the most of that feeling without a bit more structure. At some point, the piece could also use some more mid-range frequencies to complement the bass and lead synth. Overall, it’s a good start - I’d encourage you to keep working on this. When you feel like you’ve turned this into a full-length track, feel free to reach out via PM, and I’ll give you some more feedback. Keep at it, EREKUTORO! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
5.5/10

EREKUTORO responds:

TYSM for the feedback! I'm new to making music and really just wanted to test some stuff out with that song but I rlly appreciate your help! :D

[[NGUAC 2025] Rotten Work - Magnum Opus (ft. Matty M.)]

I like the creepy detuned riff at the beginning. The strings at :18 sound a bit unnatural with how they pulsate in and out - some reverb might help smooth them over. The percussion at :56 could stand to be a bit punchier - I’d recommend some more compression, and also some more careful equalization of the harmonic instruments. The kick should be the only instrument that has any frequencies below 200 Hz or so once you’ve applied your equalizers.

Other than that, I like the added harmonies at 1:47, but in general there isn’t a ton of variety in the harmonies here. A more dynamic melody or otherwise high-energy section towards the end could help take this piece to the next level. The piece could also use a bit more phrasing to give it a stronger narrative appeal. For example, imagine a number of filtering and/or volume automations from 1:21 to 1:28 that make the texture sound steadily more intense before the breakdown at 1:28. The return of the detuned riff towards the end was a nice touch, though.

Overall, I really like the creepy mood, sound design, and atmosphere of this one. Sharpening up the mix and making some bolder compositional choices would easily get you back a point or two. Keep at it, fellas! You’ve each earned a scout. ^_^

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
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
7.25/10

[gardens of oblivion]

The atmosphere at the beginning is nice and evocative, if a bit eerie and dissonant. Unfortunately, the piece doesn’t progress much beyond that, other than the light, atmospheric descending synth line. This is a good start to a piece, but I’m afraid you’ll need to flesh out the composition a bit more before it gets very far in the NGUAC. Thanks for coming out to the contest, though! You clearly have a good sense of atmosphere and sound design. ^_^

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

[sweet saver]

I like the catchy, descending synth line at the beginning. The beat is also catchy, and the rhythmic content is great too. The structuring of the piece is a little bland and predictable, though. Repeating each synth riff four times before switching up the texture makes the arrangement sound a bit robotic, and at some point it would’ve been nice to hear some more dynamic melodies with a looser and less repetitive contour. Still, the production quality is good, and as mentioned previously I dig the sound design and upbeat mood of the piece. Keep at it, doinkywoinky! You’ve earned a scout. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Gospel of Basilides]

I like the quirky descending synth line at the beginning. It’s a little hard to follow the rhythm at :31 - sounds like the hi-hat isn’t quite keeping a regular beat. The piece is also pretty slow to progress, with the first major “point of arrival” being at 1:25. Even then, the contours of the melody at 1:25 are a bit bizarre - I’d suggest keeping the melody a bit simpler harmonically, especially since there are other harmonic elements in the texture simultaneously. If you’re going to aim for a “composite melody” type of situation, it should probably be later in the piece, after you’ve already introduced the motifs and melodic contours in that composite melody before.

The cutesy pitter-patter at 2:02 is nice, but once again the lead at 2:16 has a rhythm that’s very disorienting. I think you tried to do a bit too much with the meter there. I really like the rolled percussion at 3:15, although it hijacks the mix a bit too much - most of the synths are seriously ducking under there. I’d take a second look at the equalizers to make sure you don’t have any frequencies below 200 Hz or so in the harmonic instruments. The section at 5:04 is another one where the mix could use some more polish. Also, that section is very long and drawn-out, and melodically feels a bit directionless after a while.

The bright-sounding piano at 7:03 is a nice mellow way of hitting the piece home. Overall, I think you tried to get a little too fancy with the polyrhythms, and I would also like to see the melodies simultaneously be harmonically simpler and more dynamic in terms of pitch range. The sound design is enjoyable, as is the eerie mood.

There are a lot of good ideas here in isolation. The piece just doesn’t quite come together as a sum of its parts, so-to-speak. The pacing should be much faster at times so that there’s a stronger sense of narrative direction. I’d encourage you to keep working on this one, though. Consolidate some of these melodic ideas and scale back the experimental nature of the rhythm, and this easily gets a point or two back from me. Keep at it, dogsinmrimachines! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.25/10

[Unthinkable]

I like the eerie atmosphere at the beginning and the drums. There’s a great, gradual sense of build-up into :45. The kick gets a bit lost in the mix at :45. To fix that, make sure every harmonic instrument in the piece has the frequencies below 200 Hz eliminated with an equalizer. The understated melody at :55 is pretty effective, although the piece could use a bit of a proper bridge or breakdown where the angry, indistinct bass is stripped away entirely. The mix is pretty bottom-heavy, and again I think equalization is your best tool to mix that. The syncopations at 2:22 are really cool, though, and I also really like the ominous tone of the harmonies 3:15. The final climax at 3:45 could’ve been a tad bolder in my opinion, and was also pretty short-lived. I think more structural contrast would help this piece a lot in general - otherwise, there’s a pretty consistent energy level and instrumental palette in this track, both of which could use more variety. Regardless, you’ve nailed the foreboding atmosphere and sound design of this. The mixing needs some polish and also a better balance of frequencies, and in places the composition could be a bit punchier, but otherwise this is a solid effort with a strong rhythmic appeal and engrossing mood. Keep at it, Dogerman! You’ve earned yourself a scout. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Lost in Static]

The rhythmic content of this piece is nice. The kick takes up a bit too much of the mix for my tastes, and there also isn’t a lot of harmonic variety here. I found it a bit bizarre that the piece’s main harmonic riff only changes about 14 seconds from the end. The filtering work and other little ways you create variety are neat, but I’d still like to see you flesh out the composition more and also maybe take the edge off some of these super grating synths. To be frank, this just doesn’t really meet a lot of the compositional scoring parameters I look for when I judge the NGUAC - harmonic depth, structural variety, rich and well-balanced textures, etc. Still, it’s a catchy and danceable piece, and I think there are some good compositional ideas here to build on if you end up revisiting this. I especially like the way the main riff has so many wide jumps between notes (pitch-wise) - gives it a really bold, chaotic feel. Keep at it, DJKolbasa! ^_^

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

[~[Helium]~]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning. The drums have an understated elegance to them, although I would like to see them come through the mix a bit sharper during the busier sections of the piece. The piece is slow to progress overall, but I like the pads you layered on at :54. The added harmonies at 1:41 are also nice, and serve to add a bit of pizzazz to what was an otherwise pretty lengthy breakdown section. That said, I would’ve liked to see more variety and melodic development in the second half of the piece. The synth lead at 2:34 was a nice touch, but melodically not very dynamic. Overall, the atmosphere and sound design here are great, but the composition could’ve been a bit bolder and more well-varied. Still, I always appreciate an ambient beauty. Keep at it, DeimosMusic! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

DeimosMusic responds:

Tysm!

[Shadow Constellation]

I like the pensive guitar riff at the beginning. The sub-bass is a bit overpowering, but the quirky vocals are a nice touch. The piece smooths out nicely by :33, and I’m really enjoying the crisp hi-hats. Besides the bottom-heavy mix, the production quality is really clean, and the vocals blend together really well with the gritty elements of the sound design. The arrangement is a little repetitive after a while, but the experimental texture and smooth progression of the piece really sell it for me. Strong effort overall, DeForkliftRoachNef! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

DeforkliftRoachNef responds:

the bass on my headphones isnt very strong so a lot of my songs come out that way unfortunately