TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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

[It's July!]

I like the rich chords at the beginning and the crisp beats at :14. The slow tempo and rich bass give this track a bit of a languid feel, and there are some really rich, interesting chords, like the one at :53 (and other places). The harmonic content gets a bit repetitive after a while, but the production quality is really good. I can hear all of the instruments clearly throughout, and the mix is very well-balanced and full. Some stronger melodic content and more variety in the harmonies would really help take this piece to the next level. Until then, it has a nice, blissful and almost ethereal sound to it, like an alien wedding ceremony. Keep at it, DatSmolBoi! You’ve earned a scout. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
7/10

DatSmolBoi responds:

Thank you so much for reviewing it! I appreciate the feedback and ill keep this in mind for future projects!!

[Moon Landing]

I like the cute, robotic-sounding synths and pitter-patter percussion at the beginning. The bass at :09 sounds a little heavy by contrast, but I really like the hat rolls at :26. The riff at :48 sounds really blissful and energetic, but is also way louder than the first 47 seconds of the piece. I like the tranquil vibe at 1:07, and the piece comes together nicely by 1:20. The layering on the high-pitched syncopations at 1:36 is especially nice. By around 2:20, I’m really enjoying the rich, upbeat texture. There are a lot of sudden changes to the texture in this piece, though, like at 2:48. Sometimes, it makes it hard for the listener to discern an overarching sense of direction. That said, I really like the transition with the scratchy, descending effect at 3:10. The part at 3:45 sounds like a real moment of arrival that hits the piece home nicely.

But of course, there’s still half the piece to go lol. The glissando effect at 4:08 is a bit cheesy, and while I like the darker harmonies at around 4:48, this entire extended section (until 6:00 or so) felt very drawn-out. Some of the effects at 6:05 were pretty cool, and 6:56 is another good “arrival” moment for the piece.

I also want to touch a bit on the production quality. In general, it’s very good, although occasionally during the busier sections it’s hard to make out the drums, and for much of the second half of the piece you’re pushing it a bit on the loudness.

Overall solid effort here, DaOi! This is a blissful and well-produced track with some cute sound design and a strong sense of overarching progression, despite its length. Keep at it! ^_^

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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[CyberCocktail]

I like the spacey vibe at the beginning and the climax into :28. The heavy bass and lead synth with the fluttering effect are really nice, and I also really like the classic chiptune sound design that bleeds in by around :57. The drums could come through a bit cleaner in the mix at times, but some more careful equalization and a bit more compression should help solve that. The harmonic content gets a tad repetitive in the second half of the piece, but the frantic synth melodies definitely don’t get old by the second time, especially with the smooth transition at 2:39. The ending is a bit abrupt, but overall this is a really well-produced track with a pleasant progression and some neat sound design. Keep it up, DaniMcDingus! You earned a scout. ^_^

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
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.5/10

DaniMcDingus responds:

woah man, thank you very much, really appreciate this kind of constructive criticism. It really motivates me to keep going with new and better songs :)

[Breaker]

I really like the lyrics. The vocal delivery, on the other hand, could use a little work. It’s often not exactly on beat, sounds indistinct in the recording, and also occasionally lacks emotion. Make sure your mouth is consistently at the same distance from the mic when you’re recording, and practice really enunciating each consonant. It also might help to practice at a slower tempo until you can really nail the articulation.

The instrumental work is good, but unfortunately it doesn’t come through the mix that clearly. What software are you using for post-processing? Equalizers and a little compression could help each instrument sound more distinct in the mix, and other mixing tools (reverb, chorus effects, etc.) could make your vocals sound more buoyant and rich. If you’d like, I can also connect you with some other Newgrounds people who have more experience producing with recorded guitars and drums than I do.

Overall, I like the progression and the instrumentals here, but the production quality and vocals could use some polishing up. Once you publish a new track where you focus on these things, feel free to reach out via PM if you’d like some more feedback. Keep at it, CrabbyXX! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.5/2
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
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
4.25/10

CrabbyXX responds:

Agh, my crappy mixing has foiled me again. Seriously though, thanks for the advice, I actually got a new mic and I'm trying to work on mixing my vocals in a way that doesn't sound like crap so hopefully my next song is actually audibly pleasing lol

[It's hot somewhere right now [UPDATE]]

I like the deep bass at the beginning and the piano arpeggios. The choir vocals sound a bit inauthentic, and the snare took up a bit too much space at times, but the piece flows smooth and the texture is full and rich. The chord progression, arrangement, and a lot of the compositional details are a bit generic. The breakdown melody at 1:36 is a highlight, but otherwise I think you could’ve done more to create variety in this piece and flesh out the composition, especially later on. But you clearly have a good sense of harmony and progression, and some of your instrument choices are really compelling, like the lead at 2:30. Keep at it, CoolTream! ^_^

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
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[solaris]

I like the wonky, distorted synths at the beginning. They sound a bit dissonant with the pads that come in at :13, though. Still, by :22 I’m digging the beat and eerie atmosphere. The texture could use a bit more fill in the middle of the frequency range at times, and the multiple stop-start transitions here make this piece sound a bit disjointed. I also would’ve liked to hear a more distinct melody or otherwise a climactic section to hit the piece home. Right now, the structure doesn’t feel sufficiently fleshed out. That said, the production quality is solid, and I really like the sound design and rhythmic content. Keep at it, ChromaMusic! ^_^

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?)
.5/1
Composite score
8/10

[Switched]

I like the catchy synth riff at the beginning. I think the drums are distorting the synths a bit in the mix, though. You can fix that by adding an equalizer to each synth in your DAW’s mixer and then removing the frequencies below 200 Hz or so. Only the bass and kick should be playing frequencies that low (and this piece sure does have a powerful kick!). This piece is a bit repetitive until the synth guitar riff at :54, which absolutely rocks. The filtering and drum solos at 1:23 were also nice, but also went on for a bit too long. The transition at 1:55 was pretty abrupt, and the second climactic part with the guitar solo was a bit short-lived. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the fade-out ending at 2:15 - it just felt a bit unnecessary. Overall, I think it would be good to flesh out the composition of this more. I would like to see some more variety in some of the core riffs, and maybe a more dynamic melody to hit the piece home towards the end. Polishing up the mixing to minimize distortion between the synths and drums would also help take this piece to the next level. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the sound design, rhythmic content, and compositional details of this track. Keep at it, ChordProduction! ^_^

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
.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
7.5/10

ChordProduction responds:

Thanks for the evaluation. Glad you found it a nice one. Will try to improve (I hope so).

[Nuisancy]

I like the energetic drums at the beginning. The synth riff at the beginning sounds pretty atonal, though. I like the riff at :15 better, but it also doesn’t seem very dynamic. The piece oscillates between these two riffs until 1:11, and then the part at 1:15 is a bit overly chaotic and hard-to-follow. I like the riff at 1:50 - it certainly has more harmonic layering than most of the other synth patterns up until that point, but by 2:00 the pacing of the harmonic changes is VERY fast, and the piece loses a sense of direction again. The outro with the synth bass and the tempo automations was pretty cool.

Overall, I have a couple of concerns. First, you tried to do a bit too much with the composition of this. There need to be more gradual transitions between the distinct sections of the piece. Also, I would suggest cutting down on the extended, frantic sequences like at 1:38, which can be very jarring. You may also need to consolidate some of your ideas in general. When you have an extended section with a lot of different riffs and progressions in close succession, like 1:15 to 1:48, try simplifying those progressions (literally removing notes) and making sure everything flows smoothly.

Second, there should be more depth and variety in the texture - multiple harmonic instruments layered on top of each other of different frequency ranges. That will both round out the texture and provide a measure of interest and variety in your piece, so that you don’t need the frantic synth riffs just to keep the listener’s attention. It can be hard to do this if you don’t have a strong background in music theory, but using pentatonic (five-tone) scales can make it easier.

I hope this helps! There are certainly some good ideas here, and indeed the drums are often a highlight of the piece. Once you feel like you’ve created a piece that 1) has more of a gradual and less jarring progression and 2) more layers to the harmonies that complement each other well, feel free to PM me and I’ll give you some more feedback. Until then, keep at it, ChickenDestroyer! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
4.25/10

chickenDestroyer responds:

well I could say I tried. but my music is pretty much for fun and test anyways so. I could kinda say I was joke posting.

[the less you care the more I do]

I like the nature sound effects and tranquil piano chords at the beginning. The kid’s voice adds a really sentimental element to the texture, and the swell of pads and birdsong starting at :42 instills a sense of wonder and profundity. There are a couple of loud mic pops in the piece, at :38 and 1:12, respectively - not sure if those were intentional, but they come across as a bit too lo-fi for a piece like this. Also, the reverberant swell at 1:08 sounds a tad out-of-place amid the otherwise very calm atmosphere.

Overall, the compositional elements of the piece are very nice, and all of the instruments blend well together in the mix. I think you could’ve done a tad more to maximize the emotional impact of the piece with a more extensive climactic section, perhaps involving a more distinct melody or at least some drums to increase the energy level. Still, this piece is a real ambient beauty with some excellent sound design. Keep it up, catattackmusic! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
8/10