TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

["Fractal" (8/5/19)]

I like the beat at the beginning, but there’s an unpleasant popping sound there that warrants fixing if you get the chance. The reverberant claps are especially nice, although the kick at :16 was a bit heavy, to the point of overwhelming the snare. The progression here is pretty slow-paced, although I like the atmospheric elements at :32. I think you could’ve faded the synths at :32 in more, just to foreshadow their prominence in the texture a bit. There’s another sudden transition at 1:02, although by 1:40 the texture is coming together more. I’d still like to hear some stronger melodic content here, especially since the riff at 2:02 is so repetitive and simple. The progression is pretty smooth through the middle section, and I like the strong (although very gradual) sense of build until 3:32. The content of the piece is pretty repetitive after that, and I would’ve liked to hear some more variety in the harmonic components and in the synth lead. I think a final melodic section would’ve done a lot more to hit this piece home, and you probably could’ve cut a couple of minutes off of this track given the excessive repetition. Still, you have a good sense of harmony, progression, and rhythm, and despite my complaints early in the piece, the mixing and mastering are quite good too. Keep at it, DJ-Saidez! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7/10

DJ-Saidez responds:

Yeah I'm still learning the ropes of this. No complaints with that score, the track was kinda iffy for me too. Now that this is over for me my next goal is to finish a couple of remixes to contribute to this collab album, hopefully I can use the lessons I learned and improve as an artist. My plan is to include Wonder and Fractal in that album.
I agree that Wonder scores higher, by the way. The production session for that track had a certain sense of magic that made the elements just fit, the same sense I attempted to recreate for this track but failed, since apparently it has to come to you.
Overall, this was fun! This reminded me once again how much I love music and making it!
どうもありがとうございました！

EDIT: The popping might be either the acoustic drums, or the sound effect I added at :26 which was intentional.

[Goomba]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The texture is a little indistinct - there might be a tad too much reverb. The percussive elements are cool, although I’m not sure I liked how the pads faded out by around :18 (or maybe that was just a bunch of layered reverb/delay effects?). The piece is a bit slow to progress, but I’m really enjoying the sound design and the feeling of volatility in the texture. The little riffs like at 1:05 add a lot of color to the piece. The texture is still pretty thin, but there’s a good sense of climax into 1:35. I think the piece was missing some mid-range tones there, as the texture didn’t feel quite as rich relative to some parts of the outro, and the bass at 2:08 is very loud. The breakdown at 2:57 was a nice touch, and I like how prominent the slap bass is during that section. The pitch-bending at 3:15 was a nice touch, and the climax into 3:28 was also enjoyable. The rhythmic elements of the piece are quite prominent throughout, and I’m tempted to say you needed some more dynamic melodic content here, but the atmosphere and variety still keep this piece pretty engaging. There are parts of this piece that are pretty minimal, and I would’ve liked to hear a little more cohesion in the structure and gradual transitions to give the piece a stronger sense of connectivity. The piece feels pretty dragged-out after a while too, and the last 30 seconds are pretty unnecessary imo. Still, the chord progression unites most of it pretty well, and the sound design and rhythmic components make this piece one of the most unique pieces I’ve heard in the round so far. Nice job incorporating the vocal samples, too. Keep up the good work, Disorderlys! ^_^

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
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
8.25/10

[Behind You]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning and the murky atmosphere. There’s a lot of reverb in the texture, but given the lack of fill it doesn’t affect the mix too much. I think there’s a lot of nice pacing here, and I appreciate the elements of atonality. That said, I wanted to hear a stronger sense of structure after a while and a thicker texture. You know how to construct an atmosphere very well, but I wanted to see you take some more risks with the climactic elements of the piece. It doesn’t seem like the piece’s underlying tension is meaningfully escalated or resolved in any way. There’s a lot of potential for some great storytelling here, but I feel like you ended the piece after the first chapter. I’d encourage you to keep working on this one. Keep at it, Dantonsgo! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
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?)
.25/1
Composite score
6/10

[Stellar Sea]

I like the cute melodies at the beginning, although the drums (especially the clap) sound a bit dry and generic. I like the thicker texture at :24, but I would’ve liked to hear a more gradual climax into :48. At the very least, I would’ve added some reverb automation towards the end of the filtering decay so that it’s not a complete stop-start transition. The cute melody instruments and full texture at :48 are really nice, although the chord progression is a bit cliche. I would’ve liked to see you do more with the drums during this section, but the blissful vibe and energy help keep things engaging. Later in the piece, I think you needed some more structuring, though. The energy level in the piece is pretty flat after the 1-minute mark, so you haven’t quite capitalized on the emotional potential of the piece yet. Still, I really like the melodies at 2:57 - they tie the piece together nicely. The outro was cute, despite the sudden cutoff once again. Overall, nice work with the melodies, texture, production, and atmosphere. Some more mixing effects and structural variety would be nice at times to enhance the flavor of the piece. Keep at it, Dag0!

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

P.S.: This is my 3,000th review on the site, so that means you get 3 years of good luck! Congratulations! ^_^

[Hills Cube]

I like the quirky synths at the beginning, even if the texture is a bit muddy overall. I think there’s a tad too many high frequencies on the synth at :13 - it sounded a bit unpolished. I like the injection of energy at :40, although the harmonic content could use more variety during the first couple of minutes. The melodies at 1:21 are a bit meandering and lack a strong sense of direction. The rhythmic elements at 1:34 are fun, although I’m not sure the harmonies match up completely well. I also would’ve liked to hear some stronger drums during this section; I think the bass may be distorting them a bit in the mix. You could try compressing the drums a bit more, but you’ll also likely have to get stricter with the bass in the equalizer. I would’ve liked to hear a smoother transition at 2:00, but the return to the blissful melodies there was refreshing. The synth at 2:41 sounds particularly thin and clunky, although overall I like most of the instrumental palette in this piece, even if it was a bit cheesy. Overall, I like the melodies, mood, and rhythmic content of the piece, but I think the mixing could use a bit of tightening and the transitions could be smoother. Keep at it, ClitBait! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.25/10

[Intact - Nathán Dzul]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the blissful piano fills during the intro. The texture at :28 is cute and pizzicato-y, but also pretty full and well-balanced. The mix is a little wide for my tastes, with a lot of heavy panning between the pads and the guitar at :55. I’d recommend using stereo widening - not just panning - to clean up more mix; it’s more of an advanced tool. You also need to get your volume levels under control: there’s some clipping at 3:45 and 3:47. The chord progression and sound design can be a bit generic at times in this piece, although I like a lot of the drum samples, especially the sleigh bells at 1:50. The gritty bass at 1:50 was also a highlight of the instrumental palette. The structure of the piece seems a bit drawn-out sometimes, and there weren’t too many truly dynamic melodies in here either. The piece comes together better towards the end with the dreamy synth at 3:50, even if the melody is still very in-the-chords. The outro seemed a bit short-lived, although I liked the filtering work there.

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.25/10

[Bio - Skyland]

I like the rich texture at the beginning, although the instruments are a bit cheesy and inauthentic. There’s a nice sense of climax into :20, but I think the gritty pads there are both dry and clunky. I think you use chords with the notes spaced too close together there - going for a more open sound, especially towards the beginning of the piece like that - probably would help you fill out the texture more. That said, I like the energetic drums and loud mix. The ghostly synth riff at 1:03 is fun, but I don’t think you took the piece in a very promising direction by 1:23 - it’s the same generic chord progression as the beginning. My main complaint here is the lack of harmonic variety, in fact. You do have some structural variety - like the breakdown at 2:24 - but besides that the melodies are very repetitive, and the chord progression is the same throughout as well. Despite the clear mix, the texture sounds pretty thin at times, although I liked the transition into 3:48. Overall, strong work with the production, sound design, and transitions. Elements of the harmonies and sound design could use some more innovation, though. Keep at it, BioHexagon! :)

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7/10

[Beyond Gravity - Beyond the Horizon NGUAC Entry (Instrumental)]

I like the atmospheric effects at the beginning. The pads at :06 sound a bit cheesy, but once the texture fills out a little more the piece sounds really cool. I think the kick at :33 has a tad too much treble, and the drums could sound a bit wetter to fit with the atmosphere. The saxophone was a nice touch, but I think you could’ve foreshadowed its entry a bit better. The melodies it plays also seem a bit meandering at times. I see what you’re trying to do with the gradual escalation of the piece, but it might help keep the listener grounded a little more if the composition was a bit more drawn-out. I like the more legato melodic elements at 1:52. I think the piece could’ve benefitted from a bit more structuring - the instrumental hierarchy is pretty much the same from around :52 onwards, and the one-climax model is hard to pull off in my experience. I also think you could’ve had a bit more intensity at the emotional height at 1:52. Another layer of harmonies or something beyond the synth arpeggios would’ve really given the piece that extra “oomph”. Regardless, I admire your sense of harmony, progression, and sound design overall. Keep at it, BeyondGravity! :)

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

[Soulfire]

I like the rich chords at the beginning and the blissful flute melodies at :07. The mix is a little muddy in the low end - there might be a bit too much reverb, or maybe just not enough equalization work. I think some of the instruments are a bit cheesy (especially the brass - you can tell it’s fake), and the piano at :21 strikes me as being a bit undecorated. There’s a great intensity in the texture by around :40, and the melodies at :52 are really cute. That said, the melodies also could’ve been a lot more prominent in the mix. I like the chill breakdown at 1:02, although I think the drums could’ve sounded a lot more distinct. Cutting back on the reverb and adding some more compression might help you there. I would’ve liked to hear more of a gradual transition into 1:45 (and also 1:56 for that matter), but overall the progression of the piece is really pleasant. Despite a lot of distinct sections, the percussion and atmospheric elements tie this piece together well. Towards the end, I think you overuse the crashes a bit, but the piece still feels really conclusive and climactic. The compositional elements of this piece are quite strong overall - the mixing and sound design are my main concerns. Keep at it, aRho! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10