TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Hyperspace Overload (40 Days of Struggle: Day 8)]

I like the catchy synths at the beginning. The chord progression is a little cliche, and I wish the drums were both louder in the mix and more creative. I also would’ve liked to see some more original sound design and structural variety here. The energy level is almost constant throughout the piece, and overall the composition just needs more fleshing-out. Still, nice work with the rhythmic components, harmonies, and rich texture. Keep at it, DaveSlayer! :)

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
.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

DaveSlayer responds:

Thanks for a comprehensive overview! Getting feedback is rare these days, I'll do my best to improve! :3

[18 H]

I like the car sound effects and chill eastern-sounding instrument at the beginning. The vocals are nice, too. The bass and kick at :25 sound a little over-saturated in the mix, although the vocals are really smooth and well-articulated. The recording quality is strong, too. I would’ve liked to hear more variation in the instrumental track, though. The texture is pretty stagnant over time, perhaps with the exception of the more legato approach to the vocals at 1:29. I think the piece needs more structuring and shape in the composition. It would’ve been nice if you broke down the drum beat and eastern instrument riffs at some point and had some more atmospheric/melodic content. I’d also like to see a translation of the lyrics. Overall, though, the production quality is strong, the mood is fun, and the rhythmic content is catchy. Keep at it, Galicross!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

GALICROSS responds:

Thank you so much. Your opinion will allow me to work much better news.
Here is the idea of ​​the text in English.
Hard to translate, because French words are our expressions

Come my end of the day
face well burnt, I look at the counter
but the lion remains at rest.
I call dekar, I will not be burned.
boost ! the sound on an air of undead (hollywood undead)
the exile inside, 18h

first engaged, in neutral
I will fall back.
idiot or
construction
I fuck the world, let me sleep
Too much clio concerto, i realize to me
I am more than at the level
I hang up, I will move
it transpires

still 18h on the road
fuuuuuuuuu
next door, just landed
pleasure
big cleavage
black rayban
a little ruffled
but I must surely hallucinate


she goes, mine is raging
I find it disgusting, only Michel Angel pass
the inner exile makes one feel
burns caution, state of consciousness
I believe in a movie
that heat, 18h

sun through the windows burns me
the jeans glue, clim on feet
but the rays are so strong
I'm crying like DARC on the bucher
finish in my ashtray
charred, empty and dried
a background thirsty evian 18h

18h on the road

it becomes strident, I roll at a pace
I will not be on time
quiet without risk
with a big breaker
active grandpa
the asphalt is burning
deadly temperature
I will be able to pass
end 18 km / h


like when we I'm waited
I have the pulsating sternoma
in the apartment there is just my knife
who is waiting for my dick
just tired, worn
by this fucking journey
exit this day
I'm going game 18 h





see you soon

[Volume By Erik VIP (Music)]

The intro could’ve been a bit more creative than a fade-in, but I like the catchy beats and sound design. The sweep at :58 also sounds cool. My main problem with the piece is the lack of variety, especially in the harmonies. I wanted to hear some stronger, more dynamic melodic content, and also some more variation during the final refrain at 1:31. That said, the additional harmonies at 1:48, while short-lived, were a nice touch. The sweep at the end also cuts off a bit suddenly. I would suggest letting the reverb do the work of helping the atmosphere fade out. Overall, I’m enjoying the production quality, blissful mood, energy, and rhythmic content of the piece. I think you need more variety, more originality in the sound design and arrangement, and more creative sound design to keep my attention here, though. Keep at it, Eric-VIP! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
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
7/10

Erik-VIP responds:

Thanks!

[Magicalpony444 - Drexonomis]

I like the quirky percussion at the beginning and the rhythmic content, but I think there’s a bit too much reverb on some of the instruments and the harmonic content is a little sparse. It sounds like a series of catchy riffs with little connectivity and overarching sense of progression. The breakdown at 1:20 was a pretty good idea, and I like how you incorporate the piano’s progression into the second half of the piece. That said, the ending comes on a little suddenly, and I wanted to see you find more ways of creating variety in this piece besides just adding and subtracting instruments over time. The breakdown at 1:20 is a good start, but there aren’t really any gradual transitions in this piece, giving the arrangement a bit of a choppy feel. Overall, solid work with the sound design, rhythmic components, harmonies, and production quality. The compositional details just need a bit of fleshing out. Keep at it, Magicalpony444! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
8/10

Magicalpony444 responds:

Hi! Sorry for reacting to this too late. This is actually a pretty important song in my career (cuz all of my songs before this were garbage :P). I hope you have a nice day!

[Shimmy Shimmy Quake]

I like the instrumentation. The beat doesn’t sound quantized very well, as the different tracks don’t always sync up neatly. It’s especially noticeable in the crashes at around :10. Sometimes the vocals sound a little overly strained, but the lyrics are fun. The chord progression is a tad generic, but I like the solo at 1:18 - it helps keep the texture engaging. I like the production quality overall, but sometimes the panning is a little heavy for my tastes. The vocals don’t come through that clearly at 1:55, and the volume levels (especially of the vocals) oscillate quite a bit throughout the piece, which can be a little jarring. I like the passion and intensity of the guitar solos, but I thought you could’ve had a more creative ending than a fade-out. Overall, you’re clearly a talented guitarist and you bring a lot of feeling to your music, but the texture and mix need a lot of tightening - both rhythmically and harmonically. Keep at it, Johnnyq1233! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.5/10

johnnyq1233 responds:

See.. that's the problem. Soo many musicians are on the computers and using all the tools available! Auto tune, auto time, automatic quantization, beat slicing tools and soo much pitch corrections!
Why not have a straight up 8 competition, where you got 8 tracks and you are not allowed to use any computer alterations.
If this is a truely music oriented site, then you should have a straight up analog recording comp for us old guys that don't use any fuckin computer magic.

Shut off your computers and just listen!!! the music is all you need!

[Overwhelming Epiphany]

I like the energy at the beginning, but it’s a little hard to follow the harmonic patterns, and the sound design is rather generic. The snare and synths are pretty cheesy, and the drums sound a little distorted in the mix. The harmonic content needs a little more variation, including structural variation that doesn’t have such a similar energy level for the entire track. I also don’t think the ending felt conclusive enough. I’ve been tough on you here, though. You clearly have a good sense of harmony, progression, and rhythm. The composition just needs to have a stronger ebb and flow over time, and there are plenty of more advanced ways you can create that variety besides just adding and subtracting instruments over time, like filtering, automation, phrasing, volume changes, etc. Keep at it, GentWalrus! :)

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

[Elevation]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the emotional strings at :19. The melodic content in this piece is beautiful, and the percussion is nice and loud and clear in the mix. The rhythmic content is a little hard to follow at 1:14, especially with the mixed choir, although I like the horns toward the end and the female drone. The last climactic section really hits the piece home. I think the piece has a couple too many sudden changes in dynamics (as opposed to gradual build-ups and breakdowns), but overall the structure is effective here too. The high production quality, sound design, atmosphere, and melodies really carry this track. Strong work, CloakedSoup! ^_^

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

CloakedSoup responds:

Thanks man! Hopefully I can enter into the 1st round (I made it into the fill-in pool), because I've got some ideas cooking that should impress far beyond anything that I did here.

[Gradually nothing]

Cute instruments and catchy drums. There’s this synth drone in the background for a lot of the first half of the piece that I thought was a bit obnoxious. That and a couple of the other instruments in here sound a tad unpolished, and the texture is also pretty minimal. The harmonic content doesn’t have much variety, and I think the structure can be much more fleshed-out. I also wanted to see you use more advanced ways of creating variation besides just adding and subtracting instruments over time. Phrasing, dynamic contrast, filtering, automation, and other techniques are much more advanced. Overall, though, my main problem with the piece is the lack of compositional completeness. Still, this has a cute mood, crisp mix, and pretty catchy rhythmic content. Keep at it, OiPriPri! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
5.75/10

[/With Love]

I like the dreamy vibe at the beginning. The bells at :14 seemed like they could’ve fit in with the atmosphere a little more - more reverb might help with that. I like the more hard-hitting bass-y elements at 1:15, but I think you could’ve had a more gradual transition into that section, as the texture is very different there. The sound design and production quality of this piece are awesome, though, and I appreciated the return to the atmospheric vibes at around 2:20. I think the panning is a little heavy on the guitar at 2:45. There’s another sudden transition at 3:15, and the texture is a bit atonal there. I like the sense of climax into 3:44, but I was not expecting the huge influx of energy that came after it. The ending is a little sudden, too. Overall, the arrangement of the piece is a little choppy, and the structure lacks cohesion, but those are my main complaints here. The sound design, mixing and mastering, rich textures, atmosphere, and rhythmic components are all really enjoyable here. Keep at it, TheMajician! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.75/10