TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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

[Oubliette]

I like the smooth synths at the beginning. The reverberant percussion is a nice touch, although I would’ve liked to hear a more gradual transition into :39. The production is clean, although the piece doesn’t have a lot of harmonic variety. I like the quirky percussion at 1:25 and the strings at 1:36. There’s a good sense of shape and flow in the texture overall. The melodic content at 3:17 is a good way of hitting the piece home, although at this point I wish the rhythmic content of it was a bit more dynamic. The pitch-bending on the pads at 3:43 is nice, and the ominous outro helps this piece feel full-circle. Overall, strong work with the mixing and mastering, harmonic content, sound design, and atmosphere. Most of my complaints feel like missed opportunities more than things that actively bothered me, which is certainly good for you. Keep at it, Burn7! :)

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

[York]

I like the energy at the beginning and the crisp drums. The piano sample is a bit generic, although I like the guitars. You overuse the crashes sometimes, and there are a couple of sudden transitions, like :40. The texture sounds pretty rich and full overall, and I like the ominous mood at around the 1-minute mark. The structure of the piece is a bit bizarre. It seems a bit pasted-together, with few gradual transitions and little sense of phrasing or dynamic contrast. Instead, there are little solos and riffs that come in during the “verses,” often using the piano or brass as the melody instrument, and then the riff at 2:36 is almost the backdrop of the entire piece, despite not playing for most of it. I think this piece would be stronger compositionally with more structural contrast - a breakdown or atmospheric bridge would give the piece more shape, and some more gradual transitions would give it a stronger sense of connectivity and flow. In summary, I like the production, sound design, atmosphere, and harmonic content, but the arrangement feels a little choppy and the composition could be more dynamic. Keep at it, ARealGhost! :)

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

[Game Boy]

I like the cute sound effect at the beginning and the rich chords shortly thereafter. The kick drum at :10 sounds a bit over-saturated in the mix, but once the vocals and other drums come in it vibes well with the balance of the texture overall. The artificial vibe of the vocals fits the thematic content well, and I like the rhythmic content too. The riser into 1:17 is a little cheesy, but I like the upbeat feel of the chorus. The way the syllables fall on the “just get up and try again” line is a little clunky rhythmically, but the more I hear it the less unnatural it sounds. I like the added melodic content during the short bridge at 1:50. I liked the variations on the melody at 3:07 during the repetition of the chorus, too. Overall, really strong work here. This piece is well-produced, uplifting, has really cool thematic content, and a great message to boot. Keep up the good work, Karsys! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
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