TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Am i in your mind?]

I like the energy and breathy vocals at the beginning. The drum samples are a little cliche, especially the open hat on the off-beats, and the vocals get a bit repetitive after a while. The piece is pretty slow to progress, and I appreciated the structural contrast you offered at the breakdown at 1:30. I liked your use of the reverse crash in the middle of the atmospheric phrase at 1:52. The pacing is a bit slow here, but there’s a good sense of climax into 2:21, and the heavy bass at 2:36 is a nice touch. There isn’t a lot of dynamic melodic content in this piece, and overall the sound design, arrangement, and chord progression of the piece are pretty generic. That said, I’m really enjoying the sharp production quality, automations, sound design, and rhythmic content here. Keep at it, SASKID! :)

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
.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
7.75/10

SASKID responds:

Thanks for your kind words!

So mixing is good, but be more original is what I take away from the review here. Very happy you enjoyed the elements and small touches that people usually leave out or don't notice such as the subtle reverse crashes and elements coming together.

Thanks for your score, and thanks for judging!

[Totem]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the smooth, jazzy chord progression. I think you needed a stronger transition into :31 (or at least not such an awkward pause), but the harmonic progression is still cool. Sometimes, it sounds like the bass and E-piano are getting in each other’s way a bit. Some more careful equalization might fix that. Also, this piece has very few frequencies in the upper range of the spectrum. That minimal percussion sample that serves as a stand-in for a snare or something is basically the only instrument with treble tones in the piece. I like the rhythmic content at 1:56, and the funky synth bass at 2:14 is fun. My main problem with the piece is probably the lack of a strong sense of direction. There are a lot of good ideas here, but not a lot of melodic development, variation in the instrumental hierarchy, or a cohesive structure. The minimalism also wears on me after a while. I like the piano blips that start at around 4:25 - they contrast nicely with the smooth texture of the E-piano chords. Still, there’s very little variety in the texture throughout this piece, which is tough to make work in a 5.5-minute track. Overall, nice work with the production, harmonies, atmosphere, and sound design. The composition is a little bland, though, and you missed an opportunity to maximize the emotional appeal of this piece imo. Keep at it, G4CEsz-Official! :)

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?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Tune Machine - Excavation]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the ominous mood. The sound design is nice, too, although the kick drum doesn’t always come through the mix very well. It also sounds a bit sub-bassy for an atmospheric piece like this. There might be a little too much reverb on that thin-sounding snare, too. That creepy ambient pad at 1:14 is really nice, though. The progression is a little slow-paced, but the rhythmic pattern in the strings at around 1:40 is nice, and the brief pause at 2:06 is a nice touch that resets the texture before the melodic content comes in. The string samples are of good quality, and the composition comes together fairly well by the 3-minute mark or so. I like the subtle dynamics shift into 3:37, and the added ambiance of the airy piano. The fade-out ending came across as a bit lazy, but overall the structural aspects of this piece are quite pleasing. Despite my minor complaints with the production and sound design, the composition of this piece is excellent. Keep up the good work, Aenter! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
9.25/10

[BLOOD]

I like the filtering at the beginning and the smooth drums and atmosphere. The reverb in the texture is a little excessive, but I like the sensual lyrics and the variation in intensity. I think you should really flesh out the structure more, though. This is a great sound bite, but it’s almost like the minute-long preview I get before I buy a song on iTunes, not a full piece. My main complaint here is probably that you needed a more complete composition here. There’s a lot of tension and suspense in this piece that never really gets resolved or expanded upon. I was waiting for a beautiful vocal solo that told me the rest of the story, but it never came. Still, beautiful atmosphere, sound design, and emotional appeal. If you ever finish this track, please PM me and I’ll leave you another review. Keep at it, Athanatos! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
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
8/10

[trumpets]

Catchy beats at the beginning. The brass hits sound a little generic and inauthentic, but the drum samples are nice and crisp. I like the synth that starts fading in at around :20. The sweep at :31 was a little drawn-out, and then the texture at :38 is quite different from the one before the transition at :31. I like the sub-bass and new rhythmic content, and the build-up at 1:16 is cool. The drop is pretty catchy, but very minimal, and doesn’t really introduce and novel content into the piece. My main problem with the piece is the lack of originality. It sounds like a very cliche big room house track, given the arrangement, minimalism, use of reverb, and even the snare sample (1:15). Overall, it’s a catchy piece with some appealing rhythmic attributes and solid production quality, but the composition could be much more original and dynamic. Keep at it, vidu3k333!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
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?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.25/10

[AlieN - Dream Island (House/8-bit/Glitch-Hop)]

The synth riff at the beginning is catchy, although the synths themselves sound a bit harsh in the mix. The background percussion at the beginning also is a bit grating. The harmonic content of the piece is very repetitive, and the mix sounds a bit strained at 1:01. My biggest problem with the piece is how bland the composition is. The entire piece is essentially variations on the same short, simple riff, with little harmonic depth to boot. You have a good sense of rhythm and progression, but I want you to spend more time adding complexity to the composition of your tracks - richer chords, fuller textures, more layers of harmony (chords, melodies, back-up melodies, rhythmic riffs, dynamic bass lines, etc.). It helps to lay out the chords you’re using first, and then build patterns that fit within the notes of those chords. Still, this piece isn’t bad. The composition is just a little underwhelming. It’s still a catchy and flowing piece with some good harmonic ideas. Keep at it, AlienNinjaGD! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
5.5/10

AlienNinjaGD responds:

Thanks for your review!
I agree with all the things you wrote here.
Thanks for the advices! I'm gonna follow them.

[Heaven]

I like the breathy atmosphere at the beginning and the pensive guitars at :05. The production is a bit bizarre here. The mixing effects on the vocals are pretty heavy, and the guitars are very reverberant. I really like the lyrics, although sometimes the vocals sound a little thin and strained in the higher register (i.e., 1:10), and I wish the drums were a bit louder during the refrain too. Sometimes the vocals cut off before you really articulate the syllable you’re singing, like at “hand” at 2:04. Without the lyrics in the author’s description, I would have no idea what you’re saying. Overall, the piece is well-structured, although at some point a breakdown or solo would’ve been nice to give the composition a little more shape. The piece also gets a little repetitive by the end, with not enough variety in the instrumental tracks, harmonic content, or structure.

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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?)
.25/1
Composite score
7/10

JoePimpz responds:

I appreciate you taking the time to really listen and review my work. My forte is songwriting, so I tend to mix strangely. As far as mastering goes, I don't know a ton about it so I use unorthodox methods, which is likely some of what you're hearing. The opening was actually me breathing in as much as I could and uttering "damnit" because I kept running out of air during my first few takes and I was actually bracing for the pass-through lol

[FM 14 - Sweet Guidance]

I like the upbeat mood and synths at the beginning. The chord progression is a little generic, but the melodic content at :23 is fun. I think the drums could’ve been a little stronger in the mix, and the snare sounds like it doesn’t have quite enough lower frequencies. Still, I like the energy and drive this piece has. There are a lot of great melodies in this track, but at some point I wanted to see you offer some structural contrast by dialing back the intensity a bit. An atmospheric breakdown or minimalist bridge would serve this piece well, giving the composition some shape and allowing you to reach a more emotional conclusion at the next climax. Instead, the different sections of this piece don’t seem quite distinct enough from each other after a while, and it also couldn’t hurt to consolidate some of your harmonic ideas, as there are a lot of different fast-paced riffs in this piece. It’s a little hard to stay grounded in the structure after a while. Still, I appreciate the return to familiar content towards the end, even if the fade-out ending came across as a little lazy and abbreviated. Still, the sound design and atmosphere of this piece are really cool. I especially like the instrument at 1:53 - it was probably originally meant to sound like brass, but it’s so inauthentic that it comes across as just another quirky synth, and it blends into the texture here wonderfully. Cool piece overall. My nit-picky compositional concerns probably constitute my main issue with the piece. Keep up the good work, Pheanir! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
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

Pheanir responds:

Thank you for your feedback, this is the most in-depth review I've ever gotten.

Yeah, the things you said are true. I am mostly inspired by the Touhou project games and I have absolutely no knowledge about mixing or doing these things properly; I just "went for it". I could try to explain why I did things certain ways here, but that's probably redundant.

I always try to get better. Thank you a lot ~

[Idaku]

I like the dreamy atmosphere at the beginning and the synths. The bass at :15 really helps fill out the texture. There might be a tad too much reverb in the texture, but I think a bigger mixing problem is the excessive sidechaining, which impedes the flowy vibe of the pads. I’d also like to see more structural variety here over time. The instrumental hierarchy is the same throughout the entire piece. At some point, I’d suggest shaking it up - play around with the bass’s upper range more, or introduce a melodic synth on top of the pads. The clap that comes in later in the piece - around 2:05 - is also really quiet. Still, the quirky mood, atmosphere, and sound design in this piece are all really nice. Keep at it, BeeFef! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.75/10

BeeFef responds:

well i doubt i made it in with that kind of score but thanks for the feedback

edit: the clap being really filtered down and quiet is intentional. I wanted to make it mellow and lo-fi and fit the vibe of the song so I personally like it

as for structure, it may not be the most interesting but i think the way i did it makes it kind of a relax/study track

[Did you know?]

I like the guitar riffs and intensity. I think the drums could be mixed a tad better. They don’t come through as loud as I want, especially the crashes. I like the panning on the guitars. The piece has very little harmonic or structural variety, though. The underwhelming composition is probably my main complaint here. You just need more structuring to keep this piece engaging - not to mention chord progression changes, melodic content, phrasing, etc. It’s hard to accomplish all of that in a minute, and this piece is no exception. Still, it’s a pretty good start. I’d encourage you to keep working on this piece. I like the flow, sound design, and energy. Keep at it, HighBallers! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
5.5/10

HighBallers responds:

Ha thanks man. This song was just a bunch of messing around. I got bigger better things coming!