TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[readyplayerone]

Solid stuff! I like the quirky synth at the beginning and the atmosphere. The drums were a little bizarre. Super quirky samples, and it kinda threw me off when that hat played on the downbeat. After a while, the piece took a bit of a different direction. The melody at around the 1-minute mark has a nice emotional appeal, but something about the melody instrument sounds a bit unpolished. The smooth guitar in the background really helps give the piece some drive despite the overall chill vibe. I wish the piece came full-circle a little more since that synth at the beginning sounded so cool. The crash at the end came across as a bit of a formulaic way to end the piece that sounded a bit out-of-character for the flowy ambiance before it. Still, I admire the creative sound design and smooth progression of this one. Keep at it, DJ-Wolff! ^_^

DJ-Wolff responds:

Thanks! I think people give this too much credit since it was made in 15 minutes with only Apple loops, but i mean it sounds good. I'm gonna change it to a version without the crash, i forgot it was there and yeah it's disgusting lol ;p

update: changed it

[Star Dust]

Cool piece! Has a nice emotional appeal in the relaxed parts and a blissful, even victorious vibe in the melodic parts. It gets a little repetitive by the end - I wish you varied the melody more - but the atmosphere is refreshing and the production quality is solid. Keep it up, Pickseler! ^^

[Xtrullor - Arcana (Tennon Remix)]

Sorry for the super slow response, man! I really like the sound design and soothing collage of riffs at the beginning. They kinda bleed into each other in a really smooth way. The percussion at :33 is a strong follow-up, and the atmosphere and full texture really sell this piece. It has a couple of sudden mood changes, notably the drop at 1:48, but overall the progression and transitions are quite pleasing. The mix is very loud and clear. You clearly spent a lot of time on the production here. The "principal" breakdown at around 2:30 was nice, especially with the sweeping strings at 2:45. I think you cycle through some instrumental themes a bit too quickly during this section. The piece loses its sense of direction for a while until you bring back the instrumental hierarchy of the first climax at around 3:15. Overall, really strong work here. You took a lot of compositional risks here, and most of them certainly pay off. This piece sounds like a journey. Keep up the good work, Tennon! ^_^

Tennon responds:

You just reminded me of how shitty am I at transitions and thats a big issue! I love your reviews, cuz they never lack anything!

[wdrfl_lst]

I like the sound design. Sounds like a slow-mo alien invasion. Some of the instruments, especially the one at :35, might've had a bit too much treble left on them in the equalizer. I also thought you overused that radio effect that comes in on the downbeat starting at :48. Still, cool stuff. Dreamy atmosphere and strong sense of harmony. Keep at it, man! ^_^

wilidacious responds:

Thanks!

[The Sky Above Yukingdom]

Beautiful! Really lovely melodies with a distinct emotional quality. The piece also maintains a strong pulse with the pervasive half-quarter rhythm. I think the mini-phrase at :28 is my favorite. That's when the song starts to develop most harmonically. Keep up the great work, ER!

[Royal Adventure]

Ah, 6/8! The ultimate oom-pah time signature. Sounds like a bright morning on a trading ship or something. I like the cute melodies and cheerful tone. A lot of the piece is missing some low-mid frequencies imo, but that's my only real complaint. The heavy percussion at the beginning and end ties the piece together nicely. Keep up the good work, Everratic! ^_^

[endK - Fragments]

I like the atmospheric vibe at the beginning and the sound design. Nice job with the filtering in the pads too. Mix is really loud, clear, and bright. Definitely has a summery feel. The bass at :47 is really soothing, and the beat keeps things moving along nicely. It might be missing some melodic content for most of the first half, but the variety in the texture is good at keeping me engaged regardless. I like the cello at 1:45 (and other places). I think an extended melodic section could've really hit this piece home, but it never really comes. That's my one big critique with this piece. I also would've liked to see you vary the cello riff a little more. That said, I like the airy spaciousness of the breakdown at the 3-minute mark. The ending was a tad abrupt, but overall the mood and atmosphere are what really sells this piece. Sounds like classy hotel lounge music. Keep it up, EndK! Enjoy your vacation. :)

endKmusic responds:

Yeah, I'm used to having 300 different melodies in my pieces.
I'm currently in the mood of trying to let's say 'control' myself with tons of instruments / things happening so that I can focus on individual instruments + have time to make them sound how I want rather than overloading the playlist with patterns.
Also I wanted this piece to be kinda minimalistic, but nevertheless I agree with you on the 'melodic section that never comes'.
Note taken and thanks for the review TL! :)

[Nihilistic Optimism]

I like the relaxed pads and water FX at the beginning. I like the languid feel of the vocals and the quirky pitch-bent synths at around :50. At times, the lyrics feel really heavy, but they also have a rather comedic delivery. The beat is rather refreshing too. I like the generous serving of hi-hats and prominent hi-mids in the clap. The little laugh at the end really heightens the ambiguity of the overall mood of the piece. Strong work, Jacob! Again, let me know if you need someone to talk to. Seems like there's a lot on your mind sometimes.

[I LIKE YOUR HAT]

Oh. My. Goodness. I'm so glad I found this! Not sure I've heard the full version before, especially the part at :47. The fun, cutesy oom-pah polka vibe is just perfect, and fits C&H's dark - yet cheeky - humor surprisingly well. You, sir, are a legend!

[Curing Apathy]

I like the pensive guitar track and how the tempo gradually changes throughout the piece. The mickey mouse voice just doesn't fit the character of the piece at all, though. It's also rather undecorated - little reverb, chorus effects, delay, distortion, etc. The lyrics themselves are really good, but the cartoonish vocals just don't fit the forlorn feeling they give off. The result is that the piece is pretty jarring to listen to overall. Sorry. Good start with the organic guitar part and, in their un-pitch-shifted form, the vocals as well. The little structural break in the piece at around 4:25 was a nice detail - it helped refocus the song a bit towards the end. Keep at it, man.