TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Never Happened]

I like the emotional piano line at the beginning and the atmosphere. The funky synths and chopped vocals at :16 are both valuable additions to the texture. I really like the clarity of the lead vocals and the lyrics themselves too. The sidechaining is a little heavy at :55, but the additional harmonies during the second vocal phrase are really nice. The piece really starts coming together compositionally at 2:20, though. The melodies there feel really cathartic, and the chopped vocals at 2:47 enhance that sense of emotional release even more. The repetition of the first two lines of vocals towards the end works well, too. The vocals are really good, btw. The only complaint I have with them is that you can sound a little more confident. Still, the sidechaining is honestly the thing that bothers me the most with this piece. The structure, sound design, atmosphere, and mood are all really enjoyable here. Keep it up, icantpronouncethis! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9/10

icantpronouncethis responds:

Thank you for the in depth criticism for this song. It's one of my more serious song I've worked and it means a lot to me to receive those words. My vocals definitely needs a lot of work, and can easily be improved by practicing. There's definitely rooms to improve and hopefully I can fill those rooms during the competition. Thank you once again.

[Scorpia]

I like the bright piano riff at the beginning and the crisp drums. The atmosphere and bass at :14 are nice, although the drums are a little loud. The vocals at :27, although I thought the pitch automations on them at :33 were a little cheesy. Same thing with :53. The production quality and rhythmic aspects of the piece are really good, though. At some point, I wanted to hear some stronger melodic content and structural contrast. The composition of the piece just needed a bit more shape - adding an emotional breakdown, atmospheric bridge, or minimal piano solo all would’ve helped. The harmonic content gets very repetitive towards the end, and there isn’t a strong sense of climax or resolve either. Still, the production quality and sound design are top-notch here. Keep at it, Snakewine! :)

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
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
8/10

[Coat Check]

The bass riff at the beginning is catchy, although the vocals are a little too quiet. I also would’ve liked to see you do more with the mixing effects here. The clap at the beginning also sounds a bit cheesy and generic. The piece starts coming together more at :28, and I like the crisper drums and intensity of the vocals there. The rap part at :46 was really good. The lyrics are pretty clever, and the melodic content in the vocals at 1:05 is nice. I like the intensity at the end. Overall, I think my biggest problem here is the production. The mix is very quiet, and the recording quality is not great. The vocals keep getting lost in the texture, which is likely a combination of a subpar mic and poor enunciation. That said, you’re clearly a talented vocalist, and this piece is catchy, fun, and engaging throughout. Keep at it, ChessPiece19! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

ChessPiece19 responds:

thanks for the in-depth review. I think the final mix on the album is slightly better.
I'm working a lot more on production for my next project, experimenting with all the effects on Reaper.

[Impure]

I like the dreamy mood at the beginning and the echo effects. The thinner texture at :33 right before the huge uptick in intensity was pretty effective as a transitional technique. The melodic content at the 1-minute mark was nice, too, and the bass riff at 1:38 sounds really cool. I thought you could’ve done a lot more with the drums in this piece, though. The crashes are really quiet, and there isn’t a lot of other content in that upper frequency range to fill out the texture, either. The harmonic progression is great at around 2:30, although it feels like forever since there’s been a good bout of structural relief by the time 3:16 rolls around. Glad you brought this piece full circle by bringing back the dreamy vibe from the beginning, but it’s still a pretty sudden mood shift at 3:16. The energetic outro at 3:50 was a nice touch, though. Overall, solid work, JDawg00100! This piece is engaging, melodious, and catchy. Keep up the good work. ^_^

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

JDawg00100 responds:

Thank you for the detailed review!

[The Electronic Pen]

The synths are fun, but I think the filtering work at the beginning is a little cheesy. The synths at :21, especially the bass, sound a little unpolished and simple. The bass sounds like it’s straight out of 3xOsc. The rhythmic components of the piece are pretty creative, though, and I like the somewhat ominous melody at :53. The mix is pretty clean and loud, and I think you also start to overuse the risers/sweeps (like at 1:28) by the end of the piece. The middle section of this piece is pretty bland harmonically. The vocal samples at 1:52 were fun, albeit panned a little too far to the left. They ended up sounding harsh in my ears. The second refrain at 2:40 might’ve needed a little more harmonic variety compared to the first one, especially given the relatively generic chord progression, although the melodic content at 3:09 is really fun and helps hit this piece home quite well. The extended outro at 3:48 felt a little unnecessary, though. Fun piece overall.

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

[Until We Meet Again]

I like the emotional quality of the strings at the beginning. The staccato harmonies in the background sound a tad undecorated, though, and don’t come through super well in the mix once the melodic lines take over. I like the climactic vibe at 1:15, but I wish there was a more gradual transition into that point. The vocals at around the 2-minute mark are great, and the composition comes together really well here. The one-climax model can be risky at times, but you pull it off pretty well here. It helps that there’s a strong sense of phrasing throughout the climactic part (i.e., 1:15 onward). I’m still a little uncertain about the clarity of the mix during the more involved parts of this piece, but overall this is solid work. Beautiful harmonic content and tasteful instrumental palette. Keep up the good work, Omson! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[Mint]

I like the smooth pads at the beginning, but I think it would help give this piece a stronger sense of atmosphere and flow if you held out the notes longer and maybe added some reverb. The bass at :21 is a little too loud, and the synths are pretty cheesy. The drums are mixed well, and I like the melodies. I think you need some smoother transitions in this piece, though, including at :53 and at the entrance of the entrance of the piano at :42. The heavy mid-range bass at :53 seems a bit out-of-place, and the unpolished synths at 1:04 aren’t great. There are a lot of different riffs you use repeatedly throughout, but the arrangement is pretty choppy, and the different riffs don’t feel connected in any meaningful way. Your piece lacks storytelling and an overarching sense of direction. The result is that the composition feels very thrown-together. The harsh elements of the mix and the generic sound design also don’t help you much here. Overall, I think you need to consolidate some of your ideas and focus on providing some connectivity and flow in your composition. Still, I’ve been tough on you in this review. There are a lot of catchy riffs and fun melodies here. Keep at it, Teqneec! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
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

[Disambiguation]

I like the quirky beats at the beginning. The big bass drum and hip-hop beat vibe well together, interestingly enough. I like the strings and ominous mood too. There isn’t a very strong sense of progression early on, although the melodic content at :58 is nice. The rhythmic content in the instrumental tracks is pretty simple a lot of the time, and I also would’ve liked to see you shake up the texture a bit more. An atmospheric bridge or something would really help give this piece a little more shape during the middle. Right now, it has a constant sense of tension and energetic potential that doesn’t really get resolved until the very end. The melodic content at 2:38 was really nice, though. The higher register part at 2:59 really helped piece this home and increase the emotional value of this track. The end came on a tad suddenly. Some more reverb or something there might’ve been advisable at the very least, just to give it that final touch of atmosphere. Otherwise, I thought you could’ve done a bit more with the drums towards the end, including giving them a more prominent place in the mix to up the intensity further.

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
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
7.75/10

Jmagnum responds:

Thank you :) Very detailed review as always. Will definitely take everything into consideration for future songs

[Sky, Sea, Stars]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The percussion is a little dry here, but the luscious chords are nice, and the rhythmic content is pleasant. The kick at :35 is a bit over-saturated in the mix, though. I think you need to rein in your volume levels a bit here. The melodies at :59 are nice, as is the bass at 1:20.

That said, I think you need to do some serious work on the mixing and mastering here. The bass is clearly distorting some of the other instruments in the mix. You can fix that by using an equalizer (often called an EQ in your DAW) to get rid of the lower frequencies in every instrument except the bass and kick. While you’re at it, you also want to lower the volume levels on the drums, then add compressors to make them sound louder anyway. That way, the kick won’t sound this harsh. You can also add reverb to make your drums sound like someone’s playing them in a concert hall, and tons of other cool effects too! Equalization and compression are probably the most important, though - they make your piece sound clear and crisp, as opposed to muddy and distorted (like 1:22 in your piece).

Anyway, the atmosphere, mood, and sound design still get you a lot of credit here, and I like the progression overall too. I thought 1:45 was the beginning of a dreamy breakdown, but then it really comes at 2:08. Maybe some more gradual transitions would help you smooth over some of the structural “fake-outs” you have in the last half of your piece. Going forward, I’d like to see a more dynamic composition as well, with some more melodic development and variation, but I think the mixing should be a priority for you in the near future.

Overall, really nice work with the moody atmosphere, instrumentation, and beats. Keep at it, Osheakami! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
5.75/10

[A New Land]

I like the guitar and echo-y drums at the beginning. The rhythmic content is pretty cool, and the mood is soothing, especially when the flute comes in at around :23. Great job with the sound design and progression here, even if the piece does take a while to develop. The string melodies are beautiful, although the transition into 1:11 was a little abrupt. The mix is also a bit dry, with not a lot of reverb or other mixing effects. A couple of the instruments have relatively sudden entrances that bother me a bit, too, like at 1:34. The melodies and harmonic content are beautiful here, although 1:56 was a little abrupt once again. The overarching structure here is interesting. I like the cello at 2:55. The texture comes together well again during the second loop. Everytime the structure resets itself, the transitions are a bit abrupt. Especially in such a flowing and atmospheric piece, I think you could do more to smooth over all of these rough entrances and transitions. Still, that’s my only major compositional complaint here. I applaud the sound design, harmonies, phrasing, and rhythmic content. I would’ve liked to hear more of the drums in the mix during some of the busier parts, but overall the production quality is also quite strong. You definitely took some compositional risks with this one, not least important of which is the sudden ending, but overall most of them paid off imo. Keep up the good work, Syamori! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

Baumarius responds:

Thanks! I'll keep this stuff in mind when I finalize it for the game!