TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[In the Dumps]

I like the emotional strings and harp at the beginning. The samples aren’t the most authentic, but the melodies are beautiful and the harp keeps the beat well. I like the progression and harmonies, too. The mix is a little quiet. I think you could’ve had a little more compression. The sudden dynamics shift at 1:20 was a little jarring, and the woodwind solo at 1:27 completely dominates the texture over harp. I also think the piece could’ve used some more percussion at times to give the piece a stronger sense of drive. The change in meter at 2:40 was a great idea - super fun compositional approach here. There’s another sudden transition at 3:12, although I like the volume level changes at around 3:35 onwards. The piece comes together well during the last refrain at the 4-minute mark, and I thought the pause at 4:11 actually worked well there. I think this piece could use a stronger sense of atmosphere at times, with a tad more reverb and other mixing tools probably being advisable. Overall, the composition here is really strong, despite my complaints about the transitions, and the most important thing you need to improve this piece is higher-quality samples. Keep at it, TheWeathermanYT! :)

P.S.: Sorry you feel kinda sad. Please PM me if you need someone to talk to.

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7/10

[A Bright Sunday Drive]

I like the cute synths and atmosphere at the beginning. The beat is also pretty catchy. I think the panning is a little overdone, though. The mix sounds very wide, to the point that the pads at the beginning are a little harsh in my ears. Some of the transitions here are pretty sudden, like at :54 and 1:14. I really like the dreamy vibe and sound design overall. I think you needed a little more melodic content and prominent foregrounded material. Right now, the atmosphere is nice, but there’s not a lot of dynamism in the texture. The over-panned pads also come back towards the end, which might’ve been a nice thematic touch as a full-circle sort of deal, but I’ve already mentioned the concerns I have with how they’re mixed. Overall, solid work with the instrumentation, soothing mood, and balance of the texture. The best thing you could do for this piece to increase your score is flesh out the composition more. Keep at it, TheDoubleOne! :)

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
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
6.25/10

[Un-scouted beginning revised]

I like the cute melodies at the beginning and the sound design, even if it is a little cheesy. The drums could’ve been mixed a bit louder here, although the big bass drum at :30 seems a little heavy for the overall tone of the piece. Some of the transitions in this piece are pretty sudden, notably 1:00, 1:28, and 1:04. My main problem here is that the structure is pretty flat. The energy level is a near-constant in this piece. I would’ve liked to hear either an atmospheric bridge/breakdown or a climactic section with some new melodic content at some point. Still, the mood, instruments, and melodies here are really nice. Keep at it, Tebyricat! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

[Arise and Fight]

I like the warm strings at the beginning. I think there are more creative ways of beginning a piece than that subtle fade-in, but at least it fits the character of the track here. The piece is also a little slow to progress, but I like the vocals at :36 and the sense of climax into 1:05. The horns were a nice touch, too, and the increased energy at 1:10 was really nice. You left a lot of space for contrast here, which is nice. The bell sample at 1:22 sounds a bit clunky. Perhaps it could be equalized or modified differently to remove some of the jittery “aftertaste” it has? That said, I like the brass melodies at 1:41 a lot, although I would’ve preferred a more gradual build into a climactic section like that. There’s a great feeling of catharsis when the strings come in at 2:15, and overall the composition here comes together really well. During the last section, I wish the string harmonies came through the mix a bit better, but overall the production quality is solid here as well. Nice job with maximizing the emotional quality of this piece, AceMantra! I think the sound design and inspiring mood here are my favorite elements of it. 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
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

AceMantra responds:

Hey, thank you so much for the in depth review! I know you had a lot to cover and still more to come.

Cheers!

[exist love?]

I like the furtive ambiance at the beginning. The synth at :17 sounds a little unpolished and cheesy, and the kick drum at :34 is way too loud, to the point that it severely distorts the mix. Do you hear how indistinct the other instruments sound during the rolls at :44? You can fix that by reining in the volume levels (turn down the knobs on the kick), and by using limiters/compressors to take some of the distortion off. Otherwise, the composition is bland and minimal, and the piece lacks a sense of overarching shape. Most of the variation in the texture comes from adding and subtracting instruments, which is a pretty remedial way of creating variety (more advanced ways: volume changes, automation, filtering, phrasing, etc.). That said, I liked the added atmospheric synth during the last part with the beat. I think you clearly have a good idea of how to create moods and harmonies, but unfortunately you don’t really capitalize on those talents with the bland composition here. Overall, it’s a catchy piece with some cool sound design and atmosphere, but it needed a little more depth to the harmonies to keep me engaged. Keep at it, paulinhudj! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
4/10

[Glowing Beach]

I like the quirky, distorted synths at the beginning, although I think the drums at :10 are a little over-compressed, especially the clap. The harmonies come together well by :30 or so, but the short-lived piano riff at :21 confused me a bit as to the direction of this piece. There are a lot of different compositional ideas here, joined by jarring, sudden transitions. The arrangement overall sounds really choppy, and while I like the mood and harmonies overall, the sound design can be a tad cheesy at times and the composition feels very thrown-together. The sudden ending doesn’t help with that concept, either. Overall, this is a good start. You’ve got a number of fun harmonic ideas here, but you needed a stronger sense of flow and direction in the texture in order for this to feel like a cohesive piece. Keep at it, HoneyNutCheerios! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6/10

TheOGGriper responds:

Thank you, I truly appreciate the feedback

[Mary Anne]

Really cute sound design and feel-good lyrics here. The chord progression seems a tad generic, but the additional backing vocals at :53 were a nice touch. The lower-register vocals at 1:25 sounded like they would make a great breakdown/bridge, but then the piece ended. I think it’s worth your while to try to flesh out the texture a little more here. The overall structure of the piece is pretty flat, and I think it could use some more dynamic contrast, phrasing, and maybe an escalation of intensity (guitar solo?) at some point. I also think the lead vocals are quite as strong as I want them to be in the mix. Some more compression and other mixing effects might do the trick there. Overall, I love the thematic content of the piece, the sound design, and the vocals. You could’ve done a little more with the progression and arrangement here, though. Keep at it, JackBliss! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8/10

jackbliss responds:

Wow thanks for the great detailed review :)

[Nightwave]

I like the angry bass riff at the beginning and the haunting vocals at :14 and :20. The funky guitar at :29 was really nice, and despite the slow progression at the beginning everything falls together very quickly. I like the conversational tone of the vocals and the content of the lyrics. The progression is solid, although there isn’t a lot of emotional contrast between the verses. The additional vocal samples at 1:37 were a nice touch, but at 1:43 it sounded like the vocals weren’t synced to the beat that well. It might be that you’re trying to squeeze a few too many syllables in your vocal lines there. Despite the engaging nature of the vocals, I wish you had done a little more with the instrumental tracks earlier in the track, but the minimal breakdown and following epic solo at 2:29 somewhat makes up for that. I think your production is really solid overall, but at 2:30 the snare sounds a bit over-saturated in the mix, likely because of the reverb. I also would’ve liked to hear some more variation on the final vocal section to really hit this piece home. Still, solid work here, Dude2312! I really like the instrumentation, atmosphere, energy, and vocals here. Keep it up! ^_^

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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9/10

[Iori Licea - Deception 3]

I like the atmosphere and beat at the beginning, and also the sense of climax into :12. The synth line at :12 seemed a little dissonant with the underlying chord progression, but I appreciate the filtering work at around :40. The piece is a tad slow to progress for the first minute, but there’s a good sense of build into 1:00. The piece still doesn’t have much in the way of strong melodic content, and the arpeggios at 1:25 don’t feel dynamic enough to count. The production quality is pretty strong. While very atmospheric, the mix is really tight and the drums and lead synths come through the texture very clearly. Towards the end, this piece begins to feel very harmonically repetitive, and I wanted to see you do more with some of the compositional aspects of the track - phrasing, variety, structural contrast, etc. Overall, strong work with the atmosphere, mixing, and sound design. I think elements of the composition, tonality, and uniqueness of the track might need some more work. Keep at it, Iorilicea! :)

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.75/10