TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Symbiogenesis]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the vocal samples. The warm pads and emphatic percussion really helps enhance the spacey mood, too. The strings at :40 are gorgeous, and the bassy beats at 1:18 sound really sweet, albeit a bit minimal. The production quality here is fantastic, and the sound design really gives the piece a strong sense of flavor and drive. That said, I think the composition is a little underwhelming at times, despite all the juicy swells, automation, and mixing effects. I wanted to see more harmonic depth in the piece, especially during the last half or so, but the melodic content at 2:29 is really nice. The lo-fi drums at 2:44 are pretty sweet, and there are a lot of awesome atmospheric ideas here. Still, the piece loses a tad bit of cohesion after a while, and I was still looking for a more climactic and full-textured section to tie it all together that never really comes. Gorgeous emotional quality, mood, sound design and production. Still, the piece needed something more to hit it home composition-wise. Keep at it, WolfgangMiakoda! ^_^

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?)
.75/1
Composite score
9/10

[Aterr - Rain Legion]

I like the refreshing guitar riffs at the beginning and the pensive vibe by around :24. The progression is a tad slow-paced, but the strings at :41 were a nice addition to the texture. That said, I thought it would’ve contributed to the atmosphere more if they were a little more legato, as opposed to cutting off before the next note came in. The production quality here is also solid, with a well-balanced texture and clean mix. The choir at 1:20 is nice, although it sounds a tad indistinct at times, perhaps because of an excess of reverb. One of my main problems with the piece is that the structure seems very flat. I think you needed some sort of bridge or breakdown at some point to give this piece more shape. Otherwise, most of the variation in the piece comes from the addition and subtraction of instruments over time, which is not very advanced. That said, there is some nice harmonic variety at 2:55, and I like the addition of the bell-like synth to the texture at 3:35. The solo at 4:12 is awesome - it sounds like there’s finally a sense of resolve and catharsis in the texture. Overall, solid work with the sound design, mixing and mastering, and melodic content. Things to work on include giving the composition a stronger sense of ebb and flow and maximizing the emotional appeal of the track. Keep at it, Aterr! ^_^

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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

Aterr responds:

Thank you for such detailed analysis and constructive criticism!
And also, I am very happy, that you and other people (here on NG) enjoyed this overall.
I am making now a checklist for the song, and will spend some time in future to improve it, based on the criticism I received here. :3

[some patterns 7]

I like the rich, bass-y texture at the beginning. I'm not sure all the sound design choices were my favorite, especially the cheesy lead at :11. Still, the piece has some cool melodic content and a soothing mood and atmosphere. The nice, subtle harmonic shifts keep things sounding fresh despite the lack of structural variety. I also think the production quality is rather strong. You could've done some more creative work with the drums, but overall I'm enjoying the soothing retro vibe of the piece and the well-balanced texture. Keep at it, AliceMako! :)

[The failed to qualify for the NGUAC blues]

I like the smooth guitars and melodic content. It really does sound quite bluesy. It's not perfectly quantized all the time, but I love the harmonic progression and production quality. Drums are nice and crisp. The higher register later in the piece (at around 1:40) really hits the track home. Solid work here, man! :)

Soundslave responds:

Pretty happy with this response this was made today in a few hours,,bit of a joke around peice to be honest but im glad you like it!!

[nothing in particular]

I like the synths and the filtering work near the beginning. The snare sounds a little generic, and might need some more space in the EQ. The drop is pretty good. The mix is clear and the mood of the piece is pretty sweet. Melody's already stuck in my head. Just needs a bit more complexity to the composition and some cleaning up on the production. Keep up the good work, hy-polaris! :)

[Jump Start]

I like the synth arpeggios at the beginning and the sub-bass that comes in shortly thereafter. The piece has a bouncy energy to it that I really like, and the slight atonality in the sub-bass is made really pleasant when it resolves to the tonic at the same time as the arpeggios (for example, at :16). I think some of the drum samples didn’t work for me, especially the percussion sample at :31 that sounded like an oversaturated hi-hat. The progression doesn’t have a strong sense of direction until around :55, when that soaring lead synth comes in. I think the lead synth is a tad too present in the mix, though - it’s hard to make out the drums after the 1-minute mark, and it was a little disorienting when most of the rest of the texture fell away at 1:05. There are a lot of cool melodic riffs in this piece, like at 1:15, but not a lot of melodic content that’s truly dynamic. The square rhythms of most of these synth patterns don’t really do the piece justice. The arrangement begins sounding pasted-together and formulaic. The saxophone at 1:56 was a refreshing addition to the texture, and also offers a nice sense of structural relief in its moment of strong atmosphere. Overall, though, the piece was missing a strong sense of ebb and flow over time. A full-length bridge or breakdown with a thinner texture might’ve helped give the piece some more shape. That said, I liked the minor chord at 2:41 in a second half of the piece that had very little novel content otherwise. I think this piece has a cool sound design, atmosphere, and harmonic structure, and the somewhat sudden ending actually works well for me here. That said, my structural concerns, along with the general lack of shape in the composition, probably constitute my main gripes with the piece. Keep at it, Zunixx! :)

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

Zunixx responds:

Thanks for the feedback, I always appreciate some good constructive criticism. I do agree with most points, specifically the drums, Ive been meaning to go back to the song to try something different. but otherwise thank you for the feedback!

[Fire - Type Beat]

I like the eastern-sounding instruments at the beginning and the chord progression. The beat at :25 is really catchy, but I think the harmonies at the beginning should’ve been a little louder relative to the sub-bass and some elements of the drum beat. Other than that, I have no complaints about the mixing or balance. The melodic content in the eastern instruments was nice, but the rhythm of that instrument sounds very square overall, and lacked the dynamism I usually associate with melodies. Overall, I would’ve liked to see you fill out the texture more, especially with some more frequencies in the treble range. This piece feels structurally incomplete, and quite frankly the composition is underwhelming. Ideally, there should be a little more ebb and flow in the texture. An emotional bridge or atmospheric breakdown would’ve really helped give some structural contrast to this piece. Otherwise, the composition remains pretty bland and forgettable. That said, I do like the instruments, mood, and atmosphere here. You also scored well for the production quality and rhythmic content of the beat. Still, you simply needed to flesh out the arrangement of the piece more in order to make this a top-tier track. Keep at it, Young-Kingler! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
5.5/10

Young-Kingler responds:

Thanks for feedback! I appreciate this a lot, I'll keep this in mind going forward.

[Fruity]

I like the bright synths at :02 and the melodic content. That said, I think the mix is pretty muddy. The drums don’t sound nearly as crisp as I would’ve wanted them to, and the piano sounds pretty indistinct at times. You might try getting rid of some of the excess reverb in the texture first, and then filtering out some of the lower tones in the melody instruments with an equalizer. Compression of the drums should also help. The use of the mock-FL export noise was a little cheesy, but I grew to like it more and more as the piece went on. I also liked the transition at 1:02 with the fade-out of the pads before the introduction of the guitars. It was a good way of creating some melodic development in the piece. I think the piece could’ve used a little more shape in the composition, though - an atmospheric bridge or breakdown that offered some structural contrast to the generally pretty energetic texture here. Overall, though, this is strong work. The melodic content, atmosphere, and instrumentation are all solid, and the mixing and structural issues are my only significant concerns. Keep at it, Xyanp! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

[Pop Rocket]

I like the quirky mood at the beginning and the warm pads. The synths at :13 are cute, and I like the arpeggios you have in the post-chorus at :27. The rhythm of the melody is a bit too square, though, and some of the transitions in this piece were a bit abrupt, like :54. The production quality is pretty strong, though, and I can hear the instruments clearly throughout. The piece might’ve been missing some more melodic development or climax towards the end, though. The two halves of this piece (divided by the solo at :55) sound very similar. At times, I also thought you could’ve done more with the drums too. Still, this is a really cute piece with some fun sound design and an engrossing mood. It almost sounds like a retro-futuristic vibe - a robot falling in love with a peppy 50’s girl, only to have his heart broken. Any piece that can plant an image like that in my mind is a strong one in my book. :) Keep up the good work, Xehao! ^_^

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?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.5/10

Xehao responds:

I see why you are a judge, this review was incredibly useful, thank you for the feedback!