TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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!

[Dolce]

I like the cute, dreamy arpeggios at the beginning. The pads at :19 are a little cheesy, but fit the atmospheric vibe well. The progression pretty slow-paced here, and the mix is pretty quiet. You clearly have a good sense of melody and harmony, and I like the minimal drums at 1:17. That said, I think the piece is missing some higher-frequency tones throughout, and the arrangement/structure is not very advanced. You could’ve done a lot more with the composition here, and I’m not sure the sound design or production quality make up for that, either. It’s a good start. The dreamy mood and cute instruments are both pluses, but I wanted to see you take some more risks with the composition. Keep at it, Walpang! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.25/10

[RT 11]

I like the soulful vocals and the pensive guitars. I think there’s a little too much reverb in the texture, though, as the mix feels a tad over-saturated and distorted at times. There’s also this gravelly sound in the background, particularly noticeable at around :58 and 1:16, and I couldn’t tell if that was an intentional atmospheric effect or a product of where you recorded this, but either way I think it’s worth trying to make that sound a little less present in the mix. I liked the intensity of the drums and the long-suffering vibe of the lyrics. It’s a piece that really tells a story, but the structure is pretty flat, like it’s one super-long verse. At some point, I wanted to hear some development in the composition, whether that was an emotional breakdown or an epic guitar solo. The sudden ending and repetitive nature of the instrumental tracks don’t really help you out in that regard, either. This piece, despite all the emotion and passion behind it, sounds structurally incomplete. You’ve done a lot of good work here, and I can tell you’re a talented composer and vocalist. I just think you need to flesh out the arrangement of the piece a little more with a stronger sense of ebb and flow. A more organic approach to the mixing would help out this piece, too. Keep at it, VibrantMan! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
7.75/10

[Ola gyro gyrizoun]

I like the chill guitars at the beginning and the melodic content. The lyrics at :36 don’t have the best recording quality, but I really like the vocals themselves. They sound soulful and expressive. I’d love a translation of the lyrics if you get the chance, too. The dreamy, higher-pitched line in the guitars at 1:11 was nice for giving the piece a greater sense of progression despite the minimal texture. At around 1:27, there’s a little distortion in the mix. I’d be careful not to overwhelm the stereo when you’re recording. It couldn’t hurt to turn down the volume knobs a bit before recording, and then use compression or other mastering tools to make them sound louder as needed. The bridge at 1:50 is really soothing, and serves as an emotional high point for the entire the piece. At 2:30, there are a couple of blips, which is probably the guitar strings vibrating against the body of the instrument, but either way it sounded like a bit of a mistake that should’ve been re-recorded or edited out. The instrumental section at the end dragged on for a bit long, especially given that it’s mostly a repetition of the same few chords. I think the part at 2:23 mostly serves as an outro, structurally-speaking. I would suggest either fading it out after around 2:50 or at least launching some new melodic material to accompany the chord progression later on. You also probably could’ve edited out the last minute or so of relative silence, during which I can hear the metronome you used during recording as well. Still, this piece is quite strong overall. Despite the slight recording mistakes and my detail-oriented structural gripes, you’re clearly a talented guitarist and vocalist, with a good sense of melody and progression to boot. Keep up the good work, Thetakis! ^_^

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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

Thetakis responds:

Thank you very much for the Details:)
at 0:46 barfood i run at this beach, here the people have camped at night they make fires and sing 1:10 "Stoped clocks in tha sand, and time have no matter, at this world exist no losers ,cause Earth we all dance around the some "fire".....

[AIM - Level One Start ~ Alien Landscape]

I like the cute vibes at the beginning and the dreamy synths riffs near the beginning, even if the samples sound pretty unpolished and generic sometimes. I think the mixing is a bit strained in places, too. The drums aren’t quite as crisp as I wanted them to be, and there might be a tad too much reverb in places. That said, the melodic content in this piece is really strong, and you have a good sense of progression and flow. The breakdown at 1:12 provided some much-needed structural contrast in this piece, and overall the piece comes together really well at 2:12, which feels like a great point of arrival because of the way you set up the tension in the harmonies shortly before. The loop isn’t as smooth as it could’ve been, but that might be Newgrounds’ fault in part. Overall, you have some strong composition skills and a great sense of mood, atmosphere, and progression. My main complaints involve the sound design, which can sound very cheesy at times, and a lack of polish on elements of the mix. Keep at it, Tebyricat! :)

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
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10