TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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

[THRASHOR]

I like the creepy mood at the beginning and the glass-breaking sound effect. The filtering is nice, but the drums sound a little dry and the gritty guitar synth sounds a little muddy. The bass at :25 is a little too loud, and overall the texture here is pretty minimal and doesn’t have a strong sense of progression. I like the sense of climax into 1:03, but you didn’t really add much harmonic content during the drop, just drums and a little decoration to the bass line. The production quality here is pretty good, but I think you needed a little more depth to the composition. Some more variation and melodic content would be especially nice. The second half of the piece adds very little novel content, and despite the catchy riffs and crisp drums, I’m not sure you did enough to keep me engaged for the duration of the piece. Overall, the rhythmic elements of this piece are really cool and I like the mood and production. But the composition is pretty underwhelming, and a lot of the arrangement, progression, and sound design of the piece seems pretty unoriginal. Keep at it, SunnySideUpMusic! :)

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
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
5.5/10

[Combustion]

I like the groovy bass at the beginning, and the guitar riff at :07 was cool, but the instrument itself sounded really harsh in the mix. The heavy drums help keep up the intensity, but I think you overdid the reverb on the snare. The progression is pretty good, and the rhythmic content is fun, but I think the distorted mix detracts from my enjoyment of the piece. The heavy pads at 1:06 are a valuable addition to the texture, and the mid-range bass during the bridge at 2:05 also sounds really cool. That said, the drums and guitars are struggling to come through the mix because of the heavy bass, and despite the fun industrial vibe of the piece, it could use a little more atmosphere. I’d start by trying to incorporate some more consistent mid-high tones into the texture, and also running some of the bass-heavy instruments through a high-pass filter. I also think the compositional elements of the piece seem a bit pasted-together. I’d like to see you use more advance techniques for creating variety - like phrasing, dynamics, automation, etc. - instead of just adding and subtracting instruments over time. Overall, the sound design here is awesome, and you nailed the mood and emotional quality of the guitars as well. That said, the production could be a lot cleaner, and I was looking for a stronger sense of ebb and flow in the arrangement. Keep at it, StoneForged! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Logic]

The sweep at the beginning was cool, although I think you dragged out the intro a bit. The thin claps in the texture for the first 15 seconds or so seem like filler. Still, the texture of the piece falls together really quickly after that, and I like the 80s-style dance chords, crisp drums, and back-up harmonies at :27. The melody synth at :41 is a bit cheesy, and I also would’ve liked to see a stronger sense of build into the melodic section. After you repeat the structural pattern of the first minute or so again, I’m beginning to lose an overarching sense of direction for this piece. The pensive background synths at 2:20 are nice, but other than that there’s very little novel content in this piece after the first minute, which I think is a huge mistake. Your instrumental palette is pleasant, and you clearly have a good sense of harmony and rhythm, but the sweeps are overused, the harmonies extremely repetitive, and the melodic content lacking by the end of the piece. I think you needed some more harmonic depth, including melodic content that could help hit this piece home. At the very least, I would’ve varied the melody at 3:52 a little more. Until then, the composition is pretty bland. That said, you’re clearly a talented producer. I really like the crisp hi-hats and well-balanced frequencies here. Keep at it, SpockMusic! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.75/10