TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Final Boss Theme]

The fade-in at the beginning is pretty nice. There are generally more creative ways of introducing a piece, but here it’s pretty effective with the somewhat ominous mood. The sound design could be better, though. Your synths sound really simple, unpolished, and cheesy, despite the relatively good drum samples. The texture is also pretty thin, despite some good harmonic ideas like the chord progression at 1:03. The piece is catchy and has some cool rhythmic content, but there isn’t always a very strong sense of direction. The transition at 1:35 is pretty sudden, and otherwise the composition is pretty repetitive. Sometimes, the texture can also sound pretty atonal, like around 2:12. The strings at 2:23 were a good idea that help heighten the ominous mood, but you may have overdone it a bit with the clashing chords at 2:32. I think the composition here needs a little more shape and contrast in general. I wanted to see you strip away the drums and bass at some point and launch into a more melodic bridge or breakdown section. Mixing-wise, the piece sounds a bit strained during some of the busier sections (like 2:32), and overall the mix is pretty quiet. Some more compression and careful equalizing might help you out there. It also might help from a variety standpoint to switch up the drum beat more at some point. I liked the string solo at 3:43, though. There are definitely some good compositional ideas here, but the slow pacing and somewhat flat arrangement of the piece doesn’t help you get the most emotional impact out of your ideas. Overall, I like the atmosphere, rhythmic content, and mood, but I think some more effort is needed on the broader compositional concerns, instrumentation, and tonality. Keep at it, SleyGD! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
5.5/10

[SoftMatrix]

I like the quirky sound design and rhythmic content. You have a good sense of harmony and progression, too. That said, there’s a bit too much reverb in the texture for my tastes, and the chord progression here is pretty generic. I like the atmosphere of the piece, but the composition gets pretty repetitive after a while. The kick drum sounds pretty indistinct at 1:24, likely because of the excessive reverb, and despite the creative drumwork there isn’t a strong sense of harmonic progression in this piece. I wanted to hear some more prominent melodic content and development, but instead the composition came across as a little bland overall. There’s not much structuring in the piece, and you could use some more harmonic depth at times too. Overall, strong sense of atmosphere, sound design, and progression, but the mix is a little too watery and I wanted to hear some more compositional risks here. Keep at it, Sicarius771! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
7/10

[Hot Salsa]

I like the energy and bouncy vibe at the beginning, but the rhythm is a little hard-to-follow. There’s a good sense of build into :30, and the drop is pretty fun. The harsh synths at :31 needed a bit of reining in with an equalizer, though. That said, the rhythmic content has improved, and the piece is rather catchy and fun. The melody at 1:03 once again doesn’t seem well-synced with the beat, although I like the vocal samples and flavor of the piece (no pun intended) overall. The more atmospheric section at 1:32 was also a nice touch, and helped add some structural contrast in a typically very energetic track. I think the strongest element of the track is probably the production quality. I can hear all the instruments clearly throughout, although nothing seems over-compressed or particularly harsh, besides the high-pitched synth during the drop. I wish you had varied the drop a little more the second time around, although I’m more worried about the pretty generic arrangement and transitions of the piece. You could’ve done more to fill in the texture here, and the way you structured the cycle of build-ups and drops seems like it’s been done a million times before. That said, I enjoyed the thematic content of the piece, and the sound design and atmosphere here are fun. Overall, solid work, ShuffleHorse! :)

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
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Coreizon]

I like the piano riffs at the beginning, but the texture sounds a little dry and harsh. There might be a bit too much compression on some of those piano samples and harmonies, and not enough reverb/delay/other mixing effects. That said, I like the rhythmic content and the progression by around :20. There’s a good sense of melody and direction to the piece, although the harsh texture at :36 was a little too much for me. The gritty effects completely drown out the harmonies, making for an over-saturated and unpleasant texture. It’s also very bottom-heavy in terms of frequencies. I think you need to rein in your volume levels and minimize the distortion in the mix here. It sounds like there are some cool riffs at 2:12, but once again they’re completely overwhelmed by the punchy, distorted mid-range bass. The result is that most of the piece has a very unpleasant sound design and little sense of progression or dynamism. I’d suggest consolidating some of your compositional ideas in a way that eliminates the distortion in the texture. Be careful not to over-compress your piece, and try to use an instrumental palette and mixing techniques that emphasize blending and balance over loudness. The first 30 seconds and last 45 of the piece sound good overall, but the brick-wall limiting and harsh sound design of the bulk of this piece are way overdone. I can tell you’re a talented composer, but the production and instrumentation seriously detract from my enjoyment of this piece. Keep at it, SheerForce! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
2.5/10

[Time Paradox]

I like the peaceful mood at the beginning, even if the string samples sound a bit inauthentic given the uniform vibrato and such. I like the addition of the bass at :27; it really helps fill out the texture. There’s a good sense of build starting at :51, too. The drum samples, especially the snare, are a little generic, and the piece is pretty over-compressed. The climax at 1:18 sounds really full and rich, but not quite as energetic as I was anticipating given the build-up. The mid-range bass at 1:42 is a nice touch, and I like the emotional appeal of the strings here overall. The breakdown at 2:08 is nice, and the piano arpeggios in the background add a somber tone to the string drone. The build-up at 2:33 sounds very similar to the other one, and I think the punchy pads at 2:59 clash a bit with the overall relaxed vibe of the strings. I think the string melodies are also due for a little more variety towards the end of this piece. The emotional appeal of the outro was a nice touch, although I think the transition into it was pretty abrupt. Overall, I think the composition and atmosphere are really strong, but there’s room for a little more balance and blending in the mix and originality in the arrangement and progression. Keep at it, Serfab! :)

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.75/10

Serfab responds:

Well thanks for the support.
I make it the most melodical as possible, i am more inclinated more to the chillstep or ambient music than Melodic Dubstep.
The sounds are pretty simples, making unique music in mobile is so hard and i need to experiment with it to found my own style,
Normaly It takes a lot of time.
Anyways, thanks for your support and for tell me what i should to be better:)

[Sunset]

I like the refreshing chords at the beginning and the sense of atmosphere and build. The vocal samples at :15 are cute, although I think there’s a bit too much reverb in the texture at this point. The blissful mood is fun, and the melodic content at :45 is strong. That said, the sound design, arrangement, and chord progression are pretty generic. I think the vocals at 1:16 get a little lost in the mix, and removing some of the reverb here and doing more with panning, stereo widening, and the like should help alleviate that problem. I like the bridge section at 1:37, and the vocal sample at 2:05 made me smile. I wish you would’ve varied the cutesy vocals and melodies towards the end a little more, but overall the piece comes together pretty well, and the filters at 3:05 are a nice touch. Throughout the piece, I think you could’ve done some more creative work with the drums, and some sort of outro might’ve been nice to wind down the energy and drive of the last refrain. Overall, this is solid work. Despite my issues with the mixing and lack of originality, you clearly have a good sense of melody and harmony, sound design, and atmosphere. Keep at it, Semicedevine! :)

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
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

Semicedevine responds:

Got it, next song will have more unique sound design and variation on drums

ty for write-up! xD

[Goodbye]

I like the cute synths at the beginning and the relaxing pads. I think the piece could’ve sounded a lot more flowing if you had extended the note length through the end of each measure. I’m also a little confused about the rhythm/meter of the piece. It almost sounds like the bells and pads at :20 are playing at a different tempo, which makes the texture feel really arrhythmic overall. Did you record them separately? If so, I’d looking into a) a metronome app on your phone that you can listen to on headphones as you record and b) some way of quantizing your recordings in your DAW so that they match up with the beat better. I like the progression into 1:00, though. There’s a bit too much reverb on the drums there, and I think the mix still sounds pretty thin overall. The production quality also suffers a bit during this section. There’s some clipping (i.e., stereo distortion) caused mainly by the kick, and it’s especially noticeable from around 1:20 onwards. You can fix that by lowering the volume levels or turning down the gain knob on the compressor until the distortion dissipates. The guitar sample sounds pretty fake, but I also enjoyed the harmonies between the solo and the other instruments later on. Overall, I would’ve liked to hear a more fleshed-out composition, cleaner mixing, more authentic/original sound design, and a less choppy arrangement. I think this piece has a cute mood, and some harmonic ideas that are good in isolation, but you needed a bit more depth in the texture to really keep me engaged for the entire piece. Sorry if this review sounds discouraging, but given the production issues a large part of fixing these issues is simply that it takes time to get a good feel for the mixing tools available in your DAW. Keep at it, Sedram! :)

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

[Runa - Galaxy]

I like the groovy synth bass at the beginning and the bouncy synth arpeggios that come in shortly thereafter. This piece has a really catchy and fun vibe about it, and a good sense of climax starting at around :33. The melodic content at :45 is nice, and the frantic harmonies at 1:01 help fill in the texture quite well. The post-chorus at 1:15 was nice in its own way, with quite a different “center of gravity” in terms of pitch. The piano at 1:30 sounded a tad generic (FL Keys, right?), but that section was still good for some structural contrast. The rhythmic pacing changes pretty suddenly at around 2:01, and the high-pitched synth at around 2:07 sounds pretty harsh, but I love the melodies at 2:15. The filtering at 2:30 is nice, but so far the arrangement of the second half of the piece seems pretty choppy, and by the time the final refrain rolls around at 3:04, I’m glad to finally be at a stable place harmonically that offers the listener a sense of finality and catharsis. Right on cue, those cute, energetic harmonies are back at 3:48, and I like the beat-heavy outro as well. I think you could’ve done a bit more with the drums in this piece, but my main complaint is probably the heavily transitory nature of the middle section (1:30 - 3:04). It’s just a few too many melodies, build-ups, and stop-start transitions to keep me well-grounded in the structure. Still, there are a lot of strong elements of this piece, from the melodic content to the instrumentation to the production quality. Keep up the good work, Runanova! ^_^

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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[Cobblestone Dreams]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the celtic vibe. It sounds very peaceful, and the flute and (lute?) blend very well together. The progression is a little slow, though, and the instrument that comes in at :43 is playing a melody that doesn’t fit very well into the existing harmonic and rhythmic framework. Still, the melody in isolation sounds nice. There’s quite a bit of reverb in the texture, and the percussion and harmonies tend to get a little drowned out by the melodic instrument. The excessive reverb is perhaps even more noticeable on the bass drum at 1:40. The texture sounds rather muddy, despite the majesty of the horn solos. The piece still has a soothing sense of continuity, although at some point I would’ve liked to hear some more structural contrast and ebb and flow to the composition. The current collage of solos as a paradigm for arrangement for a while, but this piece is long enough that I think you need to have more shape and complexity in the way it’s structured. Clearly, you have a good sense of melody and sound design, though. I also like how the instruments besides the serene flute riff gradually fall away towards the end. Overall, the composition is pretty strong here, along with the mood and atmosphere, but elements of the arrangement and, especially, the production quality need work. Keep at it, Rosemthornz! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.75/10