TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Yokai [Sunward Isles]]

I like the dramatic strings at the beginning and the foreboding church bells. The percussion here is great, and the mix is loud and clear. I love all the subtle swells of strings and the variety in the instrumentation. The eastern-sounding instruments during the second half are great, and the melodic content helps heighten the tension of the piece. There are only a few small things I dare complain about here: first, there’s never really either a resolve to the apprehensive mood of the piece, nor is there a great climax of tension towards the end. I think you could’ve really hit this piece home with a final, soaring melodic phrase or influx of intensity that wraps up the storyline of the piece. The ending also cuts off a bit suddenly, although that’s a tiny detail in the grand scheme of things. Lastly, the mix is a bit wide for my tastes, but perhaps that’s just the price one pays for such a sharp and clear production quality. The composition of the piece is also fantastic. There are a lot of good cinematic composers on Newgrounds, but I think you have the Underdogs group won in that genre. Keep up the great work, KrianMusic! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
9.5/10

KrianMusic responds:

Thanks a ton! We've known eachother for some time but i deleted my old account, also sorry i COMPLETELY forgot about the entire competition happening.

Mainly it goes nowhere/final climax, because it's intended for in-game looping and heard repeatedly for like god knows how long

[EndBoss finished]

I like the thin bass at the beginning and the rhythmic content. The vocals are nice too, and add to the catchy and ominous aspect of the piece. The murky pads at :11 are a bit cheesy, but overall the sound design is strong here. I think the piece could’ve used some more melodic content and structuring, though. It could use a more fleshed-out composition besides just one verse and an instrumental bridge. The mix is also pretty quiet. Doing more with the arrangement will also allow you to maximize the emotional content of this piece more. Right now, the shape is pretty flat. At some point, I would’ve liked the tension in this piece to either reach a point of resolve or escalate in a meaningful way, but that’s hard to accomplish in a little over a minute. Still, the production quality is solid, the atmosphere and mood are nice, and the instrumental palette is murky and cool. Keep at it, Kinupsi! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
7/10

[Rapture]

I like the quirky instruments at the beginning and the minimal club beat. The texture really starts filling out with the addition of the bass at :16. The vocal samples at :31 were nice, too, and there was a good sense of build into :47. It was a bit of anti-climax, but I like the automation work in the next phrase and the rhythmic content. I was looking for a little more harmonic depth and melodic content later on, but it was slow in coming. The production quality is strong, and I also like the sound design, mood, and sense of ebb and flow of the texture. That melodic content finally arrives at 1:34, which feels really cathartic, but it’s pretty short-lived, and the texture for the second half of the piece remains rather minimal. I think my least favorite element of the piece is probably the generic elements of the drum beat, progression, and arrangement of the piece. It has a great atmosphere and flow, but I can’t help but feel that, harmonically speaking, the composition was pretty underwhelming throughout. You could’ve done a lot more with this, including a more prominent emotional height towards the end. Still, the mood here is engrossing, the instrumentation is strong, and the mixing is quite solid despite an occasional excess of reverb. Keep up the good work, JRTH! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[Ricochet]

I like the sassy strings at the beginning. The mix is a bit too loud, though. It might help to lower some of the volume levels here. The murky bass at :16 is a nice addition to the texture, although the mix feels a bit bottom-heavy because of it. I’d recommend adding some high-pass filters or more careful equalization to make the texture sound cleaner and less distorted. The melodic content at :54 is great, though, and you clearly have a great sense of harmony and progression. Sometimes, it felt like the piece needed some sort of percussion to keep it moving along, or at least some reverb or something to make the string melodies sound a tad less dry. Overall, my main problem with the piece is definitely the production quality. Do you hear how muddy the texture sounds at busy places like :32? I think that’s largely because you have several instruments in here that are fighting for attention in the same frequency ranges, resulting in distortion of the audio output. You can fix that by using filters (often called “EQs” or “equalizers” in digital audio workstations) to remove overtones that are shared between different instruments. The range that’s really going to make your track sound muddy if it’s too crowded is any frequency lower than 200 Hertz or so. I’d strongly recommend removing those frequencies in every instrument except the bass here. You might even consider transposing the low string part up an octave to further separate that instrument from the muddy bass tones. After you clean up the distortion with an equalizer, there’ll be more room in your mix for cool effects like reverb and delay, but equalization is a good place to start. Otherwise, I really like the composition and sound design here. You’re clearly a talented composer. I think you just need to use a broader swath of production tools you have at your disposal in your DAW. Keep at it, Joe-Mega! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.75/10

Joe-Mega responds:

Dang, this is the most thorough and helpful criticism I've ever seen. Well it's fully noted. Mixing will be my next hill to climb. Thanks for the help man I really appreciate it.

[That Soul Binding Light]

I like the powerful chords at the beginning and the full texture. Some of the instruments could stand to sit better in the mix, though. The thin mid-high range pads sound a little indistinct, and the drums aren’t as punchy as I wanted them to be. Some more careful equalization/filtering might be in order. Still, I’m enjoying the melodies and harmonic content. The composition might need a little more shape, though. The progression is smooth, but doesn’t have a great sense of ebb and flow. A proper intro might help, and at some point a bridge or breakdown would’ve helped to add a sense of structural contrast. I like the blissful mood and most of the instruments, as well as the atmosphere, but I think the production quality needs a lot of work. I also wanted to hear you create variety in more advanced ways besides adding and subtracting instruments over time - dynamic contrast, phrasing, automation, change in energy level, etc. Still, you have a good sense of flow and harmony, and overall the composition is solid despite my structural complaints. Keep at it, Jmassie2281! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
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
7.5/10

[Futuristic Dreams]

I like the wonky meter of the E-piano at the beginning, and the white noise that’s played with it adds a somewhat soothing ambiance. That said, the denser harmonies at :13 can sound a bit indistinct with the white noise. Did you add it yourself in a plug-in, or is the instrument a sample that comes with the white noise layered onto it? If you have a way of automating it, I might’ve toned it down at :13, but regardless that’s a pretty small detail. Despite the atmosphere provided by the white noise, the mix is pretty dry, which exacerbates the sudden transition at :13. The chords are pretty cool, but this piece never really has a strong sense of progression within a single harmonic framework. Instead, it consists of a number of individually cool riffs joined by sudden transitions, like :52. The way this piece is arranged, I’m not sure that the different sections of the piece seem like they’re part of the same story just yet. I think some more gradual transitions, including subtle volume changes, sweeps, drum fills, or other transitory tools could help make the piece feel a little more flowing. Regardless, the track comes together a bit better by around 1:18, but it still feels pretty minimal overall. I’d suggest adding some drums or a bassline to give some common sense of drive across the different sections of this piece. Still, I like the quirky mood, lead riffs, atmosphere, and harmonies. The piece has a lot of potential, but I think the choppy arrangement, minimal texture, and poor balance of frequencies are holding it back for now. Thanks for coming out to the NGUAC, Jeffbeard. It is indeed better than last year. :)

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

[Rising Whisper]

I like the cute synth riff at the beginning and the sense of build into :16. There’s a great uplifting vibe in the texture, and the piece continues to have a strong sense of direction through the first minute. The claps sounded a little hard-hitting, though. They might be a little over-compressed. The melodies are catchy, but very in-the-chords (as opposed to harmonically dynamic), and sometimes the leads have a bit too much reverb (like at 1:03). The part at 1:19 seems to be a point of climax, yet it has a relatively thin texture, with not a lot of bass or mid-range frequencies. I think you need to map out the points of emotional height and relative calm more carefully here. That said, I liked the breakdown at 2:08. It had a somewhat furtive feel after the powerful melodies played earlier. The texture really comes together at 2:43, but I would’ve liked to hear some more variations on the melodies. By the second refrain, they get a little repetitive, and it doesn’t help that the arrangement of the piece is pretty generic. The second refrain also drags on for a bit too long imo. That said, I think the production quality here is pretty strong overall, and the refreshing sound design somewhat makes up for the generic chord progressions and structure. The only other mixing detail that bothers me is that the percussive sound at the very end (4:02) sounds a bit harsh in my headphones, likely because of an oversaturation of mixing effects. Still, strong work overall, J-XVII! I think you’ve improved since last year. Keep up the good work! ^_^

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

[Anemone]

I like the ominous, industrial vibe at the beginning and the sense of climax into :20. Nice job with the filtering and automations during the intro, too. The chord progression and drums at :20 are refreshing, although I would’ve liked to hear some more prominent melodic content during the refrain. The breaks at :56 are nice, and the bass swells and vocal samples are valuable additions to the texture as well. I like the more atmospheric section at 1:15 too. The bit at 1:30 serves as a nice breakdown/re-intro, and the quirky lead synth there sounds super neat. The transition into the second refrain at 2:18 was pretty smooth, although I would’ve liked to hear some variation on the chords and lead riffs towards the end. The section at 2:46 begins to accomplish this, but it serves more of a wind-down rhythmic purpose rather than a melodic emotional height. Overall, the production quality is probably the strongest element of this piece. I have absolutely no complaints there. Elements of the composition could’ve been stronger, but most of my gripes are missed opportunities rather than things that actively bother me, which is certainly a good thing. Strong work overall! Keep it up, ISMCataclism. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[Metric]

I like the smooth guitars at the beginning and the dreamy atmosphere. The crisp drums are cool too, and when the bass comes in and the intensity increases at :26 the progression really comes together too. The melodic content here is really refreshing, and the descent into a more atmospheric vibe at 1:10 sounds like a daydream in the middle of a hectic workday (i.e., awesome). The breakdown at 1:46 is really pleasant, too, and the melodic content thereafter is so dynamic and cool. You really told a story with this one. Wow. If I had to complain about something, it might be that the plethora of melodic content and constant driving energy of this piece compromises its sense of cohesion and structural contrast a tad. Still, the progression is so smooth that none of those nit-picky structural complaints actually bother me that much. Amazing production quality, sound design, atmosphere, rhythmic and melodic content, and sense of shape and flow. This piece is awesome and you should feel awesome. Keep up the good work, Introverse! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
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?)
1/1
Composite score
10/10

Introverse responds:

Thank you for awesome feedback. It's awesome to have some recognition on my childhood's favorite site :D. I really appreciate it. Cheers, hope to see you at the next round.

[Ozone]

I like the heavy bass and drums, although the progression at the beginning is a tad bizarre. The rhythm is pretty square, although that improves slightly as the piece goes on. I like the ominous mood, and there are moments of atonality that heighten that vibe. The harmonies are in need of some variety after the first minute, and indeed :54 seems a bit more dynamic in that regard. A lot of the instruments you use here are pretty cheesy and inauthentic, from the string and woodwind samples to the classic EDM snare. I think the mix could be a lot cleaner, as it’s noticeable that the drums are fighting against the distortion in the bass range. I’d suggest using an equalizer to remove the bass frequencies (~200 Hertz and lower) in all your instruments except the bass, kick, and snare. That’ll help make the texture sound less muddy. I like the more dreamy section at 1:58. It makes for a nice, short breakdown, although the piece could’ve had a better sense of shape and structural contrast if you had played more with dynamics and phrasing in that section. Bringing back the strings for the final climax at 2:33 was a good idea, although this is another section where it’s really apparent that the mixing is messy in this track. The string harmonies, drums, and even bass are all fighting for attention because they share some of the same frequencies. You can fix that with mixing tools like filtering, panning, and stereo widening. I’d suggest you do some research on how to use those tools in whatever DAW you use. It might also make the mix sound cleaner if you eliminate some of the reverb in the texture. Overall, production quality is definitely my main concern here. The melodies, progression, and atmosphere are all fairly good. Honestly, clean mixing and polished sound design are the best indicators of popularity on Newgrounds in my experience. Improve those attributes, and you could have a top notch piece here, my friend. Keep at it, IndexatioN! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7/10