TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[EPIC MOVIE MUSIC/HIP HOP Project]

I like the somewhat medieval theme and progression, but I think some of your samples sound quite inauthentic and cheesy - from the choir and strings to the harpsichord. I also think the mix is a little bass-heavy at times, and completely absent of low-range frequencies at others, which can be a bit jarring. At :30, the drums aren’t quite as up-front in the mix as I want them to be, and I think the bass can also distort the mix at times. One thing I really like about the piece is the melodic content - it’s catchy, dynamic, and fits the thematic content perfectly. Despite the cheesy samples, the track really does sound anticipatory of an epic battle scene. That said, the composition gets very repetitive by the end, even with the fun rhythmic break at 2:30. I wish you would’ve varied your melodies a bit more towards the end, and perhaps also created a slightly different harmonic progression to the piece at some point. Still, I like the full texture, loud mix, and atmosphere of the piece a lot. It’s a fun piece, but the devil’s in the details, especially with the sound design and repetition. Keep at it, DarkTrojanGames! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
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

[Landscapes]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The mood is pretty haunting, especially with the pitch-bending on that shimmering synth. It begins to sound a bit atonal at :40 or so, which is actually rather refreshing. The progression is rather slow-paced, though, and I’m concerned that, while the sound design and atmosphere are great, you’re not really demonstrating a good variety of compositional skills with this piece. The dissonance at 1:36 sounds really sweet, and I’m beginning to admire your sense of harmony along with the instrumentation and moodiness of the piece. That said, I think that even an ambient track needs a little more structural variety and melodic content to be competitive in this contest. It’s always pieces like this that I’m really torn about because, while I would absolutely enjoy the piece as background music for a game or movie, I’m not sure it’s quite developed enough to constitute a stand-alone piece in my mind. All of that said, I think you absolutely deserve a spot in the next round, and I hope the other judges agree. Flesh out the composition a little more next time, and you should be well on your way to a 9-range score from me. Keep at it, Dantonsgo! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
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
7.5/10

[Stalker]

I like the cute, videogame vibes at the beginning, but the mix sounds a bit thin and overly contained. I liked when it started opening up a bit more at :29, but I think the stop-start transition there could’ve been a bit more creative. The chord progression is a bit cliche, but I like the melodic content and energy of the piece, especially at the post-chorus at 1:01. The re-intro at 1:23 works well, and the melodic section at 1:47 was another nice touch. The piece comes together well by the end, and definitely feels climactic and conclusive. The use of reverb and filtering at the end is a fun detail. My main complaint with the piece is that it comes across as very generic in a lot of ways - from the sound design to the arrangement to the harmonies. I think this piece would sound a lot more advanced (and also well-varied) if you had gotten away from the same 5-chord progression at some point. Still, solid work with almost all of the other compositional elements. It’s a catchy and cute piece with a fun atmosphere. Keep at it, Dag0! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.75/10

[Glitched - War]

Cute riffs and fun rhythmic elements at the beginning. Some of your synths were a bit cheesy, though, and I think there might’ve been a tad too much reverb for my tastes on some of the instruments. The progression is a little slow-paced, however, and after a minute or so the texture remains quite minimal. There isn’t a lot of harmonic depth to the piece, and while I’m glad you put in some melodic content after a while (~1:48), the melodic phrases could’ve been a bit more varied and dynamic. I also really like the delayed transition at 2:04. I think that’s a really effective way of calling attention to the final refrain of your piece. At 2:22 and 2:29, there are a couple of unpleasant popping sounds, first in my right ear and then in my left. That could be any number of things, from peaking/clipping to a misplaced radio effect to a microphone click on whatever recording device you used, but it strikes me as a bit of a sloppy mistake tbh. Overall, this piece comes together well by the end, but I still think the composition is a bit underwhelming, especially harmonically, and elements of the sound design sound like presets. That said, I thought the mixing and mastering here was rather strong, despite the reverb issues and mic popping. Keep at it, Curruff! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7/10

[Passionblind]

I like the ominous mood and the sound design. I think there’s a lot of distortion in the texture, though, most likely from an excessive use of reverb. A lot of the harmonic content is rather atonal, which struck me as over-the-top after a while. Considering the plethora of reverb, the mix is pretty loud and clear, although sometimes some of the backing instruments can sound a bit indistinct. My main problem with the piece is probably the lack of an overarching sense of direction and shape here. There are a lot of cool riffs and harmonic ideas, but they’re a bit lost in the distorted texture to the point that it’s hard to keep the listener grounded. There’s also very little melodic content in the piece, and a near-constant intensity that makes it hard to stay engaged via any ebb and flow of energy, dynamics, or phrasing. I think you should consider consolidating your ideas a bit before branding this as a stand-alone piece, even if it fits the project you made it for perfectly. There isn’t a strong sense of direction in the composition, which leaves me a bit lost after a while. Fittingly, the ending is very sudden. Despite this criticism, I remain in admiration of the atmosphere, instrumentation, and individual riffs of your piece. There’s a lot of compositional ideas to like here, but I think they’re not serving the most effective purpose all the time because of the somewhat haphazard structuring. I hope you’ll keep working on it, though - a little tightening of the mix and some more careful phrasing considerations, and this will be a baller track. By the way, you should check out @Lich. Your work reminds me a lot of him. Keep at it, CorvonHLordhaze! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6/10

[Electro Dance]

The beat at the beginning is pretty good, although I think you put a bit too much reverb on the kick. By :20, the bass is really driving the piece, and the little end-of-phrase synth riffs and theremin-sounding thing at :41 are valuable additions to the texture. I also like the atmospheric instrument at :56, but I’m not sure that it goes so well with the more hard-hitting danceable elements of the piece. There’s a collage of instruments thereafter that, by themselves, also sound pretty cool, but at this point I think the track starts to lose its sense of cohesion a bit. There isn’t really much melodic content or overarching shape to the piece. At some point, I wanted to see you do more with phrasing, dynamics, or another aspect of structuring that would offer the listener some relief from the repetitive bass riffs and simplistic beats, like a bridge or breakdown section. The glitchy section at 2:33 begins to take the piece in that direction, but I think it’s too little too late in terms of creating some structural variety in this track. It’s a cool beat, and you definitely have a good sense of rhythm, harmony, and sound design, but I don’t think you told a story with this one as much as you could’ve. Otherwise, the mixing is fairly good and I do like the mood and atmosphere of the piece. Keep at it, CompXsco! :)

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
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
7/10

CompXsco responds:

Thanks

[The inferhallow triangles]

The phasing synth at the beginning is pretty cool, but some of the backing synths sound a little thin. The bass helps fatten up the texture a bit, but the piece only really starts coming together in my mind at about the 1-minute mark. The progression is pretty good, but there isn’t a lot of melodic content, and the beat is very simplistic. Has a vaguely ghosty sound overall, but the instrumental palette is well-balanced and benefits from a clean mix. I like the re-intro at 1:45 and the bridge section at 2:14. The rhythm at 2:43 is a bit too busy, but by around the 3-minute mark there’s a good sense of energy and resolution in the texture. A lot of the riffs and rhythms are pretty square and repetitive here, though, and I would’ve liked to hear some more dynamic melodies. I think the mood, atmosphere, and mastering are all pretty strong, and I applaud your tasteful use of white noise at transitory moments. The sound design was cute, albeit a bit cheesy, but my main concern is the aforementioned compositional details. Still, nice job overall with this one. It’s a catchy and flowing piece that seems fitting for some sort of platformer game. :) Keep at it, ClitBait!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
7.75/10

[Fresh]

I like the victorious vibe at the beginning. The chord progression is a bit cliche, but the sound design is refreshing (no pun intended) and cute. The mix is well-balanced and has an appropriate amount of reverb, but the composition is very repetitive and in many ways generic. I like the variations and portamentos at 1:10, but even then it’s just another iteration of the same riff that makes up the body of the harmony for the entire piece. I really like the mood and atmosphere here, but this doesn’t feel like a structurally complete piece, and that’s a big problem. You also don’t really have any proper melodic content here, despite the distinct contour of the main riff. Ideally, your melodies should sound more dynamic than a single 2-measure riff that’s on loop for almost your entire piece. You clearly have a good sense of harmony, flow, and rhythm, with strong production quality to boot. That said, the underwhelming composition is that’s really holding this piece back. I’d totally encourage you to keep working on this, though. It’s a simple bridge and a little more melodic variety away from being 2 points higher imo. Keep at it, Citriclight! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
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
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[Buzzer]

I like the catchy bass riff at the beginning. I think the bass is seriously distorting the drums in the mix, though. I think you should explore using tools like filtering, compression, and the like to add more clarity to the texture here. That’ll help make your drums punchier and the entire mix less muddy in the bass range. While there are definitely some good ideas with the bass riffs, the composition is otherwise quite lacking. There’s not a lot of mid-range or treble tones anywhere in the piece, and very little melodic content or meaningful progression of ideas. I think you should try layering more harmonic material on top of the existing notes you have to add some complexity and a sense of direction to your track. It’s clear to me that you have a good sense of rhythm and flow, but it’s hard for me to assess a wide range of compositional skills from this track because there’s just not much variety in the piece. There are also several points, like :22 and 1:15, where stereo distortion (also called peaking or clipping) is clearly audible, which is a sign that you haven’t put a lot of effort into mixing and mastering your track. In FL Studio, you want to press F9, remove the limiter from the master channel on the window that pops up, and turn down the volume levels when you first begin your project. Then, you can use some of the tools I mentioned earlier, like compression, to increase the loudness and thickness of the texture after you finish the composition. I know all of this probably sounds really overwhelming, but honestly on Newgrounds the best indicator of popularity is decent mixing and sound design. Please PM me if you don’t understand something that I’ve written about today, or you just have further general questions. I hope you keep working on this piece, and also that you understand that creating a complete and polished track might require a little more effort. Best of luck! Let me know how I can continue to help you going forward. :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
2.5/10

ChoNoTuTe responds:

Thanks for your feedback! Actually I made this track using 1 troll tutorial from Youtube. I know that this song isn't the best quality.