TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[endK - Ethereal]

Another cool short piece! I like the emotional appeal of this one. That piano has a really bright tone to it that's really soothing. All of the rolled chords and spaciousness of the texture are pleasant to the ear, and I like the somewhat dark ambient sounds that come in towards the middle of the piece. Compositionally, it's a bit simplistic, but it has this great inward and ponderous tone to it that I really like. Strong work! Keep it up, EndK. ^_^

endKmusic responds:

Much thanks for the review.
I'm glad you enojoyed it! :)

[Enter the Dungeon]

Cool stuff! Sounds very heroic and even cinematic in a way. Definitely a cute, VGM-ish take on a classical fanfare. While I like the sound design overall, some of the samples sounded more like fake brass than brassy synths, if you know what I mean. It's a short piece with a simple-yet-effective ABA form, though. I like it! There's a great anticipation-resolve set up in the structure of the A-section that repeats every measure. Keep up the good work, EndK! I like the username change, btw. :)

endKmusic responds:

Thanks for the kind words! :>
Yeah, totally agree with you for the brass. However, I think it does its part, since I didn't try to overhumanize or make it 'shine', eventhough there's a lot of stuff that could've been improved.

[Ashes]

I like the crisp drums and heavy guitars. The dark content of the lyrics complements the instrumental track well. The vocals, while very good overall, came through as a little dry sometimes, and the delay effects seemed like a bit of a formulaic solution to that. Maybe some reverb, chorus effects, or other mastering tools would help them sound fuller? The ending is also a tad sudden, but other than that I have very few complaints. I love the passion of the vocals and the pace set by the guitars. Keep up the good work, B-M-I!

Bad-Man-Incorporated responds:

Thanks man, glad you dig it overall. This is just a captured idea for the tune. Basically drums, press record. No mastering at all. Volume and channel control. Basically record it 4 times, with two slightly different tones, panned hard left and right and mid left and right. Then volumes. Zero post on the guitars.

I have a pretty standard set op for doing all this. It's mostly volume control. You are absolutely correct about the formulaic solution! To eliminate the work on the vocals, I record with minor delay on, set to the tempo of the song - so I don't do any post work. Just a minor compression, which fills up the delay. Eliminates a lot of work, for the idea of it and it still passes! Thanks for the review, mang!

[Zel - Diamond Caves (Spadezer Remix)]

Cool white noise at the beginning and sound effects that sound like water dripping. I like the catchy bass riff that starts at :36. The progression is really nice and anticipatory. The drop was cool, but I think there's a bit too much reverb in the texture for my tastes. I'd prefer the breaks there to sound sharper, and the reverb gives off a more atmospheric vibe. The ghostly melodies at 1:55 were nice, and I like the steady undercurrent of bass that's maintained throughout this section. Later, the bass gets even heavier, which is definitely a highlight, but the final melodic refrain at 3:10 or so definitely hits this piece home. The texture is very busy and maybe even a little bottom-heavy throughout, but the production quality is still really good. Impressive work here, Spadezer! Keep up the great work. ^_^

Spadezer responds:

Thanks for the feedback TL! I could see what you mean about the reverb, and even since I've uploaded this, listening to it again I think I'd agree and change up some of the mixing a bit. Like the kick needs trimmed up, and some of the bass I let get a little messy. I'm also really glad you like 3:10 section!

[Bored and Ignored]

Really cool track again! I love the percussion and sound design, especially with the vocals. The stagnancy of the bass line before the 1-minute mark might be my only real complaint here. Otherwise, it's a really fun track with a lot of variety and a distinct flavor and rhythmic appeal. I think the track loses a bit of momentum towards the end. I kinda wanted to see you bring it full-circle, but the compositional elements didn't come together quite how I wanted them to. Overall, a super fun piece, though. I think the structural complaints I have here are probably more to do with your CPU limits than anything else. Keep at it, Jacob! ^_^

[Overstimulated and Underperforming]

Woah! I like the pulsing vibe and thin percussion. The panning may have been a bit much, but the rhythmic attributes of the piece are really appealing. Nice job with the progression and sound design, too. Really cool groove here. Sounds like background music for a Buzzfeed video. XD Keep up the good work, Jacob!

Sorry to here about your struggles with self worth and future anxieties. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you need someone to talk to.

[Close to Her]

Beautiful! I love the Celtic-sounding instruments and the choir. The string swells and the modulation at :48 were both especially nice compositional elements. I like the emotional outro, too. Man I wish this piece was longer. Composition, mastering, and sound design are all fabulous. Great work, Bosa!

Bosa responds:

Thank you!

[Rhode Island]

Super fun track! The whispered lyrics at the beginning are a little hard to make out, but otherwise I have absolutely no complaints. Your vocal range is great, combining a rich baritone with a strong falsetto. Do you take voice lessons? I love all the vocal layering and call-and-response effects ("that's right!", etc.). The instrumental is smooth, too. Reminds me of the soundtrack of an 80s sitcom. Great comedic value too - I burst out laughing at "their mascot is a scrotum." Just of curiosity, have you ever been to Rhode Island? XD Admittedly, I'm a little disappointed that you didn't take up the opportunity to write a song about my home state of Massachusetts, but seriously: fantastic track here, LE! ^_^

LunacyEcho responds:

Thanks for the review as usual! Haven't been taking vocal lessons haha, but definitely have been trying to get better at singing recently (this song pretty much hits both the upper and lower limits of my range too)

And heyy Ylvis already did the Massachusetts one! It's a riot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvUMV1N7eGM

[Underbound]

Hi Ale and Jordi! Been a while. This is a super cute piece. Overall, I like the unconventional sound design, but a couple of the choices sounded a tad unpolished, especially the cloudy pads at 1:26. The piece definitely comes across as a collage of ideas, but upon watching the animation it does come together a bit more as a cohesive whole. I think my favorite riff is the somber one at 1:48, although I like how the initial riff returns at 2:34 to bring the story full-circle. Nice work, guys!

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I'm on the hunt this night!
I think this may be the last one to have slipped through the net :O
Thanks for your thoughts! ^____^

[AIM - Timeless Adventure]

I like the uplifting Celtic-sounding tune at the beginning and the bass drum at around :20. The percussion throughout are quite good, in fact, and they're mixed really well too. The melodies get a tad repetitive, but I really liked the thicker pads you added at 1:30. Super cute piece, and it fits the bright, well-defined art really well. Strong work here, Everratic! ^_^

Everratic responds:

I'm glad you think the percussion is mixed well because that was very difficult! It's nice that people think it fits the art work well :D

As for the repetition, I do agree with you, but I guess I don't see it as being that bad since there's a healthy amount of variation in other areas. That's a fair point though.

Thanks for the review!