TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[DJT & Rusyd Rosman - Breathing Space (Shuffle Horse Remix)]

Hey, sorry for the slow response, man! I like the energy and the vocals. In fact, I think the vocals may be a little too quiet relative to the instrumental at times. Nice job chopping them up at 1:18, too. The synths are really crisp and catchy, too. The sound design is also pretty cool here. The one exception may be the piano at the beginning, in fact - I'd suggest taking some treble off of it to add some more emotional appeal. I also think there are a lot of moments in this track that don't quite have a sufficiently full texture. Even the post-chorus thing at 1:16 is kinda missing a legato element, for example. Otherwise, great job with this track. The production is really strong - I'm particularly impressed by that. Keep at it, man! Good luck with your new account. ^_^

ShuffleHorse responds:

Thanks a lot man :D, really Thanks

[Internal Joy]

I like the mysterious mood at the beginning and the phasing effects. Sound design is fun, even if these aren't the most polished synths. The progression is a little slow-paced. I think some drums would've really helped it move along. Clearly, you have a good sense of harmony, and I'm loving all the syncopations. Production quality is strong too. Transition into 2:09 is pretty smooth, and I enjoyed the breakdown overall. The second half of the piece felt pretty repetitive, though. Not sure it added much novel content. I think a great next step for you would be adding some stronger melodic content in the piece. Right now, the texture is pretty dense, especially around the 2-minute mark, but none of the riffs stand out as particularly memorable, except for maybe that atmospheric phasing synth that's heard throughout. The ending also doesn't quite reach the point of climax that the 2-minute mark did, which kinda bothered me. Still, really cool track. Instrumentation, mood, and mastering are all really strong here. Keep at it, DamjanRI!

[T.E.O.M. - Grustler (Produced By TheEyeOFMusiK)]

Hey! Sorry for the slow response, man. I like the crisp beats at the beginning. Production is really clean, and the guitars give the track a cool western feel. The progression is a little slow to pick up, though, and I think some of the synths were a little generic. I'm digging the crisp hi-hats and ebb-and-flow in the texture. The sub-bass was a nice touch too. After a while, the track loses its momentum a bit. There wasn't much melodic content at all, and eventually it started feeling repetitive and even a tad minimalistic. I'd love to see this fleshed out with some richer harmonies and vocals, but right now it still has a cool anticipatory vibe. Based on your description, looks like you should be releasing a new track soon too. I'll keep my eyes peeled. Keep at it, EyeOfMusiK! ^_^

[Starbarians 3 Suite]

Excellent work! I love all the swells and the cinematic style. You remind me of Dan Schneidemesser. The dark brass at around the 1-minute mark is one of my favorite parts of the piece, and I love how the theme is woven into the rest of the piece too (e.x., 1:26). Production quality is very high, and the composition has a great sense of phrasing and direction throughout. Very strong work. I'm looking forward to hearing more of your work, whether in Starbarians or otherwise. ^_^

[Count Me In]

I like the funky vibe at the beginning and the creative rhythmic elements. That said, it was a bit hard to follow the rhythm at times, especially during moments like the descending scale at :08. Your brass and wind samples are a bit lacking imo, but the crisp mix helps make up for it. The directionality of the piece seems a bit unclear for a while. There are a couple of prolonged transitory moments (like :58-1:16), and also some frantic riffs that seemed off-kilter harmonically (like :48-:50). You also really threw me off with the suddenly soothing section at 1:52. The underlying energy of the piece is great. There are clearly a lot of creative thematic things going on. Full credit for satisfying the bingo requirement (and going above and beyond with it, at that). One of my main worries with this piece is that it’s really hard to stay grounded in the structure because the texture has so many different layers with relatively independent lines. There’s a good amount of repetition overall, of course, given the underlying 5-note riff, but generally it’s the parts that are moving around that riff that define the structural elements of the piece best imo. I didn’t take off too many points for it anyway because it gets a lot easier to observe the cohesive elements of the piece after listening to it 2-3 times. The strongest element of the piece is the mixing imo. Super clean, loud, and clear throughout. I also liked the melodic content, even though I think of this piece as being more rhythmically driven. Keep at it, LE!

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
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Satisfies bingo requirement?
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[Bingo, Honey]

I like the guitar tuning sounds at the beginning. It was a fun quirk. The instrumentation of this piece is really creative, but occasionally a little harsh. The synth at :24 (almost sounds like a radio effect) can be a bit grating. The piece also takes a while to develop, but I enjoyed the tempo change at 1:08 and the corresponding uptick in energy. I like how much you’ve emphasized the ride cymbal in the mix, and the rhythmic elements of the piece are really fun. That said, there’s not a lot of harmonic depth or variety in this piece. I would’ve liked to see some more melodic elements and a stronger sense of direction later in the piece. You definitely went all out with fulfilling the bingo requirements; full credit there. I also think the production quality in this piece is excellent. All of the instruments sound crisp, clear, and full, if a tad over-compressed. Overall pretty strong work, albeit a little lacking on some compositional elements. Keep at it, Quarl!

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

[Unusually Complex Understanding]

The tone of the piece is very sensual and romantic. I think the string samples could be a bit more authentic, and the rhythm in the beginning was a little hard-to-follow. The soft percussion is nice, and the piece has a great sense of flow. I think the piece might need some more variety in the texture. The cello and piano were dominating the texture for almost the entire piece, although occasionally their “relationship” (in terms of foregrounding) changes. Normally this wouldn’t bother me so much, but I think the quality of the cello sample detracts from my enjoyment of the piece, especially when it’s playing the main melody for most of the track. I also think the pacing of the piece is a little fast sometimes, as it’s hard to discern the distinct structural elements of the piece through the first couple of listens. Overall, though, the mood of the piece is more than enough to keep my attention. I also think the production quality is rather good here. Keep it up, AzulJazz!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Satisfies bingo requirement?
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

AzulJazz responds:

Thanks !!

[done to death (ngap bingo contest 2k18)]

I like the atmospheric vibe at the beginning. The texture doesn’t sound very distinct, especially in the upper register, but the shimmering effect is quite soothing. I think my main problem with the piece is that compositionally it’s a bit underwhelming. There are a couple of jarring transitions (1:03, 1:27), and there isn’t a lot of harmonic variety in the piece at all. By around 1:45, I’m confused about the directionality of the piece. You’ve introduced a couple of electronic elements rather close to the end of the piece without much foreshadowing. There are a lot of cool riffs and melodic ideas here, but to be honest the piece feels a little thrown-together. I’d suggest spending a bit more time on the arrangement and adding some more memorable melodic content, perhaps via a guitar solo or dreamy bridge. Otherwise, I like the mood and sound design. The quality of the texture sounds really unique. Keep at it, Yoshiii343!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Satisfies bingo requirement?
.75/1
Composite score
6.25/10

[Beacons In The Void]

I like the dramatic flair this has. The drums are well done - definitely gives me a modern rock vibe. The cello sample was not my favorite, though. It’s pretty inauthentic, and the melody it was playing was a little too jumpy (as opposed to stepwise) and hard-to-follow. There are also a several jarring changes in the mood of the piece (:40, 1:07, etc.). I generally like the guitar parts a lot more than the string-heavy parts, likely because of the sample quality. The mix is certainly loud, but sometimes a couple of the string and piano lines get a little lost amidst the busy texture (3:53, for example). My main problem with the piece is that it’s extremely disjointed. I think you need to keep the listener grounded in some more structural repetition, or at the very least slow down the pacing so that the piece feels a little more flowing. Right now, the piece feels like a bunch of independent ideas that were thrown together, which is hard to pull off in my experience. Overall, there are a lot of good ideas here. There are a bunch of different sections (:40, 1:07, 3:48) that all sound like they would make great separate pieces, but the arrangement of the piece leaves me feeling a little overwhelmed with how variational the texture is. Otherwise, fun track and nice job doing the double-bingo. Keep at it, Nekro-Kitty!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Satisfies bingo requirement?
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10