TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Kytoon - Save My Breath]

I like the smooth guitars and atmosphere. I wish you would've let the reverb fade out by its own accord at :21 instead of the sudden cutoff, but the raw vocals and progression are really enjoyable here. At times, I wanted the vocals to be more up-front in the mix, especially at the busier sections. One thing I really liked about the vocals was the call-and-response structure of some of the phrases, like at 2:20 for example. Nice touch with the solos at the end of the piece, too. The lyrics feel pretty powerful overall, and the structure definitely amplifies that effect. Production is super clean. Overall great work! ^_^

GhostLawyer responds:

Thanks for the thoughtful response! Always a struggle to keep the vocals on top of everything without getting too compressed - constantly trying to improve my mixing in that regard.

[Cat Trap]

Interesting rhythmic work at the beginning with the hats and metallic clanging sample. At first, I don't think the clanging quite feels quantized with the rest of the beat, but by :23 the piece comes together pretty well. I think the build-up into :23 is also really smooth. The atmosphere and sound design is great here, and the beats sound pretty crisp. The pause at 1:32 (and other places) was a bit long, and the synth at 1:38 was pretty grating on the ears. Overall, though, I think my biggest complaint here is that the piece needs more variety. The progression is very slow for most of the piece, and the piece gets very repetitive after a couple of minutes. I'd suggest implementing some stronger melodic content in the piece, even if it's just in a bridge or something. That would really help give the piece a sense of overarching direction. Still, the mood here is really engrossing and the beats are super catchy. Keep it up, DjRemedy!

djRemedy responds:

Thank you for another solid review, TaintedLogic! I appreciate the time you take in your comments... Couldn't have said it better myself. You rock!

[freezy destroyer]

I like the arpeggios at the beginning and the airy synths. Chord progression is a tad cliche, but I like the sense of build-up into :44. The drums could stand to come through the mix a bit stronger at the drop, but I like the rhythmic work with the bass. The arpeggios are getting quite repetitive by around 1:20, and the transition at 1:44 was really sudden. I think the harmonic framework of the piece could use a tad more fleshing out, but besides some potential for the drums to be punchier the mastering was rather good. There might be room for a tad more clarity by eliminating some reverb, but that's more of a detail than anything else. Arrangement/structure-wise, I think I wanted another drop to add some finality to the piece. The part at 1:58 felt more like a bridge. Overall, though, cool sound design and satisfactory job with the production. Piece is smooth-flowing and catchy too. Keep at it, man!

cathatmusic responds:

I have no memory of you commenting on this. but thank you for giving me some feedback! some of the stuff you mentioned I am just learning how to fix nowadays :p

[Transient]

Aha! Good to hear from you, Lockyn. ^_^ I like the spacey synth patterns quirky bass at the beginning. Really fun melodic riffs by around :40, and you really start taking it in a different direction with the piano melody at the 1-minute mark. I think some of the transitions could've been a bit more gradual/well-shaped, but tbh that's my main complaint here. The production quality is really strong as always. Crisp, clear beats and loud, punchy mix throughout. The drop at around 2:05 was a bit more ominous-sounding than I thought it would be, but I like how you quickly defaulted back to your smooth, beautiful melodies by around 2:40. :) I also thought you could've done a tad more with the drums throughout this piece. It's a pretty straight-forward kick-clap-kick-clap for most of the piece. The passion of the melodies at 3:47 was really nice. The second drop might've needed a bit more variation to draw some contrast from the first one, but at the same time I respect the amount of cohesion that you gave this piece (despite its quite substantial length). Classic Lockyn piano outro, too. Strong work again! Looking forward to listening to your whole album when I have time. Keep it up, man! ^^

Lockyn responds:

Hey TL, thanks again for the review. I agree with most of your points, very valid criticism. Cheers mate!

[Avalanche!]

I like the ominous sitar at the beginning and the mini-buildup into :18. The oom-pah rhythm of the harmony at :18 was really fun. Melodies are strong too. Some of the instruments are a bit cheesy, but it also sets the scene for a video game or short animation really well. The mix is strong and well-balanced. Part of me wanted some more prominent percussion in the piece. Feels like most of the top-end is hi-hats right now. That said, the composition of the piece makes up for that with its narrative structure and constant sense of ebb and flow. Nice work! ^_^

Possibly responds:

Thanks very much for the review. The thing at the beginning is a hammered dulcimer, the closest I had to a Cimbalom, which is featured in Klezmer music, which the guy wanted me to reference. Thanks again!

[Oncoming Storm]

I really, really....REALLY should've checked out your music earlier. I'm impressed. I liked the pensive mood and atmosphere at the beginning. The background distorted whoosh noises were a bit too in-your-face for my taste at the very beginning, but that's a tiny detail. The progression is also a little slow towards the beginning, but I'm loving the cinematic vibe by around the 1-minute mark. The grainy, static-y synth bass there doesn't add a lot to the texture. I guess I wanted it to be replaced with something that was a bit more polished, like a round sub-bass or something. I'd also like to see the bell-like melodies at around 1:45 come out a bit more. The production is probably my favorite part of the piece, but I think the sound design is quite pleasing overall (despite my issues with a couple of choices). The piece really comes together by the end with the quirky mood and staccato-y riffs in the upper-mids. Nice work! Atmosphere at the end was a great touch too. Keep up the good work, Adrean! ^_^

ADR3-N responds:

I want to be completely upfront about this piece and just say I had no idea what I was doing, haha. New PC, new SFX, had to redesign my FX library since I lost a lot of what I did have, and I've never done a piece quite like this... like ever.

I think you're probably right. I was thinking of taking those whooshes down about .5 dB -- although they're actually wind and rain samples, singing dunes in the key of the song.

1:00 I was considering taking that bass down and applying some silky flange-y FX but I thought the song needed some grit. Perhaps I could have given it more life with another sidechain input in fabfilter C2 or lowpass/LFO play there. I find that subby basses take up a lot of space in the mix -- like those kicks and bass drops -- the former is hard to manage alongside a fat bass.

Yeah, that synth bell thing probably could come up a bit -- it's actually the second to last melody I wrote; I appended it to the end as well as sort of a tie on. Like at 2:21 through 2:32, lots of Eric Whitacre influence there. Probably should have brought both up by about 1-2 dB.

Production wise, mixed at -6 dB with the volume on like 10% before I touched the master. I wish I had EQ'ed out a lot of the sub pre-compression. Each track has a multiband compressor on it in lieu of an EQ to keep a more natural frequency range.

Also, thank Quarl for pestering me to bother with atmos, haha.

Thanks for the review! Lemme know if you have a piece you want looked at. :)

[MDK - Press Start (Froej & Trickshot Remix)]

Good to see it ended up on the site! I like the sound design at the beginning. Sounds very cutesy, with retro VGM vibes. Catchy rhythmic work at :34, too. The pacing is nice, and I like the build-up into 1:09. The chord progression and arrangement of the piece are a bit cliche, but the production is pretty strong. The mix is loud, but not overly compressed. I think you could've done a tad more with the drums in the piece, but I like the filtering work at 2:03. The distorted guitar chords at 2:20 were a bit off-putting, but that's the only sound design choice that actively bothered me in the piece. It's well-structured and smooth-flowing too. Might've been a tad dragged-out with the lead-in to the final refrain at 3:12, but overall I liked the composition a lot too. Nice work guys! Gl in the remix contest. ^_^

Froej responds:

thanks for your feedback :)

[-Tanuki's Ambition- (2014)]

I remember the original, haha! I like the melodies and sound design here a lot. The beginning sounds pretty contained and quiet, but the piece really blossoms into a bright, colorful texture by around :45. That's also the first section that sounds noticeably different from the original as I recall. I think the drums, especially the kick, could be a bit stronger, but overall the mix is loud and clear as well. As it is, the piece is pretty short, though. I think it could do with a third, grander rendition of the refrain to tie it together towards the end. Still, nice work here. I always like you revisit your old tracks, WF. :) Keep up the good work!

[Fore]

I like the bouncy piano chords at the beginning and the gradual fade-in of the synths and bass. The sidechaining on the drums is really heavy, but overall the mix is rather sharp, loud, and full. Really catchy rhythmic elements, and nice job with the melodic elements at :50. The arrangement of the piece is a tad generic, but overall my biggest problem with the piece is that it needed more harmonic depth and variety. I think the composition feels pretty stagnant and shapeless after a while, despite the quirky instruments and fun melodic riffs. I wanted to see you do more with the final drop to really hit this piece home, but instead it came off as a more rhythmically dense version of the first one that only served to highlight the over-compression problems. Despite this criticism, I think the fun sound design, danceability, and flavor of the piece still go a long way. Keep at it, YeahYay!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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
8.5/10

[Sea of Love Tears 「恋水の海」]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The gradual fade-in could’ve been more creative, but the sound design is absolutely gorgeous. The emotional appeal of the piano riff at :35 is great. The climax into 1:02 is nice. I think the low percussion there could’ve sounded a lot more distinct in the mix, and the piano at 1:19 sounds strangely dry. The string cut-off at 1:28 is a bit sudden, although I did thoroughly enjoy the lush breakdown section. You’re great at creating textures and giving shape to a piece within phrases. I would’ve liked to hear a bit more variety in the refrain the second time around, but overall the piece comes together well. Strong effort all around, Tennon. My complaints are minimal, and I think the sound design and atmosphere are particularly enjoyable here. Congratulations on all your hard work over the course of the competition! ^_^

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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.25/10

Tennon responds:

TL’s review never lacks any detail