TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Schwank - Neon]

I like the arpeggios at the beginning. The cute synth at :10 and the sense of climax into :24 both work well. Nice melody at :48, too. Elements of the sound design and arrangement of this piece sound pretty generic, but I did enjoy the frantic bridge at 1:30. The mixing and mastering are pretty strong, although I’d be careful about the volume levels if I were you. It’s a tad over-compressed. Overall, this is really strong work, though. I love the VGM influence, the pacing, the catchiness, and the structure too. Keep up the good work, BoonanaOfficial! ^_^

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

[The Hall Of Kings]

I like the percussion at the beginning, even if the reverb is a bit excessive. The quirky string instrument that comes in shortly thereafter is great. I love the atmosphere and the foreboding mood, too. The piece has a drone-like quality, with a relatively slow progression. I also think the mix could stand to be a tad louder. In contrast to the creepy mood, the vibes at 1:30 sound somewhat cute and catchy. I would’ve liked to see you come up with a more gradual way of bridging the gap between the cute mood there and the ominous mood of before. I like the breakdown at 2:40, though. You’ve given this piece a decent amount of dynamic contrast despite the drone-like quality. The return of that bizarre stringed instrument at 3:30 helps give the piece some cohesion too. Really engrossing mood here. Despite my compositional complaints, this is solid work, AvapXia. Keep it up!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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
9/10

[Second Oportunities Come Packed in Honest Apologies]

Soothing piano chords at the beginning. I really like the atmosphere too. The emotional appeal of this piece is great, even if the pace is a bit slow. The bass at :40 really fills out the texture, too, and the rest of the instrumentation really blends well together. The piece has a nice sense of directionality. At around 1:20, there’s a bit of atonality in that cutesy, frantic synth. After a time, the piece has a real drone-like quality. I wish it had a bit more shape. The mood is really engrossing, though, and the arpeggios at 3:00 or so are a nice touch as the piece is winding down. I’m not usually a huge fan of the one-climax model, especially in full-length tracks like this, but you had me sold with the mood and atmosphere of the one. The loop is not that smooth, but the production quality here is pretty high. Enjoyable piece overall. Keep at it, AlbeGian!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10

[HeaD BoP]

I like the contained sound at the beginning and the punchy drums at :28. The frequencies are well-balanced, and the sense of climax into :53 is great. Despite the somewhat generic-sounding synth bass (3xOsc?), I thought your sound design was pretty good overall. The drop wasn’t quite as hard-hitting as I was expecting, but I like the interaction between the bass and the piano. The melodic content at 1:45 was a nice touch that really gave the piece back to a blissful, easy sound momentarily. I guess my main complaint here is probably that there isn’t much variety between the first and second halves of the piece, although I do like the addition of the melody above the grouchy bass during the second half. Harmonically, the piece isn’t particularly interesting, and elements of the arrangement and texture can be generic at times. The structure and transitions are all good. The production quality is high, and the mix is very loud (maybe even too loud, but I’m usually not a stickler for over-compression). Just be careful about distortion when you have a flat brick of sound in the visualizer. Overall, solid work. I can tell you’re a talented producer. Keep it up, YeahYay!

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8/10

[Crusher]

I like the quirky arpeggios at the beginning and the sense of climax into :17. The drums are a bit cliche, and the transition into :32 could’ve been smoother. The mix is really loud and clear, but the volume levels might need some reigning in if you’re not careful. The drop was pretty minimalistic, and that one high-pitched synth that pops in at the post-chorus sounds pretty harsh (1:05, other places). I don’t think this is a structurally complete piece, but I also think it’s clear that you’re a talented producer who simply ran out of time. I’d highly encourage you to keep working on this piece. Please PM me when you do, and I’ll give you a proper review. As for now, the texture needs more fill, the composition needs more fleshing out, and down the road I’d love to hear some more melodic content or a bridge or something. Good luck! Keep at it, UmmabeatsMusic.

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6/10

[On Edge]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the oscillating pads in the background. It has a vaguely ominous mood about it, and the instruments all sound pretty cold and wintery. I really like the prominent use of hi-hats at around :50. Other than that, the progression of the piece is really slow and doesn’t really feature much prominent melodic content. I think the piece is too long for the amount of harmonic content that’s here. Also, when there is a significant variation in the texture at 2:08, the transition could be much smoother. The ending sounded somewhat climactic, but the harmonic framework becomes so stagnant after a while, and there isn’t really any sort of cathartic moment in the piece. It sounds good for some sort of intermediate level in a videogame between two huge bosses or something. But as a stand-alone piece, there isn’t really enough variety or memorable content to keep me engaged. That said, the mastering quality is solid and the instrumentation is good. Keep at it, TheoryGD!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.5/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.5/10

Andethy responds:

Thanks for the feedback, man. Completely agree with the slow progression and melodic content. Will attempt to improve that in upcoming tracks. At 2:08, I updated that but must've forgotten to update to NG, oh well...

[Hunter&Prey]

I like the airy arpeggiated synth at the beginning. Has an apprehensive mood about it. Despite the generic-sounding synth bass and dry drums, the instrumentation isn’t bad overall. Well-balanced texture and cool atmosphere. Let me cut to the chase, though: the composition is extremely underwhelming. The entire piece sounds like an intro for a 5-minute track. There just isn’t much of a strong progression here - no melodies, little structuring, no big transitory moments, etc. I think you know this, too. Seems like you just ran out of time. The content that is here is decent, but this is hardly a structurally complete piece. If you ever do finish it, please PM me. I’ll give you a proper review. Keep at it, Tansuma1!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
5.25/10

tansuma1 responds:

Thanks for your in-depth review TaintedLogic. It seems Deadlines are not my friend! Honestly I just work a lot which leaves me very little spare time to create anything coherent anymore but thank you for not saying my work is basically trash lol. I will continue to improve and one day pm you the finished thing!

[Synapse]

Quirky synth at the beginning. I like the cute mood and climax :23. The reverb is seriously excessive on this song. It both compromises the mix and makes some of the instruments sound unpleasantly indistinct. A lot of these synths sound pretty unpolished and generic, too. I will say that the mix, while not particularly clear, is both loud and full-sounding. Also, the drums remain up-front in the mix for the whole piece, which is good. Compositionally, the piece is also pretty sufficient. I like the structure and the melodies, and the piece comes together well by the end. I have no issues with the transitions, harmonies, or textural fill either. Overall, the mixing and the instrumentation are my biggest concerns here. Elements of the texture may also be a tad generic, but some instrumentation fixes would go a long way towards solving those issues as well. Other than that, keep at it, StaticLF!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[Tears Ft. Lowpry]

Quirky synths at the beginning. Sounds like a piano with a ton of pitch-bending. The overall effect is eerie, and the drums certainly have a laid-back, retro vibe about them. The sub-bass is pretty heavy, but there’s little else to fill in the texture besides that and the piano. I appreciated the breakdown at 1:24, even if that transition came on a bit suddenly. There’s little variation between the first and second halves of the piece, and between that and the minimalism I think the composition is seriously underwhelming here. Great job with the atmosphere, mood, and sound design, though. The mastering is also clean, even if the mix doesn’t feel entirely full. Some stronger melodic content, more structuring and variety, and maybe even some additional instruments would go a long way to help this piece imo. Keep at it, Ruko29!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6/10