TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Blurred Vision]

I like the fun jazzy pads at the beginning. There’s a bit of atonality between the chords and the synth that comes in shortly thereafter. Creative rhythmic elements too. Texture seems a tad dry and bare, though. Some more reverb would help this piece out a lot, especially on the drums, and with the rapid changes in the chords, it’s hard to discern a sense of overarching direction to the piece. Some more prominent melodic content would help this piece out a lot. I also think it’s quite long, even considering the fast pacing. The piece really only starts coming together at around the 3-minute mark, and even then mid-range frequencies are surprisingly absent from the texture. The tempo automation into 3:54 was a good idea, but I think the transition there still came off as a bit sudden. This piece is very experimental harmonically, yet also doesn’t have a lot of cohesiveness, which would’ve given it a more down-to-earth structural appeal. The result is that you’re not really keeping the listener sufficiently grounded in any repetitive elements of the texture, and I think that’s both jarring and ineffective from a compositional standpoint. The ending is also pretty abrupt. Sounds like the piece doesn’t really have an overarching sense of direction. I’ve been tough on you in this review, but the instruments and harmonic progression within certain sections are both really cool here. I think you just need to consolidate a lot of your ideas, flesh out the texture, and make some more careful decisions about the structure overall. Harmonically unconventional pieces are fine, but pairing that with structurally unconventional techniques is really risky. There are a lot of fun ideas in this piece - rhythmically, harmonically, sound design-wise - but I’d like to see you give the composition a bit more coherence and regularity. Hope that helps. Keep at it, G4CE!

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

[Timeless]

The eerie crash-equivalent at the beginning sounds cool, and gives way to a quirky atmosphere with the clock-ticking FX really smoothly. I like the bouncy synths at :21, and the panning on the sweeps and crashes was a nice touch. You do overuse the sweeps and crashes after a time, though. The melodic content at :55 was nice, and the mix here is really loud. A bit too much reverb, perhaps, but the climax into 1:16 is well done. The breakdown at around 1:40 sounds a little indistinct, but the quirky, frantic synth patterns at 1:45 are great, and they’re followed up by a lush melody at 2:05 that sits really well in the mix. Nice job tying this piece together with the final refrain, although the transition at 2:44 is a bit sudden. Overall, this is a well-structured and feel-good piece with a lot of cool melodic content, synths, and effects. My main concerns are that the excessive reverb is compromising the quality of the mix and that elements of the harmonic content sound a tad generic. Otherwise, keep up the good work, Equinaga! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[You'll Get Yours]

I like the organic sound at the beginning. Starting the intro off with a shaker was a good idea. You have a really nice voice. It blends really well with the low-register guitar riffs. There aren’t a lot of higher-pitched tones in the first half of the piece or so. That might be an potential area for filling out the texture a little more if appropriate. I really like the lyrics themselves too. Great use of rhyme scheme and thematic content. I like how the texture begins to pick up at 1:23. The piece really starts coming together only in the second half or so, between the energy at 1:40 and the solo at 1:49. That was a risky move compositionally, but I think it totally paid off. The result is that the track feels really repetitive and also serves as a narrative form, with the grand conclusion “you’ll get yours and I’ll get mine” only coming to light at the end. Usually, I have reservations about pieces that only have one main climax as a focal point (because they often lack dynamism otherwise), but the progression here is curated really well. My main complaints here are that the piece is pretty repetitive harmonically, and that the texture could’ve been filled out a little more early on in the piece. Still, the mix is both loud and clear, the sound design is really good, and the passion is self-evident. Super strong work here, dude2312. By all means, keep it up! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.5/10

dude2312 responds:

Oh, my! TaintedLogic, it is an honor to have such a good review by you. Thank you, I always welcome feedback with open arms. I liked the fact that you think it is passionate, I really do try to put my best to it. I am barely starting to record on my own room, I try to do my best. Once again, thank you so much.

[Aqueous]

sFX at the beginning was a nice touch. The piano was really nice, too. It was flowing and majestic, yet also had a really tasteful rhythmic component. The guitar/harp-like instrument at :17 didn’t work quite as well for me, though. It sounded a tad inauthentic. I also think you overdid the kicks at :35, which detracted from the soothing atmosphere of the song. The quirky pad at :57 was a questionable instrumentation choice for similar reasons. As for the production quality, I think the lead ducks under the mix a bit at around 1:20. The drums are crisp and pretty loud, but some more careful equalization work might be needed to tighten things up a little. The melodic and harmonic content is really good, though. Compositionally, this piece is really satisfying. That said, I think you could’ve done more to vary the piece more later on. The breakdown at 3:15 was nice, but the delay effects on the higher-pitched elements were a bit much. Made it hard to follow the rhythm, even. The piece has a very uniform harmonic framework that I would’ve liked to see you break away from at some point. I also think you could’ve done more to offer an emotional height or climax at the end of the piece. Overall, strong work with the harmonic content, melodies, progression, and atmosphere. Elements of the sound design, mixing, and structure could use a second look, but you had me sold on the mood of this one. Keep at it, DeltaEagleNG!

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
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.25/10

[Thunder Man]

The riffs at the beginning are pretty catchy, although the synths sound a bit dry and unpolished. You also overuse the crashes, especially at around :26. You have a good sense of harmony, and the mix is pretty loud. I think the bass has a lot of higher frequencies, though, and you could do more to fill out the bass range of the texture. The loop is pretty smooth, although I think the composition could stand to be fleshed out a lot more, the fast pace and pleasing melodic content aside. My biggest complaints here are probably the cheesy sound design and the somewhat hard-to-follow progression. Nice job with the blissful mood, harmonies, and transitions, though. Keep at it, DCMegaFan!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
7/10

[rat on toast]

Catchy beats at the beginning. Synths sound a little generic and unpolished, though. Also, the texture is quite minimal for most of the piece. Nice job with the transposition at the 1-minute mark or so. I didn’t really see the breakdown at 1:19 coming, though. Felt a bit forced, and you could’ve done a lot more to foreshadow its appearance (automations, phrasing, etc.). Despite the crisp drums and good balance in the texture, the mix is very, very quiet. Compression and volume level adjustments are really tools you should look into using more. The progression of the piece isn’t bad, but also doesn’t feel like it’s leading anywhere. You maintain the somewhat grim chord progression of the breakdown for the rest of the piece without ever really tying it together with what I’m predisposed to believe is the main theme of the piece (during the first minute). Overall, the composition needs a lot more fleshing out here. More harmonies, textural fill, and high-pitched frequencies in general. Also couldn’t hurt to vary the beat at some point. That said, it’s a catchy piece with a distinctly eerie mood and some admirable rhythmic work. Keep at it, d347rat!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
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
6/10

[Emotion]

I like the quirky bell-like instrument at the beginning, but the rhythm is a bit hard to follow. Once the more melodic elements come in at :20, the rich texture is pretty nice. I think the more high-pitched elements could’ve been reigned it a little more in the mix. They sound a tad harsh in my ears sometimes. The mix is very clear, but is also on the verge of being too loud. Be careful about distortion caused by that booming kick drum. My main complaint, however, is that this piece simply isn’t structurally complete. There’s no sense of closure at the end, and the piece also doesn’t loop well. Overall, the quirky sound design and progression are really enjoyable here, but I think you need to flesh out the composition more and help the mix settle before this is a sufficiently stand-alone piece. Keep at it, ChronicBurnR!

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.25/10

[Yugoslavia 1982]

I like the angry, staccato bass sounds. A lot of the effects here are really cool, like the twittering sound at :08. Nice rhythmic work with the hi-hats too. As for the reverb-heavy crash-equivalent at :15, I think you overdid it a bit. It just consumes the texture for the couple seconds after it comes in. The dark mood and brass hits here are pretty cool, but I think my main complaint with this piece is that it’s lacking compositionally. Far from being a structurally complete piece, it only has one engaging moment of climax with the brass melody at :46 before a hurried, lazy fade-out. Rhythmic, staccato elements dominate the texture, and the harmonic framework is not sufficiently fleshed out for my tastes. Is the track bad? Certainly not. Have you earned a scout? Yes. But I wanted to see you do a lot more with the composition here. Keep at it, Chickenizer!

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

Chickenizer responds:

Hi TaintedLogic, thank you for listening and the comprehensive, constructive feedback!

Excuse Mode ON: I only had an hour to make this, and so decided that the best course of action would be to spontaneously synthesize a synthwave soundtrack cue (hence the fade-out at the end, where it would supposedly loop back should it play with some visual media like a video game).

But, excuses aside, I should have definitely worked on that one longer. And I too think that the structure is the one aspect of the track that is hurting it the most.

Also, I really don't think I should've cut so much lows on the brass. D'oh.

Still, I'm glad you found value in this – I should really call it by it's name – sketch.

I'm glad I earned my place for a scout! So if we are both scouts, tell me, when do we start selling cookies? Just kidding. :)

Cheers!