TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[INSANE]

I like the intensity and the loud mix. I think the piece kinda throws the listener right into the middle of the action without much of a proper intro. I also think the counting, especially with the drums, is not where it could be. The tempo seems a little loose from beat to beat at times. That said, I enjoyed the fun melodic riffs, like at :15. The vocals are also fun. They almost sound sardonic, like you’re mocking a child who just said the same things to you in all sincerity. I was somewhat surprised by the entry of the smooth electric bass at 1:08. I’m not sure it added much to the intensity of the texture. Perhaps a different instrument would’ve complemented the mood of the piece better. You do a nice job of transitioning from the mocking intonation of the verses’ vocals to the more traditional, singing chorus. During the second chorus (1:44), I don’t think the upper line in the vocal layering came through the mix very well. I suspect it has something to do with the recording. Also, the ending fades out pretty suddenly. I would’ve liked to see either a more fleshed-out coda or at least you letting the amp fade by itself for a while. I think my biggest problem with the piece is that there’s not much variety in the instrumental, though. Overall, nice job with the passion, production, and sound design. The piece comes together really well as a coherent whole, especially thematically. Keep at it, Johnnyq1233!

8/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8/10

johnnyq1233 responds:

Well, to be honest it's one of my older pieces....
The scoring is pretty accurate for this as I would have liked to do more with it, but, The original tracks were lost with that power outage that happened over a year ago!
You also fail to see and hear that it is 1 player that is doing all this and not a single computer drummer or fill machine!
Thanks for your judging and scoring!

Reviewing this after 7 years, i still stand behind the recording I made.... This song is a real song with real musicians and it has errors and that's what makes it real!!!!
I still come back here to listen to this as it is good and accurate!
Todays kids are medicated to allow acceptance of the programming of the elites!
LGBTQ++++ and a host of other alphabet characters that NO ONE CARES ABOUT!!!! Except the left!
Look, if you have to weaponize music in your political goals, then you should not consider politics as a career... Just sayin!
After seeing where your likes are ..... fuck! no wonder rock songs never win....! It's all you fuckin fag comp and 8-bit gaming fags that run this site!

[Vision]

The watery chords at the beginning sound pretty tranquil. I’d say you do a pretty good job of leading into the climactic section at :44. Some of the square-sounding synths sound a bit cheesy, and also lack complexity. Did you use 3xOsc? I like the full texture of the refrain, though. The mix is pretty clean and very loud. The breakdown at 2:13 was well-timed. I think the piece could use a bit more harmonic variety. The underlying chord progression appears to be the same throughout the piece, and I think that constitutes a missed opportunity to offer the listener a bit more to chew on compositionally. I’d also say that the second half of the piece is very similar to the first half, and the semi-fadeout at the end came across as a bit lazy. The production quality is good overall, but the drums sound a bit too wide in the mix, making them come across as harsh sometimes. Maybe the problem is that they’re over-compressed, though. It’s hard to tell, but regardless I’d encourage you to keep rhythm-section instruments (drums and bass, mostly) as front-and-center in the mix as possible. Overall, I like the cute mood, full texture, and progression. I think some more variety is in order, and I also think the instrumentation could be stronger. Keep at it, JAXXN!

6.75/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
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
6.75/10

[Sexy Ghost]

I like the quirky sound design and distorted texture at the beginning. The mix feels a little indistinct at times, with quite a lot of reverb. The progression is okay, but there are some sudden transitions (:40, :56, etc.). My main concern is that the composition is underwhelming at best and simply incomplete at worst. The creepy high-pitched melodies help, and the piece does appear to loop well. It’s just that the track isn’t very dynamic-sounding, especially with the minimalism and sense of continuity. I’d encourage you to work on shaping the piece a little more with automation, phrasing, and dynamic contrast. That will really help you get the most out of such a short piece. As it is, you’ve offered a solid harmonic framework and some really cool sound design. I just want to see you flesh out and/or smooth over the arrangement a little more. Keep at it, IndustryStandard!

7/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
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
7/10

[Listless Drive Home]

The instrument at the beginning sounds a little thin, but the atmosphere starts sounding really soothing and pensive once the texture thickens at :14. Some of these instruments, including the E-piano at the beginning, sound pretty dry, though. A little reverb might help them blend better and further establish the ambiance. The drums were nice, even if the snare sounded a bit sharp compared to the relaxing mood of the rest of the track. The part at 1:08 could’ve used a smoother transition, especially in such a drone-like track to begin with. That said, I thought the transition at 1:37, while also abrupt, worked better because you primed the listener with the same riff earlier. While the composition isn’t hugely dynamic here, I think it bothers me more that when the texture does change it’s abruptly. I think you should work on shaping the composition a little more with gradual changes in dynamics, phrasing, and automation. Not only are the abrupt transitions (like at 2:17) jarring, but they also don’t fit the tranquil character of the piece. That said, the quirky instrument at 2:45 was fittingly introduced in one of the minimalist asides scattered throughout this piece. I also like how you brought the piece full-circle with the outro, even if the fade-out ending came across as a tad lazy. Overall, I really liked the soothing ambient quality of the piece and the sound design. The composition and arrangement could use a tad more effort, but the production seemed pretty strong too (even if the texture was a bit bare at times). Keep at it, Icantpronouncethis!

7.5/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.5/10

icantpronouncethis responds:

Thank you for a thorough critique of the piece. I did spent a long time on this piece and I knew there was some areas that needed a push and changes. This helps a lot for my future pieces. Thank you once again.

[Suvi - I Need You]

The quirky synths at the beginning sound nice, and set the mood quite well. Nice job with the atmosphere and build-up into :24. I like the ping-pong echo effects and sound design. The drums could stand to be a tad stronger, and while I enjoyed the bass I think it also could’ve used a boost towards the front of the mix. The re-intro at 1:12 was pretty effective despite a pretty abrupt transition into it. The composition feels well-shaped and -structured, with some cool melodic content and instrumentation. The second half of the piece sounds very similar to the first half, though, which might be an indication that more variety is in order. Overall, the flow is very smooth and the mastering is solid despite an excess of reverb in places. Keep up the good work, IAmSuvi!

9.25/10

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

IAmSuvi responds:

Thank you for the awesome feedback <3

[Cute things go on a quest for no reason]

Very glitchy intro. I like the frantic beats and cute sound design by around :17, though. The title is nice. :) The hurried melodic content at :29 also adds to the thematic content. For a piece with such a frantic tempo, the pacing is pretty good. I think there are some mixing/balance problems with the piece, though. The drums don’t come through the mix too well during the busier sections, especially the kick. Equalization and compression on the drums are probably your best tools here. Also, there isn’t much bass throughout the piece. Layering and careful equalization will help you incorporate more bass where appropriate. The return of the glitchy content at 1:13 is a bit undue, but it does aid in the transition at 1:15 well. Perhaps you could’ve just gone about incorporating it a little more gradually so as not to make it appear jarring to the listener. The melodies at 1:38 are really nice. You know how to structure a piece pretty well. The modulation at 2:13 was also well-done. I would’ve liked to see a tad more variation on the main theme at 2:28, especially since the harmonic content is so simple as it is. The ending of the piece is also pretty abrupt. Overall, fairly strong work on the composition, although some of the harmonies could use more depth. The mixing is probably my main concern at this point, as well as some generic elements of the progression and sound design. Overall, though, solid work, Hexsixth!

7.5/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Neon Dragons]

I like the hypnotizing arpeggios at the beginning and the thick texture. Good sense of climax into :26, too. I like the vocal samples, and nice job with the fake-out transition at :37. The breaks at :42 sounded a little harsh. I’d recommend double-checking the filtering on the high-end frequencies there. The harmonic depth is also not as full as it could be, despite the strong mastering quality. I’m also starting to think that you’re overusing the vocal samples by around 1:30. Nice job with the panning at the re-intro at 1:35. You’re really good at shaping build-ups and making your piece feel dynamic over time. However, there’s very little melodic content here, and the piece is actually quite harmonically bare for a significant duration of the track. There are slight variations, but overall the second half of the piece is very similar to the first half. I wanted to like this piece a lot more than I did, but overall the composition was pretty underwhelming, and elements of the sound design and arrangement (vocal interjections at the ends of phrases, for example) are pretty generic. The solid production quality, catchy breaks, and well-shaped transitions begin to make up for that, though. Keep at it, GrowlBittzOfficial!

7.5/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
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
7.5/10

GrowlbittzOfficial responds:

Well okay then. Gorden Ramsay! Haha. I completely understand and really appreciate the feedback. Great way of judging a pice without being rude and or demotivating the artist! I will definitely improve! However, I will say one thing though;

At the time, I lost the original file with the track. The drop that you hear WAS the original track. It was just a simple drop loop.. However, since that drop loop used 60+ tracks, my CPU couldn't handle it with an intro, build, etc. So I decided to export it and use the WAV file instead in a separate project to save CPU! However, I lost the original drop loop project, so I couldn't possibley add another drop. I could've added one in the current project, but the mastering was different, I didn't have the same drums, etc.

I will definitely improve and add more variation to my tracks! Thanks!

[Imagination]

Pretty cool chords at the beginning. The synth at :13 sounds a bit unpolished, though. It has a harsh top end and also doesn’t sit too well in the mix. The transition at :41 could’ve been a tad smoother, but I like the build-up into :55. The percussion you use here is a bit bizarre, and I think you overuse the sweeps. There are multiple times where you create this really dramatic build-up, but the other side of the transition is a minimalistic section that leaves the transition feeling like an anti-climax. I’m talking about :41 and 1:22. That said, the production quality here is really good. Loud, clear mixing and distinct, well-balanced texture. The melodies are pretty good too, despite my complaints about the instrumentation. I also like the variations at 2:16. I think the main compositional element that the piece is missing, at least structurally, is a prolonged section that strips away some of the energy. Right now, the intensity of the piece feels pretty uniform. The ending is also a bit abrupt, but at least you smoothed it over with that sweep. Overall, it’s a quirky and fun piece with some minor structuring/flow and mixing issues. Keep at it, GerboPawa!

8.75/10

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

GerboPawa responds:

thank you so much for this review. glad you liked it overall.

[Saying Goodbye]

The synth at the beginning is cute, and leaves you a lot of room for climax and dynamic contrast. The chord progression is a textbook cliche, and the progression is quite slow. Some of your drums samples (like the open hat and clap) are also pretty generic. I liked the blissful, climactic part at the 1-minute mark. That said, you seem to have arpeggios in place of melodic content in this piece, which doesn’t quite satisfy my criteria. I liked the re-intro at 1:45, although I would’ve liked to see the progression work a bit faster than in the first half of the piece. I think you could’ve done a lot more to vary the piece during the second half, as structurally the two halves of the piece are VERY similar. Overall, it’s a cute piece with some solid mastering and a decent atmosphere, but it needs more prominent melodic content and a more creative arrangement, sound design, and progression. Keep at it, Gawne!

6.5/10

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

jagiak responds:

Thanks for the feedback!
Although I don't have a whole lot of time for music anymore, I'll try to remember what you said for future tracks...