TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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...

[Conscience]

I like the airy piano and melodic content at the beginning. There could be a stronger sense of climax into :29, especially because of all the different instruments you added at that point. The sweep is a bit like patching up a bullet wound with a band-aid, so-to-speak. The melodic content at :29 is really enjoyable, though. The build-up at 1:01 was a bit cheesy, but leads into 1:14 really well. I like the strong rhythmic components and synths there. The song is pretty repetitive after that, at least with regards to the chord progression, but you do have a variety of melodies to help keep the piece engaging. The section at 2:45 was a bit bizarre with the constant drone of that one synth, but it leads into the subsequent build-up quite well. I rarely say things like this (because usually people have too little variety), but I appreciated how the second drop at 3:14 was so similar to the first one as a point of catharsis. The ending of the piece with the abrupt clap/sweep combo at 3:59 was a bit lazy, though. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this piece. You clearly have a strong sense of melody, harmony, and rhythm, and the production quality was rather good throughout. Keep it up, GamerthoFR26!

9.25/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10

Olindel responds:

Yayyyy thank you so much! It makes me sooooo happy! I don't have the words to say thank you... \(^_^)/

[Paracosm]

Very interesting sound design at the beginning. The ambient noise cuts out really suddenly at :05, which I found to be a bit jarring. A couple of the synths here (especially starting at around :40) sound pretty generic, despite the cool ambiance of the piece. There are quite a few sudden transitions/cutoffs in this piece, among them 1:08, 1:21, 2:03, and 3:53. The experimental nature of the texture is pretty good, although I’d encourage you to avoid so many jarring transitions between hard-hitting breaks and more tranquil harmonic sections. Over time, the track loses its sense of directionality because of the lack of clear structuring. The re-intro at 2:03 had a nice, apprehensive mood, and the little fake-out climax at 2:31 was pretty cool. You clearly have a good sense of rhythm and harmony, but I think the arrangement of the piece doesn’t quite help you out in terms of offering the listener some climatic and conclusive content. The second half of the piece never quite reaches the emotional height of, say, 1:22. As for the mixing, I don’t think it’s quite as bad as you think it is. You might want to consider cutting out some reverb at times and sharpening up the equalizers as much as possible, especially in the low frequency range, but there aren’t too many glaring errors here imo. Overall, I’d say that you need to focus on adding harmonic depth and structuring the piece in a more effective way. That said, I really enjoyed the sound design, atmosphere, and thematic elements of the piece. Keep at it, EXplosion007!

6.5/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[There's always a way]

I like the dreamy atmosphere at the beginning and the instrumentation. The progression is a tad slow, and the transition at :45 could use some smoothing over. That said, I really like the prominent arpeggios at :45, despite the fact that they’re a bit too far forward in the mix once the melodic content at 1:16 comes in. It’s a feel-good track, albeit a bit generic. I also think you could’ve done a lot more creative things with the drums, especially during the refrain. Speaking of the refrain, I think it lasts too long without much variety. The breakdown section at the 2-minute mark was a welcome change, and the transition back into the refrain at 2:45 was solid. I think there are some balance issues in the piece. For example, the refrain at 2:45 feels jarringly louder compared to the earlier climactic content. In a way, I’m tempted to commend you for creating a strong sense of directionality and resolve by saving the “best for last,” so-to-speak. But I’m afraid the volume levels are a bit too extreme for it to mirror the feel-good vibe the piece gives off. At the same time, I think more subtle changes in the volume levels and automation/filtering alike would help fix some of these abrupt transitions. Overall, though, I was captivated by the blissful mood and melodic content of the piece, and my compositional complaints (other than the transitions, perhaps) are mostly small details. Keep up the good work, Dukebartje!

8.5/10

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
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.5/10

dukebartje responds:

Thank you! I appreciate the feedback! I mostly like rough transitions, but I understand that some of these could have been better to compliment the piece. The volume is an issue, I'll adress that in my future music. Thank you very much for the help so I can grow!