TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[You're the Same]

Woah...hitting the listener right away with the sensual violin line, I see. The progression at the beginning sounds so romantic and wistful, and then the piano really comes down hard at :45. The violin sample is pretty good too, and the quality doesn't really deteriorate too noticeably in its higher range, which happens in a lot of other samples in my experience. The progression is beautiful, and the melodic content is too. The piece had a very similar phrase structure from :43 to 2:00 or so, but it still felt pretty dynamic in terms of volume and harmonics.

I'm curious what the title means to you. "You're the same" almost sounds disappointed, like the protagonist's idyllic memory of a lover doesn't quite hold up. Or maybe...he (the lover) is the same amazing man he's always been and it's just because he wasn't with her that he fell back into a monotonous and empty life. My literary inclinations aside, the layered violin section at 2:26 was gorgeous, and I also really like the part at 2:51 with the rapidly ascending lines. As the piece ages, the violin line almost sounds like it's wavering rapidly between emotions and registers, much like our protagonist. XD Okay, I'm done with that now.

I also really liked when the piece took a more slow-paced and somber tone at 4:10. You resolved the thematic content of this piece really well with the leapy ascending lines at around 4:25 and the subsequent return to the highest register. If you happen to have a sheet music adaptation of the piece (which is a long shot, I know), I'd love to show it to some of my friends who play the violin. I'm curious to see if the double stops hold up as actually playable. :) Also, where did you get that violin sample, might I ask? I've probably asked you where you get your samples before, but I'd like to invest in some myself.

Fantastic piece overall, Ale. I feel like I've doubled the size of my favorites list recently between AIM, NGUAC, and now the NGADM, but people on this site are just so damn talented (you included!). I know I still haven't responded to the PM you sent me a while back. I'll fix that soon. But until then, best of luck in the ADM and keep up the great work!

Also, this is my 2,500th audio review on the site, so consider that a good omen. ^_^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I was contemplating whether I should bring in the violin later or not. Jordi told me I should probably have it come right in at the start, and then take a break for a few bars when the piano gets more intense at 0:45. That made a lot of sense to me, so props to him for the suggestion!!!

I experimented a lot with the highest of high violin notes (a few harmonics too, but I kept them to a minimum, as that could have gotten insane had I allowed it to, haha) at the start, and throughout the piece. As you say, the quality doesn't really drop with this VST even in the high register. The classical musician and virtuoso Joshua Bell recorded more than 20.000 samples for Embertone, with his Gibson ex Huberman 1713 Stradivari violin. Then the team programmed it insanely well, so that it could be incredibly expressive in a number of different styles. It's seriously the best VST instrument I've seen. It costs 199$ though, but you can get a "20% off" student price:

https://www.embertone.com/instruments/joshuabellviolin.php

The title means a couple things to me, though I didn't want to point it out in the description, as I enjoy having the listener interpret the piece themselves (like you did). One interpretation is that the piece is about someone's continuous refusal to change their destructive behaviour. Another is a warning not to be so quick to blame others. I basically imagined a scenario where two people are accountable for having done something terrible, but they both blame each other ("You're the Same" then implying, that both people bear the same burden).
I enjoyed your interpretations too!

The layered violin section (2:26) is still only one violin. Since three notes are playing at once, it'd be incredibly difficult to play it that cleanly for real. Should be possible though! The high notes are probably difficult to play in a manner that sounds this clean as well, but I'd like to pretend that I have Joshua Bell himself performing the piece, haha :'D
Unfortunately I don't have sheet music for this. I would generate some for you, but the entire piece is off-tempo, meaning it's not quantized (and thusly, the software doesn't understand it that well).

I totally messed up while playing that slower section at 3:31 on the piano, and I didn't have time to re-record, so I ended up fixing it in post. I feel it was necessary after all the bulding up and the climax. 4:10 is like a sort of rerun of the beginning of the piece, but with a slightly different feel. I'm glad you like that part. Good catch on the ascending lines (the violin actually plays the main piano melody at that point)!

Thank you for the review! And WOW!! :O
That's a lot of reviews xD
I feel lucky to be the 2,500th one ^__^

[capshun - lotus (chgeri remix)]

I like the chill atmosphere of the piece. The stereo clicks and pops at the beginning were a bit much, I think - sounded a little harsh in my headphones. The progression is a little slow, but I really like the build-up into :46. The quirky brass solo there is really nice, and the rhythmic content in the drums is fantastic. The production quality is also quite good. Everything sounds sharp and clear in the mix. I appreciated the structural variety you offered at 1:33. At some points, I even think the drums are too loud. The crash at 1:45, for example, sounded a little too forceful to fit the immediate context. At times, the texture of the piece also sounds a bit minimal, and I personally would’ve liked to see you vary the main brass riff a bit more during the final refrain. Otherwise, though, I’m thoroughly impressed by the quirky sound design, lush jazzy atmosphere, and structuring/flow of the piece. Keep up the great work, CHgeri!

9/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

[Cali Crazed - Neon City - Monsify]

The beat at the beginning is really catchy. The progression is pretty slow, and there wasn’t much of a transition into :32. The synths and drum samples here are pretty generic. The riser into 1:03 would’ve functioned better as a sweep imo. It comes off as sounding a bit dissonant here. The refrain at 1:03 was catchy, and the texture sounds pretty well-balanced there. The pitch alteration at 1:29 was amusing, but didn’t really serve as an adequate transition. In fact, transitions are something I think you should work on in general. There’s another abrupt one at 1:53. I appreciate you trying some more automation at 2:23, but it came off as a bit cheesy. I think the cliche arrangement and instrumentation constitutes one of my biggest problems with the piece. The composition is also a bit disjointed, and melodic content is not especially prominent in the piece. I think my favorite element of the piece is the production. It’s clear and crisp throughout. I’ve been tough on you in this review, but I think the piece needs more harmonic depth, melodic content, and flow before I’m impressed with the composition. In the meantime, it’s a catchy piece with some strong mastering. Keep at it, Calicrazedbeats!

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

calicrazedbeats responds:

I definately struggle with video game music but i will continue to work on it. Thanks for the feedback.

[-=Flashback=-]

I like the funky vibe at the beginning. The rhythm is a little hard-to-follow at some points, beginning at :04. I don’t really understand the progression very much, either. It’s minimalistic throughout, is rife with bass bombs and very little higher-pitched frequencies, and the harmonic content is very minimal and hard to pick up on because of the distortion in the texture. I’d recommend trying to build your piece around melodic content going forward. If you don’t know much about music theory, that’s okay, but try to start with a progression of chords that emphasizes gradual change, and build a more dynamic melody line on top of that. Right now, your piece feels both minimal harmonically and disjointed structurally. Starting with chords and building up from there might help cement some more advanced composition practices. Don’t be discouraged, though. This piece is really catchy and has a lot of cool riffs. The arrangement, sound design, and lack of harmonic depth just aren’t doing much to enhance the appeal of those riffs right now. Please PM me if you have questions. Good luck!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
2.5/10

[Vision Space]

I like the really dynamic synth riff at the beginning. The piece kinda throws you into the middle of the action, without a proper intro. There’s an excess of reverb in the texture that was compromising the mixing quality a bit. Those mid-range pads are probably a big offender too. I’d recommend taking a second look at the equalizer on them. The instrumentation is pretty good overall, but is also a bit generic. The pads, for example, sound like a Nexus preset. I appreciated the structural variety you offered at 1:14, and the lead-in back into the thicker texture at 1:45 was pretty nice too. The first non-arpeggiated melodic content of the piece is at 1:45, but I thought that synth sounded a bit too thin and high-pitched to take up the prominent role in the mix that it deserves. I also thought the piece ended rather suddenly. This review has been really negative so far, though, so let’s change that: I like the busy texture and loud mix, despite my reverb complaints. You clearly have a good sense of harmony and progression, and overall the piece has a good amount of shape and variety. I guess my main complaints would be with the mixing and the lack of structuring at the beginning and end of the piece. The instrumentation could also use some work. That said, this is a compositionally pleasing piece with a cool atmosphere. Keep at it, BeeFef!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
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

BeeFef responds:

Yeah, especially back when I made this, a major struggle for me has been EQing. It's hard for me to know what frequencies to take out and how much because there are so many different options to how I can do it.

I entered this piece because I wanted to focus on composition and sound design rather than mixing. I see that I still have quite a bit to work on and that I may have not moved on to the next round, but I guess that's an even better reason to pressure myself to make music to the point where I can't function and I've stayed inside almost the whole summer

But yeah I hope I make it to the next round

[Inspiration]

I like the rich texture and energy of the piece. The rhythm is a little hard-to-follow at the beginning, perhaps in part because the string samples have a little delay on them to make them sound more realistic. I liked the transition into :18. The panning on the drums is a bit heavy, but the mix is tight as a result. This piece has a lot of shape and phrasing, but the pace can be a bit fast at times. The instrumentation is good except when it’s obvious that the instruments are inauthentic (the string delay is a dead giveaway, for example). The composition is very strong in general, though. There’s a lot of melodic content here and a refreshing amount of variety. Solid work overall, AzulJazz!

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
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

AzulJazz responds:

thx so much!

[Azure Rei - Mind Slayer (Final)]

I like the punchy drums and suspenseful mood. The progression is pretty slow, especially for a relatively short piece, and at some point I would’ve liked to hear some more melodic content. The transition at 1:12 could’ve been smoother - maybe it would’ve helped if it was more gradual. The mixing and mastering is strong here - loud, clear, distinct, well-balanced. This piece has a lot of fun details, like the drum fill at 1:52 and the ghostly high-pitched synth at 2:02. My main complaint is just that the composition needs more structural variety and shape. The piece has a cool mood and sound design, but it doesn’t have a strong sense of directionality for most of the piece. I’d suggest doing more with dynamics and phrasing, and also going in a different harmonic direction with the piece at some point. Breakdowns, bridges, and solos can really help create some much-needed variety in your piece. Stripping the drums away and making room for some melodic content would be a great place to start. Overall, nice job with the instrumentation, atmosphere, and rhythmic elements. The underwhelming composition just needs some work. Keep at it, Axel7!

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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.25/10

Axel7 responds:

Wow, thank you for your feedback! that's really helpful :D

[Mermaid's Singing]

I like the soothing, dreamy pads. You have a pretty good sense of harmony. The synth that starts fading in at :43 didn’t really fit the mood of the piece as I see it. I also don’t really understand the progression of this piece very much. A lot of instruments are added and subtracted frequently, but it doesn’t seem like it has an overarching sense of direction. The higher-pitched riff at 1:59 sounds like you were trying to make a it sound climactic, which is good. I just think you’re not entirely capitalizing on your ability to do that here. I’d encourage you to diversify the ways you create variety in your piece beyond just adding and subtracting instruments over time. Think about changing volume levels across phrases, finding subtle ways of changing up overused riffs, and using drum fills, sweeps, or crashes to smooth over transitions. The mix sounds pretty clean, although also dry. I’d suggest looking into mixing tools like reverb and compression that can make your instruments blend together better. But my main problem with the piece is that the composition is pretty underwhelming. In a sense, it feels like there’s a lot of variety, but the piece also doesn’t have a lot of shape, climactic moments, emotional heights, etc. Overall, I’d say that you have a solid foundation in harmony and instrumentation. You just need to work on creating progressions that are meaningful for the listener. Playing around with velocity settings is probably a good place to start. Part of it may also be that the harmonic elements of the piece are both minimalistic and repetitive. Hope this helped! Keep at it, man. I enjoyed your cute, quirky sound design and catchy beats. :)

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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6/10

[Arachnid - Battle of Old and New]

I like the energetic synths at the beginning. A bit of harshness in the treble range there - some more careful equalization could help solve that. The mix is quite loud, though. I like the build-up into :37, although I think the pads at :38 took it over a bit too much. The other harmonic instruments don’t come through nearly as much. The secondary emotional height at :55 was a pleasant surprise. I think the transition at 1:14 could’ve been smoother, as well as the one at 1:32. For a short piece it’s got a nice amount of variety while also feeling pretty cohesive. The ending was a bit sudden, and the squeaky final note doesn’t help. I think the drums could’ve been a lot stronger in the mix in general, and they also sound a bit generic to me. Overall, though, it’s a really captivating piece given the flurry of melodic content, enjoyable structuring, and adventurous mood. Keep at it, ArachnidPlaysMusic!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[Loud and lazy]

Simple, short intro. I think you could’ve done a better job at leading into the part at :03 a little more. That said, the sound design and bassy texture are huge pluses. Sound design is so smooth and calming, and the rhythmic elements of the piece are quite strong as well. I thought the bell-like high-pitched synth (:19 and other places) might’ve needed a bit more polish to reign in some of the high-pitched tones. The transition at :52 could’ve been stronger, especially since the piece changes quite a bit harmonically at that point. The minimalism drags on for a bit too long before developing much, and then you return right back to the soothing, atmospheric texture of before. I’m a little confused about the directionality of this piece, and I also would’ve liked to hear some more prominent melodic content at some point. There also seems to be one peculiar note at 2:03 (high-pitched, staccato) that seems a bit out-of-place. It happens again at 2:22. I guess I’d say that I want to see a little more shape in your piece. The sound design, texture, and atmosphere are all great here, but the composition feels very stale and directionless. I’d encourage you to use more automations across phrases, create some dynamic contrast, and craft your transitions a little more carefully. Spots like 2:24 can feel quite jarring when you suddenly change from one mood to the other. I also noticed that the open hats at 2:40 (and other places) seemed to have an oscillating cycle of velocities, which I thought was a creative and rather unconventional choice that comes across quite well overall. In general, the mix is pretty well-balanced and clear. Most of my complaints here are grounded in the underwhelming composition, but most other parameters of the piece are quite strong. I love the smooth bass in particular. Keep at it, Alyctro!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.25/10