TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Flashlight Electric]

Cute riff at the beginning. I love the sound design, and the mix is pretty tight. The bass riff at :28 is really fun, and the panning at :40 was a nice touch. The melodic content at 1:03 really sold the piece imo. It was well-placed structurally, and ties the rest of the piece together quite well. At first, the rhythm at 1:51 was a little hard-to-follow, but I eventually picked up on it. Really fun track overall, LE! Keep up the good work. ^_^

[Lightyears from Home]

I like the emotion at the beginning and the pacing. I really enjoyed the string swells once they started coming in. The phrasing throughout is gorgeous. This is the right kind of simplicity in music, my friend. There's a ton of variety - you really told a story with this one, even if you compromised a bit on the cohesiveness of the piece as a result. The melody at 2:15 is probably my favorite part of the piece. It's just absolutely haunting. I was also glad to hear such a climactic section at 3:10 as well. You've really capitalized on the emotional quality of the piece with the dynamic range of the piece.

"Hope I didn't butcher it too much with my horrible piano performance!" --> Nonsense! Don't be so humble, Dan. This is incredible work! Looking forward to hearing more from you soon. :)

Danman87 responds:

Thanks so much for the in depth review! I actually needed multiple attempts to properly get the piano parts right, which is why I don't consider it much of a good performance. Super happy you liked it though, this one was a lot of fun to do! :)

[What's On Tonight?]

I like the gritty synth and the breathy vocals. The sneaky-sounding riff at :16 is a nice touch too. Really unique sound design here. I think the main melodic riff could've had a more creative rhythm, but there are a lot of other rhythmic elements in the texture. My only real complaint is that the mix, while clear, is a bit quiet. Keep up the good work, ConnorGrail!

[Gargantua]

I like the cheesy synths and frantic drums. The high-frequency harmonic riffs (like at :44) really add a lot to the texture. The drop at 1:02 was pretty good, albeit a little repetitive. The mix is pretty loud and clear, although I think you could've softened some of the high-register tones at times. One thing I really like about the piece is how flowy it is. Even though you have a fair amount of variety overall, it's still really carefully structured and progresses quite smoothly. Nice work!

Sylux03 responds:

Yey! Thanks for listening!

[Horizons]

I like the angry bass and the 80s-style synths and drums. I think the mix could be a tad tighter - drums didn't quite pop like I wanted them to, and the bass gets pretty buried in the mix at around 1:30. The mix was loud and the texture was very full, though. I also appreciated it when you stripped away the drums at around 1:45 to add some structural variety. The main melodic theme (at 2:59, and other places) is nice, but it might've needed a bit more variation after a while, especially in a relatively long piece such as this. The piece also sounds pretty uniform in intensity and energy for most of it, which unfortunately means my engagement level kinda fades after a time. The fade-out ending didn't help in that regard. Overall, I think the instrumentation, mood, atmosphere, and melodic content are all huge pluses. A little more shape and dynamism in the composition would be welcome, as well as a tighter mix. Keep at it, Pr0tagonist! :)

larrynachos responds:

Yeah... I was having some trouble with the drums because they were a single plugin and not separate samples. Sidechaining reacted with the whole kit, creating that kinda sloppy effect. I really wasn't sure how to deal with it, so I just lowered the volume and bass boosted the drums to give the kick some prominence.

Definitely screwed up the flow of this one. Just kept it loud and intense the whole time. My main focus was trying to give the melodies some variety, but I definitely should have paid more attention to the structure and pacing. Thanks for the review TL! I appreciate it!

[Shaft]

I like the percussion rolls and creative rhythmic content at the beginning. I like the grouchy bass and smooth, pulsing pads. The drum samples at 1:05 are a little generic, especially the clap. Later on, the open hat is also pretty cliché. The texture is a little minimalistic overall, but is also relatively dynamic, at least energy-wise. I guess I would've liked to see more melodic content. The composition is a bit underwhelming overall, especially in terms of moving notes. Production quality is solid, even if the texture is a bit thin. Overall, I think my favorite elements of the piece are the relaxing mood and the intricate rhythms of the drums. Keep at it, Hallow!

[/crash/]

Experimental indeed. The harsh static and Fourier synths mesh well together. I like the bell-like texture, even if it's pretty minimal. It has enough bass to balance out the frequencies. Has dreamy harmonic content despite the harsh effects. The latter third or so of the piece has a nice comedic element while also showing off your production skills. Doesn't really feel structurally complete as it is now, and the pacing is also a bit slow. Certainly amusing and engaging content overall. Keep at it, Stardew!

[Broken Sea]

Pretty and tranquil beginning. The cello solo is gorgeous. Entire first 80 seconds is a lush wave of sound. I thought the transition at 1:18 was a little sudden, although the more staccato-y, energetic sound that followed was also really cool. Once you start re-introducing some more legato elements at around 1:45, the piece really comes together. I guess I wished you had brought out the choir more in the mix during that middle section, but overall the production quality is pretty strong. There's another sudden transition at 2:57, but the outro is beautiful. Your tracks always have so much emotion, Papkee. Keep up the great work!

[Leer of Doom]

I love the ominous mood at the beginning. The subtle pause at :11 is a nice touch. Drums are nice and crisp, and the mix is loud and clear. I like the more mellow section at :50. Organ synth at :54 was cool, and the melodic riff at 1:05 is pretty great too. The build-up into 1:51 was a little drawn-out and broken up, but I think my main complaint is with the superfluous 2-second transitory section at 1:48. After an already very dynamic build-up, that section seemed more confusing than anything else to me. I guess I was also a little thrown-off by the sudden injection of so many new harmonic elements at 1:51. It's a fitting bridge in a lot of ways, but I suppose at that point in the piece I was expecting a final refrain that was a little more in-line with some of the other themes and riffs of the piece. At the same time, I applaud the way you created variety across the piece as a whole. Saving the most dramatic and, in many ways, most melodic section for last is probably smart. Maybe I just didn't listen closely enough, but I think I would've liked to see some of the riffs featured in the last minute foreshadowed a bit more earlier in the piece. Obviously, you intended 1:51 to be punchy and jarring to some extent, but the transition there didn't quite work for me somehow. Anyway, I'm rambling about tiny compositional details. Overall, really strong work with the production, sound design, atmosphere, and thematic elements. Keep up the good work, Spadezer! ^_^

Spadezer responds:

Aw thanks for the review. Would have been nice for the Chips Compo lol but better late than never. Glad you like it.

:)