TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Forsaken Reality]

---Official AIM review---

I like the soothing riff at the beginning, and the piano riff at :24 complements it very well, especially rhythmically. You’ve clearly shown off your good sense of harmony here. You really start to take the piece in a new direction at 1:12. My main issue with the piece is that most of the overarching progression relies on the addition and subtraction of instruments over time. I think you could stand to add more shape to the piece with volume changes, filtering, and other forms of automation that give the piece a little more humanization and flavor across phrases. You do this well at 1:48 with the string swells, but you don’t use the same technique to lead into new sections of the piece. The result is that there is a patchwork of phrases, often repeated a few times, that feel pretty isolated in the context of the whole piece (1:48 - 2:36, for example). I was also really confused by the transition at 1:36. I thought it was a bit too drawn-out so that the piece lost its momentum going into 1:48. The part at 1:48 was really cool. Somewhat weak and abrupt transitions at 2:36 and 2:59, though. You do a great job of creating these pensive textures, but not so much in connecting them. The atmosphere and mood are really great, though, and the production is also quite strong despite a heavy use of reverb. Overall rather impressive work. I like it the more I listen to it - those melodic piano riffs have begun to sink in. Keep up the good work, DjCrystalux!

9/10

[Dear Ruby]

Beautiful. The atmosphere is completely engrossing. The lyrics are great. The sharp drums and heavy chord changes on the downbeats are quite effective, especially when contrasted with the relatively smooth second half of the piece. The vocals are absolutely amazing - so full of soul. One thing I really like about this piece is how well the chord changes reflect the mood conveyed by the vocals - both the bright chord at :39 ("no longer on my own") and the darker one at :57 ("the bane of our duet") really helped the piece tell a story. For such a short piece, you've told the listener a lot about these protagonists while using vague language the entire time. Production is equally as fantastic, btw. Excellent work!

TheFabs responds:

Thanks so much!

[Teach The World to Fap]

Hilarious, and also quite musically well-done. I remember when this was first uploaded. I don't think I knew what "fap" meant then. XD The cutesy vocals and instrumental give this piece a great sing-along sort of mood. If I didn't speak English, I'm sure I would think it was quite an innocent song. I think what's especially effective about the piece musically is that the texture gets thicker as it goes on, making it feel really climactic as the comedic elements develop. Lyrics are hilarious, as I already alluded to. Fabulous content. Anthemic, even. Keep up the great work! ^_^

[Bouncy Tails]

I like the bright piano at the beginning. Harmonic progression is really interesting. I like the bass and the crisp drums at :31. Build-up into 1:00 was good. That mid-range bass at the drop was a bit too up-front in the mix imo, but overall the drop was effective. The structure of the piece feels very formulaic. You don't have a lot of automation within phrases, instead relying on stop-start transitions and crashes/sweeps to smooth things over. Those kinds of transitions are effective up to a point, but definitely could be more creative. I also don't think the piece sounds complete. You seem to take it in a very different direction starting at 2:17, and that way there's not much of a sense of resolve by the end. I think it would be better if you had varied some of these main riffs, like at 2:45 for example, instead of creating a whole new set of harmonies. My favorite element of the piece is probably the production. Super clean mix and well-balanced texture. Sound design is a little generic but overall good. Composition is fine, but could use a bit more creativity. Overall solid work. :)

DjTheDarkFlameMaster responds:

Thanks for listen the entire track! I appreciate your constructive comment, have a nice day!

[Kavez - Constant [WIP]]

I like the dreamy mood at the beginning, although I wasn't a huge fan of your drum samples. The clap has a really sharp tone that doesn't vibe well with the otherwise smooth, wet atmosphere of the piece. I also thought the clap was a bit cliché. Other than that, my main concern with this piece is the lack of melodic content. A lot of time is soaked up with a couple of pretty simplistic ideas (the arpeggios at :50 and the riff at 1:32), and when you deviate from those ideas, it sounds really dissonant (1:48). I appreciate the effort put into taking the piece in a new direction at 1:48, but the harmonies sound a bit jarring there. There are a lot of good ideas in this piece, though. I like the reverberated synths and somewhat quirky sound design. It just needs a bit more thought put into the arrangement and compositional depth. Keep at it, man!

SlyFrost responds:

Thanks for the review!

The drum samples fit more into the 'drop' (which needs to be worked on) than anywhere else, and I agree that the clap is quite unoriginal. I think that sharp tone is actually the ride and the hat together, which I was a bit unsure about when I played them together after mixing them. I could remove them or just change the ride a bit. Also, since I use the demo version of the DAW I'm using (FL Studio 12) I have to record, which isn't ideal because it makes some of the sounds glitch sometimes. The drums near the end don't sound like that when I play the song in FL.

So. Needs more melodic influence, a rework on the instruments, change 1:48, maybe change the chords up a bit. Cool.

[Geoplex - Affinity]

I like the atmospheric intro and the warm pads. The big glissando at :18 was a nice touch. By around :30, I'm really liking progression and upbeat vibe. The melodic content at :51 was really enjoyable, and transitioned nicely into 1:03. Mix is super clean as usual. My favorite thing about this piece is how filled to the brim with joy it is, though. You've set up the progression really well here so that the chorus feels incredibly cathartic. The vocal bit at around 2:10 added a lot to the texture as well. Really engrossing melodies and mood here. Nice work with the atmospheric intro and outro as well. Fave'd and DL'd. Keep up the great work, Geoplex! ^^

Geoplex responds:

a 5/5 from TaintedLogic :O As always I really appreciate the feedback dude. Thank you :)

[-Coast-]

Love the atmospheric vibes from the beginning. The quirky beats at :14 are great, and the vocals give the piece a lot of character. Sound design is a major plus. The grittier synths at :52 are also a nice way of contrasting the smoothness. Otherwise, the piece is a little slow to develop until 1:30. I wish the arpeggios there sounded a bit more distinct in the mix, though, and also that there was more melodic content in this piece in general. The part at 2:24 is great for some structural variety, and I'm sure you've used some of those vocal samples from 2:40 on before. ;) Overall, really full-textured piece with a relaxing and spacey vibe overall. Tags that categorize it as "muddy" and "sloppy" are accurate, at least mixing-wise, but you nailed the atmosphere and sound design. Keep it up, Waterflame! ^_^

[AIM - The Loneliest Astronaut]

---Official AIM review---

Cool work with the pitch bending at the beginning. I love the ominous mood and quirky sound design. The bass at :21 is a little loud, and I would’ve liked to see you do more with the drums at :32. The progression is a little slow, and the drum samples also sound pretty generic. The transition at 1:25 was a little sudden, but I like the use of the sub-bass there. The pads at 1:36 completely hijack the texture, but maybe that was the point. I like how you seem to be going in a different direction with the piece at 1:47. I guess my biggest complaint with this piece is that there’s a lot of minimalism and simplicity in the texture. The main melody is pretty generic, although I like how you incorporate more dynamic melodic content at times (2:08, 3:12). Overall, the piece still felt pretty slow-paced and repetitive imo. Most of my production concerns are actually more about the balance (I thought the drums could’ve been a bit stronger at times, and the bass a little less, etc.). Overall, though, it’s a catchy and enjoyable piece with some especially cool instrumentation. Keep at it, ET16!

8/10

[The Fallen]

---Official AIM review---

I like the ominous mood at the beginning. The warm pads sound really smooth, although I think the sample you used for them was a bit generic. The piece is a little slow to progress, but it has an apprehensive and emotional quality that I really like. The prominent role of the hi-hats in the beat at 1:05 was a nice touch. Title is fitting. I think you needed a smoother transition at 1:46. Even a quick drum fill or crash would’ve helped. The transitory moment at 2:08 was a bit bizarre, yet flowed nicely into the last minute of the piece. Production-wise, I think the kick could be a bit stronger. There’s also a bit of room for improvement with the clarity of some instruments, especially those hats. The low pads could potentially be a big culprit in distorting the mix. It’s not super noticeable overall, but it couldn’t hurt to revisit some filtering techniques and/or be stricter with the equalization. I also would’ve appreciated some melodic content in this piece. There’s a lot of tension here, and I think it would be really effective to resolve it with some kind of solo or something. Overall, solid work. You clearly have a good sense of harmony and sound design, and a good sense for crafting atmospheres. Keep at it, DjCrystalux!

8/10