TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Wings of Jade]

I like the sweeps at the beginning and the grainy FX with the voice that sounds like it's coming through a walkie-talkie. The vocals at :35 were a nice touch. There are a lot of ups and downs to the energy level, which overall is a good thing, but I think the pacing was pretty fast at times. I also wasn't a huge fan of your snare sample and some of the gritty synths at :57. Might help to take some of the treble off some of the synths. The mix is loud and clear, although I think there might've been a bit too much reverb and/or compression at some points. I like the piano bit at 2:37. The breakdown at 1:42 was also really enjoyable. Overall, I think my favorite elements of the piece are the atmosphere, flow, and variety. Keep up the good work, EverReverb! ^_^

AED4 responds:

Wow, thanks for very detailed review once again ^^!

[Focus Mode - February Blues (Demo)]

Really cool stuff! I especially like the drums at :07 and the fun blend of brass instruments. Vocals sound really good too. I'd appreciate it if you put the lyrics in the description. Everything blends really well, too. Nice job on the mixing. I think this is really strong work, TeraVex. Could use a bit more structural variety - a solo or bridge or something. Otherwise, thoroughly enjoyable stuff. Keep up the good work! ^_^

TeraVex responds:

Thanks man! I'm actually working on developing it more a bit for the full release. Glad you like it!

[Last Surprise (Persona 5 Cover)]

I like the relaxed guitars at the beginning. The vocals are nice. I especially like the layering and the climax foreshadowed by the instrumentals up to around :48. Nice blending at 1:06. At times, the vocals sound a bit overdone, though, like you were trying to be a broadway star in a relatively down-to-earth pop song. I really like the panning on the backing vocals at 2:10 or so. The mix here is clean, and the sound design is a huge plus. The mood and instruments are my favorite elements of the piece. Keep doing great things, ConnorGrail! ^_^

[AIM - Waves of Life]

---Official AIM review---

I like the atmospheric intro and the emotional appeal early on. Some of the instruments are a bit cheesy, particularly the choir sample and the strings at :25. The rhythm of the strings is also a bit hard-to-follow at first. I have mixed feelings about the intensity of the drums at :39. It was a great way of driving the piece forward, yet it also felt a bit excessive. The emotional bit at :52 was a great touch, and that section contrasts nicely with 1:17. You do a great job of changing volume levels and giving this piece some shape and direction. The booming drums during the drop at 1:17 were way over-the-top. It would also help tighten up the mix to tone down the reverb there. Putting reverb on a kick drum is rarely a good idea in my experience, unless your piece is really experimental (which it’s not). Dry, tight kick drums help give your piece (or any piece) a distinct downbeat, creating a solid foundation for the rhythm of the piece. Here, the beat is strong enough so that that doesn’t really matter, but it’s still a little jarring that the drums are as loud and heavy as they are. I also would’ve liked to hear you vary the drop a little more the second time around. Despite the cool work with the modulation (3:33) and uplifting mood, this piece doesn’t actually have much in the way of strong melodic content - it’s all very chordal, even the string patterns during the refrain. You do a great job with the structure and arrangement of your piece, but there’s room for a little more variety towards the end. My favorite elements of the piece are the cinematic mood and dynamic contrast - you really sold the movie soundtrack vibe of the piece and lived up to the epic implications of the piece’s title. Still, the instrumentation, compositional details, and reverb could use some work. Keep at it, 5TanLey!

7.25/10

5TanLey responds:

I know about the don´t put reverb on bass thing but it somehow worked for me in this tune,

anyway, thanks for a thorough review and all the tips :)

[AIM - Sunken Streets]

---Official AIM review---

Really cool and jazzy progression at the beginning. I especially like the groovy bass and hi-hats. The pads sound a bit sharp in my ears; perhaps some more careful filtering is in order. The subtle vocal samples also add to the texture considerably. After a while, though, the piece starts to lack a sense of direction. The pitch-bending (like at 1:17) is good for some variety, but there’s very little in the way of melodic content or an overarching shape to the texture. The result is that this piece sounds a lot like a demo track (or maybe background music for a Buzzfeed video). There are a lot of cool ideas here, though. The pulsing E-piano at 2:08 contributes a lot to the mood of the piece. After that, the progression is really slow and drawn-out. The transition at 3:46 was pretty effective as far as stop-start transitions go, but it didn’t feel like it was really leading the piece anywhere. I think the composition during the second half of the piece is especially weak. Don’t get me wrong - the filtering and other effects are really cool and help contribute to the jazzy, relaxed mood. But in terms of moving notes, I wanted to see you do a lot more with this one. You certainly went for an experimental vibe here. The texture and atmosphere sound great, but the composition still needs some more dynamic elements. As for the production, it’s generally good. There were times when I thought the kick could’ve been a bit stronger, especially during the busier sections. I also think the pads are getting distorted by the other instruments between around :10 and :40, but that could just be because of an excess of compression. Either way, most of my complaints here are with the lack of fill in the composition. Otherwise, really groovy piece. Keep at it, DoctaBGL!

7.75/10

sro responds:

Thanks for the review,

A lot of fair points and easily fixable. But, the criticism of the composition.. While I understand your desire for a more dynamic composition to be implemented; I feel you miss the point of the piece and stress too much on that factor. It's set up in that fashion to be hypnotizing, representing the piece of art it was inspired by and transporting you there. If the second half were to have more dynamics in melody and not be drawn out, it would have ruined what I'm trying to convey in the track. At it's core its an ambient track, it's not out to guide you but bring waves of sound washing through your ear as you sink deep into waving thoughts.

I'd be impressed if someone were able to make this track work as background music for any video without having the music be a huge focus tbh.

[Luminescent Realm (PV)]

Woah. Been a while, dude! I love the atmosphere at the beginning and the nature sound effects. Really smooth flow and enjoyable sound design. I like the combination of the creative beat and the relaxed instrumental. Production is a huge highlight - super clean and clear mix. Sure hope to hear more from you soon. Keep up the great work!

SynchroSpectre responds:

Thanks dude! I'm glad liked it just from the preview. Yea It's been a while; it was tough for me to do anything with my job and school and whatnot. I was inspired by the artists from InspectorDubplate and the way they do their sound design. Best I could do on sound design is just a low-passed Reese bass lol.

[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!