TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Honor Within]

I like the orchestral hits at the beginning and the suspenseful mood they imply. The string instruments sound pretty fake, but overall the melodic content at :17 is well-composed. The snare sounds like you went a little overboard on the high-pass, and I'm also not a huge fan of the instrumentation by around 1:23. Also, when the strings come back in at around 1:40, the mix sounds a bit overly compressed. The source of the distortion there might be something else, though - some more careful equalizing may be in order. Despite the cool mood of the track, I feel like you didn't really do too much with the composition. After the beat comes in, the energy level is very uniform, and the piece was lacking a section of climax or resolve towards the end. Overall, solid work, but I'd love to see you do more with the composition going forward. Keep at it, man!

TenodiBoris responds:

Thank you very much for the review, I needed a skilled ear to hear this, and now I got one :) I have very humble studio, and sometimes I just hit the bottom up of what I think I can do, but, you proved me wrong, yes I could do more on dynamics of the song, some better lift up, and better ending... Again, thank you :)

[Rewind Once Forward]

Cute melody at the beginning. The transition at :44 could've been a tad smoother. You seemed to make a ritardando into it, which can work, but I think the timing could've been a bit better, perhaps with a big up-bow crescendo or something. That said, the section with the violins sounded absolutely beautiful. I also love when the oboe comes in at 1:34. The transition at 2:31 isn't particularly smooth either, but I appreciate the change-of-pace. Up until that point, the piece had gone quite a long time without much of a change in energy. The melody at 3:35 is probably my favorite part of the piece. The ending was well done, too. Nice job making it come full-circle. :) Keep up the good work!

Veneox responds:

I love in depth reviews like this, I will surely work on the transitions to evolve more smoothly. Hope you can review some of my early works as well, thanks. ;)

[JesúsRotela - Lighting]

I love the cutesy synths and the bouncy beat. Reverb is pretty excessive, though. The mix is still rather clean regardless, but I'd be careful about overdoing it if I were you. I like the build-up into 1:03, and how you re-tool the main progression during the section at 1:18. You might've needed a smoother transition at 2:04. The reverb helps smooth it over a lot as it is, but it still felt pretty sudden from a structural standpoint. I also wish you had varied the refrain the second time around, just to give the piece a stronger sense of direction. Overall, though, this is really strong work. I really like the atmosphere, instrumentation, and structuring. Keep up the good work.

[Desertion - Japillow]

I'm so glad I found this! A remix of this has been in my iTunes library for years. The main riff is so catchy, and I love the progression and filtering work, which gives the piece a really smooth flow. The part at 1:28 is probably my favorite. Nice job with the production, too, but I think it's really the sound design that sells this piece. That organ-like main melody synth is just so captivating. My only complaint is that the piece doesn't quite get back to the same energy level in the second half of the piece as was present during the first half. Relatedly, I'm not a huge fan of fade-out endings in general. Still, impressive work overall. :)

[[Dubstep] Falkuma]

I like the distorted atmospheric part at the beginning. The percussive thing that plays on every off beat starting at :13 was a little much. It basically functions like a snare, yet sounds more like a transitory effect. The build-up wasn't bad, but the drop at :53 sounds really distorted. You may have used a bit too much reverb there. Despite all the reverb, the drop is also quite minimal from a harmonic standpoint. I like the mechanical sound effects at 1:54, though. I appreciate the variations on the second drop, but in general this piece has very little in the way of harmonic depth, which is probably my main complaint. It's a well-structured and smooth-flowing piece with some unique sound design, but I think you need more moving notes in there to offer the listener a more memorable harmonic framework. Keep at it, man!

Delerium responds:

Thank you! I appreciate the feedback. The snare sound you talked about was a risk i was taking for some interesting percussion. In general my music is minimal melodically and harmonically, and I think I could improve that. However, I feel like the lack of harmonic depth is what draws people to the focal point of this piece, which is the drop.
Did you notice that some of the percussion and foley pan? I was hoping that would add some effect.
:)

[Tranquil Cove]

The counterpoint is pretty nice, although I wasn't a huge fan of your instruments. They sound really fake, but also rather dry. Some reverb might help give the piece a little more flavor. The progression is pretty slow here, and has a rambling feel. You might want to use more phrasing and dynamics to create more of a sense of overarching structure. Another thing that bothers me about the piece is that it's really quiet. You might want to look into some compression techniques - or perhaps simply raising the volume levels - in order to make the mix feel a little more full. The rhythm also seems a little stumbly at times. Some percussion might help keep the rhythm grounded. I've been tough on you in this review, but this piece still demonstrates a great sense of harmony and flow. Keep at it, man. ;)

[Game Intro Loop]

The intro isn't bad, but I think you need a stronger transition into :18. Cute melodies at around :30, but I wish they were a little more up-front in the mix vis a vis the arpeggios. Also, that synth you used for the arps sounds a bit harsh in my ears, and could benefit from some filtering work. I'm not sure what the project is, but it sounds like some menu music or something. Cutesy and vaguely adventurous, yet not structurally complete. My favorite parts of the piece were the sound design and melodic content. Keep at it, man!

verjamon responds:

Yes it was a menu music!
Thanks for the critic!

[With you (Dubstep)]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the chord progression. The drop is pretty hard-hitting, yet very catchy. I guess I would've liked the drums to shine through the mix a little more at the drop, though. The secondary drop at :59 was a bit of a surprise. The pace of the piece is pretty fast, although I really like the chordal section at 1:20. While very loud and full-textured, I think the mix could be tightened a tad. You seem to have an excess of reverb in there, especially some of the busier sections, and the hats seem to be fighting for attention at 3:06. Overall, though, this is really strong work compositionally. I really like the 2-drop paradigm, although I wish you had varied the drops a bit more the second time around. It's engaging throughout and generally smooth-flowing and well-structured. Keep up the good work!

lukiaffe responds:

Thanks for the well written response. I agree with you. All things considered, I made this when I was like 15 so I didin't know much about mixing back then ;) Cheers!