TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Dovax - Childhood VIP]

I like the bouncy synths and the sense of climax into :30. I like the melodic content at 1:20, but the minimalistic drop at the 1-minute mark came across as a bit cliche and underwhelming. The drum samples were a bit generic, and I’d caution you not to overuse the transition at 1:30 with the reverberated clap. I didn’t notice any particular problems with the mixing or mastering, though. I just think the composition is a bit formulaic, and the piece needs more originality. It also couldn’t hurt to vary the melodies a bit more towards the end. Otherwise, solid work. Keep at it, Dovax. ;)

8/10

Dovax responds:

Thank you very much for the review. im ok with everything you said, but i disagree on the mixing and mastering, for me it sounds quite dirty and compressed, some sounds dont stand out how they need to, or at least for me i need to have the mixing as perfect as posible. but thank you for the good review :)

[Dalux - Hello Hi (Old Version)]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. I like the warm piano and floaty synths. The texture is nice and full. The arpeggios get a little buried when the chords come in at :52, though. Part of the problem may be that the reverb is a little excessive. I’m loving the refreshing mood and synths, though. The melodies at 1:22 were great. I would’ve liked to see you vary them a bit more the second time around (3:05), but overall the piece comes together really nicely. Really smooth yet energetic style - reminds me of Lockyn. Great work overall, guys! ;)

9.25/10

[The Eastern Westerlands]

I like the catchy melodies at the beginning and the cool counterpoint at :18. The pacing is pretty fast here, and I think it needs a bit more cohesion. The sound design is neat, and overall it’s pretty smooth flowing, but I think the composition would be stronger if you consolidated your ideas more. The ending felt rushed, and overall the structuring is overly convoluted IMO. Still, the mastering was solid, and the quirky mood and instruments hit this piece home. Keep at it, ConnorGrail! ;)

8.5/10

[Khadr]

I like the apprehensive mood at the beginning and the hard-hitting texture. There were a couple of interesting choices with the balance, like the especially loud hat at :06. Also, I commend you for addressing a controversial subject in the lyrics. The guitar solos are cool - nice job with maintaining a full texture throughout. Some of the lyric phrases were a little clunky and unclear, like “enhanced interrogation is a word so torture can wear a PC mask” - it’s just a few too many words crammed into that phrase. Also, I’m not sure if you did this intentionally or not, but I had trouble making out what you were saying during the instrumental bridges until the very end: the “he’s a terrorist” line hits a little harder when you only recognize what it’s saying at the very end. Still, this piece is thematically bold and topical, and regardless of anyone’s opinions, that deserves a lot of respect. Perhaps I would’ve liked to see you vary the melodic content and texture a little more, but overall I’m really impressed. Keep it up, Ceevro! :)

9.25/10  

Ceevro responds:

Dunno...I just had something I had to say on the subject. Yeah, sometimes the flow was a little non-standard, but I regret nothing!

I know this wasn't at all what I normally compose/perform, which is why it had to be relatively simple in execution.

Thanks for taking the time to leave me a review! I always love it when TL pops up! Shows me you care!

[Freedom [Melodic Dubstep]]

I like the atmosphere and the melodies at the beginning. There’s a bit too much treble on the synth at :03 IMO, but the chopped vocals at :15 are awesome. The mixing and mastering are really clean, and the drop at :52 has a nice, refreshing vibe. Stylistically, this piece reminds me a lot of Lockyn. I liked the structural relief you offered at 1:50. The texture is really rich throughout, which is a huge plus. I suppose I would’ve liked to hear you vary the second drop (2:48) a little more compared with the first one. Overall, the piece has a great victorious and conclusive vibe at the end. Nice use of reverb and atmosphere throughout, too. The final melody at 3:55 was a nice touch, too. Fantastic work, guys. Keep it up!

9.75/10

Zelgeon responds:

Wow, such a detailed review! I completely agree with you, the second drop needs variation, the problem is, that we were having a lot of problems getting ideas for the second drop, we tried different melodies, but they didn't fit, so we just changed the chords and added a trappy hi hat to give to it a future bass twist, in the track for the final round we will make sure to add more variation

[Another sky]

I like the warm, blissful mood at the beginning. The instrumentation wasn’t my favorite here, though. The pads at the beginning are cliche, and the bell-like synth has a bit too much treble. The clap sample and the pads at :25 are also pretty generic. I also think this track has some balance issues. For example, the pads at :25 overpower the melody a bit, when they really should be in the background. I appreciated the structural relief you offered at 1:18. The interlude at 1:41 was a huge compositional risk which I personally found to be amusing - bit of a toss-up with the other judges, though. The ending might’ve needed a bit more shape - I’d suggest a tempo automation, or at the very least spreading the filtering effect at 2:45 out for another second or two. Overall, pretty solid work. I like the melodic content and flow, and you clearly have a good sense of harmony. Keep at it, WaxTerK! ;)

8/10  

[Autumn In Osaka]

I like the groovy bass and bright piano. Tiny detail: when you cut off the piano after the shimmering effect at :05, it disrupts the flow a bit. Much better idea to let the reverb do the work there (which you actually did do at :10 and :16, just not :05 for some reason). This piece has a really smooth and laid-back mood that I like a lot. Unfortunately, it’s really repetitive and doesn’t have much structuring. I don’t really consider it a properly complete track, which is a shame considering the cool mood and admirable sound design. I’d like to see you flesh out the composition a lot more and add some dynamic contrast, phrasing, and variety to the main riffs. There’s a lot of potential here, though - I’d highly encourage you to keep working on this piece. Keep at it, TolanMusic! ;)

7.5/10

[(OLD) Apoapsis]

I like the quirky mood and instruments at the beginning. It has a blissful vibe, yet is also very quaint and pensive. The progression is a little slow, but the sound design and melodic content are both really refreshing. The pad that fades in at 1:03 sounds a bit cheesy and generic, and then that section dragged on for way too long (until 2:26 as I see it). The transition into 2:26 was pretty rough, and the piece sounds pretty minimalistic for significant lengths of this piece. The production is really clean and clear, though. Overall, I think you really need to consolidate your ideas and give this piece more structural cohesion. The track definitely didn’t need to be 8 minutes long, as it simply doesn’t have enough fill most of the time to keep me engaged. All the same, I did thoroughly enjoy the impressive mastering and quirky mood of the piece. Keep at it, TheSpacePunk! ;)

7.5/10

TheSpacePunk responds:

yeah I know it's way too long just for a song, but I made it this long because I made a clip on youtube for it, with some ISS footages, that's why ;)
Thank you for the detailed review :)

[Cloud Caravan]

I like the cute, quirky mood of the piece. The chord progression is interesting, and the bubbly lead at :17 is really fun. Some of the instruments are a bit cheesy, and I think the transition at :44 is a little rough. The melodies at :47 are a bit simplistic, especially given the rhythm. The section at 1:03 also comes out of the blue a bit, and the kick gets a little lost in the mix there. At the very least, I’d recommend some reverb to smooth over some of the transitions in the piece. The latter half of this track is also pretty minimalistic, and sounds very different from the first half, which isn’t good news for the cohesion. The track seems a little rushed, and the structure needs to be fleshed out a little more if you want to incorporate all of these ideas. There are a lot of good ideas here, but the piece didn’t really come together for me all that well. I commend you for taking some risks with the sound design and pacing, but I think this track would function better in a videogame than as a stand-alone piece. Keep at it, Thedukeofjuke! ;)

7/10

GoToMyNewAccount responds:

I will. I'm not stopping ever. I will be bettering myself musically constantly.

[Storms at Sea]

I like the punchy guitar riffs at the beginning. The piece is a little slow to progress, but I’m also enjoying the crisp, loud drums. By around 1:20, I was really itching for some more melodic content, though. The piece feels very continuous, yet has a near-constant energy and dynamic level that needs variation. I liked the addition of new riffs at 2:43, but the contour of the melody was a bit too arpeggiated (and the rhythm too square) to really satisfy my desire for a memorable melody. I thought you could’ve done more with the instrumentation - like you said, it’s basically just mics, guitars, and drums. Adding some vocals might be a good next step, even if the vocals are not your own. I also thought the ending was a bit lazy. Overall, you’re clearly a talented guitarist, and the mix is very clean. I think the composition could use a bit more variety to really hit this piece home, is all. Keep at it, Thebitterroost! ;)

8/10