TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[silent season]

I like the pensive vibe at the beginning. Instrumentation is really nice here, although that snare at :21 sounds a little harsh. You may have overdone the reverb at times, and the transition at :33 is a little sudden. I'd recommend a crash or something to smooth it over. My main complaint, though, is that the piece is pretty directionless. You strip away the beat and add it back a few times, but harmonically the piece consists of the same 7-second progression, repeated over and over again. I'd love to hear some more melodic content, phrasing, and overarching shape to this piece. I'd encourage you to keep working on it. Keep at it, man!

tootsie10 responds:

you right , but i like its minimalizm.

[UnderCover]

That's quite a lot of bass you got there. The beat is pretty cool, and I like the ghosty pads at :45. Overall, though, there's really not a lot of harmonic depth to this piece. I think you need a stronger sense of melody. When you do have some moving notes (like at 1:43), the rhythm is really square and predictable, which doesn't really make it seem like a melody. I think you have a good sense of harmony and progression, but this piece needs a lot more fill to keep my attention throughout. I didn't observe any major problems with the mixing, although some instruments might need a high-pass if you decide to add more instruments to the texture. I'd encourage you to keep working on this. Keep at it, SKRFrancis!

[Rain]

I like the melancholic mood at the beginning and the bouncy beat at :12. In a way, there are two clashing themes here between the moody piano and cutesy beat (I say cutesy mostly because of the slidey percussion thing that plays on the pick-up note to every measure. I think you make these two moods coexist pretty well, though. My main complaint with the piece is that it seriously lacks variety. I'd love to hear some lyrics, a melody instrument, and a bass line added into the texture. Right now, it seems like you have the harmonic framework and progression laid out, but not much in the way of memorable content. The emotional appeal of the piano is a huge plus, but I want to see you do more with that emotion - use some lyrics to explain why the piano part has so much longing and wistfulness in it, you know? I'd encourage you to keep working on this track. Keep at it, man!

[Mecha Mecha Mecha]

The intro had a great climactic vibe that functioned like an EDM build-up, yet still sounded really atmospheric. The harmonic elements of the song don't have a lot of depth or complexity, but the beat is pretty catchy. The song is also rather slow to progress after the first minute or so. I think you may have used a tad too much reverb at times, and the kick didn't come through the mix very clearly. I like the sound design, but I think this piece needs a little more fill to keep my attention throughout. I appreciated the more atmospheric ending, though. Overall, pretty cool. Piece has a lot of flavor and atmosphere, but it could use some more moving notes. Keep at it, man. :)

HJfod responds:

Ahh, an actual in-depth review. It's been a while since I've got one of these. This song was inspired by Iron God: Sakupen Hell Yes Rmx, which is why this is so slow to progress. This was really just an experimental piece to test out Gross Beat and some other stuff. Thanks for the review tho, I really appreciate all feedback I get! :DD

[Chants Chants Devilution]

Your pieces always have so much character and charm. I'm really enjoying the harmonic content here, although I wish that the melody at :29 came through the mix a bit more. The same is true for the melody at 1:00. The guitar solo at around 1:10 was a highlight as well. In general, I'm really digging the sound design. It's quite refreshing and portrays an adventurous, circus-like mood. Great work overall! ^^

[Wakeboarding Butterflies]

Oooo...I remember this from CHIPS. Very relaxing vibe at the beginning. Atmosphere is top-notch, and the cute melodies at :35 establish the mood very well. The details of the piece are also really impressive, from the frantic arpeggios in the background to the intricate rhythm of the drums. The minimalism at 2:36 offers some nice structural contrast, too. I love all the melodic variations later on in the piece. You really hit the piece home with the final refrain. I like how the piece is structured a lot, and I have no complaints with the production either. Keep up the great work, 1f1n1ty. ^_^

Onefin responds:

hey tl! thanks a lot man

[00FF 58]

I like the drums and a lot of the individual riffs, but the rhythm is pretty hard-to-follow at times. You also seem to add and subtract instruments without warning, and that's especially noticeable when it's the drums (e.x., :48 and :57). There are a lot of staccato-y sounds in this piece. I think the piece would sound a lot smoother if you had some pads or something in there. There's also not much melodic content in this piece, just a dense patchwork of riffs. You also don't really change the volume or automate the piece in other ways, which makes the track feel pretty directionless. The structuring that is in the piece doesn't really serve to help develop or resolve any of the themes of the piece, and instead usually drags on for too long (e.x., :57-2:24, 2:48-3:31). I've been tough on you in this review, but I think the main thing you need to focus on going forward is structuring your piece around a memorable melody and balanced harmonic structure. Right now, you have a harmonic structure with a lot of different instruments playing a similar role (percussive, industrial-sounding rhythmic stuff), whereas in most tonal tracks it's usually a good idea to have a variety of instruments that perform different functions: a melody to establish the emotional elements and create a direction for the harmonies, chords/pads to create the underlying framework for the harmonies, drums/bass for percussive and rhythmic stuff, etc. Hope that helps. Keep at it, man!

geonb responds:

thank you for the advice best regards

[Lafra Yoga]

Catchy piece. Nice job with the rhythmic patterns and drums in particular. The synth at :32 is pretty cool, but otherwise I think a lot of the synths were pretty generic. Still, a well-structured and smooth-flowing piece. I guess my main complaint is that the piece never really quite returns to the same peak in energy level as it had towards the beginning. It's pretty minimalistic throughout the entire middle third or so, and then very soon after the piano comes back in at 1:32 (and the funky clav or whatever it is fades out), the piece ends abruptly. I think you could stand to flesh out the structure of this piece a little more. It's really short as it is, and it totally deserves a climactic section at the end to hit it home. Overall solid work. Keep up the good work!

Bromosome responds:

I definitely see where you're coming from. ATM I'm working soley with loops until better software comes available to me, which I hope is soon. I usually like when songs make a full circle back to the beginning so its like "oh shit, it sounds like the start again, that's cool" and I tried to get that feeling but I think I may have rushed introducing the instruments while not adding enough variation in. The middle was, as you said, very bare and kind of lead by one track throughout, and I'll work on improving that next time. Thanks for the feedback!