TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Osman - "Stardancer" (NGADM)]

I like the cute, blissful synth riffs at the beginning. The clap sample at :14 is both a little loud and pretty generic. I like the quirky mood and and other instruments, though. I think the texture is missing a lot of fill by the 1-minute mark. I think you needed some more bass frequencies in there to fill out the texture. The melodic content is enjoyable, but the minimalism was really bothering me by 1:30 or so. The strings at around 2:45 were a nice touch, and overall the production quality is solid here. Structurally, this piece is enjoyable too, although the melodies could use some more variation. Overall, it’s a pretty strong piece that needs a little more work on some of the compositional elements. Keep at it, Osman. ;)

7.75/10  

[Call of the Warrior]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The vocals are beautiful, but the rhythm of that synth bass at 1:08 seemed a bit wonky and uneven. A couple of the other synthetic instruments in the piece weren’t my favorite, like the generic trance pads in the background at 1:45. The piece has a good sense of atmosphere throughout, but the sound design choices are really bothering me by about the 2-minute mark. There’s also the synth at 3:55 that doesn’t fit the texture very well IMO. I did think the piece was well-structured and smooth-flowing, perhaps with the exception of the transition at 4:38. Pretty solid mixing and mastering, too. Keep at it, Spadezer! ;)

8.25/10

Spadezer responds:

Based on the feedback I'm getting, I think I've made a piece that amplifies people's tastes, but at the same time managed to be mostly pleasing to everyone.

I can't believe I missed the wonky bass rhythm at 1:08. It's so obvious now. Ugh.

Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the mastering, I made sure to spend some decent time on it. While again other people say there's "something left to be desired," so I imagine that there's still something that could make it pop more.
Yeah, sound design. Like I've said in the description I tried to symbolize more 'evil' elements using digital ques here and there (I also decided against glitching the drum thing near the beginning because I couldn't spend the time to get that right).
It's a shame you didn't enjoy the synth at 3:55. It's like my favorite section.

Thanks for the feedback. It's nice to see a score from someone that's above an 8. See you in round 2.

[Dark, Lost Soul]

I thought the reverse crash at the beginning was a little unnecessary, and didn’t really help introduce the piece that much. I like the orchestral elements, but I’m not sure they fit in well with the cliche drums. Also, the kick, as well as the off-beat hi-hats at 1:08, seem to be struggling to come through the mix a bit. I also would suggest taking a little more treble off of those violins at 1:30. You really overuse the transition with the reverse crash after a while, and I think the melodic content needs to be further up-front in the mix. I could tell your samples were fake, but it didn’t bother me that much until 3:20. That violin solo has a uniform attack and vibrato, and it just felt too exposed to not humanize a little more. I was a little turned off by the reverse crash at 5:04 that didn’t really lead anywhere. Overall, I applaud your work with the string harmonies and melodic content. I think you need a lot more variety in your transitions, and I also think you could’ve done a lot more creative things with the drums at times. I’ve been tough on you in this review, but I think my main problem with the piece is the lazy transitions which gave it a bit of a pasted-together structure. Keep it up, Larrylarrybb! ;)

8/10  

[All the Shades Between]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. You really needed a stronger transition at :10, though. All of a sudden the piece is going in a very different direction at that point. I think you set the piece up to be very flowing, but then at around :35 it sounds very stumbly - I think you need to simplify the rhythmic elements there. I really liked the sound design and mood, though. The pause at 1:23 was a bit awkward, but the cello solo after that was beautiful. The glissando on the choir at 1:55 was a bit overdone. The piece has a bizarre flow to it, yet has very little coherence. I noticed no problems with the mixing and mastering, but I think you went way too experimental with the composition here. The piece doesn’t feel like a cohesive whole, and needs to be grounded in some more recognizable structural elements. The ending also lacks conclusion, and at times the balance in the volume levels seems a little off between different sections. Still, there’s a lot of potential here. I’d encourage you to keep working on it because the atmosphere is just engrossing. Keep at it, JeremyKingVA! ;)

7/10  

[The City Sleeps]

The synth at the beginning wasn’t my favorite - sounds a bit unpolished (too much treble) and might also be a bit generic. I did enjoy the progression by around :30, though - has a cool ominous mood, and I like the echoey percussion at :38. The quirky instrument at :57 is nice, although the kick there could’ve been a lot stronger and clearer. I also thought the lead at 1:36 was a little too loud. I did enjoy the breakdown section at 1:55, although I thought the rhythm in the percussion at 2:15 was a bit too intricate without anything else to play off of. Honestly, the melodies could’ve been stronger too. The vocal samples starting at around 3:30 work well, but the end cuts off really suddenly. Unfortunately, I can tell this was a really rushed piece, but I still like the mood, atmosphere, and progression. Keep at it, Malifex. ;)

8/10

[F-777 - Super Duper]

I like the melodies at the beginning, although I would’ve liked to hear more of a proper intro instead of just throwing the listener right into the action. The crash at :14 was also a bit too harsh for my tastes, and didn’t need so much treble IMO. I like the sense of climax into :44 and the blissful mood there. I think the piece needed a bit more bass, too. The minimalistic section at 1:30 also didn’t sit very well with me. The entire thing was very transitional in a short piece already filled with transitional content, and by 1:52 or so that riser also sounds very harsh in the mix. I also couldn’t help but notice that the chord progression is pretty cliche. I did enjoy the floaty synth at 2:15 and the subsequent climax back into the refrain at 2:43. I also thought the melodramatic crash at 3:27 was a bit of a lazy ending. All the same, the production quality is quite high here, and the melodies and progression are both enjoyable. Keep at it, F-777! ;)

8.25/10

[Xtrullor - Catharsis]

I like the footsteps FX and atmosphere at the beginning. Great ambience and character in this piece. The piece is a little slow to develop, but I like the sense of climax into 1:15. The melodies are a little simplistic, but effective. I also wanted to hear the strings come through the mix a little more clearly at 1:23. My main problem with the piece is that it’s not really structurally complete, though. It seemed like you were in the midst of beginning a really emotional breakdown or bridge when the piece just ended. I think you really missed out on an opportunity to make this piece the full-length epic that the excellent atmosphere and sound design deserve. Solid work regardless. Keep it up, guys! ;)

8.5/10

[After the Rain]

Really groovy and smooth vibe at the beginning. I really like the vocals and the subtle variation on the note lengths of that synth at :15. Really refreshing mood here. The melodic content is great, although I think the piece needed a little more bass at times. You start showing off the bass at 1:04, but before that it’s noticeably lacking. I like the improvisational-sounding vocals at 1:04, and how you offered some structural contrast there with the decreased energy. The glitchy breaks at 1:48 were also enjoyable. I can’t help feeling the texture is a little empty for much of the piece, though. The rhythmic elements are strong, but there aren’t many instruments that carry the flow and atmosphere across measures (legato synths or pads, etc.). I also thought the transition at 2:48 could’ve used a bit more smoothing over. Cool ending, though. Overall, this is really strong work. I love the sound design and melodies, and the production is quite strong. Keep it up, guys! ;)

9.25/10   

johnfn responds:

with all respect (obviously i am insanely appreciative of all the work you do), if you think this piece lacks bass your headphones almost certainly are not replicating those frequencies and you may want to try other ones. i say this mainly because i had the same problem with not having good enough headphones to replicate those frequencies until i switched! (1:04 has equally loud bass frequencies, but they're a bit higher in the frequency range, so they will be hearable on cheaper headphones)

anyway thanks for the review and ur work TL! <3

[Willow Wasteland: Fantasia]

I like the dreamy strings and atmosphere at the beginning. The pause at :15 actually worked pretty well (usually I don’t like transitions that disrupt the flow of a piece). The melodies at :28 were beautiful. Excellent pacing and atmosphere throughout. The production quality is also really impressive. Glad I inspired the “lack of continuity” here so-to-speak - not exactly what I meant, but this piece is still rather impressive. I would’ve liked to see you wear down the first movement a little more - it just didn’t have quite as much shape at the end as I would’ve liked. The second movement is beautiful in its own way. The mood is just engrossing, and I love the synthetic elements that bleed in at around 3:30. Another surprise in the instrumentation at 4:28, but wow those melodies are beautiful. I appreciated how the 2nd movement flowed a bit better into the 3rd, even if the climax at 5:58 didn’t quite reach the level of energy at 5:59 on its own (is that hypocritical, given my request for breaks in continuity? Maybe…) I also thought the very ending was a little underwhelming and came on too suddenly. Overall, amazing work, of course. You’ve taken some huge risks here with the composition and sound design, and they paid off very well. Instant favorite and DL. I was thoroughly entertained throughout these 7 minutes. You being paired up with Garlagan was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. XD  Keep up the great work, Phono! ;)

9.5/10

Phonometrologist responds:

Hey TL, I appreciate the thorough review. I don't disagree with any of it as the points you make are well-taken. This has given me ideas for what to do in the future, so thank you.

[Vaeltaja]

I love the tranquil moods and harmonies. Strong progression, too. A couple of the transitions here could’ve been smoother, like :37 and 3:21. The melodic content is great, and you do a good job of balancing the frequencies. Your orchestral samples are pretty good, but the uniform vibrato stills gives away their inauthenticity. I enjoyed the modulation at 2:10, too. Your mastering skills have improved considerably since “Tenebrarius,” although some of the string notes could sound a bit more distinct at 1:45.  Overall, the piece is very flowing, but lacks coherence (you knew that was coming). Make sure to let Jordi know that the vocals at 3:24 were great, btw. Tiny detail: I think the piano at the beginning is just a tad too strong - I thought I heard a little distortion, but it could just be an excess of reverb. At any rate, I think it would help you add a tad more shape at the beginning to fade it in more. How’s that for grossly specific, huh? All the same, this is a really strong piece. Keep it up, guys! ;)

8.75/10

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thank you for the very fast review!

I agree with the transition at 0:37 to some extent. I think maybe we should've incorporated a short break there?

As for 3:21, I think the transition is quite good. Especially if you don't read the description before the piece; the vocals are meant to come as an added bonus at the end. So the fact that the transition isn't entirely predictable and smooth and might catch the listeners attention, is a good thing.

I do think that SnowTeddy's mastering and mixing has improved indeed! The only part that I, LSD, mixed, is the part with the vocals at the end, and some atmospheric additions there and there. That said, we did talk about things, and agree upon the mix and what should be changed and all that. Collaborations can take a bit longer because of it, but it's also a great learning opportunity :D

There is no distortion nor clipping at the start; perhaps the piano sample just doesn't sound entirely right to you? It's a felt piano, so there could be some unexpected resonances here and there.

As for coherence, I have one long winded critique for all judges (even more so reviewers). Please bear with me.
It's easy to say that something lacks coherency, but if you're going to, do specify what it means to you, in that particular instance. Coherence can be interpreted in many ways. Is it the structure? The mixing? The instrumentation? The arrangement? The chord choises? The progression? The atmosphere? Something else? All of it?

Coherence in what, when, where, why? By definition, everything both lacks coherence, and has it. The word coherence is related to the words understand and interpret, or could even be connected to not being able to place something in a common formula, meaning one mentally has to create a new one. Is this bad, or good, and why? Breaking it down further, coherence is related to the goal or aim of something. Does that mean that the incoherent thing in question deviates from the set goal?

If that is the case, the person feeling that somemthing is incoherent has already defined (internally) what they feel the objective of that something was, and that the thing that's critiqued does in fact not follow suit, in regards to that objective.

Especially because said objective might not be the same for the composer and listener, when it comes to something as subjective as music, I wish you would specify exactly what you in particular feel when you essentially say, you don't feel the track is logical and consistent (the definition of coherence); you could exemplify what it is or isn't logical and consistent, to you.

Otherwise, it's about as helpful as saying you like something, or don't like it. Which by all means, already is somewhat helpful.

Sorry about the rant! But I keep seeing that word (which really means next to nothing on its own) in reviews all over the place, and I thought it could be interesting to have a discussion about it!

Thank you a lot for so actively judging everything in multiple competitions, while taking the time to write reviews as well. That's strongly done.