TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Radioactive Apocalypse]

I love the dark mood and the distorted vocals. The kick could be a bit stronger, but the sub-bass has a lot of punch, which is nice. Sound design is amusing. I especially like the wet, glitchy percussion that comes in at around 15 seconds from the end. I would've liked to hear it loop more smoothly, but excellent work with the atmosphere and mood nonetheless. Keep at it, LN! ;)

larrynachos responds:

Thanks TL!

[-Can't Sleep-]

I like the hollow-sounding pads and atmosphere. It sounds like restless sleep, all right. The rhythmic elements are cool, and the sound design is a huge plus. The lapse in energy at :50 helps give the piece a sense of ebb and flow, but the drum samples at that came in at around 1:10 weren't my favorite. It has a nice sense of atmosphere, but not much melodic content or distinct structuring to tie it together IMO. Has a strangely bright mood to it. I liked the bassy-er elements that came in at 2:35. You may have gone a little overboard with the reverb at times, but overall the mix isn't bad. Cool track for a background/ambient piece. Keep it up, Waterflame!

Waterflame responds:

Thanks for the feedback! :)

[How to Have a Perfect Day]

I like the comic appeal of the alarm at the beginning. The cheesy brass and bright, pop piano made me smile. This piece has a ton of character, and seems reminiscent of a 1980s sitcom. It gets a tad repetitive after a while, but I guess that's the point. The melodic content is great, and the mixing is fairly strong as well. Sometimes the mood changes are a little sudden, but I really liked the darker tone and the distorted drums at around 2:30. I also really like the harpsichord-sounding instrument you introduced later in the piece (3:50 and other places). Definitely feels conclusive and climactic by the end. I should check out that short story! Keep up the good work, man. ;)

Miyolophone responds:

Thank you for the review, TL! Glad you enjoyed!

[The Fall]

I like the atmospheric content at the beginning. Great use of the full frequency range and general glitchiness. Hearing Jordi’s voice was a fun surprise. The progression here is really interesting as well, while simultaneously maintaining its coherence. Tiny detail: it bothered me when the vocals cut off suddenly at 1:43. I would’ve at least let the reverb do the work there. Overall, the mixing and mastering are really strong, too. The section at 2:08 is my favorite part, though. You guys seamlessly integrated Jordi’s smooth vocals and the glitchy content that appeared earlier in the piece. The modulation toward the end helped up the ante. Very well-structured and engaging piece. Admittedly, I took pity on you guys when you only had 4 days to make a track, but I’m completely blown away. Really strong content here. Keep up the great work! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.75/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.75/10

johnfn responds:

it's funny you liked 2:08. i liked it personally but I rememeber almost deleting it entirely at the last minute because i thought everyone else would think it was garbage =P =P

ty for the review(s) :D

EDIT: great, now 1:43 is going to annoy me forever

[It Will Blow Over]

I applaud your change in style for this round. I think the clap sample is really generic, and could also be a bit stronger in the mix. Luckily, you layer in a snare later on that makes the off beats stronger. More so than your other pieces for the competition, the autotune was rather noticeable here, but it actually seems pretty fitting for the piece IMO. I also like the lyrics themselves. Unfortunately, I don’t think this is one of your better mixes. The synths especially could’ve had a bit more room to breathe, most noticeably the low chords during the refrain. I appreciated your efforts at trying some glitch effects at 2:40 or so, but they came across as a tad cheesy. The piece comes together pretty well, though. The outro is conclusive, and overall the sound design (while occasionally marked by cliches) has a cool, retro vibe. Keep at it, McGorilla42! ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.75/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

McGorilla42 responds:

Thanks, TaintedLogic!

Absolutely agree with everything you had to say and I appreciate the criticism. You actually nailed pretty much every issue I felt this track had, so it almost feels good to know that what I thought was wrong, was actually wrong (if that makes sense?).

I wanted this to be more spacious but I ended up cluttering it a fair amount and the mix became a bit confused. I actually really struggled with many of the synths and the section at 2:40 was WAY out of my comfort zone, but I learned a lot doing it :) Surprised you enjoyed the lyrics -- funnily enough, I didn't get around to writing any proper lyrics, so these were a scratch take that I intended on replacing, but I had an idea in mind when improvising the words.

[Make It Easy]

I like the pads at the beginning, along with the little clicks that seem to be build into the sample. The mastering is strong, and the piece has a good sense of atmosphere and progression throughout. The vocals sound rather breathy, to the extent that it started to bother me at around :38 and a couple of other places. I know you’re trying to express some degree of exasperation with the vocals, but I think it’s a little over-the-top when it sounds like you’re sighing after each note. Perhaps that’s a bit harsh, though. You’re certainly not doing that for most of the piece. Anyway, I liked the lyrics themselves, even if the emphasis on “I’m only human” seemed a little cliche. The drop at 1:32 was enjoyable - very spacey and more full-textured than some of your earlier pieces for the competition. I thought you could’ve done a bit more with the drums, though, and that the snare sample had a tad too much treble for my tastes. Admittedly, I was a little disappointed with the lack of new content during the second half of the piece, as well as the underwhelming ending. Still, the melodies are really enjoyable here, and the piece is quite catchy and well-mastered too. Keep at it, Steelside! ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.5/10

steelside responds:

I didn't have time to finish the track the way I wanted to and will be going back to do so. The pads aren't samples, and the clicks are what happens when you have a tight attack with a gated delay and a high pass, as far as my singing, I've always been producer first, lyricist second, and vocalist third, it's just so impossible to get other people to record for you without paying them, feelsbadman.

[Manifest Chaos]

Wow! I love the engaging mood and killer melodies, especially the horns at :35. The texture is a little overwhelming at the beginning, though. I think you would’ve been well-advised to have a bit more of a proper intro in there. The suddenly thin texture at :55, as well as the rushed ending, really didn’t help sell this piece IMO. I think you need to flesh out the structure a lot more here. Instead of overwhelming the listener with a lot of different ideas jammed together in succession, I’d suggest introducing them at a slower pace to keep your listener grounded in a more cohesive structure. I know I’ve said these things before to you, but at this stage of the competition they’re really noticeable. I have a challenge for you: make a piece that you think sounds repetitive and slow-paced. Barring overcorrection, I think that’ll help get you where you need to be. I still enjoyed your piece very much, though. I like your style a lot: it’s engaging, dramatic, and well-orchestrated. Keep at it, CloakedSoup! ^^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

CloakedSoup responds:

Thanks for the review once again! I'll probably be taking a little break from NG to work on some 'concert' style music; (i.e. stuff to be played by live musicians), so I may not post new music on here for at least a month or two, but I'll be sure to look at that for my next piece I wrote for here! Hell I may just go out and write a Hans Zimmer-esque minimalist piece. Who knows?

[That Feeling (When I'm With You)]

I appreciate that you went for a bit of a different sound with the guitars this time. Perhaps it’s something about the amp? Anyway, I love the climax into :22. The vocals are seriously strong as always. Perhaps the instrumentation changes a tad suddenly at 1:02, but that’s a small detail. I really liked the rhythmic elements and energy of the post-chorus at 1:40, but I think you didn’t quite spit out some of the syllables there (“something” sounds like it got cut off). The instrumentation is a tad wonky, admittedly, but I actually really like the structure. It’s not a long piece, but I feel like you did a lot with the form. I’m hugely impressed that you continue to bang out these fun, energetic, strongly-mastered pieces every 2 weeks, Finn. By all means, keep up the great work!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
2/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.5/10

[Elysium]

I like the warm, rich textures at the beginning. The chord progression is rather interesting. The darker tone the piece develops by :28 attests to that. The intro may have been a bit dragged-out, though. I found myself struggling to identify the direction the piece was heading in until around the 1-minute mark. The harmonic work here is amazing, and the mastering quality is really strong throughout. My main problem with the first 2.5 minutes is that it could use more shape. I’m getting a bit of a sense of climax into 2:30, but I still think you could’ve done more with the dynamics. The mood shift at 2:30 was a bit jarring, but it’s still my favorite part of the piece. I like the percussion and the ominous tone a lot. Still, the structure feels a bit disjointed big-picture. The melodies at 2:37 themselves were enjoyable, but I couldn’t help but think you could do more with the phrasing there. Overall, this piece is clearly excellent. I’ve been nitpicking a lot. Very memorable atmosphere, mood, and sound design. Keep it up, Jordi!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2

Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/2

Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2

Instrumentation and sound design
1/1

Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1

Originality and uniqueness
1/1

Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
.75/1

Composite score
9/10