TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Fires]

You really told a story with this one. The synth at the beginning had a bit too much reverb, though, and didn’t seem quite polished. I like the lyrics, especially during the verses, but I think that intro synth is a tad distracting. Still, it works well for the post-chorus. I also think the chord progression is still cliche and the instrumental as a whole lacks variety. Structurally, the piece is well done, but I also think the ending came on a bit suddenly. It’s not your strongest piece, but let’s put things into perspective: the mixing and mastering are very good as usual, and your vocal performance is one of your strongest IMO. Unfortunately, where you lost a lot of points is for originality. The chord progressions, synths, and even the vocal themes (“fire”) stood out as pretty cliche. Overall, I like this track. It’s catchy, fun, and the vocals (which I recall harshly criticizing in past rounds) are much improved. Keep at it, Steelside. :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.75/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

[Dreamworld]

I like the funky guitar synth at the beginning. The piece is a little slow to progress, and you may have gone a little overboard on the reverb. The mix is pretty clean overall, and I really like the solo at around ⅖ of the way through (RIP time counter). One thing that bothers me about the piece is the lack of structural cohesion. It seems like you tried to take the piece in a very different every 30 seconds or so, and the entrance of the main melody again after the bridge was not very subtle TBH. I also thought the chord progression was a little cliche. The ending comes together well, though, and the “last hurrah” guitar riff was both extremely amusing and entirely unnecessary IMO. I’ve been tough on you here, but there’s no denying that the killer melodies, spacey atmosphere, and sound design carry this piece. That's not a bad thing, though - you guys are really good at killer melodies, spacey atmosphere, and sound design. Keep up the good work! ^^

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

[Happy Birthday BlueOceans!]

I love that you guys did this for BO. Rather traditional rendition of the birthday song, but the ritardando at the end and the emotional qualities of the track were executed perfectly. Excellent vocals as always, Jordi, and excellent pianicizing as always, Ale. Also, @Johnfn's birthday is coming up in February if you're so inclined. ;)

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I've done my fair share of untraditional renditions, so I wanted to do a normal one for once. Naturally, with the twist of asking Jordi to help me turn it into something actually worth dedicating for BO's birthday ;)
I like how you say coming up, and it's like 4 months there :'D
We shall see what happens when the date closes in :3

Thanks for listening!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[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?