TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Starry Sky]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. A lot of the instruments are pretty generic, including the drums and arpeggio synths. The wandering arpeggios at the beginning were a nice touch, but the piece really gets engaging with the melodies at :55. I think you overused the reverb at 1:46, and the drums are a little distorted as a result. The anti-climax into 2:02 also threw me off a bit. You’re really good at crafting melodies, though - the one at 2:35 was another favorite of mine. I think you could stand to put a little more effort into the equalizing and the originality (especially in the instrumentation). Usually, it’s a good idea to designate distinctive spots in the frequency range for each instrument from the get-go. It seems a bit strict, but I think that could really help the mastering sounds much crisper here. Overall, it’s a very enjoyable piece compositionally, though. Keep it up, Techmo-X. ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
2/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
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

Teckmo-X responds:

Thank you TaintedLogic! I was actually sup rises myself as well with the reverb parts as SkyeWint mentiond. I only heard the loud on going reverb after I played the song on a pair of speakers I had. I knew it was a bit too late to touch things up so I let it be. I think what happened was I was tweaking everything up as a final precaution and I guess I ended up mixing them all up. With the drums I've always been experimenting with new sounds so this was actually pretty new to my knowledge with percussion parts. Thank you for the review and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Simple (ft. Michelle Kim)]

I like the tranquility at the beginning. Nice warm atmosphere and reassuring mood. I still think you could do a better job at getting out the consonants, especially the first one in each word. Whenever you say “hide,” it sounds like “eye.” I appreciate the structural contrast at the 2-minute mark when you stripped the beat away. The production is also really strong here. I think the pacing of this piece is a little slow. Even during the chorus, there was a lot of space between the vocal lines, although perhaps that fits the character of the piece. I thoroughly enjoyed the call-and-response between the two vocalists at 3:35, which in turn leads into the final refrain really well. This is probably your strongest work yet. I love the warm synths and mastering - everything sits really well in the mix. Keep up the great work, Steelside! ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.75/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10

steelside responds:

Yeah I have a weird habit of dropping certain sounds in my vocals that's really hard to unlearn. Feelsbad.

[Last Hope]

I like the emotion at the beginning and the sense of climax into :18. You threw me off a bit with the slow pace and minimalism of the piece starting at :38, but the heroic vibe starting at 1:10 or so is great. Unfortunately, I don’t think this track is quite structurally complete. It needs to have a bit more of a fleshed-out structure, with some stronger melodic content later on. Also, the percussion at 1:30 is struggling to remain distinct in the mix at around 1:30. Overall, the progression and sound design here are great. A little more effort into the mastering, as well as some more careful pacing, would definitely push this piece into the 9-range. Keep it up, man. ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[Self Discipline]

The riff at the beginning is really catchy, and I like the harmonies you layer on top at :22. I still think you throw the listener right into the action without much of an intro, though. Also, as I’ve said before, the structure seems a little patched together. The variety in this is driven by changes in the riffs, some of which are quite sudden (e.x., 2:17), instead of phrasing and shape. You do exhibit some effort at structural and dynamic contrast, but when almost all of the changes in your piece take place every 4 or 8 bars, a quite predictable pattern emerges. If you focus on giving your pieces a near-constant sense of direction, I think that could really help advance your composition. Your production is still great, and clearly the guitarwork here is fantastic. Overall, solid work! Keep at it, Metallica1136. ;)

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

[g o o d t h i n g]

I like the warm, atmospheric texture at the beginning and the fun bass line. The melodic content is enjoyable, and the blissful mood is a huge plus. The sound design is pretty cool, too - I love the melody instrument at 1:18. Nice job creating some structural variety and flow. The “yeah boiii” sample at 2:07 made me smile. Overall, this is just a hugely fun piece. My only negatives include that I thought the ending was a bit rushed, and that the fade-in at the beginning could’ve been more creative. Otherwise, really admirable work. Production quality is top-notch. 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

midimachine responds:

これは良いこと！

[Le Vil Brequin]

Wow, you’re good at constructing a dense, distorted soundscape. You clearly have an excellent sense of rhythm, too. Unfortunately, this piece suffers from a severe dearth of melodic content, or frankly any moving, tonal notes at all. The mixing is pretty clear, although there was a particularly staticy instrument at 1:13 which hurt my ears. Overall, I think you went way too experimental on the composition here for my tastes. The piece needs more variety in the energy levels, dynamics, and phrasing, and less variety in the soundscape and arrangement. Cool-sounding track. Definitely good for a gritty, biker-themed videogame. Probably not great as a stand-alone track. Keep at it, man! ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6/10

DEM0NW0LF responds:

A...biker-themed videogame ?

[My Firefly]

I thought the cascading synth at the beginning was a bit of a lazy way to start the piece, but by :05 the piece has a really smooth, refreshing vibe. The vocals at :35 are enjoyable, although I thought the lyrics were pretty generic. The melodies in the middle section of the piece are great, and I thought the slap bass was a nice touch. You overuse the crashes a bit, though. At 2:11, the vocals seem a bit strained, and then come in a lot louder at 2:13, which was a tad jarring. The chopped vocals at 3:05 constituted my favorite part of the piece. The ending might’ve been a bit rushed, and I suppose I would’ve liked to see you vary the vocals a bit more. Overall, it’s quite an enjoyable piece, and I think the mastering is cleaner than in your last track. Good job, guys! ^^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9/10

johnfn responds:

thanks TL! cu next year ;-)

.. THO HOW IS A XYLO SOLO NOT ORIGINAL WTF

[Gladiolus]

I like the emotion at the beginning. The intro dragged on for a bit long, but the vocals are hauntingly beautiful as always. The lyrics themselves are also good, but something about their pacing threw me off a bit. The delivery of “my love” at 1:25 and “does she even notice me” both felt a little rushed, especially in the context of the long melisma on “I wonder.” That’s a pretty small detail in context, though. I thought the interlocking vocal lines at 1:39 was a fantastic idea, although admittedly it was a little hard-to-follow without staring at the lyrics on the page. I absolutely love how the lyrics tell a story, while at the same time the structure of the piece seems a bit too meandering. I also thought that your voice sounded a little too breathy at times, like at “you are” (2:30) and “man” (3:23). Still, this content is beautiful and refreshing. You’ve really capitalized on the simplicity here to give the piece a lot of emotional appeal. Keep it up, Jordi! ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9/10

[A Dude Named Grant]

Hey, I know that dude! I love the sound design, spacey mix, and crisp drums. The rhythm is a little hard-to-follow, though, and the harmonic patterns come in these frantic bursts for the first 45 seconds or so that make it a little hard to channel the energy. I was also a little thrown off by the sudden change in energy level at the 1-minute mark. You do a great job of using the entire frequency range throughout, and I think the melodies at around 1:45 are really strong. The transition at 1:59 is still not quite so smooth as I would’ve liked. I think the production is especially clean and clear here, but the somewhat thrown-together arrangement seriously detracts from the piece IMO. I think you knew that was coming too. Overall, it’s a cool piece with some nice melodies, sound design, and mixing. Keep at it, 1f1n1ty. ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
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

Onefin responds:

Ah TL how I may never satisfy you :P