TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-Round 2-]

I like the catchy bass groove at the beginning, even if the instrument wasn’t my favorite. The kick doesn’t come through the mix very distinctly at :12, but I love the build-up into :30 as well as the melodic content there. The little post-chorus with the two basses (:52 - 1:16) drags on for a bit long IMO. The melodic content at 1:16 is enjoyable, though, and I appreciate the variety you added to the bass part by then. At some point, I would’ve liked to see you vary the energy level a bit by stripping away the drums and bass and giving the piece a bit more shape. It’s just so much easier to keep your listener engaged when you include more phrasing, dynamic contrast, and the like. You have quite a few different melodies in here, and I think it detracted from the cohesion of your piece that there were so many. The kick also could’ve been clearer throughout much of the track. That said, I like the energy, instruments, and melodies overall. Keep at it, ThaPredator. ;)

8.5/10

[XS - iO (Audio Deathmatch)]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the quirky instruments. The piece throws you right into the action a bit, though. It could’ve used more of a proper intro or build-up with some variety in the dynamics. There’s very little that foreshadows the drop at :55. The texture remains pretty minimalistic, and I think the drop section with the harsh mid-range bass drags on for a bit too long. It gets better when the atmospheric elements start to come in again at around 1:45. You don’t really have a lot of melodic content during a cathartic emotional height - that might be a subtle reason why this piece doesn’t sound particularly conclusive or carefully structured. The more obvious reason why it doesn’t sound conclusive is because you ended in the middle of a post-chorus. It seems clear to me that you didn’t really complete this piece how you would’ve wanted. The production quality is strong, but I think you could’ve done a lot more with the composition, including adding some harmonic depth in places, adding more phrasing/build-ups, and maybe fleshing out the structure a bit more. Keep at it, Jimmypig. ;)

7.25/10

[The Blind Forest]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning. The arpeggiated synths and clap sample seemed a little generic, and it was a little slow to develop. I don’t think aspects of the sound design like the heavily panned snare at 1:01 added much to texture - it was very dry and didn’t fit the dreamy mood of the piece well. You also may have gone a little overboard with the reverb on some of the synths. I commend you for using the entire frequency range for much of the piece. The track only really has one climax, and could probably use a little more fleshing out structurally. The ascending synth line at 2:53 makes it sound like you’re leading into another refrain, in fact. Overall, the melodic content is strong, and I enjoyed the atmospheric quality of it. I guess the main thing that bothered me is the sound design - a lot of cliche synths and drum samples, is all. Keep at it, Techmo-X! ;)

7.75/10  

Teckmo-X responds:

Thank you TainteedLogic! I agree with you on that snare there. It felt out of place but that one was a last minute add. Thank you for the review!

[Cosmo]

I like the simplicity at the beginning. The sudden change in instrumentation at :16 caught me off guard a bit, but the texture starts coming together better by :45 or so. I think the kick drum at :45 was too static-y, and had too much treble. The texture also feels very thin and contained. It needed a stronger sense of direction during the first minute and a half. At 1:45, it seems to be evolving a bit, but at 2:01 the low strings are completely overwhelming the more melodic content, which is problematic. There’s a lot of tension in this piece - it’s pretty mysterious and pensive - but I think you needed a more cathartic moment to hit it home. You had a lot of emotion here, but I think you could capitalize on that emotional potential more with some more phrasing and dynamics. There simply wasn’t enough textural fill for most of the piece to keep me engaged very well. I also thought many of your instruments sounded either unpolished (of the synths) or inauthentic (of the strings). I’ve been tough on you in this review, though. You clearly have a good sense of harmony and progression. The composition just seemed a little lack-luster, and aspects of the mixing and sound design need work. Otherwise, keep at it, Veronina. ;)

6.75/10

[Far Away (Never Enough)]

I like the spacious mix and the vocals at the beginning. The lyrics themselves are also enjoyable. The piece is a little slow to develop, and is still rather minimalistic until about the 1-minute mark. The synth that lays out the root of each chord was a little generic. Also, I think you need to enunciate your consonants a little more - “enough” at :49 sounds like “enaaaa.” I like the injection of energy at 1:02, although I think you could’ve used a stronger transition at 1:25. The drop at 1:31 is cool - I like the chopped vocals and rhythmic elements. I think you could’ve left a little more space in the upper range for that hi-hat, though. I think my main problem with the piece overall is that there are long sections of it where you could add a lot more harmonic depth. You’ve set up a nice structural contrast between the verses and refrains, but textural fill and phrasing will help create a lot more variety within the phrases here. Overall, though, I like the themes, mood, and instruments. Keep at it, Steelside! ;)

7.5/10

[Surreal Traipse]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning. The progression is a little slow at the beginning, but the percussive elements at :35 or so are enjoyable, as is the atmosphere. The piece is still very minimalistic during what appears to be the middle ⅓ of the track, though. You’re notably missing a lot of lower frequencies throughout the first 90 seconds, and then some higher frequencies are absent at 1:35. The transition at 2:20 was a little sudden, but I did like how you offered some structural relief at that section. The synth at 3:04 sounded rather harsh and unpolished, even if you were going for a spooky mood there. Overall, the lack of harmonic depth and/or textural fill is the most concerning aspect of the piece for me. I also wasn’t particularly impressed with the melodic content, especially during the first half of the piece. Still, the piece has a cool mood and sound design, and the production quality is pretty strong. Keep at it, Adjeye! ;)

8/10  

Adjeye responds:

Thank you very much for the much needed review :)

[Mystical Flight]

I like the suspenseful mood at the beginning. The arpeggiated piano is a bit of a cliche, and your vocal and string samples weren’t my favorite. The piece has a good sense of climax int :32. I like the cinematic vibe and constant sense of direction of the piece. The melodic content is gorgeous - sounds very victorious. The low percussion at 1:45 or so sounds a bit indistinct, but overall I thought you did a good job of keeping the texture full and providing a good balance of frequencies. The pacing of the piece is a little fast-paced, and I would’ve liked to see you flesh it out a little more, but at the same time I don’t think I can complain much about the composition in general. Enjoyable piece overall. Keep it up, CloakedSoup! ;)

9/10

[Myriad (Original Mix)]

I like the atmospheric fade-in. I would’ve liked the drums to be a bit more up-front in the mix, though, and several of your synths are a little generic. The drop at the 1-minute mark didn’t add a ton of new compositional elements to the piece, which was a little disappointing. You’re good at giving the piece a sense of direction and flow, but there’s very little variety in the instrumentation and chord progression, giving the piece a rather repetitive and stagnant feel nonetheless. The melodic content is pretty enjoyable, but it’s also very heavily grounded in the chords and arpeggiated in places. Overall, the piece comes across as pretty unoriginal, which is probably my main concern in general. It’s catchy and well-reverberated, but the composition was pretty lack-luster. Based on other tracks I’ve heard of yours, I don’t think this is your best work, but I’d encourage you to keep working on it. ;)  Good luck, Kaixomusic!

7.5/10

KaixoMusic responds:

Yeah, I had to make this on a Laptop with headphones while in France... not something I usually do, the challenge was fun but I had a hard time making progress because I wasn't used to the workspace... I totally agree with your review, this song lacks a lot of things, but that more because I was kinda in a hurry because of the holidays, good luck in the next rounds. I will try again next year :D

[Identify]

The riff at the beginning is really catchy, but I think the synth you used sounds a bit unpolished and generic. You could’ve used a smoother transition into :12, and the snare sounds a bit thin here. You also have some rough transitions at :49, 1:14, 1:26, 3:31, etc. I like the more laid-back vibe at 1:14, although the sub-bass is a little overpowering. The part at 2:05 was great for some structural relief, and I appreciated the strong melodic content at 2:23 - a long time coming, those powerful melodies. Overall, the production quality is clean, and I’ve always appreciated how crisp and clear the drums are in your music. The piece has an A-B-A form overall, but the most climactic and cathartic section is the B section, which I found a little off-putting. You also don’t do a lot with the second A section that you didn’t do in the first one. Overall, I think my most pressing complaint is the connectivity in this piece. I’d encourage you to try using more drum fills, dynamic contrast, phrasing, and automation to make the flow of your piece smoother. Right now, the structuring is a bit choppy. Overall, though, strong work with the production, catchiness, and mood. Keep at it, Metallica1136! ;)

8/10   

[f o v e a - 3]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The percussion that started fading in at around :20 was interesting, and the filtering and other effects really add a lot of character to this piece. A couple of your drum samples sound a little generic, especially the clap. I was really itching for some more melodic content by around 1:30, and it finally came at around the 2-minute mark. Overall, the sound design is really cool here, and the experimental nature of the texture is enjoyable. That said, I think you’ve really sacrificed some harmonic depth and other compositional strengths for the purpose of a bunch of really subtle details. The subtle details are really cool - whatever that puttering effect is in the background at 2:44 made me smile - but the piece still feels pretty repetitive, which isn’t helped by the slow pacing. Still, this is a strong effort in terms of atmosphere/mood/sound design. Keep at it, Midimachine!

8/10