TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[A City Not Forsaken]

I like the warm atmosphere at the beginning. The vocals are gorgeous. The progression is a little slow towards the beginning, but I like the tranquil piano that comes in at around the 1-minute mark. Nice use of phrasing at 1:35. You’re definitely giving the piece a strong sense of direction, and the synths that fade in at around 2:15 were an intriguing and quirky touch. The instrumentation takes another drastic turn at 3:35, and I like the vocals at 3:48 a lot - they’re very smooth and soulful. That said, I can’t help but be turned off a bit by the lack of cohesion of the piece. There are distinct sections, all with very distinct sound designs, that are only loosely connected. At 3:35, you appear to fade out the piano, only to fade in the guitar, almost as if this track is an album preview, playing short clips of several songs in turn. I don’t think that’s the effect you want the structuring to have on the listener. Despite the thematic similarities between the sections of the piece, I think you need a little more repetition to keep the listener grounded. I also thought that the vocals at 3:48 constituted the first example of a prominent melody in the piece, which is problematic. Furthermore, the panning on the guitar was a bit too off-center for my tastes. The guitar provides a clear pulse that gives the piece a lot of drive and, as such, I think it should be mostly front-and-center. That said, the production quality here is great overall. Despite my criticisms, there are a lot of strong attributes of this piece: the emotion and atmosphere, the mastering, the excellent blending of your instruments (especially during the first half of the piece). I’m a stickler for structuring, though, and it was hard for me to ignore the fact that this track sounds like at least 2 different pieces. I commend you for taking that risk, but it didn’t pay off for me, I’m afraid. Nice work nevertheless! I’m looking forward to hearing your future tracks. :)

8.25/10

Phonometrologist responds:

Greetings TL,
You are quite right in pointing out some of its flaws in its current state, but you and I both arrive at different responses. Oh how boring music can be if one didn't take the risks to stray away from what one is taught and what one ought to do with sound! If given more time, I would have made the transitions more seamless, but I literally wrote the first half of the piece the day it was due and spliced the two pieces together 20 minutes before the deadline. The beginning comes naturally whereas I spent a lot of time chipping away what would eventually be the latter half of the song. Even then, and as jarring it may seem, I couldn't help but smile and laugh to how it turned out. Why not? Of course I can write a piece with more uniformity, but consider it a dream yet to be and yet to come as the scenes of a devastated, forgotten city finds life once again forevermore.
In terms of the technical and a mixing choice I made, the guitar being off centered comes from a retro perspective. I could have stacked the guitars, but decided not to at the time of recording. Even now, I was just listening to Space Oddity by David Bowie where his acoustic guitar is entirely played in the right speaker. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. I still plan on updating this track now that I have the time to do so.

Cheers

[Battle Born]

I like the guitars and the energy at the beginning. The vocals in the background at :11 were a nice touch, too, although the chord progression is a little cliche. The vocals at :32 had a lot of intensity, and a great raspy edge. I also like the lyrics themselves a lot. The instrumental section at 2:11 was a great relief from the continuity of the vocals. The vocals are also much more up-front in the mix this time, so I commend you for that! As always, the production quality is top-notch. If I had to complain about something composition-wise, it might be that the second refrain “on we ride, on we fight…” could’ve used some variety when compared to the first one. Still, I’m exceedingly impressed with this track. The instrumentation, the theme, the mastering, the emotion - it’s all there. By all means, keep it up, guys! ;D

9.5/10

[In the Mist]

I like the tranquil, bassy intro. Has a quirky pulsing vibe, and also leaves you a lot of space for climax later on. The progression is a little slow, and the basswork suddenly drops out at around the 1-minute mark. The minimalism was wearing on me after a while - I think you needed to introduce some drums earlier to give this piece a little more drive. Same with melodic content. The beat pattern at 1:45 is really cool, though. I like the climax into 2:14, but the minimalism there was really underwhelming. Same with 5:15. I think anti-climaxes like that are best when the lead-up to them are not minimalistic themselves. The transition back into the floaty synths at 3:17 also seemed a bit lazy, and the very end of the piece is rather abrupt. Perhaps this piece is fitting for a DJ intro number or club mix, but as a stand-alone composition it leaves much to be desired. Solid work with the sound design, atmosphere, and mixing. I’d highly recommend putting more effort into your compositions, though. Keep at it, Voltus! ;)

6.75/10

Voltus responds:

thank you for your feedback and thank you for the time and effort you and all the judges put into this contest! I wish you good fun for the final round. :)

[My Life]

I like the retro vibe and the instrumentation, even if the schmoozy strings and synths were a bit cheesy. Some of the lyrics are a little cliche - you went a little overboard on setting up the wistful aspect of the piece, and also used a lot of generic phrases like “trials and tribulations,” even the title itself: “life’s a bitch.” That said, once you started talking about the violence the narrator was exposed to and/or took part in, it was easier to get into the song. You really start to tell a story with the lyrics in the verses, which is always a plus. I thought the gun FX at 1:25 was a good idea, but it ended up sounded really harsh in the mix the way you incorporated it - it probably just needed to be equalized differently. Still, I’m enjoying the nice, full texture you have throughout the piece. I also thought the piece got a bit repetitive by the end, and the echo effect at the end came across as a bit lazy and cliched. You also could’ve used a breakdown or bridge somewhere in there to add some shape and structural relief to the piece. It has a smooth sense of continuity as it is, but I wanted to see you interrupt that pattern after a while and leave some more space for contrast. Overall, this is admirable work. The harmonies and mastering are strong, and I enjoyed the vocals overall. I think you lost the most points for lacking originality and variety in the texture. Keep at it, guys! ;)

8.5/10  

[Never To Have Love]

I wasn’t really a fan of the robotic vocal sample at the beginning - feels a little out-of-place given the acoustic vibe of the rest of the piece, and also takes the emotion out of the lyrics. Still, I like the minimal guitars at :13. The pacing of the vocals thereafter is really fitting to the melancholy vibe of the piece, and the vocals blend really well. I also like the lyrics a lot - very down-to-earth and relatable. After a while, the minimalism wore on me a bit. I think you need some drums and bass to give the piece some more punch and drive. I also thought you needed to enunciate some of the consonants better - like “taKe” at 2:07. Overall, I really like the mood, and the production quality is also quite strong. The mix is dry, though, and the composition is pretty underwhelming. I’d encourage you to keep working on this! Keep at it, StealthyNine. ;)

8.5/10

[Great Commune Of Planet Earth]

I like the smooth, ambient vibe at the beginning. Right off the bat, the sound design is really cool, and the texture seems very anticipatory. The progression is really interesting, but for the first couple of minutes the only strong melodic elements come in short bursts (like at 1:28). Something about the piece seems robotic in a way. It has an underlying rhythmic pattern that reminds me of toys/decorations bouncing up and down in a Disney amusement ride. The piece has a sense of continuity without much change in the textural fill or dynamics over long stretches of time, which may be dangerous because it makes it hard for the listener to stay engaged. The ending is a bit abrupt, too. Really beautiful atmosphere and instrumentation here, though. The production quality is also quite strong. I commend you for making such a unique and quirky piece. Keep at it, SnowTeddy! ;)

8.75/10

[Market Day (KindLing A0S1)]

I liked the pensive mood at the beginning, and the percussion was a nice touch. Good use of reverb and progression. The texture is rich and has a great sense of drive about it, even without much in the way of drums or bass. The sound design is really strong. I think the melodies at 1:12 are a little too loud, and it’s also easy to tell that the string sample there is fake because of it’s slow attack. Overall, the production quality here is really strong, and I liked the tempo automations at 1:50. The bell sound at 2:06 was a little harsh-sounding - you may want to take some treble off of it in an equalizer. Still, I appreciated the tranquility, which offered some great structural relief from the earlier energetic section. The texture changes drastically at 2:32 and again at 2:55 - the piece doesn’t have a ton of structural cohesion, so I’d be careful about trying to cram too many melodic ideas into one piece. That said, the piece comes together nicely with the return of the powerful string solos. Overall, the composition here is absolutely fantastic. The slight balance issues during the string sections were the only things that actively bothered me. Keep up the great work, Miyolophone! ;)

9.75/10

Miyolophone responds:

(ahhhhh the attack was all the way down stupid viola sample)
Thanks TL for the feedback and obscenely high score! Like I said to johnfn, I'll make sure to treat my melodies and textures with respect and dignity instead of just tossing them around next time ;)

[Minty Bite Vol. 2 - Negative Space]

I like the smooth, organic vibe at the beginning. Nice and spacious mix, too. I wish you had done a bit more with the instrumentation here, but I like the flowing arpeggiated part at the 1-minute mark. Given that this is a solo instrument piece, I also think you could’ve done a bit more with dynamics and phrasing. The texture has a little more space by around 2:15, but it wasn’t quite enough to mask the effects of 3 minutes of otherwise near-constant energy level. I also didn’t think the piece sounded particularly conclusive by the end. In fact, you just seemed to be arriving at a moment of tension in the piece when it ended. Overall, this is admirable and entertaining work. You’re clearly a talented guitarist - it just needed a little more effort on the composition. Keep at it, MintyFreshThoughts! ;)

8.25/10

[Sensor]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning. The pacing is a little slow, but the (vox?) effect at :30 was really cool, and I’m enjoying the sense of climax into :53 (even if it died back down again). Nice use of phrasing and reverb, and the sub-bass was cool too. By around 1:20, I’m really itching for some melodic content, though. The intro just really didn’t need to drag on for this long. It finally feels like there’s some sort of direction to it at the 2-minute mark. The production quality is really strong throughout, and you do a good job of using the entire frequency range. My main problem with it is that you could’ve done a lot more with the composition. There are no prominent melodies or lead riffs that capture my attention. It’s a really cool progressive piece with a killer atmosphere, but it just needs more variety and structuring to make it as a stand-alone piece. Keep at it, Jassummisko! ;)

8/10

[Snapshot]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The piece has a great dreamy vibe for the first 30 seconds, and then the melody at :32 really hits home the smooth sense of bliss that the intro set up. Some of the synths may have been a bit generic, especially the chords at 1:21. That said, I really enjoyed the drop at 1:34. The sub-bass was a nice touch, and I love what you did with the filtering on those pads at around 2:05. The thin texture at 3:04 was a little unexpected, but by the end this piece feels really victorious and cathartic. I love the mood, atmosphere, melodies, and progression here. The theme of the photograph is really well done, too. Keep up the great work, EtzerGD! ;)

9.5/10

EtzerGD responds:

Thank you so much! Appreciate the review and the hours of time you must spend on these contests <3