TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Courage]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The piece is rather slow to develop, but does a good job of utilizing the entire frequency range right off the bat. I like the dissonances at around :45 and the sense of climax into 1:07. The bass was a little overwhelming by around 1:40. I understand the effect of pumping the bass up is to lead into the energetic section at 2:08, but I thought it was a bit over-the-top. The injection of energy at 2:08 was cool, but the slow pacing didn’t exactly change there. I think you needed some stronger melodies earlier on in this piece, too. The sound design and production quality are quite admirable, though - the excessive bass was just a bit much. I like the tranquility at 5:15. You’ve really put a lot of emotion into this piece, which I appreciate a lot. That said, I didn’t think it needed to be so long or drawn out. I know you were going for a cinematic vibe, but without many prominent melodies or particular riffs, the composition didn’t quite come together for me. Overall, it’s a cool track that just needs a bit more work on the arrangement to hit it home. Keep at it, Cursedsnake! ;)

8.5/10

[Shades]

I like the air of mystery at the beginning. The pacing is a little slow, but the spacious nature of the texture during the first 30 seconds or so really helps spur on the apprehension. The transition at :59 could’ve been a bit smoother. I also think you might’ve overused the minimalism here a tad. The piano also sounds a bit indistinct at 1:43 - perhaps toning down the reverb would help give it some clarity. I think this piece is also lacking strong melodic content. The arpeggiated guitar riffs at around 2:15 don’t quite fulfill my melodic desires. I think the structure could also be a bit more cohesive - you don’t really keep the listener grounded in repeated sections very well. 3:31 was another rather jarring transition. I liked the distorted experimental noise 3:37, but I think you could’ve implemented it into the rest of the composition a lot better. Overall, there are a lot of cool ideas here, but I think you should try consolidating them a bit more. Production quality is strong overall, and you nailed the mood and atmosphere here. Keep at it, Azhthar! ;)

8.25/10

Azhthar responds:

Cool! Thanks a lot for the feedback! It is good to get these many different oppinions and I really appreciate all the work you people are doing by listening, judging and reviewing all these tracks.

It is funny how different the feedbacks from the different judges are. Also funny that you write the production quality is strong because I thought that´s the biggest flaw in this track. Johnfn liked the composition but heavily critizised the mixing. You liked the production but critizised the overuse of minimalism while FinnMK pointed out that my overambition ended in too much complexity, lol... I get your points, though ;)

You wrote about the lack of strong melodic content. I have to say I this is a bit complicated in this track. There is a melodic motiv which is varied a little all along the track (introduced in the solo piano part after the intro). The motiv is very simple and actually starts even more simple by repeating the same note (G). The G is quite important for this piece because it´s part of every chord, except in the part from 3:18 to 3:30, where the piece ironically shortly is transposed to G-mayor. You find the G all around and after that short solo piano part from 1:00 to 1:14 it is taken over by the bass which is continually playing the G under every chord until ~2mins, while the melodic motiv is now covering different notes. The part with the arpeggiated guitar you mention is (except the intro) the only part without melody in this track...

Sorry... I think straggled a bit :) For sure you are right that it isn´t very catchy, though, but more nerdy and making the piece a bit more congruent overall I guess ;)

[Wick3dRabbit - B.E.A.S.T (Original Mix)]

I like the grouchy bass at the beginning. Really cool sound design here. The piece is a little slow to progress, though. The drop at 1:00 was a little underwhelming - I think you overused the siren effects, and you still didn’t have any melodies or more flowing, legato content. The breakdown at 1:30 offered some much-needed structural relief, and the melodies at 1:45 were an appreciated change in the texture. I think the main thing you need to work on is filling in the texture - there are a lot of moments of minimalism in this piece that could use some more harmonic depth. I also thought the melody could use some more variation when you reintroduce in at 2:45. The mixing and mastering are solid, though. It’s an enjoyable piece, but I’d be careful not to overuse some of the effects/transitions here (siren sound, sweeps, etc.). Keep at it, Wick3dRabbit. ;)

8/10  

Wick3dRabbit responds:

Thanks! I'm currently making a better version of this, so i'll take everything you said into account :)

[Shimmer]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. It has a very dreamy and pensive vibe. Nice and spacious mix and good use of reverb during the first minute or so. It’s rather slow to progress, though, and by 1:20 or so I’m really itching for some more textural fill and melodic content. You have a good sense of harmony and flow, but the piece lacks a strong sense of direction sometimes, as the pacing is very slow. Instead of having a sense of continuity for long stretches of time, I’d suggest doing more with phrasing, dynamic contrast, and filtering. The mixing and mastering is pretty solid, and the sound design is refreshing. My main problem here is that the piece needs more shape and variety. Keep at it, Strykur! ;)

8/10

Lubloom responds:

Thanks man! I agree with what you said, I had quite a bit of creative block when making this so I didn't really know what to do with it. I'll take those suggestions on board!

[O Mysterium]

I like the air of mystery at the beginning. The high-pitched percussion sounded a tiny bit harsh. I’d suggest toning down the treble a bit. Overall, the sound design is really cool, though. The piece is a little slow to progress, but the melodic content at :33 is really refreshing and smooth. I wasn’t a huge fan of the vocals, tbh. They sounded really unnatural, and the pronunciation really betrays that (e.x.: “watuuuurr” at 1:17). The piece has a soothing flow, but I think you could’ve done a lot more to give it some shape and also flesh out the structure. The lyrics themselves are really good, and I love the melodies at 2:06. The atmosphere and sound design are probably your strongest assets here. The composition just needed a bit more variety in the energy and dynamics to keep me engaged. Keep at it, SleepFacingWest! ;)

8.25/10

[The Pursuit (NGUAC 2017)]

I like the funky vibe. The mix is a little quiet, but you clearly have your good sense of rhythm on display. The composition is what’s really lacking here, though. It just needed a stronger sense of direction, as well as some melodic content. You have some melodic content in there at the 1-minute mark, but it was so quiet - that’s a balancing problem that really constituted a missed opportunity IMO. I also thought you could’ve done a better job throughout the piece of using the higher end of the frequency range. Good start with the refreshing mood and instruments, but the underwhelming composition is really holding this piece back. Keep at it, Rekuiem! ;)

6.75/10

Rekuiem responds:

Thanks so much for the review and yea I totally agree with everything you say there, and well, not that I have an excuse but I really could have done a lot more with this. I'm glad that the underlying efforts were able to shine through despite many of the things that fell short on my end. I actually really wanted to lay down a lot more with it but I think I got too worked up into starting several different pieces at once that I deservedly missed the mark with this piece.

I plan to use all the feedback and overwhelmingly encouraging results of the contest and what I learned about time management as well as my strengths and weaknesses to begin producing some of the best content I have to date. Thank you so much for having me be a part of this experience.

1 love,
rek

[Unfinished NGUAC track]

I like the tranquil mood. Cool use of rhythm in the drums. The sound design is enjoyable, too. I loved the puttering sound at 1:22. Naturally, it needs a bit more of a sense of direction and progression, as well as some melodic content. Makes for a good mood-setting ambient piece, but as a stand-alone track more is to be desired in the composition. Keep at it, Rahmemhotep! ;)

6/10

SoulSecure responds:

Yeah, it ain't done, but I figured it'd be better to submit what I had than to just drop out.

[Identity wash away]

The experimental sound design and mixing elements at the beginning get mixed results from me. They establish a cool sense of atmosphere, yet are very hard to follow rhythmically. By :25 or so, the piece feels like a series of rough transitions in an ever-meandering texture. At the same time, the piece is pretty minimalistic, and is still rhythmically all-over-the-place until around :50. At the very least, I’d suggest some more prominent drums to tie the whole thing together. It’s hard to keep track of any predominant or memorable melodies. I like the vocal samples at 2:35 and the phasing effects - they add a sense of regularity to what is often a very chaotic texture. The section at 3:44 is one of the best examples of coherent melodic content in the entire piece. Overall, though, this piece has very little cohesion. It’s really hard to keep the listener grounded in any sense of regularity in the structure with this piece. I think you just went too experimental with the composition here. There are a lot of neat ideas here, but I think you need to consolidate them a bit and give this piece more flow and connectivity. Keep at it, Midnights-Ocean. ;)

7.75/10

Midnights-Ocean responds:

I appreciate the feedback. I'd be the first to warn, this flavor of composition is more akin to art rock than the predictable EDM we are all fond of these days. It's really an acquired taste. When I create works like this, there are no genre boundaries or slave to rhythmic support. The time is solid and there. I know this because I can see the matrix when composing in Logic Pro, but it's not emphasized to the level of EDM. I understand that can be off putting. It is what it is.

I would have made a more genre appropriate piece for the competition but I basically did all I wanted to do with EDM years ago, so all those tracks were out, as far as the competition was concerned. I may post some of my older EDM works on newgrounds but I tend to shy away from doing so, because it's a super saturated genre already. Which is part of why I just don't make much of it any more. On any given site, there are a million people doing it and doing it well.

You've probably noticed my focus is a bit on the atmospheric esoteric side. Glad you liked the vocals. I was hoping to get the intro done in time too but I didn't, so I just now added it, since the competition is over for me. I wanted to have the vocal parts balanced. One upfront, one half way through and then one at the very end.

The minimalistic parts were not all intentional. I didn't have time to add more character to the sparse sections. I did so in the update. If you feel like listening again, I'd be interested if you liked the additions I made (as simple as they might be).

Thanks again for taking the time to write.

[Lose Control [Connected Sounds Release]]

I like the hard-hitting vibe at the beginning, and the atmospheric elements that start to fade in soon after. I think the drop at :25 really overused those police siren samples, and underused the higher end of the frequency range, in addition to dragging on for a little too long. The addition of atmospheric elements at :54 again felt like a bit of a jarring transition, and the subsequent build-up is very similar to the first. The drop is different at the very least, but I think the minimalism, combined with your lack of utilization of the entire frequency range, really detract from my enjoyment of the piece overall. The composition simply needs more melodic content, and is also full of cliches (police sirens, build-ups that gradually raise the pitch, etc.). The mix is clean and clear throughout. It’s a catchy piece with a cool atmospheric element, but I think you needed more textural fill and a fleshed-out, well-varied structure to hit it home. Keep at it, GobSmacked! ;)

6.5/10