TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Meaning of Life]

I like the tranquil mood at the beginning and the instruments. The mid-range bass instrument at :25 sounds a little harsh, yet also blends into the texture pretty well. The string solo at :40 was beautiful. Excellent job with the sound design and progression here. Wonderful use of phrasing from 1:00 - 1:30. I like the tempo automations, too. The piece began feeling a little minimalistic by that point, but then you came in with another gorgeous string melody at 1:55. I really wish the melody had been more up-front in the mix, though, because (as cool as the harmonies are there), the melodic content should really take precedent. I guess my main complaint is that the piece has very little cohesion - it’s hard to pick out repetition in the structure, and I find that problematic. I also thought the transition at 4:11 was rather abrupt. Still, the piece is rather smooth-flowing overall, and has a really great atmosphere and creative sound design. Keep up the good work, LucasMasoch! ;)

9.25/10

[Our Nostalgic Days [The Archer Girl Ep.6]]

I like the emotion at the beginning. The pacing is pretty slow, but it also compliments the theme. That said, :28 had a rather sudden injection of energy and a much brighter mood. The sweep at :54 was a little cheesy, although I did enjoy the melodies at :58. The drums at 1:11 could sound a bit clearer and crisper. I think they need some more compression. It might also help to experiment more with panning. The orchestration here is really good, though. I love the brass solos at 1:39. This piece comes together really nicely - great job with the progression and melodic content. The mixing needs a little tweaking, but overall this piece is really strong. Keep up the great work, Jessieyun0404! ;)

9/10

JessieYun responds:

Hello TaintedLogic,

Thank you so much for such detailed and great review. It means a lot to me. Thank you so much for the advice, and also encouragement. I'll keep your comments in mind and will improve myself to create a better song that can interact with the world.

Thank you,
Jessie

[Breaking Ground]

I like the tranquil vibe at the beginning. The pacing is very slow, though. When the kick first comes in at :31, it seems a bit out-of-place for this kind of piece. It’s also possible that your sample is just a bit too sub-bassy. Interesting placement for the climax at :54. The minimalism during the first minute really resolves to a funky rhythmic texture at 1:08. In one regard, this piece sounds really unique, but I also think a lot of your instruments sound pretty generic, like the open hats on the off beats. The melodies at 1:22 seriously distort the higher range of your mix, btw. I think you need to compress the hi-hats and take some of the treble off of that lead. The middle section of this piece (:54 - ) has a sense of continuity that isn’t ever broken. I think it could really help you out to offer the listener a bridge or breakdown at some point. This piece needs more structural contrast and phrasing. It also lacks coherence - it has a bit of an meandering structure that feels very open-ended and lacks resolve. Overall, really interesting piece. I commend you for taking some risks with the composition and sound design here. For the most part, I think they paid off. Keep at it, IchigoChamploo. ;)

8/10

[G035]

I like the energy and thick texture at the beginning. Cool use of frantic rhythmic elements at around :25, and the piano melodies at :33 are nice too. I’d encourage you to bring the piano line a bit further front in the mix, though, as the low chord is clearly a secondary harmony there. The loop is smooth, but this piece still isn’t structurally complete, which is my main problem here. You simply need to do more with the composition before I can properly judge things like structure, variety, and phrasing. I do like what I’ve heard here, though. Keep at it, EverReverb. ;)

7.5/10

AED4 responds:

I don't know how this review slipped from me. Thank you for in-depth review TL, as always ^^

[endK - Sunflowers & Ants]

I like the cute mood at the beginning. The instrumentation is interesting - the instrument you used for the chords was pretty bizarre, yet fit with the texture rather well. I like the melodic content a lot too. The drums are seriously weak, though. I can barely hear the kick, and the snare could be a lot crisper and clearer. I’d definitely invest in some compression at the very least. You could also layer on another kick drum to make it sound more distinct - often a good idea in energetic piece like this IMO. Still, the quirky instruments and cute mood really won me over here. You have a good sense of harmony and structuring, too. Keep at it, EndKashika! ;)

8.5/10

endKmusic responds:

Thanks for one more review TaintedLogic! Really appreciate it.
I didn't want the drums to stand out in this one, eventhough I hear the kick nicely oO (been reuploading the song for a couple of times).
Snare could be crisper, I agree with that one.
Thanks for advices and compliments once more. :)
Cheers!

[ELEPS - ZOMBAESTING (DUBSTEP)]

I like the energy and pulsing vibe at the beginning. The instrumentation here is not my favorite, though. A lot of these synths sound really unpolished and basic, like they’re straight out of 3xOsc. The melodic content and progression is cool, though, and the mix is really loud and crisp. The sub-bass was a nice touch, too. The production quality is strong. I think the drop drags on for a bit long, though (:51 - 1:42) - the structure has a bit of a stagnant feel after a while. I’d strongly encourage you to find more creative ways of creating variety besides adding and subtracting instruments over time. Dynamic contrast, phrasing, filtering, and automations will really help you take your compositions to the next level. Right now, the structure sounds rather formulaic and cyclical, which is a problem. At the very least, I’d encourage you to incorporate a breakdown or bridge where you strip away the beat and energy for a while. Pieces that have constant energy often fail to stay engaging (although this piece isn’t long, that’s still a problem you need to address). Still, it’s a really catchy piece with a fun mood and strong mastering. Keep at it, ELEPS44! ;)

7.5/10

[Salsa Man]

I like the percussion at the beginning. The mix is very loud and punchy. Great instrumentation and mood/theme. The chords at 1:00 are clearly heavily compressed and/or sidechained, which gave them a bit of an unnatural-sounding pulse. I also thought the transition at 1:30 was quite abrupt. You really overused the “salsa” vocal sample after a while, too. The “hey” vocals toward the end didn’t add much to the piece IMO - perhaps they could’ve worked better if you had introduced them earlier. I liked the trumpet solo at 1:45, though. Overall, the composition/structuring seem a bit formulaic and cyclical, but you won me over with the fun mood and atmosphere. Keep at it, Dukebartje. ;)

7.5/10

[These Dreams Are Yours]

I like the percussion at the beginning and the pads in the background. I think there’s a little bit of distortion in the lows after a while - by around :30 the low percussion sounds a bit indistinct. I like the intelligent string riff there, though. The progression and harmonies are solid here. The section at 1:14 was really interesting - nice job creating some structural contrast. And then the melody at 1:27 was gorgeous. I really like the climactic feel at 2:12, too. Very bright and dreamy. That’s another section where the mix sounds quite strained, though. I think you may need to be a bit stricter with the equalization. I also wish you varied the melodies a bit more, as they are pretty simplistic. The ending was a bit lazily done. Still, this is a rather strong piece. You won me over with the mood, atmosphere, and instruments. Keep at it, Densle! ;)

8.75/10  

Densle responds:

Thank you very much for the critique!

[Tropicool (NGUAC KO 2017)]

I like the bright piano and atmosphere at the beginning. It may be a little slow to progress during the first minute or so, by around :45 I’m loving the dense harmonies and sub-bass. Excellent job with the structuring here - you channel the energy really well, so that the melodies at the 1-minute mark hit like a wave of euphoria. I think that lead synth is a little generic, but I liked the re-intro at 1:45. Melodies at 2:15 are strong too. The piece gets a little repetitive by the end, but I enjoyed the harmonies you threw in at the 3-minute mark. The melody at 3:28 seemed a little out-of-the-blue, yet it still has the warm dreamy vibe of the rest of the piece. Overall, this is solid work. Probably the strongest mix I’ve seen so far this round. Keep it up, Death2go! ;)

8.75/10

death2go responds:

Thanks! I understand its a bit repetitive, it was originally going to try and add more unique melodies and such, but time started to grow short, i began to rush, leaving some ideas out of the track, supposed this wouldve done better if i didnt have to deal with personal things, but i guess i cannot change that! Thank you for the info, ill be sure to apply some of the things you gave me in future tracks!

[Unhoned [NGUAC]]

I like the atmospheric sound effects at the beginning, but the pause at :02 was a bit awkward. I think you could make the piece sound a little less experimental and jarring with some reverb and more careful pacing. You also needed some more concrete melodies. The synth at :40 began to accomplish that goal, but the stumbly rhythm didn’t make it particularly memorable. The piece is also rather minimalistic throughout. I also didn’t hear much in the way of coherence or structuring that tied the piece together. Overall, you have some good ideas here but I think you went a little too experimental with the composition. Full credit for sound design and originality, though. Keep at it, DarkBlueFX! ;)

5.5/10

DarkBlueFX responds:

I certainly went a bit far with 'doing something weird for the sake of being weird'. I'm sure you get it a lot but you give the best reviews, thank you for being an awesome judge!