TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Form]

I like the dreamy intro and the sense of climax during the first 15 seconds or so. That said, I think the piece starts to lose momentum after a while. The thing that really threw me off was the re-intro thing at :52 or so. The atmospheric flair and excessive reverb makes it a bit difficult to follow the structure. I also think the strings and drums both could've been more prominent in the mix. The pads are great, but they're also a bit of an ambient sound that dominates the texture for most of the piece. That said, I appreciate how you "saved the best for last" in terms of the emotional appeal of the piece, and I really like the sound design and mood here overall. Keep it up, Garlagan! Here's to 2018. ;)

garlagan responds:

thanks for the great feedback TL!!

[Bring Me Down]

I like the intro with the chopped vocals and soulful piano. The pauses (:02, :08, etc.) made the flow a bit bumpy, though - if you're going to cut off the instruments like that, I would at least let the reverb bridge the gap to the next phrase. The sound design is cool, but I think you dragged out the build-up a little too long. I feel like it lost its momentum after a while. The chord at :54 also didn't fit very well into the texture IMO. The drop at :55 is pretty good, but I think you overdid the panning. The panning bounces around between my ears so much that it's a bit jarring. I really liked the breakdown section with the piano at 2:17, short-lived though it was. I think the haphazard panning is what bothers me the most about this track. Generally, it's a good idea to rely on equalization and compression for mixing and mastering, more so than panning. That said, I really like the chopped vocals, other sound design, and melodies. Keep at it, man. ;)

[B4You - Give Me More]

I like the texture and the energy. The fade-in at the beginning was a bit of a lazy start to the piece IMO, but you made up for it with the refreshing synths and the clean mix. I like the melodies at 1:03. You may have overdone the reverb a tad there, but the melody itself has a great victorious feel to it. It's a feel-good track, but I think you could've done more to give it some shape and dynamic contrast. The ending was about as lazy as the beginning, and I would've liked to see a breakdown or bridge for variety at some point. The energy level and texture is nearly constant throughout, which doesn't make for a fully engaging listening experience. That's definitely the main problem here, though. Cool sound design, solid production quality, and nice work with the mood and atmosphere. Keep it up, dude!

BlackVen0m4you responds:

Yeah i know what you are talking about! You are absolutely right about it. I´ll update it later. Thank you for the feedback! And i´m glad you liked it! :)

[Iori Licea - Winter (NiTi Remix)]

Fun and upbeat track overall. The intro was a bit bizarre. There was nothing that predicted the introduction of the melody, chords, and vocals at :11. The chord progression itself was also a bit cliché, and the instrumentation (mostly the synths) are pretty generic in general. I like the melodic content, and the mix is generally clean. I would've liked to see you vary the melodies later on in the track, though. It just felt like you didn't do much different or variational in the second half of the piece. It's not a bad track at all - it has a cute mood, smooth transitions, and strong melodies. But it's also not very original IMO, and I think that's my main problem here. Otherwise, solid work! Keep at it, man.

TodukenMusic responds:

Thanks for the review! It's the first time I've done UK hardcore, so it's not the big deal, but something is something hehe

[Finish Line!]

Fun sound design and fresh rhythmic elements. Some of the chord progressions are a little unoriginal (I'm eyeing the descending thing that first appears at :08), though. The melodic content at :40 is pretty cool, and I also like the prominent slap bass at :57. The mix is clean and bright, although I think the kick could've been a little more...conspicuous. There are a lot of creative ideas in here, like the xylophone solo at 1:40 or so. By the end of the piece, it gets a tad repetitive, and I think it needed a bridge or breakdown section to give it a little more shape. Nevertheless, I like the danceable, victorious vibe here. I hope you're still enjoying your gap year, and here's to 2018! ;)

LunacyEcho responds:

lmaoooo i never realized how much i use the descending chord progression until miyo sarcastically commented on it once and now i feel guilty every time i use it XD

but thanks for the comment! hope you're enjoying college, and same to you for the year to come!! :)

[Exterminator Groove]

Really quite groovy! I can totally see the Johnfn influence in the instrumentation. :D I think the snare doesn't quite pop enough, though. I'd suggest giving the treble end a boost in the equalizer. This piece has a lot of fun riffs, but seems a little patched-together. The melodic content is really cool, but some of the transitions were smoothed over with a simple snare fill or crash, and I think you can come up with something more creative than that. Overall, though, really fun and catchy piece. Keep it up, LE! ;)

[Promised Land]

I like the nature sounds and the bright strings. Reminds me of some of Waterflame's old tracks when he used to do more orchestral stuff. The melodic content is nice, and I like the ornaments (e.x., :55). May I ask where the string samples are from? I love the woodwind solos that start at around 1:35 - that's probably my favorite part of the piece, in fact. Excellent progression and harmonies throughout, guys. I'm a huge fan of the bells during the outro as well. Nice job bringing out the emotion. You really painted a picture with this one. Congrats on the 5th place finish! :)

Everratic responds:

The string samples are from Kontakt Factory Library, which came with Komplete 11. I'm glad you liked the woodwind solos! It received a bit of criticism for being melodically divergent, but I still don't regret it.

Thanks for the review! :)