TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Kids]

I like the cute, 80s funk vibe at the beginning. The vocals sound super clean and clear in the mix. The space you left in the mix at 1:01 right before the chorus was really well-done. Unpopular opinion: the synth at 1:23 didn’t quite fit the mood of the piece very well. Despite the melody itself, it had an ominous tone that didn’t vibe well with the bouncy and upbeat vibe of the rest of the piece. The lyrics, despite your self-deprecation in the description, are actually pretty good. Down-to-earth and relatable, if a little cliche. My favorite element of this piece is how you had a nice full texture during the breakdown/bridge of the piece (2:02), and then you treated the refrain at 2:17 as a breakdown instrumentation-wise. That seem weird, I know, but it was actually a very refreshing structural detail. I did think you went a little overboard with the reverb on the chords towards the end. When one chord bled into the other, it even sounded slightly eerie, which - again - I don’t think you were going for. Still, overall this is a fantastic piece. You just put most of the pop music on the radio to shame. Keep up the good work, McGorilla42! ;)

9.5/10

McGorilla42 responds:

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my submission, TaintedLogic. I'm so grateful to you and all of the rest of the judges for all the work you're putting in to facilitate this competition. All the positive response and honest, helpful criticism has been wonderful. I'll try to make my next piece better!

[Love Beyond Time]

I like the emotion at the beginning and the melodies. The oboe is beautiful at around the 1-minute mark. You go a long while without changing the texture very much, though. I’d suggest experimenting a little more with the dynamics and humanizing the instruments more. Subtle tempo changes and the like can really give a piece like this a lot more flavor. The slight pause at 1:33 was also a bit awkward. Perhaps some reverb could smooth that over (some reverb would also help make this piece sound like it was being played in a concert hall)? Your samples are actually rather good, but I can still tell that someone’s not actually playing those instruments - the uniform vibrato on the cello, the synthetic overtones in the upper register, and unnaturally slow attacks (e.x., 1:10) are all giveaways. You have a great sense of harmony and atmosphere, and the mixing is also rather impressive. I suppose my main problem with the piece is that it has a sense of continuity without much shape and variety in dynamics. In order to really give this a cinematic appeal, I think you need to incorporate more phrasing. The piece also didn’t have much coherence structurally. It was hard to stay grounded in similar themes or riffs, unlike your audition piece. Still, I really enjoyed the high production quality and melodic content here. Keep at it, PomicStone! ;)

8.25/10  

[Ravenholt]

I like the storm FX at the beginning and the thin sound of the synths that then widens into the texture at :12. I think the hi-hats get a little distorted in the mix at :28. You may need to take a little treble off the chords or lead in order to make them more distinct. I really like the climax into 1:02, and the kick and snare are nice and crisp, which is a big plus mixing-wise. The hats get even more lost during the refrain at 1:02, though. The melodic content here is enjoyable, and I like how you offer some melodic development during the second refrain at 2:18. Tiny complaint: I think it would help the part at 2:18 sound more cathartic if you had lengthened the notes a bit. It may sound ridiculous, but details like that go a long way towards triggering the part of the human psyche that understands “oh, this is a point of arrival and conclusion.” Overall, though, really strong work here. Keep at it, Lethalix. ;)

8.5/10

KamillasRainbow responds:

Thanks for the review man. Really appreciate it!

[Keep Falling]

I like the emotional piano at the beginning. The kick drum at :31 sounded a bit too sub-bassy for a piece like this, and the strings at :50 sounded a bit inauthentic (you can tell by the slow attack on each note). The progression here is smooth, and I actually like the energy and drive that the drums add to the piece after a while. You have a good sense of harmony and flow, but I think you could’ve done more with the texture for a lot of this piece. There are many moments of minimalism, and there’s also little coherence in the structure throughout the piece. I like the emotion and moods here. The composition just needs a bit more effort. Keep at it, Veronina. ;)

7.5/10

[A Little Older, A Little Wiser]

I like the spacey guitar at the beginning. Has a cool retro vibe. I think the sidechaining/compression is a little too heavy - it gives the piece a really unnatural-sounding pulse in the chords that I think could be fixed better by some stricter equalization than the excessive stereo manipulation here. The melodic content of this piece is enjoyable, and it’s very flowing. I just wish you had given it a little more structural variety - it sounds like the background music to a quirky Buzzfeed video, when it could be a really emotional and down-to-earth piece with a little more phrasing and shape. The piano part at :53, for example, could use some note-to-note variety in volume levels to bring out the emotion more. It’s details like that that I really want to see in your pieces more, Logan. I also thought the fade-out ending was a bit lazy. There are so many more creative and conclusive ways of ending a piece. I’ve been really tough on you in this review, but overall this piece is strong. I love the sound design and atmosphere, and I really appreciate how you made something very different than your audition piece. Keep at it, Larrynachos. ;)

8/10

[Quirky Quest]

I like the melodic content at :05 and the cute synths. The section at :39 with the hip-hop influences also sounded really cool, and that post-chorus at 1:35 is also enjoyable. Sometimes, your transitions and chord progressions are a little cliche, although I really like the sound design of the piece. It’s really catchy and refreshing. I think you could use a tad more variation within the phrases of the piece - for example, the sweep/riser combo at :25 is the only thing giving the piece a sense of direction, and you use that combo as a transition a lot in this piece. Still, solid work. Enjoyable melodic content and production quality. Keep it up, MrKoolTrix! ;D

9/10

MrKoolTrix responds:

Thanks for the constructive review! :)

[-Starfight-]

The synths at the beginning are a little cheesy, although I do like the rhythmic elements and the sense of climax into :27. The chord progression is a little cliche, and this piece has several minimalistic sections that could use a little more fill. Overall, it’s smooth-flowing, and the mixing is very strong. The synth at 2:05 was my absolute favorite, as well as 2:18 - really cool combination of rhythmic and melodic elements there. Again, this piece has Waterflame written all over it. Perhaps my main problem with it is that it doesn’t have a ton of structural coherence. You have at least 3-4 different melodies in here, and they aren’t exactly collected around distinct refrains, which can make the structure a bit confusing to follow. That said, this is a very fun and catchy piece with a cool sound design overall. Keep it up, ThaPredator! :)

8.75/10

[Peachymaiden & Javier Anibarro Z - Hidden Lines (Original)]

I like the emotional piano at the beginning, and how you experiment with pacing all throughout the intro. I love the light, airy vocals and progression. I think the vocals could be a little more up-front in the mix, though - the piano seemed to be edging out in front of them sometimes. This is a really well-structured and flowing piece, and the mix is clear overall. I think the instrumentation is a little simplistic, and some drums could really help give this piece more of a sense of drive, especially since the pacing of the lyrics is often rather quick. Overall, this is a beautiful piece, though. Keep up the good work, you two! :)

9/10

Jabicho responds:

Hi TL!
Thanks for checking it out, your words are really helpful! :D

[Desistance (Original Mix)]

The fade-in at the beginning was cool, although the drums are a little generic. You just could’ve done many more creative things with them, and the clap sample itself is pretty cliche. I like the sense of climax into 1:04, although the drop was pretty minimalistic. The melodic content at 1:35 is pretty good, and the mixing and mastering is super strong here. I think you really started overusing the vocal samples by around the 2-minute mark, though. I also would’ve liked to see you add a bit more variety and direction to the piece during the second half. I think the composition needs a bit more work, and this piece largely lacks originality I’m afraid. Clearly, the production quality is high, and it’s very catchy and spacious in the mix with the reverb. Still, it sounds like a very formulaic, “stereotypical” EDM track, and that’s a problem. Keep at it, KaixoMusic! :)

7.75/10  

KaixoMusic responds:

I'm planning on doing some original Future Bass stuff next, so hopefully I'll be able to make it more varied and creative.