TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Proxima]

You have a good sense of rhythm and harmony. The instruments here struck me as a little generic, though, and I wasn’t a huge fan of the panning in the drums - it was a very hard pan that didn’t add much to the piece IMO. Also, once the bass comes in at :16, the kick and drums get a little distorted. I think you need some more careful equalizing, and probably some compression too. As for the composition, I would’ve liked to see you vary that main lead riff (comes in at 2:22 and many other places) more. The piece gets quite repetitive after a while, and also doesn’t have much in the way of dynamic contrast or phrasing - just a near-constant energy level for over 4 minutes. The melodic content here is really enjoyable, though. I think my main problem with the piece is the mixing - it just sounds really strained during the busy sections. Excessive reverb might be part of the problem, but I think you really need to look into using an equalizer to limit the distortion here. As a priority, I’d suggest eliminating all of the low frequencies in every instrument except the bass and kick. Doing so will make the sound quality much clearer. Solid work on the composition, though. Keep at it, Nicfart646. ;)

6.75/10

[The Lingering - Main Theme]

I like the pensive mood and atmosphere at the beginning. Has a very spacious and intellectual quality. The bass that comes in at :28 doesn’t always sound very distinct. The mixing might need a bit of cleaning up there, and the reverb on the piano might be distorting it a bit too. I’d encourage you to be a little stricter with the equalization. The piece is a little slow to progress, and seems to be headed in a very different direction starting at around 1:25. I like the dark mood at around the 2-minute mark. I think you need to offer the listener some more melodic content early on, though. The repetitive piano riffs don’t quite cut it. This piece has a ton of potential, with a killer mood and atmosphere and some really neat sound design. I wanted to see you resolve some of the tension in the piece at some point, though. There needed to be some melody or emotional height to hit this piece home. It’s also rather long considering how little variety there is among the moving notes here, and it doesn’t feel very conclusive by the end. The composition really should be your main focus going forward. Other than that, cool piece. Keep at it, Nedwin04! :)

7/10

[Secrets]

I like the energy at the beginning. A couple of the instruments area a little generic, especially the drums, but I like the climax into :30. You do a good job for most of this piece of creating a full, rich texture. The climax that starts at 1:15 is also enjoyable, and I like the melody at 1:32. For big room house, it’s actually not that minimalistic, which is a good thing. I appreciated the structural relief you had at the 2-minute mark. The mixing and mastering are strong here as well. I wish you had varied the drop the second time around a little more. The second half of the piece doesn’t have much in the way of melodic development or a sense of progression or expansion from the first half. The ending also came about a bit suddenly. Overall, this is a really strong piece. The repetition and lack of originality are the only issues that stuck out to me. Keep it up, NebulaTrax. ;)

8.5/10

RiSUKU responds:

Thanks!

[Lost Island]

I like the climax into :11, but I think you really overuse the crashes at the beginning - it feels spammy and jarring. I’d suggest using some filtering to fade in the crashes, if not just replace them altogether. Despite the huge, dramatic build-up, the rest of the piece was very relaxed and atmospheric, which confused me a bit. The part at 1:20 doesn’t do much to give the piece a sense of variety or direction, as it’s just another synth layered on top of the pre-existing texture with the same repetitive riff. I think you really need some more variety in this piece. Usually it’s a good idea to structure your piece around strong melodic content, but I’m not hearing any here. The loop is smooth, and the piece does flow well, but overall you need to put a lot more effort into the composition and arrangement of the piece. Keep at it, Naval76. :)

4.5/10

[future bass test #43]

I think the fade-in was a good idea. I think the mixing is good, although I would’ve liked to hear some more space in the mix left for the chords during the high-energy section at :28. It might also help to have a little more bass there. I’m all for dynamic contrast, but the long-winded fade-in of the piano chords at :58 was a bit over-the-top. The piano also offers the only melodic content of the piece, and it’s both fleeting and rhythmically square. This is a really short piece, too. Overall, I think there’s a lot more you could’ve done with the composition here. The mixing and instrumentation are both enjoyable, though. Keep at it, N1NJA-Official. :)

7/10

[High Flight 2]

I like the chord progression at the beginning, as well as the reverb and the sense of atmosphere. For the more powerful chords at :10, I think the reverb is a little overboard, though. The rhythmic quirks at :45 didn’t quite work for me, but I did enjoy the sense of climax into :56. At :56, the mix is really strained. The strings are clearly being distorted by the other instruments. I think you need to look into using equalizers on these instruments, as well as compressors as is applicable. I also didn’t think the orchestral instruments you had in the song sounded very authentic. The melodic content here is strong, though. You change up the instrumentation here a lot - I think you should work on consolidating your ideas and keeping the listener grounded more. I did enjoy the structural relief you offered at around the 3-minute mark, although the transition back into more energetic content at 3:43 was very sudden. Overall, the pacing of the piece is pretty fast, but there are a couple of very slow-moving moments that give it a bit of a wonky flow - notably the breakdown section and the coda (last 30 seconds or so). You’ve clearly put a lot of effort into the composition here, which is good to see. I think your main area of focus going forward should be the mixing. Keep at it, Myebye. :)

7/10

[Futa Dick]

I like the atmosphere and the synth riff at the beginning. The melody synth that comes in at :17 is a little harsh-sounding in the upper register. I’d suggest using an equalizer to cut out some of the treble tones there. The melodies themselves are enjoyable, though, and the piece is smooth-flowing throughout. The piece doesn’t have a lot of cohesion, and ends a bit abruptly. I think you should work on the structuring here a bit more. Right now, it’s really short and also doesn’t have a very prominent rhythm section. Giving the bass a boost in the mix and adding some drums might help give the piece some drive while also helping you use a broader frequency range. Overall, pretty solid work here. Most of the criticisms I have involve compositional details. Keep at it, Mydogbuddy7. :)

7.5/10

Mydogbuddy7 responds:

Wow thanks a ton, I'll take all of that into consideration for my next piece! Love the criticism.

[SAO - Swordland (Remix)]

I like the sense of climax into :20. The string instruments weren’t very authentic, and they have a very weak attack. I think you have a good sense of harmony and flow, but your instruments are very generic. The melodic content here is also enjoyable, but I think you need to let the piece breathe a little more. Right now, the piece has a constant energy and drive, but I think it would help give the piece more shape and direction if you incorporated some kind of low-energy breakdown or bridge. It’s a short piece, so fleshing out the structure more will still allow you to keep it concise overall. Other than that, it’s a nice, blissful piece. Keep at it, Mutty99! ;)

7/10

mutty99 responds:

Thanks a bunch, still trying to find a decent orchestral bass drum :)

[The Last Stand]

I think you have a good sense of harmony. The anti-climax at :21 wasn’t great, though - a bit out of proportion for the energy of the following section. I liked the melodies at :32. The kick gets a little lost in the mix after a while, though. I’d make sure to be stricter with the equalizing and compression. The snare is also a little weak, overpowered by those synth leads. The snare should almost always be the loudest instrument in the mix, and this is no exception. I think my main problem with the piece is that it’s not really structurally complete. Fleshing out the structure a bit and aiming for a little more shape and contrast would really help strengthen the composition here. The build-up at the very end threw me off in a similar way as :21 - usually build-ups like that lead up to a really energetic or busy section of the piece, and it felt a little jarring and inconclusive to end the piece that way. Overall, there are some good ideas here, but I think you need to put some more effort into the composition. Keep at it, M-Mowz. :)

6/10

Hedrix responds:

Thanks for your feedback

[I'm (not) A Failure]

The mood at the beginning is interesting. I like the distorted chords, but the synth that comes in at :11 sounds really thin, dry, and generic. At the very least, I’d suggest moving it to the background in the mix and giving it some reverb. Then, you use the beat to bridge the conceptual gap between ideas. By :52, it sounds like a very different piece. I think this track also needs much more melodic content in general. You have the chords and atmosphere down, but melodies are still really important. By 2:35 or so, the texture is a bit too busy and dissonant for my tastes. Part of it could be that the instrumentation doesn’t complement the mood very well at that point. Overall, I think the piece needs a bit more cohesion as a priority. Incorporating some clear “refrain” or melodic section would probably help with that. I enjoyed the atmosphere and progression, though. Keep at it, Mexican-Dessert-Pie. ;)

6.5/10