TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Around The World]

I like the mysterious tone towards the beginning. The way the reverb cuts out suddenly after the big swell at :03 threw me off a bit, but I like the strings at :30 and the flute melodies shortly thereafter. The texture is a bit minimal towards the beginning, but the piece really falls together nicely by :52. The mix is pretty clear, but very quiet. Love the 7/4 time signature too - the pattern of rhythmic emphasis gives the piece a very organic and flowing feel, almost like a river. The tranquil breakdown at 1:39 is lovely, and I enjoyed the gradual swell in energy through about 2:02. I might’ve liked to hear more of the percussion in the mix at times during this middle section, but otherwise the sound design is great. The part at 2:22 is really nice, too. Is that a lute? Or a mandolin? Sounds like an acoustic guitar and a banjo had a baby. Anyway, the final melodic section hits the piece home nicely, and overall I really like the evocative tone and well-varied instrumentation in this piece. Thanks so much for coming out to the NGUAC this year, GDRH1988! Been a pleasure having you. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

GDRyuHayabusa1988 responds:

Thank you for your reviews! Glad to see that I'm still continue becoming better at music :)

[(NGUAC '23 Final Round) The Final Act]

The guitars at :26 are great. The choir sounds a bit inauthentic, though, and the pacing of the chords at the beginning is a bit fast for my tastes. The mix sounds a bit overwhelmed at :51 - the harmonies aren’t very distinct from each other, and the drums could’ve been a tad more up-front in the texture. There are also a couple of abrupt transitions in close succession at 1:40 and 1:43. The individual guitar riffs are really nice, and I also like the atmospheric parts like at 2:05. The mix just feels pretty strained when the atmosphere is playing together with the drums and guitar. I really like the string breakdown at 2:36 and the rich texture at 3:00. The pause that followed at 3:24 was a bit awkward, but I enjoyed it when the guitar came back in. The solo at 3:55 is especially good, but also deserves to be more prominent in the mix.

Much of the rest of the piece follows the same pattern: really good guitar riffs and compelling atmospheric content, but a relatively loose mix and some abrupt transitions. I’d suggest looking into some stereo widening or other mixing techniques that could temper the muddiness caused by the atmospheric instruments. Anything that would keep the melodies more front-and-center in the mix would help. Adding some more compression on the drums could also help.

Still, you did a lot of ambitious work here with the composition, and it shows. The sound design and melodies are fantastic overall. Tighten up the mix and make the arrangement a bit less choppy (more gradual transitions, drum fills, sweeps and drum fills in choice places, etc.), and this piece would be truly top-notch. Regardless, thanks for coming out to the NGUAC this year, FourTHat3! Been an absolute pleasure. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

[Remembering Our Journey]

I like the emotional appeal of the piano at the beginning. The dissonance at :10 is a nice touch too. The melodies at :46 are really beautiful, although part of me wanted to hear more of the harmonies in the mix. The jazzy chords between 1:26 and 1:50 or so help spice up the piece nicely. The composition is really lovely, but also a bit understated at times - the texture is pretty minimal during the section between the refrains, even considering this is a piano solo. Of course, you know how to channel the emotion well towards the end. The final refrain at 2:22 felt very cathartic, and the soft echo of the main melody at 3:05 was a lovely way of concluding the piece. Overall, the fact that you made a piece like this in the “last few hours” before the deadline is a testament to your immense talent. Thanks for coming out to the NGUAC this year, Everratic! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10

[4th Entity]

I like the upbeat mood at the beginning and the jazzy piano chords. The piece is a bit slow to progress at first, and the mix sounds a bit distorted at around :40, but there’s a good sense of build-up into :55. The lead synth at :55 sounds a bit harsh in the mix, and overcompression may be part of the problem. In fact, a significant portion of the sound design sounds a bit unpolished here. The arrangement, chord progression, and aspects of the sound design (especially the drums) are a bit generic, but the production quality holds up well overall. The bridge at 1:41 was good for some variety, and the bass line at the outro at 2:15 or so is really delicious. Overall, like you alluded to in the author’s description, I don’t think this is your best work, but you still got my foot tapping and showed off your production skills with this one. Pleasure having you in the NGUAC this year, entropicvoxels! Keep it up, and good luck with school. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[nguac final submission]

I like the eerie atmosphere at the beginning and the crisp drums at :15. The piece is a bit slow to progress, and could use some more variety in the harmonies in particular. The creepy atmosphere is nice, although the mix sounds rather bottom-heavy overall, with not a lot of upper-mid-range frequencies to counterbalance the arpeggios, piano, bass, and kick. The production quality holds up pretty well, but with the fairly minimal texture that might not mean much. Overall, the composition is pretty bland and needs a stronger sense of progression, but the sound design and rhythmic content are cool. Keep at it, emersonkid! Pleasure having you in the NGUAC this year. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[Gazing Ball]

I like the bouncy beat and dreamy atmosphere at the beginning. The subbass is a bit loud IMO - the mix feels a bit bottom-heavy between that and the kick rolls. The rest of the sound design is great, though. I especially like the church bells during the intro and the synth melody at :45 that sounds like a woodwind instrument. The tranquil breakdown at 1:28 was great, and the majestic synth guitar at 1:39 is yet another strong addition to the instrumental palette. The pace of the piece is a bit slow at times, especially during the middle section (1:39 - 2:23), and one thing you might consider is switching up the drum pattern more substantially at some point. After a while, the arrangement feels a tad formulaic, with the copy-paste atmospheric section at the end and a very rigid harmonic structure throughout. Still, you absolutely nailed the sound design, atmosphere, and production quality here. Thanks so much for coming out to the NGUAC, Ellie! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[shopping at the mall]

Love the prominent bass and jazzy flair of this one. The drums are a bit flat, and could use some more compression or something to make them “pop” in the mix more. Otherwise, the production quality is fine, and the groovy synth melodies and slidey bass riffs seriously get my foot tapping. Overall, you’re right that the mixing isn’t perfect, but it’s hard to go overboard with synth melodies in my book. :D Thanks for coming out to the NGUAC this year, Crysstal712! Been a pleasure having you.

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

Crysstal712 responds:

thank you for the opportunity, i'll be here next year!

[Superior Magnetic]

I like the rich strings at the beginning and the robotic-sounding atmosphere. The synth bass at :22 is a nice touch, and the rhythmic content of this piece is especially creative. The guitar at :47 was a pleasant surprise. There’s a plethora of reverb in the texture, and the drums get rather lost in the mix for most of the piece. The softer tone of the strings at 1:30 comes on a bit suddenly, but the ensuing 30 seconds or so served as a nice breakdown to contrast with the heavy bass and dense texture beforehand. Love the synth melodies at 2:02 as well. The distortion at 2:12 sounds a bit harsh in the mix, but the atmosphere around it helps soften the blow. Overall, you’ve put together another ambient beauty, Cresince. Congratulations, and thanks for coming out to the NGUAC again this year! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10

Cresince responds:

It's always a blast to compose for these competitions. I always learn so much from the wonderful judges, and I hope I can keep improving! Thank you for hosting such wonderful events!

[Une nuit proche des étoiles]

I like the dreamy atmosphere at the beginning, between the wind chimes, airy piano, and otherworldly synths. Not sure I liked the suddenly thinner texture at :53 - I think you could’ve filled out the atmosphere a bit more, especially given the rather slow pace of the piece. The emotional appeal of the sound design and composition is still really nice, and I also like the heavier bass at 2:15 and the sense of build-up into 2:40. The vocals at 2:47 were a nice idea, but I’m not sure I like the tone of the samples too much. Is this supposed to be a children’s choir? It just could’ve sounded…richer. Still, the outro is really majestic, and overall you absolutely nailed the cinematic appeal of the piece. Nice job with the production quality and sound design as well. Thanks for coming out to the NGUAC again this year, BAOWZ! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

BAOWZ-Tobass responds:

Hey it scored quite well! Thanks! I had the same feeling about the choir and i think the problem comes from the legato : there is none and LABS don't have this option sadly. What i first had in mind was a solo soprano singer, but it wasn't free ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯. But hey i'm 12th! Almost 13th! Luck is on my side for next year!

[The Octagon - NGUAC 2023]

I like the apprehensive mood at the beginning. There’s a bit too much reverb in the texture IMO, and the drums sound rather thin in the mix. There’s a good sense of build-up into :41, and the quirky synth melodies there are nice, but could also use a bit of a boost in the mix. I would take a second look at the EQs and cut some more in the low (<200 Hertz) and low-mid (200-600ish) range - the bass and harmonies are the elements of the mix that “pop” the most right now, and I think it should really be the melodies and drums that stand out the most. The composition here is really fun, though. Love the dynamic and memorable melodies and the ghostly sound design. The chord progression and arrangement are a bit generic, but otherwise I have few complaints on the composition. Overall, the production could use a bit of tightening, but this is a really fun and upbeat track, AmishPimp! Thanks for coming out to the NGUAC again this year. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10