TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Paranoia]

I like the sense of climax into :18. The snare you have in there sounds really high-pitched and thin, but I appreciated when you added a little more bass to it at :42. That kick sample also wasn’t my favorite - almost sounds more like an effect than a kick drum. It had a really bizarre timbre. There’s a lot of minimalism in this piece between the two drops, and not a lot of melodic content (arpeggios don’t count as melodic content). A lot of the synths you have in here sound really unpolished, dry, or simply generic. The synth at 1:48 is probably the clearest example of this. You need something to fill in the texture at those drops, and if it’s not going to be other instruments, it should at least be reverb. The composition itself is pretty underwhelming too - you didn’t even vary the drop the second time around, didn’t offer a lot of structural contrast, no interesting bridges/breakdowns/re-intros. Overall, I think you could’ve done a lot more with this piece, and you even acknowledge in the description that it’s based on very cliched themes. It’s not so much bad as uninspired. I think the mix was clean, although once again some reverb would really help give this content some more flair. I’d love to hear you continue working on this piece, but give it a little more character and atmosphere. Keep at it, man!

5/10

[DFR - Desert]

The instruments are a little generic - I’d use 3xOsc and similar plugins sparingly if I were you. I like the progression and the beat at :23, though. The climax into :46 is pretty cool, but the 7-note melody with the nearly symmetrical contour is pretty underwhelming, and repeating it a bunch doesn’t do much for you here. I think you need stronger melodies here for sure - good melodies usually have a sense of direction to them, as well as a varied rhythm and not too many stepwise elements. One thing the piece is also missing is structural variety. You have the drum beat playing for almost the entire piece, and at some point I think you needed to vary the energy and dynamics by offering some kind of breakdown section. It’s not all bad though. The piece is pretty catchy, and you keep the texture nice and full throughout. The mixing is also pretty good. My main concerns are the lack of variety and melodic content and the instrumentation. Keep at it, man. ;)

5.5/10

[Clarity]

I like the tranquil mood at the beginning and the percussion in the background. The synth at :16 has a cool melody, but at the same time is a bit cliche. I also think the melody gets a little buried in the mix at :32 when those strong pads come in. The texture at :48 is a little bizarre, and seems to have an excess of reverb. I appreciated the structural relief you offer at 1:23. I also think this piece is really smooth-flowing and has a really neat atmosphere. It’s really a shame the mix doesn’t have more clarity, though, because I think the melodic content gets really buried during the refrains. I also think the piece ends a bit abruptly. I wanted to give you a higher score, but unfortunately the mixing really detracted from my enjoyment of the piece. I’d highly recommend toning down the reverb and tightening up the equalization on those thick pads at 2:09. Keep at it, man. ;)

7/10

[«/SPACE CRITTER\»]

I like the vocal samples and radio effects, even if they’re a bit cheesy. At :32, I don’t think the gentle melody quite fits well with the busy beat, and those open hats are a little cliche. The texture at :46 is more appropriate for beats like that. :) At the same time, I think the hats could’ve been a bit clearer in the mix there. I’d suggest making sure to remove some of the treble frequencies from other instruments. I like the structural relief offered at 2:13. This piece doesn’t have a ton of coherence, although a lot of the isolated ideas are really cool, like the distorted effects at 2:37 and the ghosty line in the background. At the same time, the kick is struggling a bit to come through the mix. I think you might want to add some gain on the compressor there. I think the pacing of the piece is a little too fast as well. You seem to shake up the texture significantly every 15 seconds or so, which can be a bit jarring to the listener. At 3:52, there’s another moment of weakness for the mix, especially the drums. I think you need to be a little stricter with your equalizing in general here. The track also cut off suddenly, almost as if you intended to loop it. Overall, I think the mixing is my biggest concern, although close up there are the rapid, jarring transitions and pace of the piece. I commend you for taking a lot of compositional risks with this piece, but I’m not sure all of them paid off. I’d encourage you to try and consolidate some of your ideas here, but flesh them out to offer a little more cohesion. Otherwise, I liked the sound design, and I also thought the piece was rather catchy. Cool piece. Just needs a bit of polishing. Keep at it, man. ;)

6.75/10

[Deep sea and Young fish]

I like the relaxed mood at the beginning. The reverb might’ve been a bit excessive, but the texture is beautiful. The piece develops a little slowly, but the melodic content is really strong. I wasn’t a huge fan of how the piano suddenly cuts out at 2:00 - I would’ve just let the reverb do the work there. Sounds a lot smoother that way. There’s another bit of a rough transition at 3:36. It can be hard to predict changes in the texture without drums, but it might help if you have at least some of the harmonic elements and instruments continue into the new sections. Usually I’m not a fan of instruments that are introduced for the first time very late in the piece, but I liked the cello part at 4:52 a lot. I’ll say it before and I’ll say it again - this piece is beautiful. One thing it doesn’t have a lot of is changes in energy level or dynamics, but I was nonetheless engaged throughout. Great work overall! NG needs more classical composers. :)

9.25/10

Veronina responds:

Thank you for these suggestion and listening! It means a lot , I really appreciate that, thank you , I'll think your comment carefully , thanks again!

[Pyrolysis (Original Mix)]

I like the dark mood at the beginning. The synths are pretty cool and have a good amount of reverb. The melody at :23 is super catchy too. I like the injection of energy at :53. Has a good sense of climax into 1:08. I like the drop. It was a little minimalistic, but the reverb helped fill in the texture. The melody at 1:38 is really enjoyable too. Very smooth-flowing piece here. I think I would’ve liked some sort of structural relief by around the 2-minute mark instead of hearing another drop. The laughing vocal samples also got a little repetitive at about that point. Good use of atmosphere at 2:38. Once again, engaging and catchy melody at 3:08. You have several different melodies in this piece, which would usually be problematic coherence-wise, but seem to function well in their respective niches here. The piece is a tad long, but keeps me engaged throughout. The ending was also pretty creative. Overall solid work! Keep it up, dude. ;)

9/10

KaixoMusic responds:

Thanks!! I really enjoy making several melodies in one song, so you can expect to hear more of that in the future. As for the longness of the song, I really enjoy working on a song very long because starting a new one usually takes a long time, that's why there are a lot of elements and different parts. And about the second drop, yeah I think that's a little to much too. Thanks for the 9 :D

[Stupor Trooper]

The synths at the beginning are cute, if a little generic. I found the melodies at :16 to be a little too jumpy (as opposed to stepwise). It made them a bit hard-to-follow musically, and also jarring to the listener. If you wanted to orchestrate more of a call-and-response kind of thing, I would’ve at least used different instruments for the higher and lower sections of the melody. The piece has a cool mood and atmosphere, although I think it doesn’t have a lot of coherence. I think you’d be well-advised to flesh out the structure a little more here. The ending is a little abrupt as it is. Also, once the synths are in full swing, the drums are a little weak. I think you need to look into some mixing techniques, like equalization and compression, especially for the drums. The vocal samples are cute here, though, if a little overused. I’ve been tough on you in this review, but I think an important next step for you would be to create more structural contrast - sections that are quieter and less busy amidst the frantic, melodic ones you have here. Do that, and I think the composition of this piece would be really strong. I’d encourage you to keep working on this piece. Keep at it, man. ;)

5.5/10

[VERY NICE]

I like the pensive arpeggios at the beginning as well as the distorted radio effects that slowly fade in. A couple of the synths are a little generic, especially the one that’s prominent in the texture by around :30. It’s really hard to pick up the kick in the mix, though. I think you either need a new sample or a lot of compression and equalization work. Also, the arpeggios don’t exactly satisfy my need for melodic content, even if the texture is pretty rich throughout. I liked the sense of climax into 2:07 and the organ instrument you introduced in the section before. I didn’t hear a ton of variation in the second half of the piece compared to the first half, either. In a way, the strongest melodic material in the piece is at 2:53, and I thought the fade-out ending was a bit lazy. I’ve been tough on you in this review, though. The atmosphere is really strong here, and the instruments blend together really well. Overall pretty solid work. Keep at it, man!

7.25/10

[Hidden Tension]

I like the smooth, atmospheric sound at the beginning. The phasing synths are a little generic, though. It has a good sense of climax into :33. I like the melodic content at :58 too. The bass is really groovy, though, and the mix is pretty clean. The transition at 1:39 was creative, and I appreciate the use of structural relief at 2:01. The section at 2:01 sets up your climax into 2:11 well. The atmospheric bit at 2:56 is also really enjoyable. It’s a bit of a quirky piece mood-wise, alternately cheerful and ominous. I think you could’ve done a bit more to offer some melodic development, too. Otherwise, the latter half of the seems seems comparatively underwhelming to the first half. Overall, I like the piece a lot. The instruments blend well together, the texture is full throughout, and the mixing and mastering are solid. Keep up the good work!

8.75/10

McGorilla42 responds:

Hey. Thanks so much for such a hugely detailed response and criticism. This is the kind of review that I appreciate more than any other since it gives me pointers on what to focus on in future and how to improve :) It means a lot that you took the time to write that and offer your opinion and advice and I'm incredibly grateful for that. Keep well!