TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Album outro (Very Much WIP)]

I personally wasn't a huge fan of the 25 seconds of just bass at the beginning. It sure set up a really slow progression that mirrors the rest of the piece, but it was hard to follow that progression because the notes were just so low. That said, I love the sense of climax during the following 2 minutes or so. I especially enjoyed the arpeggios that popped in at around 1:40 or so. It had a huge sense of direction without much release, and then the re-intro section at 2:30 threw me off a bit, especially with that outright silence around 2:40. I liked the build-up into 3:44, but even after that the harmonies have a sense of continuity about them. I think this piece will really benefit structurally once you add the drops, even if it is already very long. I liked the coda with the piano, though. It has a lot of potential. Looking forward to hearing the final product, DylnMatrix! And sorry I haven't been reviewing your work as frequently recently. I'm very busy, but I'm glad to see you're still posting regularly here! Keep up the good work. ;)

[eerie nightfall]

I like the combination of the warm pads in the background and the somewhat mischievous-sounding bell-like melodies. That (oboe?) you used for harmony contributes a lot to the mood, too. The loop is smooth. I wish there was a little more progression, even within a very short loop. Otherwise, I enjoyed this! Keep it up, BO. ;)

Everratic responds:

I use two bell soundfonts, and for one of them, I slightly shifted the notes to the left to create an interesting effect. Yes, it is an oboe! It's not an instrument I hear often but it sounds pleasant. I could have progressed it more, but I had no ideas. Maybe I'll return to this project in the future. Thanks!

[Smells Tempting]

Interesting combination of instruments at the beginning. I like the beat at :18, but I think the kick could use more bass, and the piano sounds like it needs some reverb. Nice job with the harmonizing at around :40. The transition with the drums at :54 was really cool too. It has this great frantic drive, and the melodic content at 1:24 is great, definitely Johnfn-inspired. The kick gets a little lost somewhere around the 2-minute mark, but overall I thought the mixing and mastering quality were both good overall. I appreciated the structural relief at 2:30. You clearly display a great sense of rhythm throughout the piece. The pitch-bending on that high-pitched synth at around 3:10 is awesome. You do a great job of reasserting the frantic craziness after the breakdown. Excellent piece here. I was skeptical of the instrumentation in the beginning, but this thing really came together well. Keep up the good work, LunacyEcho, but don't work too hard. ;)

LunacyEcho responds:

Haha, more reviews I missed! And this one's a big one, too.

=> kick

With the kick, I was actually trying to emulate one of johnfn's kicks that I really liked! It was really apparent in the mix, solid but not overwhelming, and not sidechained at all. I guess more bass is still needed, though. :P

=> 1:24

Lol at this point basically every melody I write is johnfn-inspired :v

=> frantic craziness

Haha, that's a vibe that lots of my songs tend to end up having! Maybe I should try my hand at writing a super chill ambient piece sometime. :P

Thanks for the review! And don't worry, I survived December pretty well :D

[To the Waters and the Wild]

Hmm...must've missed this one. I like the cute melodies, even if they're a bit simplistic. The instruments blend well together. The loop is pretty smooth, but there's this odd clicking noise in there somewhere. Thanks for the shout-out in the description! I agree that this deserves to be a full piece, but I understand you're very busy. I guess if I had to complain about something, I'd point out that the piece doesn't really have much shape to it. Variety in instrumentation and structure, yes, but few dynamics or phrasing changes. Still, nice work. Hope you have some time to relax over the holidays! :D

LunacyEcho responds:

Lol, I must've missed this one too :v

=> simplistic melodies

Haha I wasn't trying to be that adventurous—just making something feel-good and down-home. :P

=> full piece

I might extend it someday! I was pretty proud of how video-gamey the first melody ended up sounding.

As always, thanks for the review, even though I'm half a year late in saying it! :D

[Deadbeat]

This song is enormously catchy. I love all the punchy synths. The production quality is fantastic. I love the breaks at 1:42, as well as the more tranquil bridge at 2:07. The build-up at 2:23 was a little brief for my tastes, yet on par with the fast pace of the piece overall. I especially like how the melody was momentarily hidden underneath the crash at 3:23. It's very subtle, but really lets the piece "reset" before the coda. Awesome work as always, man. Has Monstercat signed you yet? :D

[Sly (Amethyst Edition)]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The sub-bass was an interesting touch. The distorted chords at :38 distorted the bass riff a lot, though. I'd suggest some compression, stereo widening, and maybe even panning to help spread out the frequencies. The tonality of this piece is really cool. Sounds like it should be playing in the elevator of a shopping mall that only sells punk t-shirts. On the surface, it's smooth and fun, but definitely has some harsh frequencies and edgy riffs. It doesn't really feel complete yet, not in the least because of the sort of additive continuity of it, but I'm looking forward to hearing some of the other songs you have on this album. Keep it up, man! ;)

[California Breeze]

I like the pulsing effect of the bass and the phasing. Sounds very clubbish and progressive. The chords at :30 are very dry and staccato, but add a cool anticipatory mood to the piece. The synth harmonies are really catchy, too. I think you should cut this track in half and turn it into an intro for a song with a bit more melodic support and direction. Otherwise, sounds good. Keep it up, TeraVex. ;)

[Daybreak]

Ah! I think I missed this one. I like the rhythm in the synths during the first 20 seconds or so, as well as the early emotional height at :22. Trademark pop piano at the chill sections, too. This piece has a lot of direction to it, and I love those juicy hats that pop in at around 1:40. Your transitions are subtle but effective, like 1:57 for example. There's a lot of variety here, but I think you did a nice job of tying it together. The chords seem a little distorted at 4:03, but that might just be because of the range of the sample. That chill outro at 4:54 was great, too. Definitely one of my favorite endings of yours. I think you should try more downtempo EDM in the future. You've definitely run the gamut of melodic bangers. Keep up the great work, Lockyn! :D

Lockyn responds:

Hey TL, nice to see you again. Thank you for your detailed reviews as always, I'm happy you enjoyed the ending because that was one of my favorites to make. Cheers mate :)

[rural home]

I like the jangly guitar sound. Sounds just inauthentic enough to be great for the video game. ^^ I thought the melody instrument at :49 was a bit overly-compressed (or maybe just a little heavy on mid-range frequencies), because it sounded a bit too forceful for the general mood of the rest of the piece. I also thought you overdid the reverb on the snare. You also start using a completely different drumset altogether at 1:37, which was a bit jarring IMO. Overall, this is a cute track with a lot of bizarre transitory moments that detract from it a bit. I also didn't like the silence at 2:24. It makes the track momentarily lose its flow. That said, the instruments fit their purpose well, and the loop is smooth. The mood is definitely my favorite part of the piece, though. Definitely appropriate for a cheesy indie game set in the countryside. Keep up the good work, Johnfn. ;)

johnfn responds:

Heh, well I suppose you caught on to the way this piece was written. I just kept on randomly adding and deleting sections, hence the odd transitions. I don't think they're thaaaat bad for the most part though... (The only one that really jars when I relisten is 2:17, there was really no lead up to that at all lol) And I really like the silence but it's super hard for me to judge how other people like it.

I really need a half-decent guitar VST.

P.S. OMFG ITS A CLAP NOT A SNARE U INCOMPETENT LIL... jk i luv u

[my friends are no help]

Yes! This brings me back to your groovy, glitchy days. :'D I love it. It's still just as catchy as your other tracks, with a much more experimental and innovative flair. The melodies at around 1:20 are awesome. The mixing in general is pretty water-tight, but I suppose I would've liked a little more kick during the particularly manic section at 1:37. Excellent job of changing things up for this track, though. I was going to ask what the lyrics were, but the vocal clip at the end cleared it up. ;) That crash at the end was so hilariously cheesy that my laugh bent the fabric of space-time. Nice work as always! Insta-fave and DL. ;)

johnfn responds:

Expect a resurgence of that kind of old-johnfn-skool nonsense. Except with better melody writing. Since I finally got better at melody writing! It had to happen eventually I guess.

But really keep an ear out, I'm gonna release some of the best songs I've ever written before the end of the year.