TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Growl Kat - Never Give Up]

I like the beat and bright piano at the beginning, but I definitely don’t think you should have that snare panned so far to the left. Usually, core rhythmic section instruments in a piece should be front and center, and this piece is no exception. I’d concern yourself with compression and equalization before you change the panning on the drums too much. The melodies at around the 1-minute mark are nice, and the synth at around 1:20 was a nice touch. The structural relief you offered at around 2:00 was also enjoyable, and I liked the somewhat creepier mood the riff at 2:10 had. You have a good sense of harmony, but the texture doesn’t quite seem full enough at some points. Some of the instruments are a little dry and probably need more reverb, and I think some background pads or something could really help give this piece that extra injection of flow that liquid d’n’b usually has. I also thought the ping-pong effect at the end was a little over-the-top. I think the piece is missing a predominant melody that would give it a little more structural coherence. Overall, not a bad piece, although I think you could’ve done a lot more with it on the composition front. Keep at it, man!

7/10

DJCat12 responds:

Oh tanks guy, its really helpfull, I will try to make another Liquid DnB with this recomendations

[On My Mind...]

Nice chill mood at the beginning. Vocals are solid. The kick gets a little lost in the mix, and I don’t like the harsh-sounding high-pitched instrument that plays on beat 3 of every measure, panned way to the left. Good articulation on the rapping, too. The texture is nice and full throughout, and I like how you broke it up at around the 2-minute mark in advance of the next refrain. I would’ve appreciated it if you varied the chorus a bit towards the end. It plays 4 or 5 times, and sounds essentially the same throughout. Solid piece with feel-good vibes, though. Keep it up, guys!

8/10

Vinstigator responds:

Thanks! My singer changed it up a little towards the end by dropping one of his harmonies, so it does sound slightly different. And the hook was so catchy that we had to let it run! Just like 2Pac's "How Do You Want It" and "Do 4 Love", those hooks were so catchy and just played over and over throughout the songs. But the hooks were so catchy that you didn't mind. In fact, you wanted to keep hearing the chorus as the songs were fading out! Anyway, thanks for the review, it's greatly appreciated!

[The Crystal Guillotine (Hyper Light Drifter cover)]

I like the dreamy guitar at the beginning. Sounds a little ominous with the chord progression. It’s really slow to develop, though. I think you should’ve thickened the texture way before 45 seconds in. Even then, it’s not a very rich texture. By around 2:15 when the melodic content seeps in, I really enjoy the soulful vibe it has. It’s like a long intro to an old western movie, with the camera panning around beautiful mountainous terrain. The pace of this piece is really slow. I think it doesn’t function great as a stand-alone piece until 3:45, when the energy picks up significantly. The mixing and mastering seem pretty good. I like the crash hits on every beat during the middle section of the piece, although they do get a bit distorted at times by the guitars. The mood of the piece is great - it’s very powerful and foreboding. The transition back into the tranquil section at 5:45 was a little sudden. Perhaps it’d be appropriate for a movie scene with a dramatic plot point, but without the accompanying visuals you need to foreshadow that transition a little more carefully. The distortion at 7:30 is enjoyable, but I didn’t quite understand the stops and starts. It didn’t turn out to be a very effective transition IMO. Overall, I think you need to think more carefully about the pacing of the piece and to gauge the textural depth that’s needed to keep your listener engaged. Several of the transitions in here also need work. That said, the guitar work is quite enjoyable, and the piece does have quite a unique mood and atmosphere. Keep at it, man!

6.75/10

Twone responds:

You've given me quite a bit to think about. Thanks for the review!

[Far Light]

The kick is pretty hard-hitting, not that that’s a bad thing. I like the little atmospheric percussion clicks you added, though. It’s really slow to develop for the first minute or two. I really don’t think the piece needed to be nearly 7 minutes long. The mixing and mastering are solid. I like the sense of climax into 2:03, but getting to some mid-range notes really shouldn’t take you more than 2 minutes. I’m really itching for some melodic content after a while. You had another big climax into 4:27, but it didn’t lead much of anywhere. The repetition wears on me after a bit. I’d like to see you using the whole frequency range more. You did a nice job with the filtering towards the end, though - it sounds cool. I have really mixed feelings about this one. But I think you need to do more with this compositionally in order to keep my engagement. Keep at it, man!

6.75/10

Sequenced responds:

bruh compared to most techno tracks in the real world this is SHORT. Most techno tracks are AT LEAST 8- 10 minute songs. If you guys actually judged a song by the actual genre and the actual professional EDM scene you wouldn't give this a 6 lmao.

look up this track and maybe you'd have a better understanding of this genre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m47tO1Ctck8

ugh why do I even try and make real edm songs for newgrounds
If I were you I would go research more EDM lmao. The same shit happened to Masq a couple years back when he made a brilliant neurofunk peice, but all of you were like "lol where is melody".

If you aren't f-777 for EDM you literally have no chance for any sort of competition here. the AP is a joke.

No one actually appreciates real electronic music here. No wonder xKore left.

[Over Manhattan]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the instrumentation. Very mysterious and tranquil intro. I like the beat and the vocal samples, too. After around a minute and a half, I’m itching for some melodic content, though. I didn’t hear any problems with the mixing or mastering either, but I’d be careful that the excessive reverb doesn’t distort anything in the future. I’d also say that despite the killer atmosphere, it needed a bit more phrasing and variety to function as a proper stand-alone piece. Cool track. It’s a shame you don’t have it ripe for downloading. I’m a sucker for ambient electronica, melodies or not. ;P Keep at it, man!

8.25/10

[Purple Glass]

I like the chord progression - it has a somber bent. Combined with the instrumentation, it almost reminds me of “Viva la Vida.” The piece progresses really slowly, though, which is a problem. There isn’t any strong melodic content within the first few minutes of the piece. I think the solution here is to cut down the length a lot. I do like the dreamy mood, but you change up the texture several times without really ever taking the piece in a new direction. Then, the more energetic 3:05 hits, which is good, although the snare got very lost in the mix there. I think you need some more compression and equalizing to help it stand out. The synth patterns you have playing throughout almost the entire piece are a little too frantic to really make up strong melodic content. I would’ve liked to see you tone down the energy to make way for some moving notes with a more melodic appeal. Imagine, for example, layering a melody on top of the chords at 5:30. Otherwise, it’s hard to stay engaged with a piece that uses the same few riffs over and over again with different instruments. Sorry. My favorite parts of the piece include the mood and atmosphere. Your synths all had a suitable amount of reverb that made the piece really dreamy and luscious-sounding. Keep at it, man!

5.5/10

[Tuath Dé]

I like the percussion at the beginning. The vocal samples are beautiful, but somehow the uniform rhythm they have until :26 doesn’t vibe well with me. Also, they have a bit of a strained quality before :26 that doesn’t fit the mood of the piece well IMO. I like the sense of climax thereafter, and the part at 1:40 offers some much-needed structural relief. The ending felt a little rushed, and I think you could’ve fleshed out this piece a lot more. That said, the instrumentation and composition here are very good overall. I thought the production quality was quite high. The instruments are blended together so well, and the texture feels rich and full throughout. Well done!

9.25/10

[Photon]

I like the frantic synths at the beginning. The clap sample at :15 is pretty generic, as is the sweep into :27. The kick could’ve been stronger too - I’d suggest giving the middle frequencies a boost and making sure it’s compressed well. The piece is going in a neat new direction by around 2:15. I’d still like to hear some more melodic content, though. I also would’ve liked to see you break down the frantic synths at some point in the piece, just to create a little structural relief, which would help channel the energy in the piece a little more. The melodic content comes a little late (4:25), but I’ll take it. It’s a strong melody that definitely fits the atmosphere of the piece well. I wasn’t a huge fan of the instrument at 4:52, though - had some annoying clicks on the attack, and didn’t really share the dream vibe of the rest of the piece very well. The piece doesn’t need to be 6 minutes long, either, although I did like the outro. Overall, it’s a pretty neat piece. My main problems with it are elements of the sound design and that it can come across as a bit generic at times. Otherwise, keep it up!

7.5/10

Teckmo-X responds:

I actually see what you mean by the sounds used in this piece so I definitely understand. As for the length of the song I decided it should have been longer since it fell on the Trance genre. I do appreciate you taking time to give me a thorough review. Thank you so much!

[War]

The distorted bass at the beginning sets up the mood pretty well. The punchy brass and violin work well together. To my ears, :45 gives away that the violin is fake - the sustain and articulation and expression are entirely uniform during those four notes. That said, the climax that follows is extraordinary. The part at 1:20 has a dense sense of chaos, yet the tempo of the piece is not that fast. I think the distortion works quite well. I suppose I would’ve liked you to dial back the energy and drive this piece has at some point, just to offer some structural relief. In a way, you do that at 3:28, but it’s both short-lived and still has quite a lot of moving notes there. I couldn’t help but notice that the pizzicatos get a little lost in the mix during the final climax at 4:10. Same with the violin riff at 4:33. That said, the composition here is fantastic overall. You’ve done an effective job of maximizing the drama. Cool piece!

8.5/10

Jmagnum responds:

Oh man that's really informative :D

I never actually noticed how the strings sounded at :45. Never listened to it that way before, but I can totally see that. I'm pretty bad at the sound engineering side of things, but I'll try to work on fixing stuff like that in the future.

As far as notes being lost at the end, I noticed that, but decided I preferred it that way. Sort of gives a sense of drowning. Not sure if that is technically/musically a bad decision or not. It might have been :S

Overall, thank you very much :)

[Shake Well]

Catchy content here. The percussion is nice and crisp and well-varied. The melodies are enjoyable, although I think this piece has a little too much variety for its own good. The pacing is very fast, and that makes it a little hard to follow the structure at times. Sometimes (:52, for example) I would’ve liked the percussion to be a bit stronger. I’d suggest some compression, stereo widening, etc. My favorite part of the piece was the mood - very upbeat and energetic. Overall solid work! Fun piece for sure. :)

8.25/10