TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Kalais]

The melody at the beginning is a little square rhythmically, and I’m not sure the mood of the strings and piano fit the glitchy beat very well. The panning on the drums just makes them even more jarring. I think you could’ve gotten away with making a piece that melded these two contrasting themes together, but not at the same time. The main problem here is definitely the way the texture and mood are abused. The piece itself was pretty short and could use some more fleshing out structure-wise. I didn’t notice any mixing or mastering problems. The sound design itself is pretty good - I actually like your string and piano samples, which is not something I say too often. Keep at it, man!

6/10

sapoman responds:

Thanks.

[Fake Sonata for a Virtual Clavichord]

The instrumentation and square rhythm of the beginning combines to give off a kind of regal vibe. I think you may have overdone the reverb a bit. The piece has a nice flow, but I don’t think you vary the dynamics or articulation often enough to keep me engaged. I did like the mood of the piece, though, especially the 3rd movement. The movements themselves are all quite short - perhaps you should flesh them out a little more. Otherwise, the structure and musicality of the piece is a little hard-to-follow. Still, my biggest worry is that you haven’t varied the energy, expression, etc. enough to carve some shape into the piece. Without that variation, the piece doesn’t have the same sense of direction and form that solo instrument pieces usually capitalize on for engagement. It was a neat idea to use a clavinet solo for the audition, but unfortunately I’m not sure your risks paid off. Keep at it, my friend!

5.5/10

LexRodent responds:

All of them fair points.
Thanks a lot for your detailed review.
Looking at it in retrospective I realize I made a terrible track choice for the NGADM auditons.
No better way to learn than screwing up :D

[Emotional Distress (NGADM 2017)]

I like the mysterious mood at the beginning. The distorted bass that comes in soon thereafter is a nice touch. The piece is very slow to develop, though. I think you should’ve at least introduced some drums by around the 1-minute mark to give the piece some drive. Otherwise, you probably could cut the length of this piece in half and still have appropriate pacing. I liked the melodies at around the 3-minute mark. The texture has a nice richness, and I like the gentle pulse of the chords and guitar fading away every 2 bars. Still, this piece drags on for way too long, and the progression changes way too slowly to keep me engaged. The subtle changes in the texture over time that are there (for example, the addition of the drums at around the 8-minute mark), aren’t enough to maintain interest. I mostly liked the instruments, although sometimes the grouchy bass gets in the way a bit too much IMO (example: 6:40). I’ve been a bit harsh on you in this review, but overall the piece is pretty good. If I had to change one thing, it’d be an easy fix: doubling the pacing of the piece. If you think about the pacing and variety a little more next time, you’d probably be in the round of 64. Keep at it, man!

6.5/10

TheB34R responds:

Thanks for this feedback, this is the type of feedback that is helpful due to the fact that you have said some of the key parts plus give the example of a part that could be changed to make it better.

[Body High]

The reverb seems a little excessive, but I like the sub-bass and some of the other samples (maybe not the low brass hits, though - sounds a little generic). The refrain at :32 was cool, though. The has a rich, full texture that’s uncommon in trap in my experience. I also like the ominous synths and the breakdown at 2:00 or so. The piece is pretty short, and I would’ve liked to see you have more melodic content after the breakdown. The track also sounds like it cuts off suddenly. Mixing-wise, it’s a little hard to distinguish the kick and sub-bass, but besides that everything sounds pretty crisp and clear. Submitting trap to the NGADM is a bold move, but overall I like this piece. Keep at it, man!

7.25/10

Zodiax responds:

Thank you for the kind words sir. Constructive criticism is always very helpful.

Trap is very overplayed, but I'm quite happy with this piece which is why I submitted it.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to join!

[The System\\Shutdown]

I like the distorted synths at the beginning and the crisp percussion. It lacks a strong sense of direction, though, and the minimalism was wearing on me after awhile. I think you overdid the reverb on the snare at :55. You really need some more melodic content in here. The piece also has very little structural variety - the energy, dynamics, etc. are almost uniform throughout, and that’s a huge problem. Perhaps this would be fitting for the background music of a videogame, but as a stand-alone piece the composition falls flat. I’d encourage you to shape your piece more by adding and subtracting instruments over time and changing the volume levels more often. On the positive side, I didn’t notice any problems with the mixing and mastering, and I liked the atmosphere and mood of the piece. Keep at it, man!

4.5/10

[Empathy]

I like the dreamy beginning. The piece is a little slow to develop, though. The texture doesn’t change significantly until around 1:30. The drums (especially the snare) seemed a bit weak. I like the frantic synths underlying the melody at 2:15. The piece is very flowing, yet is a little hard to follow structurally because of the continuous wave of sound. Unfortunately, this makes it sound more like background music than a stand-alone piece. Still, I think you won me over with the mood and instruments. It’s a pretty piece. Keep at it, man!

8/10

[80's Chase Sequence]

I like the gritty synths at the beginning. The drum samples weren’t particularly my favorite, especially the kick - seemed very weak compared to the snare, and it got lost in the mix a little later in the piece. I like the energy and the melodies at around :40. The relaxing pads were a nice touch at 1:10 in contrasting the frantic melodies. There was a bit of a sudden change of instrumentation at 1:50, though. That riser will help channel energy, but it still allowed the addition of new instruments to be a little jarring. I appreciated the structural relief offered at 2:17 - contrasting the energy across the piece was a good idea, and it allowed for another climax later on. Unfortunately, you never really capitalize on forming that climax, but the chill guitar solo at 3:13 was almost as rewarding. Overall, the instrumentation in this piece is pretty enjoyable. Despite a couple of transitional flops, the composition here is also quite strong. Well done!

8.25/10

[Exploration]

I like the bass riff at the beginning. The instruments that come in at :07 are a bit cheesy, and the drums shortly thereafter are very weak. The snare should almost always be the loudest instrument in the mix, and this piece is no exception. I think you have a good sense of melody and harmony, and the piece is pretty well-varied. The pacing is a little fast at times, and I think you should’ve made better use of percussion throughout to give the piece a little more drive. The composition is definitely the best part of the piece, though. Keep at it, man!

7/10

Quebi responds:

Thanks for the review! I do find I have trouble properly using percussion, so I'll make sure to work on that