TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Pulvite - Stone]

The intro was creative. I like the sense of climax into :47. It’s a catchy piece, albeit with some pretty generic synths. The minimalistic drop lasted a bit too long IMO, but the part at 1:50 was pretty enjoyable and more melodic. The mixing is pretty good, and overall it’s a well-structured and smooth piece. My main problem overall is that it’s pretty cliche, and the texture isn’t always as rich as it could be (you use reverb to fill in the texture, which I’m pretty ambivalent about). I also don’t think the piece needed to be 5 minutes long. The drop section isn’t really varied much the second time around, except for the bit at 4:20, which you pretty much use as an outro anyway. Overall, though, it’s not entirely bad, just not unique. Going forward, you might have to push yourself to expand beyond your comfort zone more. As for now, pretty solid work. ;)

7/10

[Ebullience (Original Mix)]

I like the energy and rhythm at the beginning. The acid synths are a little generic, but the filtering automations are cool and give the piece a fresh vibe. The kick at :30 is a little overpowering, though, and the piece develops pretty slowly. The hi-hats also get a little lost in the mix. I’d suggest cutting off some of the higher-pitched frequencies in the synths and also compressing the hats to give them a little boost. I like the climax at 1:40, but I think it took you quite a while to get there. The part at 2:35 was also a great point of structural relief, although I’m not always a huge fan of when climactic build-ups lead to breakdown sections. For most of the piece, you have a nice full texture, which is great to hear. As I mentioned earlier, I think the pacing of the piece could stand to be faster. I’m always skeptical of tracks that are this long, and I think you risk losing some of the listener’s engagement by having long periods of high-energy trance (i.e., 3:20 - 5:50). You craft the shape of this piece really well, though - the dissipation of energy later in the piece is really well done. Reminds me of Deadmau5’s long, slow outros. Solid work, man!

8/10

Mich responds:

I was pretty proud of that acid synth given it's coming from a modular analog synthesizer I've put together myself. :P Guess I could've been a bit less reserved with putting the patch for it together though. In the buildup to the chorus at 4:00, I did play a bit with making it go into crazy resonance, if you listen for it you might pick it out then. All in all it might be a little bit buried in the mix there.

Coming up with an adequate kick is something I still struggle with a bit, so I guess I agree on that point.

As for the slow development; personally I listen to a lot of trance, and I like listening to the full length unmixed versions, which are about this length, some to over 9 minutes. I like the slow progression of it. This particular song was initially over 11 minutes long (see link in description), so I've already cut down on it a great deal I think. :P

All in all, the main purpose of long intros and outros is for mix-ability.

Anyway, thanks much for the review!

[Broken Memories]

The radio effect thing at the beginning was a little cheesy, but I like the cute mood and melodies that pop in at :16. The texture has a nice, warm sound, and the pads really help give the piece some flow. Perhaps I would’ve taken just a little more treble off of the melody synth, though. The bizarre effects you used to bookend the piece come back at 1:45, and tbh they didn’t quite work for me. They just felt a little jarring given the bright, pleasant, tonal music taking up most of the piece. Some drums could also help move the piece forward a bit...I think you’d be well-advised to flesh out the structure a little more. Right now the entire piece almost seems like a long, dreamy intro for something. The energy level and dynamics don’t change much throughout the piece. While it is short, it could certainly have a lot more emotion/drama if you were to experiment with giving it some more shape. That said, I didn’t observe any problems with the mixing, and I like the instruments you chose for the piece a lot. Keep at it, my friend! ;)

7.5/10

[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