TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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

[Taking Shape]

I was hoping you’d return to the NGADM, my friend! The beginning of the piece has an excellent air of mystery, and the guitar groove at :19 adds a lot to the texture. The mix is super clean, and the instruments blend together very well. By :52, the rhythm is quite inventive and drives the piece along really well. The texture is never really busy at any given time, but the piece has so much variety in the sound design and mood throughout. I love how prominently you feature the bass in this one, too. The piece sounds somewhat experimental, yet really shows off your amazing compositional skills. If I had to complain about something, it’d probably be the lack of cohesion. The piece seemed a little directionless at times, and was energetic throughout, which made me itch for a change-of-pace after a time. The finality of the last chord seemed a bit forced. I also half-wish you had some less staccato-y instruments playing throughout, like a pad or organ, just to add a smoother element to the texture in what often seemed like an ever-changing tumult of sound. Perhaps that’s a bit harsh, though. Overall, this is a stunning piece that displays an amazing amount of attention to detail. Well done!

9/10

Kor-Rune responds:

Thank you so much for your awesome review and crit my love!! <3

[The Masochist]

I like the flowing vibe at the beginning. The cello sample was actually pretty good, despite the uniform vibrato (which is a giveaway that it’s not a real cello). I actually thought the cello doing the arpeggios was a little too upfront in the mix, and the percussion/harmonies should’ve gotten a little more attention. Cool idea with the tempo automations at around 1:35. The piece is a little minimalistic overall, but certainly has plenty of fresh content going on throughout to keep me engaged. It does sacrifice a bit of coherence in that regard, though. The smooth-flowing nature of it almost reminds me of some sort of cinematic montage. My main problem with the piece is actually the cohesion. The piece has a lot of different twists and turns, which limits the conclusivity and makes it hard to thread a storyline throughout the piece. The ending comes on very suddenly, and while the transitional elements of the piece are enjoyable, the piece as a whole feels somewhat directionless. That said, I quite enjoyed your sense for harmony, instrumentation, and emotion. Solid work overall.

7.75/10

Baumarius responds:

Hey TL, thanks for the review! I don't totally know why it feels directionless to you, but it may just be me. I'm the one who wrote the story it's for, after all, and it flows well with what I've imagined. However, several others have said that my music is a little strange because there are many songs I've made that focus on emotions people aren't too familiar with... which is really weird for them to find as an issue in the first place, but oh well. I'm glad you found the rest of the song to be engaging enough for you to enjoy, and I'll be working on these issues in future songs.

[Chael - Resilient]

Good for you for making something that’s not always in 4/4! I like the upbeat mood, although the instruments were a bit cheesy. The transition to 4/4 at :41 was pretty cool. Neat idea. The kick at the refrain (1:02) is a little overpowering, and I think you could’ve done a lot more creative things with the drums there. The melody itself is really enjoyable, though. I liked the post-chorus with the transition back into 3/4 too. It’s a catchy, energetic, and well-structured piece overall. The cute piano riff at 3:30 was a nice touch too. Solid work.

7.5/10

Falsesouth responds:

Thank you very much for your feedback! Perhaps there could have been some more dynamic percussion; however, this was my first swing piece ever. I was exploring, haha. You should expect far more dynamic beats in the future.

[I still gym]

The drum samples are really generic, although I like the somewhat ominous vibe of the synths and the sighing sample at :30. Shortly thereafter, it sounds like the audio is peaking a bit, though - the sound quality is just a little on the harsh side. The minimalism at 1:02 served the compositional purposes of the piece well. I like how you then led into the climax at 1:30. The kick totally gets lost during the refrain at 1:30, though. I think you need some stronger equalizing and compression to tighten up the mix. The synths are pretty generic, but I did enjoy the mood and atmosphere throughout. This piece is a little on the short side, and I’m ambivalent about whether it’s truly a structurally complete piece. Adding another refrain is probably worth lengthening the piece by a minute or so, just to offer the listener some melodic development. Overall, though, I’d say your main area of focus in the future should be mixing and mastering. Keep at it, man!

7/10

[-Chilljoy-]

Fun title. I like the relaxed mood and cute synths. I wasn’t a huge fan of the was the kick was mixed, though - the sample just has a bit too much treble for my tastes. It’s a very smooth and upbeat piece, though. I enjoyed the sense of catharsis at 1:06. With slightly different instrumentation, this piece would work really well as a pop song (which is a good thing, at least during auditions). It does get a little repetitive after awhile, especially at around 2:30. I don’t think it needed to be quite this long. You may have also overused the sweeps by the end. This piece’s simplicity is a blessing and a curse in a way. The texture fits the style really well - easygoing, carefree, etc. - in that it doesn’t sound too busy at any given time, but I think you still need a little more variety in here. Overall, pretty solid work. I hope you’ll get the chance to make something else for the competition. Keep at it, man! ;)

7.5/10

GlitchmasterMusic responds:

Thanks a lot man, you basically nailed exactly how I feel about this song :)

[~The Permanent Destination~]

I like the dark mood at the beginning and the instrumentation, which certainly helped facilitate the ominous nature of the track. It’s a little slow to progress, but I enjoyed the dissonance at :58 and the subsequent vocal samples. You have a good amount of reverb in here that helps to create a nice, full texture. The drop at 1:28 was thoroughly enjoyable, although after that I was looking for some stronger melodic content, which isn’t really present for much of the piece. I liked the descending synth line at 2:40 or so. The reverb might detract from the mixing a tad, but personally it doesn’t bother me that much. The atmospheric breakdown at 3:20 was also a tasteful point of structural relief. I’m really impressed this is the first track you made using FL Studio. I would’ve liked some more variation on the drop the second time around, but that’s a small complaint. The outro was effective, and just as mysterious as the opening in a way. Solid work. I like this piece a lot!

8.5/10

Gravidi responds:

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a thought out review! It really does mean a lot that you enjoyed this track. I'll make sure to think about how I can improve on future songs based on your comments here. THANKS!

[Ninja Cube Credits]

I like the mood at the beginning. It certainly seems like it’s leading up to something...almost reminds me of the little riffs a broadway composer puts in to foreshadow the start of a number after a section of dialogue. The transition at :23 is cool, and I like the melodic content thereafter. The synths mesh well together, even if that lead was a bit generic. The loop is smooth, but I don’t really consider this a structurally complete piece. Production-wise, I thought the drums could’ve been a lot stronger, especially the snare. Some more careful equalizing would really help you out there. You don’t do much with drums in this piece, either, but that’s probably because this piece only really has one cycle of intro-chorus-postchorus. Flesh this piece out more, and you could make a lot out of it. As it is now, it doesn’t really satisfy my needs compositionally, but I do think you have a great sense of melody and harmony. Keep at it, man!

6.75/10

[AIM - The Lonely Hermit]

The string sample at the beginning sounds pretty fake with the uniform vibrato and timbre. I like the mood of the piece - it’s very atmospheric and somber, with a rich texture. The piece is pretty slow to develop, although I thoroughly enjoyed the melody at 1:15. The instruments blend well, but overall I’m not sure I like the samples you used, especially the ones that tried to mimic orchestral instruments. I like the breakdown at 2:26, but I think the balance is a little off there. I would’ve liked to hear the moving notes in the foreground more, and the sloshing water effects kept in the background. The wind sample at 3:06 also struck me as a bit cheesy. The pacing of this piece started slow, but got even slower towards the middle...I think the ambient minimalism dragged on for a bit too long. The last part of the piece seemed pretty militaristic and brassy. There isn’t a tone of coherence in the piece overall. The dramatic ending was amusing, though. I’ve been pretty tough on you in this review, but I commend you for taking some compositional risks with this piece. With a little polishing (notably, switching out some of the samples and cleaning up the mixing in the middle section) this could be a great track. I very much hope that I’ll hear more from you, but as for now the sound design and lack of coherence did detract from my enjoyment of the piece, and my score reflects that. Keep at it, man!

7.5/10