TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Pacifist]

I like the warm brassy pads at the beginning and the sense of climax throughout the first 30 seconds or so. Perhaps that initial riser was a little cliche and drawn-out, but I enjoyed the melody at :44. The piece is mastered nice and loudly too. The quirky instruments are cool, and they certainly seem reminiscent of classic video game music. In my experience, it’s usually good to be subtle about filtering, phasing, and portamento effects, but you seem to pull off some not-so-subtle phasing &c at around 1:02 - 1:10. ;) This piece is generally well-structured and smooth-flowing, with an odd drone-like quality. I liked the ominous string melodies at 1:36 a lot. The piece is very flowy, yet lacks dynamic contrast, phrasing, and a proper breakdown or bridge section to give it an overarching sense of development IMO. The final chorus seemed short-lived and concluded the piece very suddenly. I almost thought you had intended to loop it at first. I also would suggest varying your melodies more the 2nd time around. Otherwise, the piece feels a little stagnant and repetitive. Otherwise, this is solid work. The melodies are memorable, and you did a good job of selling the theme and mood of the piece. Keep at it, AeronMusic! ;)

8/10

AeronMusic responds:

Thanks TaintedLogic!

[Tidelocked]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The pads at :04 kind of disrupt the flow a bit, though. It’s a little hard to follow the rhythm, and they seem a bit stuttery in a way that doesn’t positively contribute to the texture. The synths at around :11 seemed a bit hollow. You seemed to be going for a really expressive quality with the vocals, but at the same time they’re a little dry. You also don’t really articulate the consonants clearly, which results in the vocals sounding a bit drunk and incomprehensible, to be honest. The lyrics themselves were enjoyable, but I only really know that because they’re written in the author’s comments. I really would’ve liked to see the vocals mimic the atmosphere in terms of the volume of reverb and harmonic depth. Perhaps some chorus effects would help. You also overdo the delay effects at times, such as 2:00. You tried to add a sense of climax to the piece, but it fell flat a bit when the texture got too busy at 2:09. I think it’s the arrhythmic piano that’s really dragging the piece down there. The mood of the gentle vocals and dreamy pads clashes big-time with the punchy piano, and the drums get a little lost among the chaos, especially the kick. The piece doesn’t sound very conclusive either. It also lacks some strong melodic content, and overall the structure doesn’t really appeal to my emotions with any phrasing, build-ups, or dynamic contrast. Sorry man. I hope this review helped, but I think you were right when you implied you had some work to do on the “development.” I’d encourage you to keep working on this, though. PM me when you finish and I’ll give the final version another review. I know you’ve put out tracks 10x stronger than this before. Good luck! ;)

5/10

[Veva]

I like the atmospheric intro and the short pauses at the end of every 2 bars. The pauses give the piece a nice sort of cycle of anticipation and relief. The melodies at :39 are really smooth and enjoyable. The modulation at 1:17 was a good way of building the energy. The piece progresses a little slowly for the first 90 seconds or so, but the moment of catharsis at 1:34 is rewarding. Everything seems really well-balanced in the mix. I thought the tempo at 2:10 was a little rushed. It almost sounded like a completely different piece thereafter. I think it would’ve helped if you gave the piece a little more breathing room after that first “emotional height” (1:34 - 2:09) before launching into another melodic section. I would’ve liked to see you do more to make this piece coherent. I see you tried to bring it full-circle at the end with those radio effects (3:18), but it wasn’t enough IMO. As far as I’m concerned, this piece only has one true moment of climax, which limits any sense of direction and conclusiveness it has at the end. The part at 2:10 sounds a lot more like a final climax, yet it occurs only a little more than halfway through the piece. The “quiet ending” format can often be effective, but I would’ve liked to see a little more structural ebb and flow first. These structural complaints are my main concern. I think you have a great sense of harmony, and the texture was full and engaging throughout. I thought your instrument choices enhanced the mood a lot here - the piece felt pensive and relaxed at times, and danceable at others. You might’ve been able to do more with dynamic contrast and phrasing, but you still did a nice job of fleshing out the piece (besides that minor complaint I had about 2:10). Nice work overall! :)

8.5/10

Onefin responds:

Hey, TL!

So... big structural complaint, huh? I went from a drop straight into another drop, so I can see how that would be jarring. Maybe I could have written something in between to bridge the gap, but I always have a hard time writing something that's exactly what I want it to be in exactly the right place, since in the process of creating a section the idea changes based on what happens. Also, I suck at transitions, so that must have played a part. Always trying to make those better.

The ending breakdown at 2:47 was made basically to allow for a full circle ending with 3:18 - I had to change the key back to B major in a calm, conclusive way. Perhaps if that section didn't exist and I let the piece end with a shorter outro, the 2:10 part would be pushed closer to the end? I don't know. I think my main issue would have been that between 1:34 and 2:10 there was no softer part.

Well, thanks for reviewing! My response is kinda late but hey. No mixing complaints? Huh, I'm kinda surprised. Maybe Gragon's advice helped more than I thought it did. :)

[Tyto Alba]

I love the mood and atmosphere of this piece. It has a haunting beauty to it. I think you could've brought out the percussion a lot more, as percussion is often the main thing creating a sense of drive in tranquil orchestral music. That said, you've done an excellent job of building up the texture throughout the piece. By the end of the piece, it's downright empowering and graceful, like an angel has finally come to free the oppressed citizens of a desolate kingdom. The melodic content is simplistic yet carries the depth granted by emotion. Fantastic work. Keep it up, man!

[ParagonX9 - Chaoz Fantasy [Dubstep RMX]]

Ah, yes. I'm very familiar with the original. I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The strings, piano, and synths all mesh well together. Having heard the original countless times, it was really enjoyable how you gradually brought out distinguishable riffs from the original starting at :54. You did a good job of fleshing out the piece, even if it seemed to progress a little slowly at times. The drop was nice, and then you did a good job of offering some contrast with the moody trance of the section at 2:25. There were times when I thought you could've used smoother transitions, even a simple sweep or something, such as 2:48 and 3:12. You also did a nice job of varying the drop the second time around, and the vocal sample at 3:36 was a welcome addition to the texture. The coda seemed a little too long (4:13 - 5:00), especially given the lack of direction the piece has at that point. The piece also cuts off suddenly at the end, almost as if you intended on looping it. I would recommend using some filtering effects or something to wind the piece down earlier. 5 minutes is already pretty long. That said, overall this is really solid work. As a next step, I'd recommend branching out style-wise and trying to explore other genres besides dubstep with your compositional talents. Keep up the good work, man. ;)

[IV]

I love the atmosphere at the beginning. The spacey instruments are cool, from the luscious pianos to the synth arpeggios at :09. The mixing and mastering are top-notch as always. It's a little slower to progress than most of your other pieces, but it affords the track a great sense of climax and "breathing room." I guess one instrument I wasn't a huge fan of was the melody synth at 1:15. It was just a little high-pitched and harsh-sounding for my tastes. The melodic content itself was very enjoyable throughout, though. Also, I've digging the chord progression by around 1:35. I'm also a huge fan of bass slides (1:32) in general. :3 When the piece started adopting a more orchestral texture, I was completely hooked. I guess I was a bit disillusioned by the build-up at 2:07, however. It didn't really lead anywhere, and then you switched gears and launched into another tension-ridden electronic section, as opposed to the cathartic orchestral content I was expecting based on the build-up. Oh, wait, it's a mash-up. That explains some stuff. XD When the Latin vocals came in, I knew I was missing something. I still think this medley lacks some sort of epic climax, but at the very least it feels conclusive enough by the end. Overall great work, undoubtedly! I think you should experiment more with electronica, Step. ;)

Step responds:

Heyyyyy. Thanks for reviewing!

You read my music like a book sometimes. I definitely intended this to progress more slowly than my usual music, which you pointed out. Things like the buildup lasting from 1:32 - 2:07 or having such a long instrumental intro before the vocals come in aren't things I usually do.

We're gonna have to agree to disagree on the synth at 1:15 :(. That kind of thin, sine/triangle-based synth is something you hear often in the Metroid Prime soundtrack, and I wanted to emulate it. I like how precise its pitch is and how it cuts through the mix, just like it does in the original soundtrack. Perhaps it was a bit too harsh/shrill though. You might be right!

2:07 is something I can't disagree with you on though. I was hoping that the buildup with 2:07 would be the tension building which would carry over during the quieter bit and then get released at 2:12. That was my plan, at least. Didn't really turn out like that and what we ended up with was an almost arbitrary-sounding change in direction. In my defence, it was damn difficult to smoothly transition between those two sections! As I told Skye below they're in a different key/mood/time signature, so I definitely found trouble progressing to the second half in a way that made musical sense.

Aw, I was kind of hoping 4:08 would be the "epic climax" you're talking about. I threw everything I had into that part haha.

Thanks a lot for the honest review. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[What Are you Doing?]

I like the dark, apprehensive mood. It has a good sense of climax for the first 30 seconds or so, but then you appeared to switch gears to this busy, rhythmic section at :32. By then, I would've liked to see more melodic content seeping into the piece. I also think you overused the pulsing mid-range bass at :41. Once it comes in 3 seconds apart (:41 and :44), I think you've gone too far. I think if you had some stronger melodies here, it would help give this piece more shape. Right now it seems like it's oscillating between faster and slower-paced sections, but overall it doesn't have much of a sense of direction. Repetitive riffs usually don't make good melodies, and this is no exception. Perhaps you'd find this news post helpful: http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/937050. Also, I think you had a few too many higher frequencies in there. I would've put more effort into making sure the frequencies in the bass and kick don't overlap. That way, you can make the kick sound clear without having to add any treble tones. Some compression also couldn't hurt. It was a smooth loop, though, and I liked your instruments, even if they were a bit generic. I bombarded you with a lot of different things to work on, but I'd suggest working on them one or two at a time for maximal improvement. Maybe you could focus on writing some memorable melodies for next time, and then start to work on your mixing skills? I'm no expert, but I'm always willing to help. Feel free to PM me again when you have a new track! ^^

[Johnfn's Low Budget Cooking Show]

It's super catchy and flowing. I wasn't a huge fan of some of your samples. The snare at :54 comes to mind - it just seems a little heavy for the otherwise light, cute, and brisk mood of the rest of the piece. Also, some of the harmonies at :32 could've been a little more up-front in the mix IMO. That said, I love the mood and simplicity of it. Of course the cooking show is low-budget, though - you spent more time on the intro music than the actual cooking!

Keep it up, my friend. ;)

johnfn responds:

Actually you are right that snare is out of place >:( Though I don't really hear any harmonies at :32 lol. But yeah I agree with your assessments!

[3MBER - I Will Be There]

I like the atmospheric intro and panning. It has a great bright tone to it, and the vocals help enhance that effect. Perhaps the change-of-pace was a bit sudden at 1:14, but I think the frantic nature of the melodic section was fitting overall. I think you should’ve brought out the plucking melodies at 2:02 a bit more. The pads overwhelm them a bit. I appreciated how you offered some structural relief at 2:26, but I think you could have maximized the emotion by incorporating some more dynamic contrast and phrasing. I would’ve liked to see some more melodic development here. The piece needed another moment of climax to really tie it together IMO. Right now, there’s only one “emotional height,” and it occurs about halfway through the piece. Instead, I’d suggest at least 2, which would give the piece an overarching sense of direction, because otherwise the energy just dies out over the last third or so of the piece. The mastering was impressive, though, and I enjoyed a lot of your synths, especially the Far Eastern-sounding one at 2:02. You used the frequency range well overall. All things considered, this is solid work. Keep at it, man. ;)

7.5/10

x3MbeRx responds:

Thank you for the in-depth review :) The two week time frame was really the ultimate cause of most of those problems I think. I generally like to have at least two "drops" but I tried to focus more on getting a good mix and master on this one.