TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[guitar thing.mp3]

It’s a little hard to follow the rhythm at the beginning, although it helps when the bass comes in at :15. I also enjoyed the drums at around :30. It has a great sense of flow and additivity about it. The instruments mesh well, although I’m not hearing much melodic content until 1:33, and even then it’s way far back in the mix. If you used a bit more panning and filtering to really clarify all of the harmonies in there, this piece would be that much better. I liked the structural relief you offered at 1:48, although perhaps you could have used more dynamic contrast to heighten the sense of climax later. Unfortunately, during the second emotional height at 2:19, you don’t add a lot of meaningful content that wasn’t already in the first refrain. I like how exposed the melodies a bit more at 3:05, though. I appreciated the full texture this track had throughout. You have a good sense of harmony and tonality, and the mixing and mastering is generally good despite my minor clarity complaints.

8.25/10

Yoshiii343 responds:

Oh wow. I honestly don't know how to respond to this. Thank you so much for the review!

[Desert Overworld Part 2 - An Oasis with a Water Slide]

I like the melodies towards the beginning. You may have overdone the panning a bit there, though, and by :10 I think the melodies are a bit too jumpy (as opposed to stepwise). I like the beat at :21 and the cute mood. I’m not really sure why you simplified the texture so much at :38 so suddenly, though. It doesn’t really help create any sort of structural or dynamic contrast. You have a couple more transitions (1:38, for example) that could’ve been much smoother. I’m enjoying the melodic nature of this piece, although perhaps you should be careful about creating too many disparate melodies and instead focus on developing one or two melodic themes. That said, I thought 1:51 served to offer some structural contrast really well, and you transitioned well back into the more energetic section of 2:20. Overall, the texture of this piece is a bit bare. Perhaps you could’ve used some more pads or other less mobile content to keep the piece grounded a bit more. Between 2:20 and the end of the piece, in fact, it seems like you bounce from one melody to the next without any sense of direction. You needed to give this piece a sense of coherence and overarching climax by creating a clear refrain in which to develop your earlier melodies. And then the fade-out ending came across as lazy and inconclusive. You’ve clearly displayed your ability to craft beautiful melodies here, but now I want you to focus on simplifying the melodic content of your piece while adding more depth to the texture and more phrasing and progression. The mixing and mastering is pretty good. You did use panning creatively during the piece, although perhaps you could’ve brought certain instruments out more, such as the arpeggios that pop in at 1:21. Overall, pretty solid work. Some more compositional considerations, and this would be a top-tier piece. Keep at it, man. ;)

7.75/10

[Lockyn - Aqua [Karaplex Remix]]

I like the melody at the beginning. You might want to eliminate some of the treble tones from that synth, though. It was a little harsh-sounding in the high-frequency range (:12). Also, you dragged out the sweep that started at :07 for way too long, which made it a little anti-climactic. I loved the mood at :22, though. The unconventional beats at :31 were really cool, too. I thought you could’ve brought out the piano at :31 a lot more, though, because there’s not a lot of melodic content going on there. This piece piece is slow to develop towards the beginning, but the section at 1:26 has a great sense of flow and catharsis. It sounded like the drums started to be fighting a losing battle a bit by 1:56, but the full texture and harmonies you have going on there are great. At 2:21, you offer some much-needed structural contrast that lets the piece breathe a bit. Perhaps you could’ve done more with dynamic contrast during this sort of re-intro section, but you still had a meaningful build-up into 3:44 that was once again dragged on for too long by the long-form snare hits on the downbeats starting at 3:16. I loved the variations at 4:11. I’m usually skeptical of the introduction of new instruments this late in a track, but in this case it worked really well to channel the energy. You have a ton of variety here, and I love the classy finish at 5:06. ;) The instrumentation here is great, and I think you sufficiently added to the original. Sometimes I don’t think you properly balance the various harmonies perfectly (for example, at 3:44 there’s a lot of atmospheric content that could’ve shone through the mix a bit more), but overall the mixing and mastering were both pretty good. Perhaps you rigidly kept a few riffs and motifs from the original, but this track has a very unique sound design overall. Nice work! Keep at it, man. ;D

9/10

[Sentinel of the Great Gate]

This is a catchy and refreshing track. It has a cute yet energetic vibe. There are a lot of really sudden changes in the chord progression and/or modulations, such as at :24 and :34, for example. There were also a few out-of-place dissonances, such as :26. You needed some structural contrast here, too. It has a constant sense of energy and continuity, yet very little dynamic contrast, phrasing, or overarching sense of climax. You’re stringing together a lot of relatively independent ideas here. I would’ve liked to see you flesh out a couple of the themes here instead of moving on every 15 seconds. The fast pace of the piece may be fitting for a videogame, but as a stand-alone piece it’s hard to keep the listener grounded with this constant variation. You need to develop your melodies within the context of structural repetition, building on things you’ve already established in the piece instead of completely usurping the texture every 8 bars. The mastering is pretty loud and clear, but I can barely hear the drums throughout. Drums are a great way of channeling the energy of a piece, so the fact that they’re largely absent from this one is fitting. The loop is smooth, but as a solitary composition it lacks the structural ebb and flow that maximizes emotion and drama. I think you should focus on fleshing out your tracks more and letting them breathe. A good exercise for you would be to make a piece that’s more atmospheric and has as much dynamic contrast as possible. When you feel like you’ve done this, PM me and I’ll review it. Until then, keep at it, man. ;)

7/10

[Oppression Method]

I like the distorted ambient pads and crackly percussion. The piece is slow to develop, though, and the hats at :46 may have been a bit too loud. I like how the energy of the beat ramps up just as the pads mellow out. That’s some complex shaping right there. Overall, though, this piece is extremely minimalistic and drawn-out. I’m hearing very little melodic content, and the drums are way too up-front in the mix. The mastering is solid, although for a lot of the piece there isn’t a lot to mix and master. The harmonic content is very bare during the track, and after a while the piece just fails to keep me engaged. At the very least, you start using more percussive and ambient effects at around 3:30, perhaps most notably that sound effect at 3:41. This is a catchy piece that makes for good background music. Sounds like something the DJ plays at a smoky club at 3 am when everyone’s already passed out drunk. Unfortunately, as a stand-alone piece it’s just way too repetitive and structurally flat to hold my attention. It has little sense of conclusion, or for that matter of phrasing, climax, or dynamic contrast. I’m seeing a lot of potential here, but in order to capitalize on that potential you have to have a keener sense of pacing, offer more structural variety and melodic content, and maintain a fuller texture. Until then, keep at it, man. ;)

5/10

[Breaking]

The beat at the beginning is catchy. It’s a little slow to develop, but I like the atmosphere that starts fading in at around :31. I enjoyed the pitch bending at 1:15 and the subsequent frantic synths at 1:23. Still, it’s pretty minimalistic for the first 90 seconds here, and I’m hearing very little strong melodic content in general. The piano at 2:33 was an interesting and welcome addition to the texture. You do a good job creating structural ebb and flow here, but overall there’s very little sense of coherence here. I can see how all of the independent riffs are related tonally and thematically, but you need to flesh out and develop some of the ideas you have here more instead of just moving on to the next one. Otherwise, the piece seems directionless and jarring, and the ending will testify to that (it felt neither conclusive nor appropriate; I would’ve at least added some more reverb or a ping-pong effect). The atmosphere of the piece was amusing, and it’s extremely catchy throughout, but you could’ve done a lot more with this. The mixing and mastering are both solid, and I enjoyed your synths. If you planned out your composition more carefully, this would’ve been a top-tier piece. It has that potential, but right now the scatter-brained structure just doesn’t work for me. Sorry. Keep at it, man! ;)

6.5/10

[Flying Free (2k16 Remake)]

I liked the atmospheric, climactic intro. The part at :17 felt powerful and full-textured. You had some melodies in there at :17, but they got really buried underneath the mix. The melodies at :56 are blissful and catchy, but I thought you could’ve used some more creative rhythms. Those same melodies also got a little lost when you added those additional harmonies at 1:18. There are also other instruments that sound indistinct at times, such as the crashes during the transition at 1:12. The emotional height early in this piece seems really drawn out, lasting essentially from :39 to 1:56, and even then the energy doesn’t stop. By 2:19, that structural relief is more than welcome, and even then it’s short-lived compared to the overall pacing of the piece. You also don’t really have another section with strong melodic content in this piece after the first half or so, which kind of limits the overarching sense of development this piece has. I also thought your transitions, some of your instruments, and chord progressions were pretty generic. You have a great sense of harmony, but unfortunately that harmony isn’t coming through as clearly as it could because of the mastering flaws. For example, I love that bell-like atmospheric synth at 1:57, but it’s hard to discern its melody. Perhaps some panning would’ve helped there. I suggest you explore more stereo widening effects in the future, and maybe also simply more careful filtering/equalizing. If you improve the production quality and flesh out the final climax more, this would be a very good piece. Until then, keep at it, man! ;)

7/10

viewtifulday responds:

Lol it's happy hardcore. Thanks for your feedback tho

[Magna Cannon]

I like the intensity at the beginning. It has a great, frantic energy to it. The drums are also really loud and prominent in the mix, which is a huge plus for channeling the energy. I enjoyed the panning at :44, but you don’t provide a lot of structural relief for an extended period of time here. You have a good sense of melody and harmony, but in order to create some structural contrast and maximize the drama of this piece, you needed to have a low-energy breakdown or bridge section at some point. The piece becomes pretty predictable and repetitive after a while, too, and I don’t think you vary the melodies enough later on. The mixing and mastering are strong here, but compositionally you could’ve done a lot more with this. You also do very little to vary the texture at all during the entire piece. You have the bass guitar, lead, and drums (and nothing else) for the entire track. Overall, there are several good ideas here, but you need to offer more structural variety, changing the intensity both within distinct sections and between sections. This piece is oozing with potential, though. Keep at it, man! ;)

7.25/10

TSRBand responds:

Thanks for the tips! Will be sure to keep them in mind for the future :)

[AIM - Spectrum-X]

I’m enjoying the melodies a lot. The piece sort of launches right into the action without much sense of introduction, though. It’s almost as if :17 was meant to be the intro and :00 was meant to be the refrain. You have an excellent sense of harmony and tonality, though. I thought the drums were a bit too far back in the mix, especially the kick and snare. You also could’ve used some more prominent drum fills and/or crashes to help you transition between sections of the piece, such as at :59. The piece doesn’t have a whole lot of coherence, which probably isn’t helped by the lack of dynamic contrast and overarching sense of development. There’s some repetition, but overall the structure is very hard to follow because the melodies are so intricate and fast-paced. I would suggest simplifying the melodic content more, or otherwise creating a little more breathing room with a few more low-energy sections/verses between the melodic/energetic parts. After all, this piece is only 3 minutes long as is. I understand that you want to show off your excellent melody-crafting abilities, but after a point it’s a little over-stimulating. Also, I really hope you intended this piece to loop, because otherwise the piece cuts off very suddenly at the end. In general, there are quite a few positives here. The harmonies are well-balanced and create a nice, full texture. The instrumentation seems fitting, if not entirely unique. Overall solid work! ;)

7.75/10

Teckmo-X responds:

Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad you liked it!

[Another Life]

I like the cute mood and synths at the beginning. The effects were pretty cheesy, yet effective at enhancing the mood. The piece progresses really slowly, but at least you added a bit of atmosphere at 1:01. The mastering is solid, but until 1:21 this piece feels really contained and tight, probably because it lacks a lot of lower frequencies. The mastering is quiet, but I can hear everything clearly. You used panning and reverb effectively too. Overall, it’s pretty minimalistic and lacks an overarching sense of direction. It has a sort of continuity to it, without much ebb and flow. You could’ve used more phrasing and dynamic contrast here. I like how you varied the melodies at 3:02, but they lacked an energy and finality to them that I expected as the piece came towards the end. This piece is catchy and well-structured, but you could’ve done a lot more with it. Overall, it felt very safe and a little lack-luster by the end. This is especially disappointing because I enjoyed the atmosphere and instrumentation a lot. Overall solid work. Keep at it, SynthGoddess. ;)

8/10