TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Spaze - Who You Are]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and sense of climax at the beginning. The melodies at :31 are catchy, although the bass is a little loud there, even if it doesn’t detract from the mastering that much. I suppose I’d question the pacing of this piece a bit in that the intro and build is only about 30 seconds long, while the melody repeats several times, playing for almost a minute in total by around 1:30. Also, the section after that was a little too drawn-out as well. I think you needed a less energetic breakdown or bridge section to really highlight the structural contrast in this piece. You also fail to vary the melodies during the second refrain, which leaves this piece without much of an overarching direction to it. The fade-out ending was also pretty lack-luster. I thought your drum samples were pretty generic, although you mixed them in well. This piece shows great potential, but doesn’t capitalize on that potential IMO. You could’ve done a lot more with the melodies, especially later on in the piece, and you didn’t add much meaningful or different material to the track after even the first refrain. If you take some more opportunities to create dynamic contrast, structural relief, and a more refreshing and unique sound design, this would be a top-tier piece. As for now, it fails to keep my interest after a while. Keep at it, man! ;)

7.25/10

[Jet]

This piece is catchy and has a good sense of energy and drive. The melodies at :22 are extremely groovy - fast-paced yet flowing. I was about to say it reminded me of an 80s workout video soundtrack, and then I saw “80s” in the tags. ;) This is a well-structured piece, but I think you could’ve done more to heighten the contrast between the refrains by inserting a more atmospheric and slow-paced breakdown or bridge section. This piece is pretty short, and deserves to be fleshed out more to maximize the sense of climax going into the last refrain at 1:47. The piece is also missing some treble frequencies in general, and I think a high pass would’ve been welcome here. However, I don’t think that generally affects the mastering quality too much. Overall, this is solid work. Again, the overarching sense of progression is the main thing that needs work IMO. Keep it up, man. ;)

8.5/10

[Swell]

I like the sense of climax at the beginning. There’s a lot of atmosphere and luscious reverb to this piece. I like the melodies at :28. I think you could’ve brought out the drums in the mix a lot more, though. By :49, I can barely hear the snare. The part at :56 was great for offering some structural contrast. I think the mix is very bass-heavy, though, and a lot of the instruments here could probably use a high pass. I also lose sight of the kick at 1:24. You could’ve done a bit more with the melody during the second refrain to give this piece a sense of overarching progression. In general, I love all of the risers and phasing effects that add a lot to the phrasing of the piece. Overall, though, this is solid work. Great job with the atmosphere, instrumentation, and creation of full, luscious textures. :) Keep at it, man!

8.75/10

[Aquapump (Sonic 3 Hydrocity Remix)]

This is extremely catchy and intense. You use panning, reverb, and harmonic space really well. The mixing and mastering are superb here. The piece has a sort of continuous energy with little dynamic contrast or structural relief, though. I loved the solos at 2:28, but I thought you could’ve used a bridge or breakdown somewhere in there to create a sense of climax and contrast leading into the solos. I love how you develop the melodies at 2:48, especially after you repeated that same melody at least 3 times earlier in the piece. Obviously, this is a fantastic piece overall. Perhaps you could have varied it a bit more from the original, but you still brought the fresh perspective of a new genre to the piece. Still, this is an engaging, fun, and catchy track with loud and clear mastering. Keep up the good work! ;D

9/10

[Aiearih (Piano)]

I like the tranquil mood at the beginning. It has great emotional depth to it. This piece is very flowing and majestic, although there were a couple of small moments when you interrupted that flow by not holding out notes long enough, such as 1:03, 1:55, etc. You did a great job of creating structural contrast here, too, as exemplified by 3:04, which followed a much more energetic section. Perhaps on a less serious note, I’m very curious about the title of this piece. It evokes a person’s name, although I was unable to find its meaning on the internet. Does it hold some special significance for you? I’ve always admired improv in general, though. It’s captivating to me that people can come up with such beautiful music as they play it. I thought this piece had a lot of space to it as well. For example, 5:29 and other little moments that let the piece breathe a lot between some very smooth-flowing sections. The piece also has a great narrative feel to it. If I had to complain about something, it might be that at times you seem to use block chords or excessively muddy notes (9:53, 11:43, 1:27, etc.) that make the piece a bit crunchy and disallow you to use the entire harmonic space that you could’ve to give this piece a nice, full texture all the time. Perhaps it’s just that you need to think more carefully about which notes you’re giving the most emphasis to. For example, the bass notes are a little overpowering at 12:46, even though it’s clear you were going for some drama there to contrast with the tranquil section that follows at 13:15. Also, even though this is an improv, I would’ve liked to see you try to maintain at least some common sense of theme. Coherence is just as relevant to 17-minute-long tracks as it is to 3-minute-long ones, although you do tie the various themes of this piece together very well in general. The piece doesn’t have much sense of climax at the end, but perhaps you make up for that with the emotion at 16:05. Overall, this is very enjoyable work. You’ve exemplified how to use minimalism and simple instrumentation right, my friend. Keep up the good work. ;D

9/10

pftq responds:

Thanks! Appreciate the in depth review. My live playing with chords is not as proficient as I'd want it to be, but much of what occurred in the piece compositionally is intentional and how you end up feeling as a result of them is what I was going for, including the interruptions in flow. The lack of repetition of some theme is more or less exactly what the traveler feels on the journey (and this song can be said to be written from that first person perspective rather than a third person observer) - that as you go further and further, you never really quite find a single identity, becoming a different person with every new place you encounter with no real linkage to the last, with only yourself ever really knowing the full journey and having few occasions to reflect (which is represented by the very rare occasions a theme does resurface). The only commonality is the feel, which remains largely the same, a bit reversed in that rather than a single theme being changed it's many themes over the course of the song with a hint of familiarity. It's like a person changing over time but upon meeting them you can't help feeling you still know that person amidst all the change they went through. Aiearih is just Hiraeia backwards.

[Heart of the East]

I like the sense of atmosphere at the beginning. The bird sounds and crickets fit the tranquil tone of the piece well. It’s a little slow to develop, but by the time those warm strings come in at around :50, there’s a captivating mood to this piece. Nice job offering some structural relief at 1:34, too. You have a great sense of tonality and harmony. The balance and mixing are also pretty strong here. I love how the Far East-sounding plucked strings support the woodwinds at 1:34. The piece has an excellent sense of climax at 2:03. You’ve done an excellent job with melodic development here, as well as maximizing the emotion through dynamic contrast and the like. If I had to complain about something mastering-wise, it’s probably that the plucked strings are fighting to stay afloat at 2:03. Compositionally, you might’ve been able to do more with the percussion besides using it to channel the energy through transitional content...but that’s a tiny detail. Overall, this is a fantastic piece. You did a great job of making it come full-circle, too, even though there’s a ton of variety in this piece. The instrumentation is superb, the melodies are engrossing, and it has a great sense of full texture and flow. For God’s sake, keep up the great work! ;D

10/10

[Lightning vs. Future(Mash Up)]

I liked the atmosphere at the beginning. At :14, the tranquility of the piano contrasts nicely with that mid-range synth making the wubs. There’s a lot of tension here with little sense of climax or direction until 1:09. I think you could’ve done a better job of phrasing the first minute or so to keep things interesting. Over 90 seconds is a long time to go before the first drop, after all, especially when your piece is fewer than 3 minutes long. I enjoyed the structural contrast you offered at 2:06 with the calm, smooth orchestral instruments. I don’t think the added effects at 2:33 were necessary. It sounds like you interrupted what really should’ve been a 4-minute-long track with a thunder clap and then cut it off suddenly. It’s usually a good idea to have at least 2 climactic sections in your piece, as this structure allows you to develop melodic ideas further. Perhaps this isn’t a structurally complete piece in that regard. Still, I enjoyed the mixing and mastering, which were both solid throughout. If you flesh out the composition of the piece a bit more, with some stronger melodic sections and variety in a second drop, this would be a top-tier piece. Until then, keep at it, man. ;)

7.5/10