TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Africa calls]

I like the percussion at the beginning and the cheery melodies at :09. Somehow this reminds me of The Lion King...which is probably an indication that you nailed the African theme. ;) The melody drags on for a bit too long IMO...and then you simply repeat it using a different instrument at 1:17. This would’ve been fine if you had more harmonic support in there to keep things interesting, but after a certain point I was seriously wondering if there would be any structural relief. However, to your credit, that moment finally came at 2:17. The song is very smooth-flowing and pleasant, but as a stand-alone piece it loses a few points in my mind because of a lack of overarching direction. For example, you didn’t really vary the main melody in any sort of climactic way later in the piece. That said, the sample quality is excellent and (again) you made the African theme really come to life here with the atmosphere and instruments. I also have no complaints with the mixing and mastering. If you fix the small structure and progression-related issues I mentioned above, this would easily be one of my favorite pieces of the competition so far. Keep up the good work, man. ;D

9.25/10

EagleGuard responds:

Hey man, thank you so much for your in-depth review! Definitely agree with all your points, and I'll certainly take it into account for future works.

Glad you enjoyed the piece as a whole, and thanks again for your review!

[Zenith]

I thought you could’ve left yourself a little more space for contrast at the beginning. The song kind of just throws you into the middle of these heavy breaks without much introductory material. It’s a little hard to get an overarching sense of climax, as the structure ebbs and flows a lot before any kind of emotional height, and then the real climax comes almost 2 minutes into the piece (1:51). The distorted guitar sounds there added a lot to the piece, but I still feel that some huge chunks of the preceding 2 minutes were unnecessary (the build-up from :52 to 1:21, for example, basically leads nowhere). The instrumentation here is great, however. You did a nice job of offering some structural relief at 2:36, and then transitioning back into a more energetic section by 3:05. The drums during that breakdown section are also quite creative. The piece is very smooth-flowing in general. You did a nice job with the panning, which I especially noticed at around 4:15. The transition into the final chorus at 4:33 was smooth yet weak. It almost seemed like you were playing this live and decided to cross-fade the prior melody and the chorus at the last minute. I was also a little disappointed that you failed to vary the melody sufficiently during the last chorus. For the casual listener, it may have even been difficult to identify that as the chorus because a large portion of this piece shares an energetic sense of continuity. I liked the ending, though. In general, the mixing is very clear and the mastering is loud and pleasant. Despite my mostly structure-related complaints, this is solid work! Keep at it, DM. ;D

8.5/10

Dylnmatrix responds:

Holy shit I never responded to this.

All your structure complaints are well placed. I believe this track mainly emulates a jam session that a band could have during a show, similar to the ones Muse has in their shows. Jams usually don't have concrete or even good structures as they're mainly improv, like this one in the sense I wrote it subconsciously in two nights.

Doesn't excuse the issues but it might explain why it's so.

[Domyeah - Digital Wonderland]

I like the intro and mood. The chord progression is cliche, though. I usually like loud drums, but here they truly dominate the mix to an overwhelming extent. I liked the melodies at :34, but they get really distorted when the drums come in at :42. I enjoyed the progression, including the heavy breaks at 1:07. The shift in mood was a little sudden there, but overall I appreciated your willingness to offer some variety in that sense. The song lacks a proper breakdown section, however, and is almost constantly energetic between the first two drops. I thought you did a good job of creating a full texture. There are more creative ways of creating variety than the modulation at 2:39, but at 2:55 you showed at least some sense of development by layering another synth onto the main melody, even if it was a bit too loud and harsh-sounding. The ending was also quite lazily done, as fade-outs often are. You’ve put together a catchy and coherent track here, but I think you have some work to do on the production quality and structural elements of this piece. I also find a lot of the synths and progressions to be quite generic, tbh. Fix these things, and you’ll have quite a solid track here, my friend. Keep at it, Domyeah! ;)

7/10

[Days Go By]

Interesting use of panning during the intro. I liked the upbeat mood and sense of climax into :32. The melodies are enjoyable, the mix is clear, and the mastering is very loud. The chord progression is a little cliche, though, and I thought you overused that transition with the crashes (:13 and other places). Also, I really appreciated that you added structural relief at 2:18, and I thoroughly enjoyed the transition at 3:01. This is a smooth-flowing and well-structured piece, and the vocal fills (3:22) add a lot to it. The melodic variations at 3:38 were also more than welcome. The fade-out ending came across as a bit lazy, though, but that’s probably the only structural flaw of this piece. The trumpet lead was a great choice instrumentation-wise, and you have a great sense of harmony. My main complaint is that this is very generic upbeat electronica. Overall, solid work! ;D

9/10

Jakki responds:

Thank you so much for your extensive and constructive review, T-Logic! Much appreciated! I have to agree with every point you made there. Indeed the ending was little lazy and the song was overall little generic.

Btw glad you liked the vocal fill at the 3:22 too :D

[8BitWarframe: Corpus Star]

I like the initial dynamic between the furtive strings and the gruff electronic bass. It has an overarching sense of climax for the first minute or so, but you also change different elements of the song in bizarre anticlimactic ways (for example, you have this energetic drum section at :41, which you then exchange by :55 for a more mellow one). The beat is amusing and unique. However, there’s very little melodic content in this piece, and when there is (1:57), its rhythm is flat and dull and you don’t bring it forward in the mix nearly as far as you should. The piece has a sense of continuity about it which I would’ve liked to see broken at one point in order to offer structural variety. The string pads are droning on for basically the entire piece, thereby missing an opportunity to create more dynamic contrast and emotional highs and lows. I have no complaints with the mixing and mastering, however. The piece has a full texture throughout with well-balanced and clear frequencies all around. Overall, this is a solid piece, but you could have channeled the emotion a lot more with some more melodic variety and a more visible breakdown section. Keep at it, man. ;)

8/10

[London Night (2016)]

I liked the panning at the beginning. This is a catchy piece with some refreshing instrumentation. It’s also bass-y, moody, and mastered incredibly loudly. Despite the slow progression, there’s plenty of texture to keep me engaged. I think the kick could’ve been a bit more up-front in the mix, especially since this is a house track with a strong beat. The melodies at 2:20 also need to be brought out much more. You have very little strong melodic content in this piece, so when you do have some you should expose it! The piece also has a sense of continuity without much structural relief or dynamic contrast. Perhaps it would serve well as a dancefloor favorite, but loses points as a stand-alone piece because of this lack of variety. The ritardando at the end worked well, even if it did seem a bit unconventional for house music. Overall solid work! Keep it up, man. ;)

8.5/10

deliverance84 responds:

Thank you very much dude :) I think you are very correct, this still needs much more work. I need to master this again and like you said, bring the main melody's forward. Massive thanks for the high praise and the great review, at least I know what to do for this track now :)

[This Endless Space - DubAudio]

I like the tranquil mood at the beginning. The cello sample at :18 sounds really fake. The uniform vibrato completely gives it away. I like the progression, even if the development is a bit slow. The drums are enjoyable, and the mixing and mastering is solid. It’s very flowing, well-structured, and smooth, with a great sense of continuity. I wish there was more melodic development, though. The melodies as they are (3:21) rely heavily on arpeggios. The sounds here blend well together, though. The piece felt a little repetitive by the end and probably didn’t need to be over 5 minutes long. Generally, I regard fade-out endings as lazy, but it seemed fitting here. Overall, I think this is a pretty safe piece. You could’ve done a lot more with the melodies, instrumentation, and emotion. This piece wants to be cinematic, but instead it feels more characteristic of background music. You know how to structure and master a song well, but I wanted to hear a bit more ebb and flow. Overall solid work. Keep at it, man. ;)

7.75/10

[Resolution]

The intro is a bit confusing for me. I really didn’t think you needed that drum fill when you already had a brief fade-in and some satisfactory synth patterns. Perhaps that’s a small detail, however. This piece is pretty slow to develop early on, but I enjoyed the build that begins at around :50. This piece is catchy and melodic. I wasn’t a huge fan of your clap sample. It sounded pretty generic. The stop-start transition you had at 1:34 wasn’t all that effective IMO, even with the reverb. I think you could’ve at least faded in the next section, or otherwise used more reverb. Same thing at 2:06. It just needed to be a bit smoother. I found it a bit jarring that you launched into the melody at 2:37 in the middle of a measure, also with little in the way of transitory material. You also didn’t develop or vary the melody much the second time, which is a missed opportunity to add some overarching sense of climax and finality to this piece. The piece is also pretty minimalistic, especially during the inter-chorus section (1:34 - 2:52). I liked the ending, though. As for the mixing and mastering, it’s pretty clear throughout. I thought you could’ve done a lot more with the drums. Most of the time, it’s just a straight-forward kick-clap-kick-clap on the beat. Overall, this piece is catchy and fun, but not remarkable. You could’ve taken more risks here, especially with the melodic development and sound design. I also think you need to work on your transitions. That said, I liked the mood, structure, and the melodies themselves. Keep at it, man! ;)

7.5/10

CyanSandwich responds:

Thanks for the review man! (And all the judging)
I'll definitely keep all of this in mind.

[Space stuff]

I liked the atmospheric intro. It’s very bass-y, pensive, and catchy. The melody at :24 is very enjoyable. I love how the texture gradually gets more complex. There’s a great sense of development throughout the first minute or so. That said, you never quite released the tension, and 1:10 was extremely anti-climactic. The sounds blend really well here, though. The transitions are solid. I especially liked the one at 2:41, and you did a good job of varying the drop the second time around. The mood, atmosphere, and instrumentation are all huge gambits for his piece. The ending was appropriately conclusive, yet cut off a little suddenly at 4:19. This piece probably has the best phrasing I’ve seen so far in the competition. You’ve done an excellent job of varying the melodies and harmonies, and the mixing and mastering is solid. My main complaint is that I think you could’ve capitalized on channeling the energy more. For example, the drops seem very safe and even minimalistic compared to the empowering climaxes preceding them. Overall great work! ;D

9.5/10

[All You Said (that I Thought Was True)]

I like the 90s coffee shop rock vibe here. ^^ The lyrics are a little cheesy, but nonetheless enjoyable. Your voice is mastered loudly and clearly, and its tone helps propel the narrative elements of the lyrics really well. The piece is smooth-flowing and well-structured. The fade-out at the end came across as a bit lazy, though, and you didn’t really vary or develop the chorus in any climactic sort of way at the end. I don’t have any complaints with the mixing or mastering. Nice work with the balance, too. I thought you overused the crashes a bit during the bridge at 1:37. That said, I enjoyed the mood and overall feel-good vibes here. The soundscape was solidly built without being especially unique. This is a solid piece all around. Good job!

8.5/10