TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Ersatz]

I liked the mood at the beginning, as well as the synths. It progresses pretty slowly, and you’ve soaked up a huge chunk of this piece with very little development, contrast, or climax. The atmosphere is good. Some variety finally comes at around 1:45, but it in and of itself also progresses very slowly. The transition at 2:51 was also very sudden. A lot of this piece is very minimalistic and even a bit bland IMO. As background music to a videogame, it’d be great work, but as a stand-alone piece I think you need more melodic development, a fuller texture with supportive harmonies, and a more complex structure. The coda with the distorted bass also threw me off a bit. It didn’t seem to fit the chill, quirky aesthetic you had during most of the piece. There are some good ideas here, though. I’d encourage you to keep working on this piece after the competition. Hope this helped, man! ;)

7/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

[Dive In (NGADM '15)]

Sorry to start this review off on a negative note, but the intro didn’t really work for me. You have this distorted, bass bomb of a sample playing for 3 seconds, and then you launch into this upbeat, well-balanced and full-textured section hook. The intro was short lived, and didn’t really help lead up to the next part in any way. I suppose the most confusing part of it for me was when you stripped away the filters (or made a volume automation; I can’t tell) at :01, and then just faded it back in before the upbeat part started. I think the intro would’ve worked fine as a sort of start-stop transition mid-way through the track, but at the beginning it felt a little bizarre. I’ve spent enough time talking about that, though. It’s a tiny detail and I’m not taking off many points for it. Anyway, I like the synths at :03 and the mood. Like I mentioned, you have a nice, full and even texture. The modulation at :29 caught me really off guard. Usually key changes don’t occur until much later in the piece as a way of making things seem more climactic. Then, :57 launches into this sort of ambient, pulsing drone-like sound that somehow reminds me of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” I think you’re trying to force these moods to work together a bit too much. You need to connect the disparate ideas you have here a little more. Otherwise, this piece seems a bit all-over-the-place. I’m still getting the “Thriller” vibes from that organ at 1:53 – kind of has this pop-like, thick-pad creepy sound to it. Then, once again I have no idea what to make of 2:19 – 2:46. It sounded like you tried to return to the ambient sound you had earlier, and then got sidetracked with creating a build-up (2:34) that essentially led nowhere. I’m so confused and disturbed that I almost actually like it. But then you come in with these random distorted effects at 2:48 and I’m once again convinced that this piece is ALL OVER THE PLACE. Don’t get me wrong – I love a lot of the ideas here, but the structure is so insanely bizarre that it’s almost impossible to keep the listener grounded by any sort of verse-chorus dependability or anything. There’s very little coherence in this piece. You need to repeat some of your ideas across sections of the piece! It should usually be relatively easy for a casual listener to discern the structure of your track. Adding variety – dynamic contrast, melodic development, etc. – will help keep your track interesting enough. However, neither of those concepts is even remotely relevant to this piece, I’m afraid. I’m sorry this review is so negative, Birdinator99. I’d encourage you to keep working on this piece (after the contest, of course) because I like the ideas you have here as I said, but right now the structure is very confusing and there’s very little repetition. Hope this helped! Keep at it, man. ;)

6/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

Birdinator99 responds:

The intro is bad and was rushed -- I'm actually surprised nobody else brought it up. I don't know how to explain how it came to be, but to make the intro longer would've meant me reorganizing a lot of my automation, and I ended up waiting until it was too late to decide what to do about it, so it's a cop-out. My bad. I will be more conscious of this in the future.

Glad you like the first part. It almost sounded a lot different at first, but I made a decision to have that organ play the chords about halfway through the process, and I think it really works.

I don't know enough about music theory to know what I did at 0:29. I had some chords that I was looking to use, and they sounded like they fit, so I just went for it. If it was jarring for you I apologize. Won't change that modulation though ;) haha

I have a habit of adding a spacey or, I don't know, "wondrous" section about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way through my songs, so it's not always going to fit in with the rest of the piece. You're right; in hindsight, this track kind of keeps going...and going...and going. It's just one idea to the next without a lot of cohesion. I won't complain about Michael Jackson comparisons though!

2:19 to the end is really just creepy for the sake of being creepy. I was messing around with my tape stop plugin and I found something that I liked, so I just rolled with it. I'm glad you are disturbed -- I felt similarly the first time I heard that part when I stumbled across it. I really personally enjoy this section, so while I realize it doesn't fit with a lot of what else is going on here, I'm proud of it "as it's own thing", if you know what I mean.

I'm afraid I don't usually go back to songs to change them, however I will try to learn from this. I am working on a project right now that will help with my dynamic contrast and melodic development skills, hopefully. The journey's not over yet!

Thanks for taking the time to type out your thoughts. I'm sorry it was a let down for you!

[Ghost Pilot]

I liked the heavy, distorted bass at the beginning, and the “haunted” theme is really cool. I think you might’ve needed a less sudden transition at :09, or you could’ve at least faded in the melodies that came in there to smooth it over a bit. The percussion you have at the very beginning ducks under the mix a bit by around :17, and in general I thought the drums could’ve been a lot louder, with more reverb to add some punchiness. I liked the full texture you had at :24, as well as the melodies, but I think a lot of the individual elements of the mix could’ve come through a bit clearer, especially in the bass range. The transition at :54 is also quite abrupt. I thought this piece was well-structured, though. The bridge you have at 2:11 is neat, but I think it drags on a little longer than it should’ve. As I see it, that whole section essentially lasts until around 3:20, where you bring some more prominent drums and lead guitars back in. You could’ve done a lot more during that 2:11 – 3:20 section to create more dynamic contrast, phrasing and build-ups into the last “emotional height” at around 3:20. I also thought you could’ve added more to the last minute or so of the piece. You lost some opportunities to add some melodic development there, as there weren’t really any memorable leads and/or solos. Overall, there are a lot of good ideas in this piece, but I think they can be fleshed out more. Hope this helped! Keep at it, CruelDeity. ;)

8/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

[Waves From The East [NGADM]]

I liked the warm string sound at the beginning. It sounds very cinematic and bright. I will say that I didn’t like how they cut off suddenly at :13. It sort of ruined the flow of the piece IMO, and if you’re going for more of a sweeping/pulsing effect it’s probably more effective to create a decrescendo before you cut them off. The piece progresses slowly, but the chord progression itself is powerful and engaging. The mechanical-sounding samples you introduce starting around :53 offer an interesting dynamic to the piece, contrasting the artificial and the natural in a way. I liked the piano you introduced at 1:26 as well. It did a good job of darkening the mood just in time for the climax at 1:44. Unfortunately, I don’t think the piano comes through as clearly as it could’ve during the part at 1:44, although I do like the choir and the beat you added to the texture at that section. The part at 2:20 offered some much-needed structural relief, and I liked the melodies that started popping in at around 2:45. You’ve done an excellent job of creating a constant sense of direction for this piece. Despite the abruptness, I liked the transition at 3:29. The abruptness added to the drama effectively there, although I usually don’t appreciate sudden transitions (a word of warning for future rounds, haha). At 4:21, you seemed to be creating a build-up to yet another emotional height of the piece, yet at 4:35 you sort of stripped away the texture of the build-up, which confused me a bit. You then launch straight into what I see as another build-up at 4:39 (which seems to lead into 4:56), but then you don’t do a lot with 4:56. In fact, you don’t really ever get to that arrival point, which disappoints me. I liked the ending, but I don’t think you needed any of the build-ups after around 4:20 or so. Still, you should have another refrain in there at some point, probably one which serves as a variation of the one you had at 1:44. Having one main chorus/refrain that’s 1/3 of the way through the piece strikes me as a structural oddity, especially since this piece is so long. I would suggest trying to condense the latter half of this piece to be able to structurally accommodate a second refrain, and you also could stand to cut down what is essentially a 100-second-long intro and build-up at the very beginning of the piece. Overall, this is a solid piece, but I think the structural issues and long-winded nature of it detract from my enjoyment of it, unfortunately. There are a lot of cool ideas here, though, so I’d encourage you to keep working on it (after the competition, of course!). Hope this helped, Tyven. Keep at it! ;)

7.5/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

[~SW~ Data Transfer]

I really liked the atmospheric vibe at the beginning. You left yourself a lot of space for climax, which is always good to see. It progressed a little slowly, but you maintained this sort of tense and ominous mood that I really liked. I thought the drop at 1:01 was engaging while simultaneously not being too heavy. The part at 1:27 offered some much-valued structural relief, although I thought the bass was a little too loud during that section. Perhaps it would’ve helped create even more structural contrast if you had kept the bass in the backdrop a bit more at that point. I liked the melodies at 2:08. They helped lead into the second drop really nicely, and it was good to see that you varied the drop more the second time around. It helped create some melodic development. I liked the coda too, but I thought you dragged it out a little longer than was necessary. I’ll also add that there’s a lot of built-up tension in this piece that I didn’t think you released fully by the end, even with the second drop. It would give this piece a much more cathartic emotional height at 2:21 if you had some more hard-hitting content in there IMO. Still, I love the soundscape here, and the production quality is very high. Keep up the good work, SkyeWint! ;)

8.5/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

SkyeWint responds:

Hey, TL!

Quite honesly, I can't disagree with any of your comments. I completely agree.

The bass at 1:27 could have been a bit quieter - it didn't sound like it on either my speakers or my headphones when I was mixing though. :( Se la vie, I suppose.

Definitely some tension that could have been released better in the second drop, and I agree that the outro was a *bit* long. I think that's the only part I take slight issue with, as the piece was meant to have slower progression - that's why I had all the little partial melodies hidden in the plucks at the beginning and end. That said, I guess the outro being as long as the intro is a bit much. To be *perfectly honest*, I kinda copy/pasted a lot from the intro and the first drop for the second drop and the outro because by the time I put it out a lot of me was just done with it (partially due to other life issues at the time which are still going on but much improved - see my recent news post if you really want to know). Probably apparent, but I thought there was still *enough* content (since I stuff way too much content into my music normally). I guess there was enough, but it was clearly still apparent.

In any case: Thank you for the review. It was definitely helpful - I can respect every single point you made since they were clearly written and directly applicable. Respect for you yourself +20!

[Escape]

I liked the upbeat mood and the instruments you used. It progressed a little slowly, but the drop at :50 was awesome. I think you should’ve brought out the arpeggios during the drop more, because they did a lot to create a full texture for the piece. I really like the melodic content in this piece. The riser at 1:58 is really cool, too. I like the energy and progression, but I think you could’ve done more to create some structural contrast here. I don’t hear much of a breakdown/bridge/re-intro that would’ve helped you bring out the emotion during the final refrain a lot more. It would’ve helped to vary the melody more, as well as play with the dynamic contrast and phrasing. I also thought the ending sounded a bit rushed. It’s usually a good idea to at least conclude the piece on the tonic. That said, I do admire your sense of harmony and rhythm, and the production quality was rather high. Overall solid work! Keep at it, SolarexMusic. ;)

8/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

[A Droplet of Imagination (Original)]

I love the emotional quality at the beginning. At around :22, I’m hearing some dissonance between the piano and guitar. This piece progresses pretty slowly, and I think you could’ve done more to form a fuller texture at times. I’ll also say that the melody notes in the piano at around :40 are pretty high-pitched and harsh-sounding. You might want to equalize out some of the treble tones in that instrument, or otherwise transpose that riff down an octave. I did like the warm strings you had here, though. The part at around 2:10 offers some much-needed structural relief. However, I think the second half of the piece was a little underwhelming. I wanted to see you create some more melodic development and really go for maximizing the emotion. Instead, it had the vibe of being elegant and upbeat, but not quite cinematic or climactic. You could’ve used some more dynamic contrast to really bring out the drama here. I would’ve returned to the dynamic level you had at the beginning during the breakdown at 2:10, and then created some soaring melodies thereafter to really sell the majestic quality of this piece. This is a solid track, but next time I want you to take some more risks! Otherwise, keep up the good work, Jabicho. ;)

8/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

Jabicho responds:

Hi man!
Thanks so much for the review, I always improve a lot after reading your reviews! :D
Oh yes, I understand what you say, I think this song felt too "comfortable" after I made it, and needs a climatic part in it.
Thanks again for your words, and for taking the time to check it out, it means a lot :)

[Running Free]

I love the warm, atmospheric vibes at the beginning. It has a great sense of climax about it. I liked the drums at :57 and the pizzicato-y elements (including the bass) that you fade it throughout the first minute. It has this superbly dark and cinematic vibe to it that’s really captivating. I enjoyed the melodic content around the 2-minute mark and the subsequent return of the warm strings, which provided some much-needed structural relief IMO. This is a very smooth and flowing track, and the mixing and mastering is excellent. You’ve really created a full texture here, and the soundscape is marvelous – excellent choices (and quality!) of instruments across the board. I think you transitioned a bit too quickly back into the warm, atmospheric sound the second time around, though (3:46). The coda was marvelous, though; it really tugged at my emotions. I also thought you could’ve gone a bit more all-out during the last refrain (3:10), just to establish some more melodic development. Admittedly, I’m just desperately trying to find things to criticize about this piece at this point, because there really aren’t many. I love the drama and emotion. I love the production and sample quality. I love the melodies, the swells, the rich and full sound, etc. This is utterly fantastic work. Keep it up, JacobCadmus! :D

9.5/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

[Velcro]

I love the dreamy, pensive synths at the beginning and the drums. This track has a really cool energetic and engaging vibe about it. The funky instruments and melodic content help it a lot too. It kind of threw me off at :44 when you seemed to creating a re-intro only a fifth of the way through the piece. Typically, I’ll only let things like that slide if its purpose is to create contrast for an epic, impending climax, which wasn’t really the case here. That said, I really like the direction this piece is going in by around 1:30. This piece is smooth-flowing and well-structured and overall has a great, upbeat, and feel-good vibe about it. You create a sufficient amount of variation for your melodies while also keeping it coherent. I also liked the way you wound the piece down at the end. It made it feel very conclusive. I think the drums should’ve been a lot more up-front and prominent in the mix, though. I also think that the last refrain wasn’t the most climactic instance of melodic content here. I would encourage you to really go all out at 3:15 next time, just to make sure you maintain that sense of direction and emotional height. Still, overall this is really solid work. Keep it up, LunacyEcho! ;D

8.5/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

LunacyEcho responds:

=> vibe =>

That's definitely the feeling I wanted to create! :D

=> 0:44 =>

Personally, I prefer a song that has a lot of ups and downs in its structure, as opposed to just gradual development. :P Perhaps I should have a breakdown, but make it less variant maybe?

=> variation for your melodies =>

After all the repetition in the last piece I put out (which was for the NGAUC!), I really wanted to make a song that could maintain melodic interest!

=> drums in the mix =>

I think johnfn once said that novices in mixing almost always mix the drums in too quietly, and I guess I've shown my novice-ness through my drum mixing here! I definitely have a lot to learn in terms of production. :P

=> last refrain =>

Really? It had the most instrumentation, but I guess it didn't have the most melodic variation within the tracks. I think I can see what you mean, and in hindsight, I definitely should've put more effects onto the synth at 3:15! It sounded interesting at first, but now when I hear it it sounds a little simple. :P

Thanks so much for the review, and thanks for all the judging you did for the NGADM! :D

[Serenity (Prince Fisher)]

No one else submitted from your group – so sad. :’( I love the mood here, man. The FX at the beginning sets the atmosphere nicely, and I love the soundscape you put together. I will say that I think you could work on the balance a bit. The flute is really quiet relative to the pads, bass, and drums. The jazzy vibe you went for here is really cool, though. With the FX at the beginning, it sounds like I was outside on a hot summer night and walked into a bar out of my parents’ generation. ;) I thought that the texture of the piece started to feel a little too busy at around the 2-minute mark. There were just a few many isolated and rather engaging riffs to latch onto there that it sort of sounded…confusing, in a way. The ending was cool – kind of mysterious and chill, yet the recording also seems to cut off suddenly at 2:50, which bothers me. Overall, though, solid work! Hopefully, you’ll have a competitor next round. ^^

8/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

frootza responds:

I know, it is an odd feeling not going up against anyone :( I hope pharow stays with me haha.

You are right about the mix, it was tricky since I haven't recorded or mixed live flute before. I tried to get all the levels right, but didn't take into account how loud the flute gets at higher registers which threw the song off a bit (among some guitar parts I should have put more thought into and cleaned up a bit).

I didn't realize the cutoff, but I will look into it. I'd like to revisit these tracks with a less rushed mindset in the future and actually track the drums live :P

Thanks for the review though TL, good advice! Gotta start writing for the next round!