TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[Dubstep] Blurs - Original]

The rhythm at the beginning is a little hard to follow, but I like the sense of climax and energy and how that eventually resolves into the tranquility at :14. The pace is a little slow for the next minute or so, and I think you could've condensed that section a lot, especially since the drop is so ephemeral (1:29 - 1:43). Then, you transition right into a build-up to another drop (?) at 1:59, which is heavier but not nearly as entertaining IMO. The structure is a little bizarre, and the part at 1:29 functions much better as a post-chorus (which is how you use it at 2:26). You seem to vacillate back and forth between drops 1&2 until the bridge/breakdown thing at 2:54. I think you could've condensed this piece into something more appropriately sub-4 minutes by solidifying the roles of those 2 drops (1:29 and 1:59) into the actual drop and a post-chorus. Right now the way you channel the energy in this track seems kind of out of calibration, if that makes any sense. Either way, I like the instrumentation and production quality. Also, I'm a fan of reverb-heavy endings, so that's a plus. Keep up the good work, Trunotfals! ;)

trunotfals responds:

THe intention was to have a long intro, the whole song was inspired by Seven lions, essentially the song starts at like :50 where from there on out, its a pretty standard layout, save for the "fake drop" at 1:29 which has become somewhat of a signature for me in my songs, You can hear it in Revolution, Transcend, and I believe Never after. All of which have that "tagline" of sorts which I feel is a unique structure and satisfying to me. It's like a mini drop that isnt quite resolving unlike the real drop, which i try to make a complete resolution of tension. The fake drop is always messy and uncomfortable, yet intense and climactic. At least that is my intention. But I get why you think the form is weird in this, just try to imagine the song actually starting at :50, then it really is just intro, verse, buildup (including the fake drop imo) drop, breakdown (basically Drop A, B, the drops in this song are pretty extended) then verse, as it is the exact same form as the intro before, then another buildup or bridge, then drop, then outro. Pretty simple, the buildups are just weird because of that tagline I like to put in.

TLDR My intention was to have a climactic and very non-satisfying drop, that would not be interpreted as a real drop sense the tension is not really released, finally into a further build up of tension into another resolving drop, the real drop.

However maybe you're right an i did not execute in an effective way.

[Enter Newground]

I like the mood at the beginning. The effect at :04 seemed a little out-of-place and overly electronic when compared to the bright, organic, and contemplative sound of the rest of the piece. The piece definitely has a powerful overtone to it. Great job making this piece climactic and emotional throughout, and I love the dissonance you start to throw in there at around 1:25. The loop is flawless. Overall fantastic work! ;D

Phonometrologist responds:

You have good ears. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it. Any "out-of-place" moments that one may feel can be correlated to just how fluent the writing process was for this as I spent an evening writing it. Sometimes to think less in terms of editing helps the creative flow. "First thought, best thought."-Allen Ginsberg

[Run (ft. Anja Enerud & Lapette)]

I like the instrumentation and sense of climax at the beginning. Until around :30, the vocals are hard to make out over the instrumental though. I like the structure a lot, though. The start-stop transition into the second verse at 1:40 was excellent. I also really like the chopped-up vocals (like at 2:30). The kick sounded a bit too forceful for what is, at least in my view, a pretty feel-good track. I also liked the bridge section at 3:50, though. I thought it would've served better as a bridge than as a coda, but generally I have very few compositional complaints with this piece. Nice mastering as always, too. Keep up the great work, Trunotfals! ;)

trunotfals responds:

Thanks for your continuing awesome reviews man! I loved this song. Simple as put haha. but listening back to it now, i did definitely want this to be a bit of a chill feel good song, and the kick is quite intense. Also this might be the one time i dissagree with you, I cant see myself rebalancing the vocals any different. On my headphones they sound peffectly balanced. Infact it gets a little distorted with its sidechaining somehow even. But oh welllllll. THANKS MAN!

[Glare (Fix)]

Interesting how the intro is really engaging. Usually with this genre I see some sort of fade-in or otherwise low-energy section, which seems to occur anyway at :32 in this piece. The chord progression is a little cliché, and I wish the melodic content was a little more varied and less simplistic. The part at 2:30 (and other places) almost seems more like a post-chorus than anything else. Overall, the mixing is pretty good and it's catchy. The instrumentation isn't anything special, though, and it's just really generic. You need to find more ways of making this track memorable - maybe a cool transition, or emotional breakdown or something. Right now, it's pretty mediocre tbh. Sorry if that sounds overly tough. Keep at it, man!

DJ-Zyzyx responds:

LOL That's almost exactly what people said on the original version... if you look at the reviews on it!! XD I'm somewhat better now, but I agree with you. It is generic and catchy but just not good enough. Thanks for the review! :D

[Transcend {Dj-Abbic}]

Hey man! Good to see you're still active on the Grounds. I like the sense of climax this has. The intro was emotional and powerful, and then the drop was also good. I think you should've altered the balance to emphasize the melodic synth over the pads more, though. Also, the post-chorus section (as I see it, lasting from 1:15 to 2:01) was a bit too long. I badly needed some structural relief by the time the breakdown at 2:02 rolled around. ;) And then you transition really quickly into the second drop at 2:30. I was expecting a bit more of a build-up there, especially since it's the last drop of the piece, although I very much enjoyed the variations at 2:55. Perhaps I would've even added the melody at 3:20 before the last drop while you had a riser to ramp up the emotion. Still, these are mostly just some minor structural complaints. The mastering is solid, and I enjoyed the melodic progression of the piece. Keep up the good work, man! ;D

DjAbbic responds:

Thanks for dropping by. Now that I've heard this on a few more speaker systems I have to agree with what you said about placing more emphasis on the melodic synth, the pads felt pretty overpowering when I heard it in car systems etc, and they don't have much variation so it gets a bit old when they stand out so much.

As for the second buildup, I personally do like bigger buildups too, but I did like the way this one sounded when I tried it out due to the contrast in volume (also I haven't done a pause of this scale before :D)

Thanks a lot for the review, I really appreciate it :)

[Badland]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning. The synth at :32 had a great exotic sort of vibe. The drop at 1:16 was pretty enjoyable. I wished the percussion fills at 1:23 were a bit more up-front in the mix, though. Little details like that can really enhance the punchy mood of a piece like this when they're more in-your-face. Interesting how you bring in the post-chorus melody so late in the game. Perhaps I would suggest shortening the section from 1:16 - 2:01, then. In my experience, post-chorus melodies seem more climactic if the drop isn't as drawn out. Otherwise, you've done a great mastering job here. I think it could be a great next step for you to add a little more diversity to your style. You could've done more with the drums, and I've seen you use similar grouchy electro basses before. I might even go so far as to say your tracks are formulaic at this point. That said, this is a fun and catchy piece. Overall good work. ;)