TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Galantis- (U & I) (Instrumental Remix)]

I like the quirky instrument at the beginning. It progresses pretty slowly. I think you need a smoother transition at :27. Also, the synth you introduce there sounds really harsh and high-pitched. I think you need to equalize it more carefully to get rid of some of those treble tones. I liked the riser building up to :55, and the drop was cool without being overly heavy. You change moods dramatically at 1:25. One second it's heavy, punchy electronica, and then the next it's light, flowing piano music. I think you should've at least used the "softer" version of the lead at 1:37 to sort of connect the drop and the breakdown section a bit more. I think the middle minute or so of this piece offered some highly-valued structural relief, though, which is good. One major complaint I have is that you don't really bring any fresh ideas to the piece after the breakdown. The two drops sound exactly the same, and this is a repetitive piece regardless because the lead riff that first comes in at :00 is playing for almost the entire piece. I think the mixing wasn't bad, and I like the way the arpeggios sort of pulse in and out at :27 (and other places). Still, this piece is severely lacking in melodic development and overall variation. It's structurally sound, though, with some cool instruments and moods. I also like the effects at 3:15 (and other places). Overall, pretty solid work. Keep at it, NevoMusic. ;)

7.5/10

NevoMusic responds:

Thanks a bunch for the review! There was lots of helpful feedback there, if I make it to the next round I'll certainly try to incorporate everything you've pointed out. I agree that this track lacks melodic development, I should have made some type of melody or something to help this song progress a bit better. I'm glad you liked many of my effects, this was one of the first songs I made my own effects for. Also at around 2:48 I changed the automation for about 8 or 16 bars of the drop(I don't remember which), but the change was very subtle and I expect no one other than those who read this to tell the difference.
Anyways, thanks for the review. I'm very pleased with 7.5 out of 10!

[1923]

I like the mysterious mood at the beginning, as well as the instruments. There seemed to be an appropriate amount of drama and suspense involved. It progresses pretty slowly, but I loved the climax and transition into the height of emotion at 1:04. It sounds very cinematic, and I love all the structural ups-and-downs that the texture offers. The percussion and melodic instruments at around 2:05 added a lot to the piece too. This is a very creative, unique, and engaging track overall. You took some real risks with it, but I think they all paid off! :D The ending is a bit sudden. You might need some reverb to smooth that out a little. Otherwise, there's an excellent atmosphere here, and I deeply admire your sense of harmony and progression. The mixing is pretty good, too. Keep up the great work, Nebulean! ;D

9/10

Nebulean responds:

Hi ! Thank your for you kind comment !
I'm happy to see that you like it !
Yes, this track was a bit risky but you know, I like taking risks ! Composing without risks is too boring for me, so I try to be the most innovative as I can.
Thank you again for this kind comment ! :D
Nebulean~

[Spooky Nights]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning and the melodies that come in at :12. It has a forlorn and distant feel to it, and I love the quirky instrument that you introduce at around :35 (and other places). I really admire your sense of harmony, especially around 1:20. I think you needed a smoother transition at 1:36. The addition of some drums might help with that. At the same time, 1:37 offered some important structural relief. The ending really threw me off, though. You should usually end your tracks on a tonic note, but instead this ending was simply inconclusive. This was especially disappointing, however, because the rest of the piece was rather impressive. Also, 2:55 was another spot where I think you needed a smoother transition. Overall, though, this is really solid work, and I applaud your effort here. Keep up the good work, Miguel-is-cool. ;D

9/10

[The Faceless Man - Only Death Can Pay For Life]

I like the heavy, energetic vibe this piece has. I think the snare sounds a bit dry. It needs more reverb IMO. This piece is a little slow to progress, and is very long-winded. I would've liked to see some more melodic content and, while the heavy guitars do give it a pretty full texture, you need to do more harmonizing. I am able to pick out some repeated sections, but I think you could make this piece more structurally pleasing and help keep the listener grounded by having more of a bridge/breakdown/re-intro at some point. Otherwise, it sort of just sounds like a flat, continuous stream of sound without end. It might be fitting for some sort of videogame, and the mixing is rather good, but as a stand-alone piece it doesn't really keep my attention very well. Again, some more structural considerations would help keep the listener more emotionally involved in the piece. I like what you did with the drums, though, and I enjoyed a lot of the isolated riffs. The ending seemed conclusive enough. It definitely has potential. The structure is definitely my main concern regarding this piece. Keep at it, Meatboot. ;)

7.5/10

Meatboot responds:

This song reminded me of Pissing razors a little bit, I like the review but this is the sound i was going for with not much melody, im trying really hard not to sound like anything else, I really like just one guitar with one bass. I love driving riffs and beats, im mainly a bass player lol i used to play guitar so this is me slowly getting back into it, I totally like the comment though, gives me a slight idea of what people want, but to be honest this is how i want it. Im getting better at mixing music every song i make.

My next one is done and being put up right now, its called Jaqen H'hgar and its 10 minutes long! im personaly proud of my knew one, there is a few riffs i really like in it! Check my page if you like metal anyone, there is no vocals for any of my stuff but im thinking about it! till then it remains an instrumental project of mine.

[I Like Watching You v.2 L]

I liked the risers at the beginning, and the vocal samples at :08 added a lot to the piece. I'm not sure where you got all these samples from, but I think you built off of the vocals enough to make it interesting, creative, and original. This is a very catchy and cool song. I admire your sense of rhythm, harmony, and progression. It loops almost flawlessly. While it's not exactly structurally complete as a stand-alone piece, it still is very smooth-flowing and has an appropriate amount of structural relief within its rather short-lived 1.5 minutes. I think the mixing is also rather solid. Towards the end, you do overuse some of the samples a bit, but overall this is really solid work. Your instruments were well-chosen and your texture was nice and full and engaging. Keep up the good work, Marauderchief! ;D

9/10

[Rippled Reflections [Be Water]]

I think the vocals add a lot to the piece. The riff at :27 sounds mechanical and even mundane in a way, but I think the bizarre percussion at :42 adds a lot of energy to the piece. It progresses pretty slowly, but has a cool mood to it. I think the hi-hat is a little too loud throughout, but that's a tiny detail. The melodies at around 1:30 really start taking the piece in a new direction, which I love. At the same time, though, they make the piece sound really different from the first part. I like how you tried to bring it full circle at 2:45 by bringing back some of the more pizzicato-esque instruments. The reverb also adds a lot to the piece throughout. Another tiny detail: the ending cuts off suddenly. Still, I think this is really cool and unique piece overall. I applaud you for going with a more organic sound design here. Beautiful work! Keep it up, man. ;D

9/10

[Be my Dude, Mario - Super! POLISHED]

This is a really unique sound design you have here. It's catchy and cool, yet it also progresses pretty slowly. I like the chord progression with the choir. I think the melodies at around 1:20 needed to be more up-front in the mix, because that's really the only melodic content you have in the piece. The mood and atmosphere of this piece are awesome: it's energetic and mechanical, yet also dream-like. I think it could function pretty well in certain kinds of videogames. The loop is clean, but I think you at least needed a crash in there to smooth out the transition back to the beginning. I wasn't really prepared for the pads to cut off suddenly when it looped. I really admire your sense of rhythm and harmony, though. This is, overall, pretty admirable work. The mixing is also rather impressive, especially given the dense texture of the piece. Keep up the good work, Kinupsi! ;D

9/10

[A Little Man A House]

I'm not sure I quite grasped onto what you were trying to do leading up to the transition at :08. It has a very mysterious and spooky mood, yet all the extraneous effects and complex rhythms make it seem really busy and overwhelming. It's really hard to follow the structural elements of this piece. I think you need a recurring melody to keep the listener grounded, as well as a bridge/breakdown/re-intro with some dynamic contrast. As it is, it's just a continuous stream of dark and spooky harmonies. While I admire your attempt at going in a different direction with the piece at 3:10, the instrument you introduced was very harsh-sounding and I think you need to equalize out some of the higher tones. The piece ends very suddenly, and overall I'm just plain confused. The mixing is also not great. The lead and drums both sound distorted at various points in the song. I would highly recommend you take the time to learn more about equalizing and using limiters/compressors/panning to your advantage. Compositionally, this piece needs to be smoother. You have a lot of interesting ideas here, but they need to be presented so that the listener has time to chew and swallow them, instead of having all the food he's going to eat today shoved down his throat. I'd encourage you to keep working at it. It has potential. Good luck, man. ;)

3/10

kanashibarimusic responds:

Thanks for your feedback. My mixes do usually sound pretty sketchy. It's due to equal parts suck, shit monitors, and overindulgence on compressing everything to within an inch of its life. They are all issues I definitely should be considering.

However I'm afraid I'm going to have to completely disagree with you on the stuff about composition. This Is actually a cover, so it was really mostly an exercise in arrangement and learning by ear for me (because good luck finding tabs). The guy who wrote it (Tim Smith of the cardiacs) has to be one of the most uniquely brilliant and criminally underrated compositional geniuses of the last 30 years (yeah I know, get off his dick, but he really was pretty darn brilliant, even if some of their stuff sounds a bit dated). Also there are a whole bunch of recurring melodies.
Unfortunately I sacrificed a lot of the tempo and time Sig stuff that was going on in the original, and that's probably most evident in the intro, so Im going to chalk that up as an experimental failure.
I agree with you on the ending though. It's a bit cack, with the whole tacked on generic dubstep wubs and the abrupt cut off.

Thanks for commenting.

[Astronomixel`]

It's catchy and upbeat, and I admire your sense of harmony. The synth at :02 sounds way too harsh and in-your-face, though. I would suggest equalizing it more to eliminate some of those high tones. It's fast-paced, yet structurally sound and smooth-flowing. I like how you start varying the melody at around the 1-minute mark, and then providing some structural relief around 1:10. The mixing is rather good as far as I can tell; I can hear all of the instruments clearly throughout. The modulation at around 1:40 also helped keep me engaged. I thought the ending was cute and also conclusive. Its fast-paced nature makes it quite fitting for a videogame. This is a really solid piece overall, Jonadrew. I'm impressed! Keep up the good work, man. ;)

9/10

[Midnight]

Interesting mood at the beginning. The synth bass makes it sound really heavy and dark. Maybe you should've used some more reverb on the drums to enhance that effect. The frantic treble-range synths add a somewhat mysterious vibe to the piece. It progresses really slowly. Structurally, this piece is not quite complete IMO. There are no predominant melodies/refrains, and it gets really repetitive by the end. The texture is relatively thin as well. You need some sort of breakdown or re-intro to keep your listener grounded. Otherwise, it kind of has the feel of a really minimalistic, drone-like ambient track, and I don't think that's what you were going for. The ending also isn't that conclusive; I think it would serve better as a loop. The mixing isn't bad, but it's also hard to mess up the mixing when you only have 3 or 4 instruments in the entire piece. You could've done A LOT more with this piece. As it is now it's a bit bland. It almost sounds like a 3.5-minute-long intro to what could become a really cool track. I'd encourage you to take more risks with your music in the future. Keep working at it, IslandJump1. ;)

6.5/10