TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Machinarium]

Interesting use of instruments at the beginning. Almost sounds like a dark ambient track at first. The drums at :28 are way too loud, and they distort the arpeggios and bass in the background a lot. Their energy is perhaps also not so appropriate considering the ambient-like vibes I'm getting from the pads and arpeggios. I admire the sense of harmony you use around the 1-minute mark. At 1:23, the kick is, again, way too loud. The synth at 2:03 is cool, but very loud and in-your-face. I think you need to Equalize it more carefully in order to make it punchy without overly harsh-sounding. Structurally, however, this piece is very solid and smooth-flowing. I also like the vocal samples at around 3:35. They were a cool addition to the piece. Nice job with the portamento at 4:08 as well. I also like how the ending is very conclusive - proper conclusions can be hard to find among relatively less experienced musicians. Compositionally, I think this is a fantastic piece. Going forward, I want you to work on your balance (i.e., how loud the instruments are relative to the others). You took a huge risk submitting something so in-your-face for the tryouts, and I think it paid off. I love the full texture this has and the engaging synths and progression. Keep up the good work, Adhenoid! ;D

8.5/10

Adhenoid responds:

Thanks for the helpful review, TaintedLogic!! :D
I will learn further about mixing and equalizing my future tracks..

[The Dream of a Robot]

Note: this review is NOT for the NGAUC. I'm not scoring your group, LSD, but I was hella curious what you came up with for Robot Day and/or my competition. :D I love the emotion in the beginning, and the fittingly mechanical-sounding effects in the background. I didn't think the mastering was that bad, but I think the balance with the drums is a bit off. I could barely hear the snare throughout. I enjoyed the instruments you used, though, and the melodies were cute and meshed together well with the harmonic content you had in here. Like most of your tracks, it's very smooth-flowing, and the progression is appealing. I love the way you ended it, btw. Again, it's a very cute and refreshing piece. Nice job! ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hahha, that makes sense :)
Great job, btw! 176 competitors for your contest is quite the achievement! And wow, I've listened to several of the tracks, and I'm beginning to think that I won't even make it to the next round XD
If I do get there though, I think I know exactly what I'll try for the second round :3

Glad to hear you like the emotion, flow and all the effects! I spend quite a bit of time tweaking them :p

Yeah, I think you're the 4th person to say that the percussion needs fixing, so it must be true! I'll look into that more in the future for sure. I think I'm getting better at this, in the very least :D
I also tried my best not to do endings like johnfn often does, so it pleases me to hear that pretty much everyone has liked the ending thus far :)

Thanks a million for reviewing even though I know you are super busy with the contest!
I've been surprisingly busy and lazy these past weeks as well, which is my excuse for not replying to your PM yet. That said, I will try my best to reply today!!!
Good luck with the judging ;)

[Shipyard]

It's catchy, and you definitely left yourself a lot of space for climax towards the beginning. I liked the instruments you chose, and it was very melodic and energetic, which is good. The minimalistic drop at :55 didn't really seem to fit well with the melodic build-up, but I enjoyed the arpeggios around 1:22 and the re-entrance of more melodic elements. As usual, the mixing is very good. I think you kept the pirate theme alive for the duration of the piece, and I must compliment you on its not being overly repetitive. I enjoyed the build-ups and the transitions and the structure, but I thought that the ending was a bit lack-luster. Still, this is solid work. Keep at it, F-777! ;)

[A War Between Our People]

I like the empowering and dramatic mood this piece has. Those samples are actually pretty good! The transition at :56 was a little sudden, especially considering the drastic change in mood. One of the little riffs that first appears at 1:09 reminds me a lot of Step's "This is Snake." Around 1:20, you can tell that the high strings get distorted a bit by the brass, and the dark percussion sounds a little muddy. I loved the way you ended the piece, though. It was dramatic, conclusive, and very fitting overall. Nice work, Larrynachos! Despite my criticisms, it seems rather appropriate for a war-themed videogame. Keep up the good work. ;)

larrynachos responds:

Ah, the "This is Snake" is an arrangement of Metal Gear Solid songs. I'd be lying if I said that MGS wasn't a small inspiration for this piece ^^;

Thanks for the feedback!

[Galaxy Wandering]

Okay, so the synths at the beginning are a little muddy and distorted. I'm also not a huge fan of the kick sample you have during the first 15 seconds. It seems a little choppy during the first minute or so. There are distinct, isolated sections of music, but they don't really fit well together and there aren't many smooth transitions. The violins get drowned out by the bass a lot, and the effects are so high-pitched and harsh-sounding that they detract from the piece considerably. I'm not even sure why they were necessary. If you want to use screeching effects as transitions like at 2:03, you need to take a few steps to make it flow with the structural elements around it first. For starters, you need to Equalize those effects so they don't sound so jarring and in-your-face. I would also suggest adding some reverb and volume automations to smooth them out a bit. You could also use some crashes or sweeps on top of the effects in order to strengthen your transitory moments here. Also, the piece was a bit repetitive overall. There were some good elements of the piece, though. I liked your instruments, and I think you have a good sense of harmony. Still, you need to vary the rhythm in the melody a bit more in order for it to be engaging and catchy. The ending was also rather sudden. I think you need to work on your mixing and mastering too, but maybe it's best if you focus on nailing the more compositional elements of music-making first. I especially want you to work on your transitions, structuring, and on creating some more melodic and rhythmic variation. When you've made a new piece that you feel does those things, PM me and I'll leave you another review. Good luck, man. Hope this review helped. ;)

BT-WIRE responds:

Thanks, I'm still trying to get the hang of it. I'm not very good at the thecnical part yet. I'd like your opinion on my other releases if you dont mind. Its always good to read reviews so I can get an Idea of what needs to be improved.
thakns bro, see ya!

[\W/ Afterthought]

It's very majestic and flowing. Sometimes, the pacing is a bit off IMO. For example, it seems like you were going for some sort of dramatic pause at 1:06, and then you sort of rushed into 1:07. I like the structural relief you start providing around the 2-minute mark. That part is lighter and more tranquil. Then, you sort of abruptly transition back into some heavier, darker content, interrupting the flow with some more staccato notes. The way you sort of alternate styles (lighter and flowing vs. dark and staccato) may be a bit disorienting, but eventually I recognized that it helps capture a fleeting inner-struggle, rather ingeniously similar to the second-guessing that occurs after one realizes the potency of a seeming trifle of an afterthought. ;) Also, after reading the description I was a bit confused. Are there two different people who use this Newgrounds account? And, if so...which one is judging my competition? XD I thought "Winter" was simply your surname, Skye. 0_O Either way, I like the piece overall. The ending was a bit inconclusive, and it's a little stylistically disjointed (as I mentioned), but other than that this is solid work. Keep at it, SkyeWint. ^^

SkyeWint responds:

Nah, Winter isn't my surname. Winter is another person. I mainly use the account but I thought I should post her music on here as well. :) Don't worry, I'm judging the competition.

Just thought I'd post this on here and see how people liked it, especially since it's her first piece.

[SNES Map Music]

I love the cute mood and theme, as well as the melodies. It loops well. I thought the bass was a little quiet, but maybe that's more of a personal-taste sort of thing. I also think you should've shown off what little harmonic/varied content you have in this piece, i.e. the arpeggios at :15. Furthermore, the snare sample might've been a bit bland and dry given the melody that was dancing to its beat. I guess I just would've expected something that "snapped" a bit more for this type of piece. Still, all of these complaints are rather nit-picky (although, in my defense, most complaints HAVE to be nit-picky in a 30-second-long piece). It's certainly fitting for its purposes (i.e., in a videogame, of course!). Keep it up, SleepFacingWest. ^^

P.S.: After a couple of nights of experimenting, I've determined that I usually sleep facing south, haha. ;)

sleepFacingWest responds:

Thanks! I like nit-picky commentary, especially when it's well thought out and helpful. re: snare sound, I've had a hard time distilling the sound of the SNES world. I understand classic nintendo and gameboy better, I think. In the end, adding more compression and a little overdrive to the snare would probably make it snappier.
The next thing I upload will be longer. This one was kind of bullshitty.

[This Isn't Science Rocket (2015 Edition)]

I like the bouncy synths and energy. The mixing is rather good - I'm noticing that right away - and I like the variety of instruments you introduce throughout. You've covered wispy and atmospheric (:28), hard-hitting mid-range bass (1:09), full-textured funky melodic (:42), and light and brisk melodic (:00) all by about the 1-minute mark. The progression is cool, and I like what you've done with the harmonies and counter-melodies (like at :42). Overall, I really like the upbeat and jumpy style you show off here. You added an appropriate amount of structural relief and dynamic contrast, mostly at 1:50. I might complain about how you could've done A LOT more with the drums. The drums are rarely even up-front in the mix, although the texture is full and well-balanced. I like the melodies and synths, and it's not overly repetitive either. I'm quite impressed! Good job, F-777. ;)