TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[i believe]

I like the quirky and sometimes gritty-sounding synths. It's an interesting mixture of beautiful and angry, perhaps encapsulating your emotions? It does progress a little slowly for the first couple of minutes, but it doesn't lack direction, which is good. I loved the melody around 2:30, and you did a great job of harmonizing there. I like the drums too - I think they add something to the piece. The sense of climax into around 3:00 is great! :D I have no complaints about the mixing or anything, and I love how you got glitchy at 4:11. You really effectively changed the pace around 4:30, and I loved how you brought the "tainted beauty" back in the end. The last few notes were very interesting (to say the least), but still effectively concluded the piece in my opinion. Great work, Johnfn! :D You could potentially go very far in this competition (but everyone already knows that). ;D Best of luck, my friend! ^^

johnfn responds:

Thank you for the review! Yeah, a lot of people got on me for dat slow buildup, hmm :| oh well! thanks! glad you liked it.

[Dark Colors]

I love the creepy mood and the melodies. It loops well. The mixing is not up-to-par, though, LSD. That (harp?) really got buried under the pads and melody instruments. You need to EQ everything more and really dedicate those low-pitched tones to the strings alone. Also, I think the melody instrument was a little harsh-sounding at times...not sure if that's what you were going for or not, though........Overall, pretty good job! These pieces are getting shorter and shorter, though. :'(

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

The mixing is not up to par indeed. As I mentioned in the description, I didn't really put any time into this project at all; I simply felt like making something small after such a long break D:
When you say harp, might you be speaking of the guitar with effects that is going on in the background? It gets a bit buried at least, although it's not meant to be the centre of the song. You're right in that I should EQ things more (I barely did at all)!
I feel like the melody is too harsh in the first few seconds, which I noticed. It was getting so late that I didn't care to fix it though (laziness ftw!) XD

If you want a long piece, don't worry. I don't know when I'll upload them, but I have 2-3 (10 minutes +) improvisations that I intend to upload during my time in the army.

Once again, thanks for all the reviews :')

[Fanfareium]

Woah, 8 days ago. Where did the summer go, Ale? I think it's a cute and fun piece, and it definitely shows your good sense of harmony. I'm not sure the trumpet sounded completely authentic. The vibrato is very uniform throughout all the notes. Couldn't hurt to humanize it a bit. Otherwise, don't really have much to say. It's very short, although it feels pretty conclusive by the end. ;)

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Very good question. Too much of it has gone into the army for me -_-
Lol, the trumpet sound is probably amongst the worst you could find XD
Humanizing it would take too much effort though, as I barely have any time at all to devote to music, especially as this is an old piece recorded with my synth :(
I never intended on making this piece long, as it's supposed to sound like a fanfare (in fact, the song should probably be shorter).
Thanks for the review! :D

[My 8bit destiny]

I like the beginning. It leaves a lot of room for climax, which is always good. The synths are cool, and you really bring out that funky, videogame vibe. I think the bass was a little too loud throughout. Instead of using a ton of that mid-range synth bass, you can keep the sub-bass in the EQ and make it really pop on headphones, y'know? Anyway, I loved the solo at 2:09 and how you then transitioned back into the down-octave melody. The ending was a bit lazy IMO, if only because it sort of faded out. I think something like this would make a great loop, so you could go that direction if you wanted to. Overall, though, I have few complaints, so keep up the great work! ;) You were one of the top scorers in your group for a reason, man! ^^

8-bitheroes responds:

Many thanks for the feedback, this will really help out.

[Nuts n Volts {Dj-Abbic}]

Dude, I think this is great! I love the synths and progression and melodies. The breaks at 2:02 were really cool, and it's all very smooth-flowing and catchy and cool. The mixing was pretty good. It may be a little long-winded, but I think you did a great job keeping it interesting with the complex structure and use of dynamic contrast and all. You were among the top scorers in your group for a reason, man. ;) Keep up the great work! ^^

DjAbbic responds:

Ooh awesome, thanks for the review! :D

[Ascent]

I like that synth at the beginning, but I think the rhythm is a bit disorienting at times. Couldn't hurt to have a beat earlier on or some harmonies to support the rhythmic structure. I think the real problem is that there are just too many notes in there, man, and you should stick to some simpler rhythms and focus more on the progression and variations. Eventually, when you get a feel for rhythm more, it'll be easier to know what sounds jarring and what doesn't. It also really helps if you play a musical instrument. This piece is short, which is okay, but what really bothers me is that there's not a lot of structural variation (breakdowns, bridges, verse-chorus play-off, etc.), melodic development, or dynamic contrast. The harmonies were also a little jarring at times, but I think that might just partly be because you have too much going on in there. The reverb kind of gave it a nice spacey feel, but it also added to the disorienting nature of the rhythms. Overall, I think it has some potential - you have some good ideas in here. However, it needs more variation. Try fleshing out these ideas more, simplifying them if necessary, while still keeping it smooth-flowing and coherent. This is challenging, I know - but once you learn to find a balance between coherence and variation, it makes your pieces all the more pleasant to listen to. It's just that this one is WAY on the too-coherent end, okay? ;) Keep working at it, man! ^^

xxxZigZagxxx responds:

Thanks for the feedback, man. hopefully i'll work on these things. cheers!

[The Yanterflum's Grotto]

I liked the combination of instruments and rather impressively-oriented frantic arpeggios! :D It is a little simplistic and bare-sounding at times, but the compositional value is rather good. You have a good sense of progression and structuring, and it's very smooth-flowing. You control the pace of it very well, as it effectively transitions several times from slow to fast and back. An interesting piece, but to be honest a little lack-luster later on. There are some good ideas here, but you needed to flesh them out a little more. I think you should've done more harmonizing and had more melodic development throughout. The beginning was rather show-y, and didn't really set up the rather dry latter two-thirds of the piece very well. I'm being a bit tough on you, though. It's not that bad at all! I loved the instruments and how they worked together, and I see no problems with the mixing or mastering. Keep at it, WingoWinston. ;) Overall, good job. ^^

7.5/10

[Solitary Cave]

I like the atmospheric mood at the beginning and the synths. The relaxing melodies are good, and it definitely has a good sense of climax and direction throughout. It is a little simplistic and repetitive at times, though. The main melody recurs a lot during the first two minutes. I appreciated the variations you started incorporating around 2:30, though, but even those last for a lengthy 45 seconds. I didn't think this piece had to be 5.5 minutes long - maybe 3 or 4 instead. The structural relief at the breakdown at 3:14 was welcome, though. I think the chord progression is a little cliché, and I think you needed some more transitional variety besides the simple sweeps and crashes. That said, the mixing is pretty good, and I like how you concluded the piece. Overall, it's pretty good. I've been tough on you. The repetitiveness and simplicity are the main things, but keep up the good work, Tourmithefly! ;)

7.25/10