TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[When It's Cold]

Beautiful! I love the simplicity and the atmosphere (reverb), as well as the chord progression. :57 was a high point for me. It gets a little repetitive after a while, but is very calming and relaxing. I liked the part at 2:07 a lot, but I think that you needed a more gradual transition between moods here in order to go along with the sort of "droning" aspect of the piece. I like how you transitioned back into the main theme at 3:25, though. The very ending could've been more climactic/conclusive, but overall I don't have many structural problems with it at all. Nice work, LSD! Sorry I didn't review this earlier. I stayed up 'til 4:00 A.M. this morning finishing my most important essay for English of the year. T_T Anyway, nice work! Keep it up, man! :D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Why hello there! :D :D :D
Good to see that most people here like my chord progressions in this song. I actually think I might have played this piece too "safe", but the chord progressions came to me naturally, so why not keep them? XD

I have to agree with everyone that this piece gets a bit repetitive. I wish I could've added more elements here and there, but oh well :) Some other time.

I personally like 2:07 the most I think, for the same reason that you think I should've made a better transition. I think I like the very rough transition, because it's almost the only place in the composition where you might go: "oh, what was that?". It's probably just my personal preference though. Maybe I should've made a more even transition :p
Especially since the rest of the piece is, as you said, "droning".

"3:25"

=> I know what you mean. I would say that the main theme is the one at 0:30 & 2:32. But I know what you mean; I'm pretty happy with how I transitioned back to the same theme as in the intro too XD

I like the ending, personally, but I think I get what you'd want out of it. I just like how it stays kind of true to the artpiece (in my opinion, that is), while still giving a slight mysterious feel. Or maybe not :p

Oh, and there's NO need to worry about being a bit late (I'm such a hypocrite though... As one might notice). I hope your essay went well, I'm sure it did, as you seem quite talented in that area (from what I've seen)!!!

Anyhow... Thanks a lot for the review, as always ;) !!!

[Strange Way]

I love the instruments and mood - it's very mysterious, atmospheric, and dark, even mechanical at some points, which is interesting. The title fits well. I love all the variation. I especially appreciated that quirky bell/chime at 2:01. The piece fits very well with the art as well. I think it would make a good track for a video game. My one complaint is that at times it lacks fill a bit, but that's not a huge issue in the grand scheme of things. The minimalism adds to the creepiness in a way. Overall, excellent work, man! Keep up the good work! :D

Possibly responds:

Thanks very much, and thanks for taking the time again to review, it's much appreciated. I may lack perspective at the moment, but I was trying not to overwork it and make it too busy, thanks again!

[Echoing Calm]

I love the melodies, but sometimes the instruments you used for them were VERY high-pitched and penetrating. The syncopations at :15 bothered me a bit - just seemed a little too busy for half a second, a little disorienting...but that's a minute detail. I liked the transition at :52, though, as well as the mood. The title fit well, too. The structure is good, too. I liked that breakdown at 1:51, btw, as well as how you transition back into a more main theme at 2:34, this time with more bass! >:D Nice work overall, and I like the ending, too. Keep up the good work, LunacyEcho! ;)

LunacyEcho responds:

=> VERY high-pitched and penetrating =>

Trust me, it sounds a LOT better if you're wearing fake Beats. Sorry about that.

=> 0:15 =>

I probably should've started with lower velocity notes and worked towards a louder main riff. Eh. I guess I just got used to it and didn't think how it would surprise people. :D

=> transition at 0:52 =>

I still think that's one of my favorite parts of the song, and I'm pissed that I didn't make the echo on the piano just a BIT less. Meh.

=> breakdown, transition back into main theme =>

I try adding a breakdown in most of my songs. It's an easy way to give structure and also make the song longer. :)

=> more bass =>

I'm happy someone noticed that! I was wondering if anyone would. Good job!

=> the ending =>

I'M SO LAZY WITH ENDINGS but having all the instruments play a thing at the same time sounds nice. I'll probably keep doing it until people realize and start complaining. :D LAZINESS FTW

Thanks for the review!

[Never Backing Down]

I have attempted dubstep before as well. It's an extremely hard genre to make. Nevertheless, this turned out really well! :D I love all the structural changes, and the instruments and moods work really well together. I love the piano melody at :56! ^^ It's nice to see that there's some rhythmic variation in your melodies this time - I absolutely loved the one at 1:30. The climax into 3:13 was great, but I feel like the mixing got a little distorted there. Overall, though, it's a great, feel-good sort of piece. Those piano melodies at 4:36 are beautiful, and I love you transition into 4:50 with something so electronic-sounding! :D I love this new direction your music is taking, Matt. I've downloaded more songs by you in the past month or so than I ever had previously! :D Keep up the great work, man! ;D

Dylnmatrix responds:

Thanks man! I'm really glad you liked this. I had a lot of fun writing it (maybe too much, but that's another story) and I'm enjoying this direction that I'm taking my music as well.

I do agree that it does get a little distorted at the build, but I never noticed it while mastering with ASIO on in FL, so it's something that happened during the render. I could do a re-render, but I don't want to, I think it actually sounds good with a little distortion. But that's just me ;)

[Cat Upon A Cup]

It's not bad! This is a rather ambitious project! ;D Keep working at it, though. Improvised stuff is really hard to master. It was a little repetitive at the beginning, and I think the harmonies between 1:20 and 1:45 don't really work all that well. Might I suggest that, for at least your first few projects, you record an improvised song, solidify some structural/harmonic things outside of the studio, and then re-record it so as to avoid any clashing harmonies/repetitiveness. Overall, though, this seems like an exciting project with some real potential! I love the guitar riffs and the mood, as well as the ending. Keep at it, TeraVex and crew! ;D

TeraVex responds:

Thanks man! We'll try to do that next time we meet!

[Dream Fantasy]

Beautiful! :D I love the instruments, especially the vibes, as well as the melodies and atmosphere. I think that the vibes/bells take over the mix a little too much here and there, though, and it could've done with a little more dynamic contrast and structuring. Nevertheless, it's climactic, contemplative, moody and very pretty. I like it a lot! :D Sorry I haven't been responding to your PMs recently btw. I've had little to no time. :'( Oh...and that is one long tag! 0_o

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks! I'm glad you like the composition in general, although the mixing could be better :)
You are indeed right in that the vibes take over too much here and there, which is exactly what I meant in my description. The main reason is the fact that the strings and the vibe were originally recorded together, so I couldn't really mix them separately; I'm not so good at mixing in the first place XD

"... more dynamic contrast..."

=> Yup, I think you're right :p

Don't worry about the PMs :'D You already said you'd be busy, so it's no problem XD

Ps. I was genuinely curious about how long a tag can be :')

[Shucks!]

Haha, yes! :D I love the frantic melodies and harmonies with the very Southern-sounding instruments! You mastered the mood and atmosphere perfectly, and the nature FX at the beginning adds to that notion. All the effects, instruments, transitions, and structural details added an almost comical effect to the piece, especially with that ending! ;) This just makes me want to pull up my khakis to unnaturally high levels, take off my shoes, and spin around in circles in my room, completely care-free...which is an amazing feeling to achieve during my junior year of high school! XD Excellent work, though! You really just as well could master every genre on NG! :D

LunacyEcho responds:

Hi, TheDoor!

=> Southern-sounding instruments =>

To decide on instrument choice, I had to "research" bluegrass music a bit, and realized that it used mainly stringed instruments, which led to the instruments you hear: Acoustic guitar, banjo, fiddle, and bass.

=> comical =>

What?! There is nothing comical about the ending at all! I am insulted that you would think that there's anything humorous at all about the ending! Sheesh!

=> khakis =>

Glad to evoke new feelings! (As long as you keep your khakis to yourself.)

=> master every genre =>

Whoa, there. I'm not aiming to master everything; I'm aiming to be able to create music in every genre. There's lots of things that I'll be better at than others. I'm not going to be able to do everything perfectly, I just want to get the experience of stepping out of my comfort zone in a ton of different ways that are entertaining to an audience as well.

Thanks for the review!

[through a dark wood]

Ah, good! Nice to hear something more organic from you again! :D I love the instruments, especially the guitar, and all the grace notes really added a lot to the piece. The melodies are obviously amazing. I especially love the ones from :44 to 1:05 and from 1:40 to 2:09. It's just so beautiful; it really tugs at my emotions. I felt like you could've led into the ending a bit better (it seemed like it was a little rushed), but other than that simply amazing work. Also, 8 reviews in 24 hours isn't bad. ;D If you keep it up, I have a feeling your popularity is just going to explode. How can it not when you're posting a track as beautiful as this once a week? Congrats on 200 audio submissions, btw, and to many hundreds more! ^^

johnfn responds:

> organic

Yeah! Although of my last 5 tracks, 4 were primarily organic (I think)... it's kinda the direction I'm moving in (maybe).

> I especially love the ones from :44 to 1:05

I'm really surprised that these are getting most of the praise. See, even though I've posted 200 (WHAT?!?) songs, I still can't completely predict what people are going to say.

> I have a feeling your popularity is just going to explode

Haha yeah - but I don't know if i can get much more popular on Newgrounds, the community is pretty small :) I like it though because I get substantive feedback (from people like you!) rather than really anywhere else where people pretty much say "nice song brah check out mine" and move on, haha.

Sure, Waterflame gets maybe 2x the reviews I get, but you guys leave me much longer and more thoughtful reviews. I'd like to think I have a more literate and refined listener base.

:D :D :D

> once a week

Once a week? I submitted 3 songs this week! And I have 2 more that are practically done... *cackles insanely and returns to Ableton*

> 200

Thanks for pointing that out to me - I didn't even notice! That's amazing and also (for some indescribable reason) somewhat terrifying!