I like the dreamy synth riff and string pads at the beginning. The piece is a little slow to progress at first, but the crisp drums and added harmonies at around :40 are really nice. The oscillating pad that fades in at :38 sounds a bit too loud, and the way it was panned at :51 was a bit jarring tbh. The texture comes together well by 1:08, but the descending line the lead is playing still doesn’t seem very melodic or dynamic. I like the fat, grouchy synth bass and a lot of the other sound design elements. I also like the added harmonies during the second refrain at 2:35.
Overall, this piece is well-structured and smooth-flowing, with solid production quality and a killer atmosphere. Some of the compositional details could’ve been fleshed out a bit more, but honestly my biggest problem here is probably the extreme panning on that one pad - it’s just very distracting and unpleasant. Stereo widening is probably a better way of having an instrument like that blend in with the rest of the texture more - that’ll simultaneously pan the pads to both sides so that they sound more well-balanced. Otherwise, this is a catchy piece with a nice, soothing atmosphere. Keep at it, GlaceonDash! ^_^
Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.5/10