TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[CopingMechMetal]

You have a pretty good flow and delivery on the vocals here. The recording quality isn’t very good, though, and the editing is a bit rough sometimes too. For example, the repeated “degree” line at :16 comes across as a bit spammy, as does the “I’mma make” glitch thing at :29. It might be easier to limit the distortion on the mic if you stand a little further away from it when you record, but it might be a good investment to get a mic that’s meant for recording on - you can find a decent one at Walmart for like $50. The layering at 1:34 is pretty cool, though.

As for the instrumental track, I like the tranquil pads, but the drums need a major boost in the mix. I’d suggest adding a compressor on them, and maybe a little reverb on the main bongo. Otherwise, the main thing the instrumentals need is more variety.

Overall, there’s a lot of potential here, but the execution, especially on the production, could use some work. The lyrics are really clever, and I love the energy and articulation of the vocals. Sometimes, it would help the listener follow the rhythm more if you kept a stronger beat in the instrumental part, especially the drums, rather than try to establish the meter mostly with the vocals. This is especially true for the repeated vocal line that first appears at :08 - it’s rhythmically dense and delivered well, but still hard to follow because the pattern of emphasis isn’t entirely clear until the bongo helps accompany it at :12.

Nitpicks aside, this piece could be a serious banger if you clean up the mix and re-record the vocals at higher quality. Also eliminate some of the cheesy compositional details, like the pitch shifting at 2:41 and the exposed vocal chop at 4:01. Hope you keep working on this, though - it has potential. Keep at it, Quinn! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
5/10

[Dubstep - Dubnium]

I like the synth arpeggios and quirky drone-like synth at the beginning. The melodies at :28 are nice too - great triumphant vibe. The crisp drums and build-up at 1:02 are nice too. The drop at 1:09 has some nice rhythmic content, but the pads and atmosphere sound a bit thin there. I would’ve liked to see you fill out the texture more with some reverb or other mixing effects or backing harmonies. The re-intro at 2:09 was good for some variety, and I really like the melodies at 2:16, which in turn lead well into the second drop at 2:51. I’m glad you shook up the drop the second time around - the synths feel more grating and urgent there, which is fitting for the concluding minute or so of the piece, and the fat bass at 3:24 is great. That said, the second drop has all the same problems as the first one - thin pads, dry mix, etc. Overall, though, the sound design, production quality, progression, and mood of the piece are all really nice. Keep at it, Pixxlman! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[Splittersex]

I like the quirky texture at the beginning. At around :06, that one glitchy effect gets a bit harsh-sounding in the mix - I would dial back the distortion and filter out some of the treble-range frequencies, and then maybe give it some wet reverb or something so that it fades into the background a bit. It’s really hard to hear the drums or other elements of the sound design above that synth, and the entire texture sounds really grating and distorted here. The vocal samples are the main source of harmonic content, and there isn’t really that much variety or depth in the texture either. You’re clearly a talented producer with a knack for creative rhythms and horrorcore content, but the composition just needs a lot more fleshing out to satisfy most of my scoring rubric’s criteria here. Sorry! For what it’s worth, I think there’s a lot of potential here between the creepy vocals and the cool drum fills towards the end, and I hope you’ll keep working on this. Keep at it, Peshay! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
3/10

[tic tac]

I like the soulful guitar riff at the beginning. There’s a TON of reverb in the texture, though - the mix might sound a bit crisper if you had dialed back the wetness a bit. The sound design is really cool, and I love the rhythmic content too. The atmospheric bridge at :53 is good for some variety, although the transition back into the guitar riff at 1:27 is a bit abrupt. The section at 1:45 sounds especially muddy in the mix, and at some point I would’ve liked to hear some more dynamic melodies, or at least variations on the main melody at :26 that weren’t just copy-pasted. Still, the compositional details and evocative instrumentation help keep me engaged here. Really neat track overall, orelbeatzrealone! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8/10

[Okathan - Closer (Feat. Jayden Salas) (EDM)]

I like bright tone and soulful vocals at the beginning. This acapella has a great vocal range, although the lyrics themselves are a bit cheesy. There’s a great sense of build-up into :46, and the drop there feels really cathartic and upbeat. Love the percussion rolls and synth lead, too. Aspects of the sound design and arrangement of the piece are pretty generic, and I would’ve liked to see more variety in the composition, especially during the second half of the piece. My favorite aspect of the piece is probably the production quality - all of the instruments are loud, clear, and well-balanced in the mix throughout. Overall, strong work OkaThanSongs! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.5/10

[This Dosen´t Care (?) Album versión]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning. Many of the instruments are a little cheesy, though. The choir pad sounds very inauthentic, and the synth at :12 sounds a bit out-of-place, especially considering how short-lived its role in the song was. The guitar at :16 totally hijacks the mix, and once the other harmonies come in around it it’s totally distorting the drums, especially at :53. Anything you can do to make more room for the other harmonic instruments in the mix - filtering, EQ work, dialing back any mixing effects on the guitar, etc. - would be worth your while here.

Compositionally, the piece is a bit bland. You have a habit of abruptly switching out instruments to create variety, without doing much to switch up the harmonic framework or layer different harmonies on top of each other. As a result, the piece has both a very disjointed structure, with a lot of sudden transitions, and also feels very repetitive. I do like the tranquil outro at 2:20, but some more reverb or a pad (something to fill out the atmosphere) might’ve been nice there.

Overall, I know this isn’t a very positive review, but I do think you have a good sense of rhythm and harmony. You just need some more ambitious compositional ideas and a cleaner mix to support it. I hope you’ll keep working on this. The gritty sound design and foreboding mood certainly give this piece a lot of potential. Keep at it, Octusic! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
4.5/10

[Delivery]

I like the eerie atmosphere at the beginning. Some of the synths sound a bit cheesy and unpolished, though, including the “lead” echo-y one at the very beginning. The intro also drags on for a bit too long here without a strong sense of development. I like how you start really playing up the dissonance by about :40, but the synth at :44 still comes in way too suddenly and just completely hijacks the mix. Toning down the synth’s reverb a tad might help make more room for the drums, which are getting heavily distorted by 1:20 or so.

Especially during the busier sections, it might help to use equalizers more often. Also known as EQs, they’ll help you filter out the frequencies in the harmonic instruments (i.e., pretty much everything except the bass and drums) below about 200 Hertz. That’ll make all of the instruments sound much clearer because instruments with a similar frequency range tend to distort each other, especially on the low end of the spectrum. You may already know about equalizers, but you should use them way more often, is the point.

I also found the harmonic content of this piece to be very minimal and repetitive. There are long sections of this piece (like 2:20 to 3:10) where each instrument is playing a maximum of 2-3 unique notes. You clearly have a good sense of rhythm and progression, but working to layer more interesting and variational harmonic patterns on top of each other would really help take this piece to the next level.

Until then, I thought the content that is already here was catchy, and had some cool sound design elements. The acid bass at 3:12 is really groovy and alien-like, and the sweeps towards the end (4:30ish on) add a nice sense of apprehensiveness too. Keep at it, OANSHY! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
5/10

OANSHY responds:

Wow, thank you for the abundance of feedback! I didn't expect to be accepted anyway because I just started producing music about a year ago and there are plenty of other folks who create really great music. I am very much an amateur and I don't know much about producing, but this message has helped me a lot. Thank you! ^_^

[The sky has descended to earth]

I like the dreamy, if murky, texture at the beginning. The cutesy synth at :27 feels a lot more lucid by comparison, though, and might’ve used a bit more reverb to help blend into the atmosphere more. The acid bass at :48 is another pretty odd sound design choice IMO, but the harmonies blend well together, and the phasing effect on the bass helps add some variety to an otherwise slow-to-progress track. I like the string harmonies and crisp drums that come in at around 1:30. Overall, the mix here is a bit quiet, and the texture feels a tad off-balance, with the atmospheric synths much quieter than the mallet-like synth and strings. The chord progression is a bit generic, and in general the harmonic framework could use some shaking up at some point, especially in a 10+ minute-long track.

The arrangement of the piece also feels very formulaic, with regular changes every 8 or 16 measures, but not a lot of “ebb and flow” within those 16 bars. Just a lot of repeated note patterns, one or two of which is either added or subtracted like clockwork every 8 bars, and an occasional drum fill or sweep to mark a major transition. You clearly have a good sense of harmony and progression, but this “robotic phrasing” aspect of your composition is something that probably needs the most work IMO. It might help if you had some more dynamic riffs or melodies here - something that sounds like it’s leading somewhere at a given time, not just playing the same riff over and over again.

That said, I liked the minimal breakdown at 6:24. I think you could’ve done even more to play up the atmospheric appeal of that section with some more wet reverb and filtering effects. Much of the rest of the piece feels redundant with the first half, though. I was looking for a stronger sense of overarching development in a piece this long. One of my more nit-picky gripes is that, for most of the piece, the rhythms you use are very square - it’s just eighth note after eighth note in the strings and drums, and mostly quarters in the mallets. That said, the sound design grows on me over the course of the piece, and I think the production quality holds up quite well, with crystal clear instruments in the mix throughout.

Overall, you’ve made a relaxing, pensive-sounding, and well-produced track here. The composition is pretty bland, but the mood gets pretty enchanting after a while. Keep at it, Nisker! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7/10

[Capybara ft. EILON (Bass House)]

I like the eerie synth line and crisp beats at the beginning. There’s a good sense of build-up into :30, and the drop there is catchy, if a bit minimal. The arrangement and sound design here are a bit generic, and I also thought the transition at 1:02 was a tad abrupt. The composition could use a lot more fleshing out, tbh. More variety in the sound design and depth in the harmonies would be welcome. That said, the production quality here is top-notch - loud, punchy mix with well-balanced frequencies and an appropriate amount of reverb and effects. Overall, I’d like to see you flesh out the structure a bit, but this is still a really danceable and well-produced track with a nice and eerie mood. Keep at it, NightPredator! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

NightPredator responds:

Wow. Thanks for the detailed feedback! I'm glad you liked it, I'll finish it :)

[Not so good music]

I like the upbeat mood at the beginning and the cutesy instruments. The filtering effect at :38 is cool, although starting at :39 it feels like some of your instrument choices could’ve blended a bit better together. Maybe adding a little reverb would help? Also, the entire mix sound pretty quiet. I’d suggest adding a compressor to the drums at the very least.

Overall, the harmonic content is pretty repetitive here, but you find nice, subtle ways of creating some variety. The stop-start transitions (like :38, 1:55, etc.) get a little old and predictable after a while, and I think a big solo or atmospheric bridge or something would really help add some more “pizzazz” to the composition. Otherwise, I like the cute mood, rhythmic content, and sound design here. Keep at it, NewGameExplorers! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
6.5/10

NewGameExplorers responds:

Thanks!