TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Fairies]

I like the upbeat mood at the beginning. The mix is loud and punchy, although it could also use a tad more bass at times. I love the melodic content at :16 and the cutesy bells at :48. The chord progression and arrangement of the piece are a tad cliche, but the sound design is great - perfect balance of orchestral and electronic. At 2:40, I’m enjoying the variations on the main melody, and the vocal samples help add interest as well. The texture is still a bit thin in places, especially given the lack of bass, and a bit more reverb or maybe some pads would’ve helped fill out the atmosphere more. That said, I love the blissful mood, instrumentation, production quality, and melodies here. Keep it up, LexyFire! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[Anti-Citizen Prospect]

I like the distorted, pulsating synth at the beginning. The kick drum sounds a bit weak, though, and could probably use some compression and/or some more mid-range tones to help it stick out in the mix. There’s a great sense of climax into :51, although the snare sample there is not my favorite - a bit dry and flat. The rhythmic content is especially good at the bridge at 1:24, although I might’ve liked to see more variation on the main riffs the second time the chorus comes around at 1:41. The mix here is pretty clean, but also rather quiet - some more compression in places could help give it a lot more punchiness, which would in turn help sell the drama of the piece. Overall, though, I love the composition and sound design in particular. Sounds like the backing track to a war documentary that takes place in the jungle. Keep it up, Kimasura! ^_^

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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.5/10

[Moonset(Prototype inspired by: Shut Eye)]

The sound design, especially the creepy vocals in the background, is really great here - total dystopian vibe. The harmonies are rather dissonant here, though, and I also feel like the piece ends right as it is getting started. I understand that the dissonant harmonies are supposed to be part of the nightmare fuel, but I would challenge you to find ways of warming the listener up to this level of atonality. I also think it would help sell the drama of two sections with the beat here if you had fleshed out the structure a bit more. Maybe there’s an atmospheric bridge or slower-paced melodic section that would help make this piece feel more cohesive. Still, I really like the sound design, production quality, and atmosphere of this one. Really evocative work, KEZOR! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
7.75/10

[Wyrded Out]

I like the quirky synth riff at the beginning and the ghostly lead at :24. The melodic content is cool and dynamic, and overall the sound design and atmosphere are great. The one big problem here is definitely the mixing. There’s a lot of reverb in the texture, which makes things sound a bit muddy, and during the busier sections it’s really hard to hear some of the instruments, especially the bassoon. It might help if you filter out some of the lower-pitched frequencies in the other harmonic instruments (<200 Hertz or so) with an EQ. Also, towards the end of the piece there could’ve been a little more structuring. A final climax or melodic section, perhaps? There’s just a lot of pent-up tension in this piece that I feel like you haven’t properly resolved. Regardless, the instrumentation, melodies, creepy mood, and compositional details are all really enjoyable here. Keep at it, Jokyles! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

[Sunset Dreams]

I like the upbeat synth riff at the beginning. The instruments are a bit cheesy, but I’m enjoying the cute mood and rhythmic content. The mix could be a bit sharper - over time, the main melody becomes less distinct, likely because other instruments are taking up the same frequency range. 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. Sometimes the excess of reverb in the texture also makes the piece sound muddy and distorted.

Anyway, the transition at 2:11 was a tad rough, despite your efforts to foreshadow that a transition was coming. It’s hard to do transitions with key changes without also changing the harmonies gradually to acclimate the listener to the new key. Then, when you add back the melody from the former key at 2:42, it sounds very dissonant - it seems to be a B flat major melody playing over C major chords. It might be better to transpose the old melody into the new key before adding it back. The outro is also pretty dissonant, especially after 4:02 or so.

Overall, I really like the blissful mood, cute synths, and catchy beats of the first half of the piece. I think you tried to get a bit too fancy with the second half of the piece, but it’s certainly not beyond repair. One good rule of thumb is that, usually, notes that are only 1-2 spaces apart on the piano roll (or can be transposed up or down by octaves so that they are) probably shouldn’t be playing at the same time. It also helps to highlight all of the tracks in your DAW at once so that you can see which notes are playing at the same time across all of the instruments.

Anyway, I hope you’ll keep working on this one. It has potential - you have a great sense of progression and rhythm. Really honing in on layering tonal harmonies over each other will be a great next step for you. Keep at it, Jok3004! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
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
5.25/10

Jok3004 responds:

Hey your probably not gonna read this, but i uploaded a song called Jupiter, i would like to see your opinion on it

Actual response:
Wow, thanks for writing all of this info! Just saying, i used to use a website called BeepBox, (i switched to something called BandLab) which is like 100x less advanced than stuff like FL studio. I dont know how to use EQ filters, so i just use the natural ones on there. Dissonance is my big issue currently, (i mostly fixed that) i hope i can fix that later. Also, the second half wasnt even a key change soooooooooooooooo yeah. The reason i put the first melody on the second one (if you know what i mean) is becuase i simply ran out of ideas.

I also have a youtube channel, that ill link for some reason idk https://www.youtube.com/@Jok3004/videos

Now that i look back on this song, its kinda terrible to be honest-

( yes, i did read all of that :o you wrote a lot )

[Guardian Of The Throne]

I like the church bells at the beginning. The fade-in of the synth melody at :03 was a bit cheesy, but by :14 the texture comes together really well. The panning is a bit strong for my tastes at first, but it also helps separate out some distinct melodic lines that are playing at a similar frequency range. The snare could’ve been a tad stronger in the mix, and overall the mix is pretty quiet, but otherwise all the instruments come through clearly. The melodies here are great, and the compositional details like the twittery descending line at 1:53 are super nice. Overall, despite my mixing complaints, this is a nice upbeat and well-structured composition with some cutesy sound design and strong rhythmic content. It also makes for a great loop! Keep at it, Interloping. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
8.5/10

Interloping responds:

I like to make the lead and rhythm take turns taking the spotlight, which is my my mixing often end up sounding weird. Ill get it together one day, I swear

[Caught in a storm (NGAIC Layer 2)]

I like the high-pitched string drone at the beginning. Some of the other instrument choices were a bit cheesy, especially the inauthentic piano and thin kick drum. I also think the drums could’ve used some more compression, just to make them sound punchier. I like the flute melodies at :51 too, although the piano line gets a bit buried in the mix there. The transition back into the electronic melodies at 1:19 was really smooth, although it was a bit jarring when you went in a different direction again at 1:30.

Overall, though, I really like the composition here. You clearly have a good sense of harmony, rhythm, and progression. I think it would benefit you to get some higher-quality samples, though, especially for orchestral instruments. I’d suggest PM’ing @LD-W and joining the NG Audio Pub on Discord. The Resources tab there is full of great sample libraries and tips on where to find more.

As for the mixing, 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. It also couldn’t hurt to dial back the reverb a tad, but I don’t think that’s the main problem here.

Anyway, I really like the melodies, variety, atmosphere, and progression of this one, and I hope you’ll keep working on it. Keep at it, INH0! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[0i00 - Crushed]

I like the eerie synth pattern at the beginning. The instrument itself sounds a bit grating, though. The texture is very distorted - it seems you’re using some sidechaining, but at the same time the drums are pretty weak and could use some more compression, reverb, and other mixing effects. There isn’t much variety in the harmonies here either, although overall the piece is well-structured and smooth-flowing. The occasional sudden transition (especially 1:43) actually fits the character of the piece really well. Overall, I enjoyed the composition, but the mixing and sound design could use some help here. I’d suggest doing more with filtering (equalizers or EQs, etc.), especially on the high end where the output can sound pretty harsh. The texture here is pretty minimal, so some more reverb could help fill out the atmosphere. Otherwise, this piece is super catchy and has a great, engrossing mood about it. Keep at it, 0i00! ^_^

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
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
5/10

zeroizerozero responds:

Thanks for such a detailed review. It will definitely help me get better. Next year, victory will be in my hands, haha

[SELECT YOUR MONKEE]

I like the quirky pads at the beginning. The vocals are a bit cheesy, and the mix sounds a bit muddy and indistinct. I wanted to see more variety in the harmonic content and a cleaner production. Did you make this for a game, or are you just mimicking the style? Either way, the texture is very minimal. Compression on the drums could help fill out the texture more, but you also may need a consistent bass line and some higher-pitched harmonies/melodies at some point. Another good way of creating variety could be to switch up when the vocals come in - i.e., make it a bit more irregular, not just every 4 measures like clockwork. Still, I’d encourage you to keep working on this. It has a lot of potential between the sound design, rhythmic content, and atmosphere. Keep at it, HumanCenterpiece! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
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?)
.25/1
Composite score
5/10

[why do i still love you]

I like the vinyl scratch and the distorted vocals at the beginning. The heavy beats at :05 kinda hijack the mix, though, with the atmosphere and vocals not coming through very well for most of the piece. I would’ve liked to hear more harmonic content here, or at least some more variety in the heavy, distorted beats. Even a bridge with some bare-bones vocals and a stronger sense of atmosphere and balance in the mix would’ve helped break up the harsh, minimal beats that characterized most of the piece here. I admire your sense of rhythm, and the sound design itself is totally workable, but I certainly would suggest dialing back the distortion on the drums and adding some more harmonic depth and variety. Sorry if this isn’t a very positive review. I think you can just do a lot more to both rein in these volume levels and make the composition more dynamic. If you ever give a harmonic approach to this track a go, send me a PM and I’m happy to give you some more feedback. Otherwise, keep at it, Gwenny. :)

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