TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Dang]

I like the bell-like synth at the beginning. Some of the harmonies sound a bit dissonant, notably at :06, and a lot of the instruments are pretty cheesy and unpolished. Sometimes it’s good to modify presets to fit the piece you’re making better. Also, I find it a bit jarring how quickly you switch out different instruments, which in turn only stick around for 10-15 seconds or so. I’d suggest consolidating some of your instrumental choices, and also maybe using some more prominent drums or something to smooth over the transitions between different sections of the piece. Seriously, sweeps and crashes can go a long way towards making abrupt transitions seem less abrupt. In general, the drums should probably be louder anyway - it’s hard to hear them for most of the piece.

Still, I like a lot of the individual riffs and ideas here. The soaring arpeggio at 1:04 is probably my favorite. You clearly have a good sense of rhythm and harmony, but the corny sound design and disjointed arrangement of the piece don’t do you any favors here. It might help to slow the pacing down a bit - this piece is pretty short right now, after all - and focus on crafting gradual transitions and giving your instruments some more flavor and depth. A little reverb might help towards that latter goal, but you may also need some different samples that are less cliche. 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.

Anyway, hope you found this review helpful. I’d encourage you to keep working on this piece, too - it’s catchy and has a lot of whimsy about it. Keep at it, deepfriedfiend! ^_^

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
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
5.5/10

[Panic]

I like the muffled beat at the beginning. I might’ve liked to see a smoother transition at :05, but I love the full texture and soaring synth lines there. The prominent pads at :22 are also nice, and overall the progression is rather smooth and fast-paced here. The drums get a little lost in the mix once the texture gets busier, although I like how you offer some variety with the spacey breakdown at 1:33. The bass takes up a bit too much space in the mix, and at times the reverb on the harmonies is a bit heavy considering it’s so hard to hear the drums. The composition is fantastic, though - lots of variety among the harmonic instruments, catchy and dynamic synth lines, and neat sound design to boot. Clean up the mixing a bit and smooth over a couple of transitions, and this piece would be top-notch. Keep at it, Deathincan! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[The Backrooms]

I like the foreboding mood at the beginning and the hip-hop-inspired drum kit at :13. The mid-range bass at :28 sounds pretty harsh in the mix, although the atmosphere around it helps fill out the texture. The harmonic content here could use a lot more depth and variety. You have a great sense of rhythm and progression, but the volume levels need to be reined in a bit, and I think this piece would benefit from a more dynamic composition. Clearly, you’re a talented producer, though. The sound design and atmosphere of this piece are just haunting. Keep at it, DARKMAJIK! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.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
5.5/10

[CYANEKO WORLD]

I like the busy beat and prominent pads at the beginning. The reversion to the minimal atmosphere at :23 threw me off a bit, but I like the rich texture and cutesy synths at :30. I wish that section at :30 was a bit more dynamic, though, and there’s another really abrupt transition at 1:17, with the jazzy chord at 1:23 and ringing sound at 1:25 serving more to confuse me about the direction you’re going in here rather than help me get there. The mellow section at 1:26 was nice, although there’s another abrupt transition at 1:57, and that distorted bass doesn’t do too much for me. I would knock it back in the mix substantially if you wanted to keep it. Other moments with rough transitions include 2:27, 2:56, and 4:39. The spacey breakdown at 2:57 is good for some variety, but also doesn’t seem like it relates back to the earlier content in the piece very well. The drum work during the last couple of minutes is impressive here, but the harmonic content feels pretty repetitive and stagnant. The atmospheric outro during the last 30 seconds is nice too.

Overall, my favorite part of the piece is the production quality. Everything sounds really crisp and clear in the mix throughout. The biggest problem I have with it is the disjointed arrangement and the lack of cohesion in the structure. I think you need to consolidate some of your ideas and work on transitioning gradually between each section. Stop-start transitions should be used sparingly, and it’s rarely a good idea to introduce new harmonic elements during the transition that are not going to stay with the piece after the transition (example: 1:17 - 1:26). Integrating and overlapping the melodic section at :30, the jazzy downtempo one at 1:26, the rich pads and subsequent beats at 3:04, and the spacey outro at 4:40 will not be easy, but it’s generally better to make your piece have a coherent harmonic structure rather than have it sound like 4 different tracks playing in succession. Having some core repeated riffs that span the entire piece will help with that coherence. But don’t truly integrating these different riffs into a progression that sounds smooth will be tough, which is why I suggest only using 2-3 of the 4 “song seeds” here, at most. Also, I’d strongly encourage you to remove the “thanks for playing” sample at 5:00 - I highly doubt you have the licensing rights to use it.

Still, overall this piece is catchy, well-produced, and has some great sound design to boot. Keep at it, Cyaneko! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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
7.75/10

cyaneko responds:

ah thank you for the feedback ^_^, everything sounding crisp is one of my main priorites with the overall mix

[Swingstep]

I like the punchy bass and crisp beats at the beginning. The squeaky-sounding rhythmic riff in the background is a little harsh in the treble range, and I might’ve liked the drums to have a bit more presence in the mix with some reverb or something. That said, the melodies at :19 are nice, and the minimal groove at :38 was a nice way of providing some variety. The bridge at :57 was also pretty cool, although I would’ve liked to hear a second climactic section towards the end to tie the piece together a bit more. The sound design is top-notch here, though, and the thick texture and solid mixing are highlights as well. Strong work, CommanderFrost! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

[Enigma]

I like the airy pads at the beginning. The saxophone at :06 sounds pretty inauthentic, to the point you might be better off replacing it with a synth that’s not trying to mimic an acoustic instrument. The melodies at :25 are pretty cool, but I would’ve liked the drums to be a bit more prominent in the mix there. I’d look into adding some compression across the board, and some reverb to the snare in particular. There are also some pretty abrupt transitions here, like at :44 and 1:36. I like the gritty bass at 1:10 with the haunting string line in the stratosphere. After a while, the piece gets pretty repetitive, though, and I’d recommend switching up the main riff when it comes back at 1:36 in particular. Still, this is a catchy and cute piece. Some of the sound design is a bit cheesy, and the mix could be a lot punchier, but I enjoyed the melodies, rhythmic content, and somewhat foreboding mood. Keep at it, Colin8tor! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
6.75/10

[Rooftop Adventures]

I like the quirky synths at the beginning. The thin-sounding harmony line that comes in at :10 is just a little too loud. I might’ve taken it back a couple of notches with a filtering automation, and then added back some wet reverb for atmosphere. The melodies at :30 are great, although some of the transitions here are a little abrupt, like at :49. Some more prominent drums might’ve helped smooth them over - a short fill/break before the transition and then a simple crash would suffice. Also, I know this piece is really short, but I might’ve liked to hear the second refrain at 1:09 be more distinct from the first one, just for some overarching sense of development. Still, the sound design, production quality, rhythmic content, and melodies are all strong here. Keep at it, CheesyChan! ^_^

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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

[Winter (2023 Edit)]

The tempo automations and pensive piano line at the beginning are pretty neat. The thin, high-pitched kick at the beginning sounds a tad out-of-place, but I like the strings at :20 and the gradual build-up into :32. The new rhythm at :33 threw me off a bit at first, and overall this section feels a tad anti-climactic. Might help if you had added a bit of a pause or something at :32. The snare at :56 (especially the one in my right ear) is not my favorite - maybe it would help if you had kept all of the percussion front-and-center in the mix. I think 1:35 is my favorite part of the piece, though - it has a slightly more sophisticated air about it, and transitions well back into the main melody at 1:59. The outro also sounds nice - the violin at 2:37 sounds a bit inauthentic, but the thin, almost squeaky sound of the sample has a nice furtive quality that serves to mimic an echo of the refrain. Overall, I really like the melodies and upbeat mood of this piece, despite a few rushed transitions and a couple of odd sound design choices (especially the panning on the drums). I feel like this piece is 80% orchestral and 20% drum ‘n’ bass. :D Still, enjoyable track. Cute harmonies, strong sense of direction over time, and some nice rhythmic content to boot. Keep at it, CelestialChaos! ^_^

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

CelestialChaos responds:

I appreciate the review! I agree with all of the comments, unfortunately I lack the technical know-how to fix them lol. Mixing is not my forte, but I’m planning on working on that and transitions for the KO round. Thank you so much for hosting NGUAC!

[New Genesis (Instrumental)]

I like the airy synths at the beginning and the uptempo beat. The drums are a tad generic, and the piece is slow to progress at first, but I really like the frantic synth lines at :46 and the overlapping rhythmic patterns between the different instruments. The sound design is a bit cheesy at times, but also fits the style of the piece well. At times, there are moments of dissonance in the texture, like at 1:59, and also some rough transitions, like at 2:07.

The mixing is pretty good, although many of the instruments sound pretty dry in the texture. The lead synth and snare could probably use some reverb. I can barely hear the snare for most of the piece, so it might be worth slapping a compressor on it as well, and maybe boost the mid-range tones in the EQ. This piece also has a pretty constant energy level - at some point, it would’ve been nice to strip away the beat and go in a more atmospheric or at least slow-paced direction, just for some variety. That said, I like the bridge at 3:18, which served as a nice “point of arrival” later in the piece, although you could’ve sold it better with a more sustained tonic note there and some dramatic drum fill or something.

Overall, I enjoy the energetic synth lines, rhythmic content, and sound design here. Creating more interest via mixing effects and more of an ebb and flow of the intensity of your track over time would be a good next step for you. Still, you nailed the blissful VGM vibe here. Keep at it, Cavernsparten! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[Information War (Upgraded)]

I like the tense bass riff at the beginning. The vocals could have a bit more emotion behind them, but I like the crisp beats and atmospheric elements. The texture of the piece shifts quite abruptly, and the vocals quickly become overused. The mixing could be a tad sharper, although I like the sound design, rhythmic content, and eerie mood of the piece. The main problem is the bland, repetitive composition though. Most of the variety in the piece comes from chopping up the vocals in different ways and transitioning between a number of similarly gritty, minimal bass lines. I think the mix would benefit from some more content in the upper register to balance out the bottom-heavy texture, and layering additional harmonies onto the piece regardless of the pitch should be a big priority for improving this piece. That said, the piece is catchy and has a great dark energy about it. I just wanted to see you turn the piece into more of a compelling narrative, with ebbs and flows in the energy level and some dynamic harmonies and a more diverse instrumental palette. That said, there are a lot of good individual riffs to build on here, and I hope you keep working on this. Keep at it, C-Lehman! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
6/10