TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Geometrycal Fantasy]

I like the cutesy synths at the beginning and the filtering at :18. The piece is a bit slow to progress at first, but there’s a good sense of build-up into :35, and I’m loving the upbeat mood and melodic content. Other elements of the sound design are a bit cheesy, including the pads that play during the refrain. The drums sound a bit dry in the mix - some more reverb and other mixing effects could help jazz them up. The minimal breakdown at 1:35 was good for some variety, and I like the added harmonies at 1:54. The lead gets a bit tiresome after a while, especially during the sections of constantly repeating 2-note patterns, like at 2:24 and 4:15. Switching it out for another instrument at those places might’ve helped keep me engaged here. That said, you transition well back into the main melodic section at 3:00, and the variations in the melodies during the last couple of minutes help hit the piece home nicely. Your melody writing could be a bit more dynamic and memorable at times - there are quite a few octave jumps, and stop-start mini-phrases that don’t add much to the overall contour of the line. That’s getting a bit nitpicky, though. Overall, I really like the composition of this piece and the blissful, triumphant mood. The production quality is also another highlight - I can hear all of the instruments loud and clear in the mix throughout. Solid work, GrenRach! ^_^ Keep it up.

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
.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
8.5/10

[Goose721 - Банка Мёда]

I like the quirky synth line at the beginning and the 8-bit drums that come in shortly thereafter. The mix is a bit quiet, and could potentially benefit from some more compression. The piano line at :26 clashes a bit with the other harmonies, though - its line is very jumpy, with large skips in pitch in a short amount of time, and it also cuts out at :37 just as suddenly as it was added to the texture before. For most of the rest of the piece, you only have one harmonic instrument playing at a time, and each harmonic pattern doesn’t seem very well-integrated with the one before it. There’s some amount of repetition, which is good, overall the progression here doesn’t seem very coherent. You clearly have a good sense of rhythm, and a lot of the individual ideas you’ve presented here are good, from the catchy oft-repeated synth bass line to the acid synth at 1:56 that kind of pulsates in and out. But they just don’t sound like they’re from the same piece of music yet.

I’d suggest trying this: write a series of chords, notes that both sound good when played together. Then, put the chords in an order that sounds natural, maybe by only changing one or two of the notes of the chord at a time. When you write parts for the instruments of that song, use only the notes from the chord that’s playing at the same time as the instrument is. Obviously, this is a very limiting approach, but it’s a good way of teaching yourself about how to layer different harmonies together.

Once you’ve tried this out, send me another PM and I’ll leave you another review. In the meantime, I’d like to emphasize that you have a lot of good ideas to build on with this piece. The beat is really cool, and a lot of the filtering/phasing work on the synths here sounds really cool. Keep at it, Goose721! ^_^

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
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
4/10

[Damnation]

This piece has some really cool automations - I really like the phasing work at around :32, and again at :44. The synths do sound a bit harsh in the mix, though, and I would’ve liked to see you flesh out the composition a bit more. Right now, it’s very short, minimal, and also bottom-heavy. Certainly not a bad start, but in terms of the NGUAC I’m not sure you’re fulfilling some of the criteria on my rubric regarding melody and tonality, texture, phrasing and variety, etc. Adding some creepy pads, arpeggios, and/or a melodic lead could really take this piece to the next level. I’d encourage you to keep working on it - it has a lot of potential. In the meantime, you’ve already got the heavy bass line stuck in my head. Keep at it, GMDTurbo! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.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?)
.5/1
Composite score
4.5/10

GMDTurbo responds:

Hey man, I really appreciate the professional feedback. This was one of my very first FL Studio Mobile songs, so it has a special place in my heart. I'm obviously not very skilled at music creation, given that this song literally only had 3 tracks in it with minimal mixing, excluding the master track, but I will continue to improve and grow in my song composition. I'm still a little bummed that I couldn't make it into the Knock-Out rounds, but that simply means I need to keep working at it next time. Thanks for inviting me. :)

[Good Vibes]

I like the airy synths at the beginning and the heavy sub-bass at :13. The mix is a bit bottom-heavy, and has a lot of reverb in the texture, which would’ve probably been more of a problem for the production quality if the texture wasn’t so minimal. The spoken word vocals and rhythmic content both sound good, but the harmonies could use some more depth and variety here. The hi-hat is pretty much the only thing going on in the treble range of the frequency spectrum for the whole piece, besides the creepy string drone at 1:50. Speaking of 1:50, that part had a bit too much distortion in the texture for my tastes, although the creepy mood is great. Overall, you’re clearly a talented producer with a knack for weaving together eerie atmospheres and crisp, hip-hop-inspired beats. I just think the consistently minimal texture and bare-bones harmonic content was a missed opportunity to really give people some nightmares (with a soaring synth solo, more front-and-center vocal phrase, etc.). Still, I hope you keep working on this one! It has a lot of potential. Cheers, Geewd. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.25/10

[Geekum - Hold My Hand]

I like the spacey synths at the beginning. The vocal tag made me LOL. The beat at :16 is a bit too loud relative to the harmonic content, and the transitions (at :30, 1:00, etc.) could’ve been a tad smoother. The sound design, rhythmic content, and rich textures are really nice here, but the arrangement also seems a tad formulaic, with regular changes to the texture every 8 bars or so, but not a lot of ebb and flow within those 8 bars themselves. At some point, some more dynamic melodies or a stronger lead (vocals, sax solo, etc.) would really have taken this piece to the next level. I also would’ve liked to hear a more creative ending than a fade-out. Still, you clearly have a great sense of harmony, rhythm, and atmosphere. The progression could be smoother at times, and a looser arrangement would help give this a more organic and laid-back feel, but otherwise it’s already stuck in my head haha. Production is really crisp and clean, btw. Keep at it, Geekum! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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
8.25/10

[LIGHTNING BUGS [UNMIXED/UNMASTERED]]

I like the slap bass and atmosphere at the beginning. The way the hi-hat is panned all the way to the left threw me off at first, but over time I get used to it. The sound design is really quirky and fun, and the vocals are delivered really well. I would’ve given the snare a bit of a push in the mix, but the vocals are mixed and mastered really well, and all of the layers blend together really well too. Love the contrast between the soulful and forward-looking chorus and the rueful, introspective verses. Overall, this is a really neat track, florianscreek. The instrumentation, heartfelt vocals, and progression are all really strong. If you ever release a fully-mastered version of this, HMU. I’d love to hear it. Cheers! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10

[ADVENTURE097 (NGUAC)]

I like the pensive piano riff at the beginning. It sounds a bit overly contained in the mix, though. I’d suggest giving it a bit more room to breathe in the EQ. Relative to the beat at :12, the piano sounds really quiet too, and in fact the track in general is probably too loud. I’m also not a big fan of the snare at :26 - sounds a bit dry and flat. There are also some abrupt transitions here, like at :52, 1:29, 2:21, 2:59, etc.

Other than that, the rest of the piece is rather repetitive, despite some rhythmic variations and the more atmospheric direction you took at 3:12. I’d encourage you to add some more depth to the harmonies here - layering on additional instruments after a while, changing the contour of the pitches in the original riffs, etc. You could also do a lot more with the drums here - you seem to have a couple of drum patterns that are copy-pasted between sections. I think you could create some variety in the texture and help smooth over some of these transitions by creating some rolled snares or other drum fills during transitory moments, with a crash on the downbeat.

Sorry if this isn’t a very positive review, but for what it’s worth I’m impressed you made this in just a little over an hour. I think you could stand to put more effort into the composition, as well as rein in the volume levels at times (especially 2:56), but otherwise there are some catchy riffs and cool rhythmic ideas here that are worth exploring further. Keep at it, Exdrumi! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
5.5/10

[Cruising the Tides]

I like the furtive pads at the beginning. The mix is a bit quiet, but otherwise clear. A little compression could go a long way here. The drums help keep things going for a while, but overall the texture is very minimal, and could use a lot more variety. I like when the piece picks up steam a bit at 1:46, but the sub-bass is a tad loud and the texture could still use some more fill. The lo-fi production quality, mood, and sound design are really nice here, but I wanted to see you do more with the composition. You could totally layer on a killer brass solo or vocals here. I’d encourage you to keep working on this - with a bit more harmonic depth and variety, you could really sell both the laid-back and melancholic elements of the sound design here. Keep at it, emersonkid! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[Wavesong]

I like the relaxed atmosphere at the beginning and the ocean wave and bird sound effects. The beat and lead synth at :19 are nice too, but I would’ve liked to hear more of the drums in particular in the mix - maybe adding a compressor would help. You could also stand to incorporate some more mixing effects, especially reverb if possible, to fill out the atmosphere more. The rest of the sound design is also really nice, though, especially the plucked strings and vibraphone. Later on in the piece, there’s a great call-and-response thing going on between several of the different melodic instruments, but unfortunately the piece fades out when it just felt like it was getting going. I love the instrumentation, mood, and progression of this one, but the composition could use some more fleshing out and the texture could use a little more “decoration,” as I alluded to above. Still, I’d encourage you to keep working on this - it has a lot of potential. Keep at it, Ellietonin! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[ELD23 - Mission]

I like the bright-sounding synth pattern at the beginning, although the instrument has a bit of a stereo click playing with it that’s a bit harsh in the upper register. The piano at :36 sounds a bit inauthentic, and could also use a boost in the mix, maybe with some compression. There’s a good sense of build into :58, and the melodic content there is pretty sweet. The cutesy synths during the post-chorus at 1:24 are also nice. The stop-start transition at 1:46 works quite well, and I like the quirky rhythms in the lead at 2:18 or so. The final refrain at 2:23 sounds a tad too busy with the piano line layered onto it - I appreciated your effort to create a sense of “all of the elements of the piece coming together” at the end, but it sounded a bit dissonant, is all. Perhaps you’d be better off switching up the melody itself. Anyway, this is a well-composed track overall. I like the melodies, progression, and sound design, and the mixing also holds up well despite my nitpicks. The slightly clashing harmonies at times and the relatively generic arrangement are probably my main complaints here. Keep it up, ELDIOS! ^_^

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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.25/10

ELDIOS2333 responds:

Thank you!!