TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Breathing Derelict]

I like the moody chords at the beginning and the distorted E-piano riffs starting at around :27. The heavy hats at :27 are great, and they flow really nicely into the crisp, acoustic beats throughout the rest of the piece. The lead-up to the melodies at 1:06 is just subtle enough to give the piece a real sense of release when 1:06 finally hits. The distorted breaks at 2:15 aren't quite my cup of tea - they clash a bit with the tranquil, languid vibe in the background at the same time. That said, the atmosphere, sound design, mixing, and arrangement are all really compelling here. Keep at it, LAPSE! ^_^

[Satisphylled]

Dreamy and evocative stuff here, LAPSE! I like the percussion and blissful melodies. Sounds like the mix was missing some mid-range tones at some points, but maybe that's just me. Sound design and flow are killer as always. Keep it up! ^_^

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

Always love to see the TL reviews.
<3
Appreciate the mix review. I see what you're saying though, I mostly mixed this in headphone..the joys of being a night owl in city life. I think the piece overall is just a touch bright. I blame the Luminaria's expressive twinkling inspiration. ;)

[no more chances]

I love the crisp beats and dissonant guitar riffs. The atmospheric riff at :18 is a nice touch, and the vocals sound rich and heartfelt. Would love to see a full version of this sometime. Nice work, Bryce! ^_^

[-Understand-]

Hey man. Sorry for the slow response - had a really busy week.

I like the quirky synth at the beginning. I think it doesn't quite mesh very well with the chord pattern at :07, though, and the eerie synth pattern at :29 is also pretty dissonant with the rest of the instruments.

I'm also a bit confused that you tag the song as "happy." It doesn't really sound happy to me. When I think of happy songs, I think of a lot of major chords in a row and some more dynamic melodies. The texture here is really dissonant and creepy sounding, with a lot of stepwise movements in a narrow pitch range (for example, the chord progression at the 2-minute mark goes E-D-E-F#) and without a strong tonic (that is, a chord that the song is "rooted" in and keeps returning to consistently).

In short, I think you need to do the following:

1. Educate yourself on music theory a bit more. There are some great free resources online specifically for computer musicians, like this one: https://orchestralmusicschool.com/c/music-courses/music-theory-for-computer-musicians. If you're short on time, I think you would especially benefit from this lesson on chords: https://orchestralmusicschool.com/music-theory-for-computer-musicians-part-7/303

2. Listen to a song you really like, and then try reconstructing the chords underlying the music in FL Studio. Apply what you learned in the Orchestral Music School online lesson to understand why they sound good together. You can even try making a new song using those same chords in a new order or with a new melody. Just make sure that the notes in the melody correspond to the notes in the chords - that should help maintain the same feeling as the chord progression in the rest of your song, whether it's happy, sad, or whatever.

3. I'd also suggest spending more time on making a single song. It seems like you post a lot, but without a good idea of the intention behind your piece or the story you're trying to tell. Example: the author's description of this piece is literally "I had no clue what I was doing here lol." Contrast that with one of Waterflame's recent tracks: https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/1198433. He and pftq are trying to emulate a style of piano-heavy techno music from the early days of Newgrounds. They likely spent a significant amount of time carefully selecting the instruments to use for the track in order to emulate that style, and the upbeat mood, rhythms, and chord progression are all reflective of that style too. Taking inspiration from other artists and specific genres of music is a good idea, for both you and Waterflame, but it takes a lot of effort and close analysis of what makes a song sound good to do that (see #2). It will become easier with practice, but right now I'm not convinced that you're making the sort of effort you need to in order to sound like Waterflame...yet.

Sorry if that sounds a little harsh, but to be fair, Waterflame didn't even sound like Waterflame in his first few years of composing. It's all a journey, but it's good to start early. :)

Anyway, feel free to hit me up again in a couple of weeks. I'll be out of school by then. Keep at it, Creeperforce24! ^_^

Creeperforce24 responds:

Thanks, also I use fl studio mobile, and my version of happy might be a little bit different then yours. Also I want to be able to learn on my own, in fact, waterflame said he self taught himself, just trial and error.

But thank you, though I don’t think I will hit you up until I’m for sure you’ll like it.

[-Journey to Welkin-]

Hey man. Thanks for your patience! Finally have a relatively free evening.

I like the creepy pads at the beginning - there's something ghostly about them. Some of the other instruments sound a little out-of-place, though, like the bass guitar that first comes in at :19. The part at :43 was a bit dissonant for my tastes, and had a lot of murky low-pitched tones that didn't mesh too well together. The rest of the piece feels a bit disjointed, with a lot of sudden transitions and isolated ideas for riffs that don't really feel like they're leading anywhere. I like the crackly atmosphere and effects at around 2:20, minimal though they are, and the rhythmic content during some of the busier sections of the piece was cool too.

Again, I'm going to suggest that you think more comprehensively about the chords you're using at a given time, and make sure that all of the notes sound good with all of the other notes. It might help to write the chord/melodic progression in a single instrument first before you assign different aspects of it to different instruments. And remember that a little repetition across different sections of the song is a good thing; right now, this piece almost feels like several separate songs played in a row, which is a bit jarring.

When you feel like you've incorporated my advice, feel free to PM me again. Cheers! :)

Creeperforce24 responds:

Well that was a bit much to read, but thank you anyway, I want to keep getting better so all I can say is thank you for your honest opinion. Thanks man

[-Waterflame-]

Sounds pretty dissonant and creepy. I like the echo effects and the beats. The melodies are a little hard-to-follow, though. I'd suggest laying out a specific chord pattern first, and then making sure that all the notes that are playing at a given time match the notes in the chord. You definitely nailed the ominous mood, though. I like the sound design and the reverb. Keep at it, Creeperforce24! :)

Creeperforce24 responds:

Thank you, and thanks for the truthful rating, but weirdly, I did not see this as ominous or creepy, but soothing instead, but I guess everyone has different opinions, thanks for listening

[<MWA> Skittles on Crack]

Glad I found this again! It's a classic. Super catchy, with a lot of great rhythmic content, and that violin solo is iconic. Love the spacey build-up at 5:10 too. Killer sound design across the board. Been in my iTunes library for damn near a decade now. First heard it through Xmillsa on YouTube, I believe. Mjattie, if you're still around, you rock! Hope you're doing well, even if you don't post on NG anymore. Cheers. ^_^

[-Clad-]

Oh man, I love all the effects, vocal samples, and rhythmic syncopations. It is indeed more vocal-heavy than I'm used to hearing from you, but the samples fit in so well with the beat and progression of the track. The production quality is really solid, too, and I love how the vocals don't take over the entire mix like they do in a lot of hip-hop tracks on the radio. The more melodic vocals at 3:05, as well as the brass solos at 2:30 or so, really help take this piece to the next level. I love the electronic bass too. You should do more tracks like this! Probably my favorite of yours of the year. ^_^

[-Going Now-]

I like the pulsating energy at the beginning and the guitar solos shortly thereafter. I can tell it's not a "real" guitar - very uniform articulation from note to note - but the more downtempo guitar work at 1:00 has a great sense of atmosphere about it. The solos at 1:25 feel like hallmark Waterflame melodies - from the rhythm to the contour to the way they sit in the mix. :D I think my favorite aspect of the piece is the rhythmic content at the bridge and coda, though - reminds me of some of your older tracks like "Viscid." Rock on, WF! ^_^

[Summer Grass]

I like the pensive vibe and rich atmosphere at the beginning. The transition at :49 is a bit sudden, but the sound design is superb. The rhythmic content is a bit too dense by 1:20 or so - feels like the different elements of the texture are tripping over each other a bit. Still, great job with the mood, instrumentation, and mixing, guys. ^_^