TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Hyper Fern]

I like the crickets at the beginning and the quirky synth that fades in shortly thereafter. The section at :26 has a great, upbeat and carefree vibe, although the drums are struggling to stay on top of the mix a bit. The wonky meter at :59 and frantic drums at 1:10 are great, and overall the sound design and mood are easily my favorite elements of the piece. The melodies during the second half of the piece have a great sense of dynamism, and bringing in a new melody instrument at 1:53 also helps create that variety. The pause at 2:14 also threw me off a bit, especially since you entirely cut off the reverb. That said, overall it’s hard to go wrong with a piece with such a blissful mood and whimsical sound design. Keep at it, Supermelon! ^_^

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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

[INTERFERENCE 5]

I really like the energy and frantic synths at :23, but honestly a lot of the synths here are pretty cheesy, and the chord progression is a bit generic. The kick at the very beginning has a lot of upper-mid-range frequencies in it for my tastes, and the clap at :23 could use some more reverb and layering for interest and atmosphere. The lead at :49 sounds very indistinct in the texture, perhaps because of an excess of reverb this time, or maybe just because of a lack of compression or general balance in the volume levels. I also think you’re overusing the sweep-down at 1:21.

The arrangement of the piece is a bit choppy in the way that it oscillates suddenly between the frantic, high-octane sections and the downtempo, atmospheric ones. The piece starts getting better when you start integrating these two sections a bit better, with notably with the frantic riff playing at 1:23 after you strip the beat away, and then transition well back into the synth lead solo at 1:45. The little screeches you threw in there (like at 1:51) weren’t my favorite, but the warm, elegant pads at the breakdown at 2:08 help to offer some contrast in the structure.

The key change at 2:31 felt a bit abrupt at first, but I like the bubbly synth at 2:33 and the sense of apprehension in the texture by around 2:55. You also have another effective key change at 3:20, although you may start overdoing it a tad by 4:05. Relying on key changes alone to create variety in a piece is hard to pull off, especially in a 5-minute piece.

That said, you have a lot of really creative and fun compositional details here. I just wanted the mixing to be a bit sharper and the sound design to be more polished and original. Also, the arrangement was a bit choppy, especially early on in the piece before the texture was as rich and full as it was for most of the second half. Overall, this was a fun and catchy piece with a strong atmospheric appeal. Keep at it, StormLight93! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7/10

[Fleck]

I like the crisp drums and jazzy E-piano at the beginning. The mix is very quiet, albeit clean and well-balanced. The piano line at :22 has a nice, dynamic, and ambling contour, and later a strong sense of energy and drive at :43. I like the dissonant harmonies at around :50 too. That then flows nicely into the (guitar?) solo at 1:01, and the more uptempo section at 1:21 was a good way of hitting the piece home towards the end. Overall, the structure feels a tad aimless at times, but the rhythmic content and sound design definitely help keep me engaged. Strong work, guys! Keep it up. ^_^

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

[Bleeding my Time]

I like the tempo automations and quirky atmosphere towards the beginning. The naked synth bass at :24 drags on for a bit too long IMO - kinda disrupted the flow there. The mix is very minimal and bottom-heavy, although I like the moody sound design and percussive texture. I think you could’ve foreshadowed the entrance of the vocals at 1:20 a bit better, and the harsh, distorted sounds by 1:33 or so are not my favorite. There are some other unexpected shifts in the texture, like 2:24, that could’ve been the subject of more gradual transitions. I really like the smooth pads that come in at 2:33 to mellow things out, though. I wasn’t a huge fan of the dissonant harmonies at 3:07 either. For what it’s worth, I enjoyed the stop-start pads during the outro at 3:50.

Overall, I appreciate the experimental approach you took to the sound design here, but the disjointed arrangement and thin, bass-y texture don’t do you many favors IMO. You get a lot of credit for creativity, atmosphere, and instrumentation, but as a listener I wanted some more repetition and depth in the harmonic content to hang onto after a while. Some of your choices regarding structure and tonality worked for me, but others plainly didn’t. Still, you’re clearly a talented producer with a knack for creating dissonant, moody textures. Keep at it, SroSocial! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
5.5/10

sro responds:

Appreciate the review and kind words. Clearly fundamentally we have very different approaches/views for music and that's fine, on some level, but please allow me to puke out a comment from muh soul.

I said something here with this song. Everything on it was intentional. Everything wrong with it's "grammar" was purposeful. Just like the song title, I portray what I'm saying in the song itself. Fundamentally I feel like we speak two different languages, me espiolah and you wagabugoo. Both holding different intentions: I want to be heard, not satisfy you. You want to be satisfied, while not hearing me.

That's my criticism of your review@4am. I accept and embrace the fact that I can't satisfy everyone, but idk this just felt like I was ignored in it all in favor of weird preferences for my song to become something it's not. Looks like you guys judged my song as a WIP to give feedback to, ya know?

;c

[Before You Go]

I like the smooth guitar riff and jazzy drums at the beginning. At :18, the drums could’ve been a bit more prominent in the mix, and ditto for the vocals at :35. Your voice is really soothing, and I also really like the furtive-sounding solo at 1:27. The entire piece has a real ‘70s vibe, to be honest - mild-mannered and down-to-earth. The second half of the piece gets a bit repetitive, though, and at some point some more variety in the energy level and instrumental hierarchy in particular would’ve been nice. Still, you put together an engrossing atmosphere and successfully showed off your stellar sense of harmony and progression here. Keep it up, Spoonman! ^_^

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
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

[Demolitios-Lost and Found]

I like the relaxed and blissful mood at the beginning. The rhythm is a little hard to follow at first, but maybe that’s just because of how echo-y the guitar is. I like the quirky synth at :19 and the minimal hip-hop-inspired beat at :45. Otherwise, the texture is very slow to progress and repetitive for much of the piece, and there are also moments of prolonged minimalism like at 1:08, which I feel was a missed opportunity to have a cool melodic bridge or something. I can tell the piece makes a good loop, but I still think you could’ve done a lot more with the composition here. The sound design, production quality, rhythmic content, and atmosphere are all really good. I’d encourage you to keep working on this piece. If you flesh out the structure a bit more and add some variety in the texture, this could be a real banger. Keep at it, Splashtinum! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.25/10

[FACUNDO GARDIOL - Airborne ( Future Bounce )]

I like the airy vocals at the beginning, although the way they’re layered over the beat in terms of the pattern of emphasis in the rhythm is a bit bizarre. I like the sense of build into :34, though, and the drop there is seriously catchy. The mix is clean and well-balanced, if a tad over-compressed for my tastes. I also like the synth drone and filtering during the post-chorus at 1:06. The arrangement, sound design, and chord progression of the piece are all pretty generic, and I would’ve liked to see more variety in the main melodies and drop later on in the piece. My favorite element of the piece is probably the production, which is punchy and crisp. The rhythmic content is also nice - this piece is upbeat and danceable, and it’s hard to go wrong with that. :) I might have to pass on the skydiving though lol. Keep at it, SPIRALi! ^_^

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

SPIRALi responds:

thanks!

[Seeking Light In The Darkness]

I like the waltzy piano riff at the beginning and the pensive, almost introspective mood. The piece could use a bit more atmosphere - reverb on the piano, sharper and more prominent percussion, etc. - but the strings and other layered harmonies as the piece goes on help the texture feel full and rich after a while. The production quality is not bad, but the mix is very quiet. I like how the piece comes full circle at the end with the waltzy piano riff. I also think the arrangement sounded a bit formulaic, with regular changes in the texture every 4 or 8 bars, but not a lot of ebb and flow within those 8 bars. Still, the elegant sound design, melodies, and soothing aura of this piece have really won me over. Keep at it, SomeGuy! ^_^

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

SomeGuyMusic responds:

Thank you!

[Bx7]

That was a pretty creative fade-in at the beginning. The rhythmic content is really neat here, but I might’ve liked to see you smooth over the distorted texture a bit, especially with the harsh-sounding sweep at :05. The mix is clean and loud, but could use a bit more of a sense of balance between the gritty, low-register content and otherwise. The texture is pretty minimal here, although I appreciate the attempt to fill some of it with reverb without compromising the production quality. The mid-range synth riff at 1:32 was catchy and refreshing, although the screechy effect at 1:42 wasn’t my favorite, especially given how often it was repeated during the ensuing 20 seconds. Overall, there is some very creative sound design work here, and the rhythmic content and mixing are also quite good. The composition could use a bit more harmonic depth and a less choppy arrangement, although you’ve clearly demonstrated your chops as a techno producer here. Keep at it, Solaraloe! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7/10

[Techno All Night]

I like the catchy synths at the beginning. The bass is a little too loud relative to the other instruments. The drums at :14 sound a bit minimal and dry - maybe some reverb would help give them more character. The lead synth at :28 is really neat, and I love the rhythmic content throughout the piece. At times, the arrangement feels a tad formulaic here - the texture shifts every 8 or 16 bars or so, but within those 16 bars there’s not much of a sense of ebb and flow. I love the melodies during the extended bridge from :42 to 1:38, though. I also would’ve liked to see some more variety later in the piece, not just a straight copy-paste of the earlier melodic bridge, and a more creative ending than a fade-out. Overall, the production quality holds up well, although you may want to transpose that low-mid synth harmony (the riff at the beginning besides the bass line), just to balance out the mix a little more frequency-wise. Despite my nitpicks, this is a catchy piece with solid mixing and cute, refreshing sound design. Keep at it, SMR! ^_^

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
.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
7/10