TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[my grandma (wrote the bible for me)]

Love the distorted vocals and the 1950s rock 'n' roll sound design. Almost thought the vocals were some sort of kazoo at first. XD The solo at 1:32 with the spoken word lyrics is probably my favorite part of the piece. The ending is a bit sudden, and I do want to at least know what the lyrics are despite the distortion sounding really cool. Still, neat track that is, as usual with you, very well-produced. Cheers, Bryce! ^_^

[neural pathways]

Those are some dark lyrics, man. Hope everything is okay. But I love the strong guitar strums and the crisp drums. Mix is really good here too, and the dreamy atmosphere and introspective vocals help round out the sound design nicely. Keep it up! ^_^

[-Censored-]

I like the eerie mood at the beginning. The harsh drones at :17 could use a bit of softening at the high end of the frequency range, but I like the creative beats at :28. The piece is pretty minimal throughout - some more mid-range tones, even a simple pad or atmospheric elements, would help it feel more full. The hi-hats at 2:55 are a tad too loud for my tastes.

The structure of the piece also sounds a bit incoherent. The different lead riffs seem to follow one after another, but don't seem very well-connected to each other. There's the blissful, short-lived mid-range bass riff at :51, grittier bass riff at 1:26 with the prominent beat, directly into the echo-y mallets/bells at 1:48, etc. You've lined up your ideas like books on a bookshelf; instead, I want them to be a part of the same story.

At the very end (around 3:30), you start integrating the different riffs with each other for the first time in the piece. It sounds a little dissonant, but that's probably okay for a piece like this. Ideally, you'd start by writing a collection of riffs in the same key and that all follow the same chord progression. To be more specific: first, choose a 5-7 note scale to work from. Then write 4-6 chords in a row in the piano roll that use that scale. You may only need to change 1 note at a time from one chord to the next. Then, when you write harmony lines, play them over the chord progressions so that a note in the harmony line is always in the chord that's playing at the same time. That way, it's a lot easier to get different harmony lines in your song to layer on top of each other and still sound good. I know that sounds really restrictive, but it'll make your piece sound much more cohesive until layering a bunch of harmonies on top of each other comes more naturally to you as a composer.

I don't want all of this to make you feel like I hated your piece or anything, because I didn't. The beats and instruments are cool, and the mix holds up pretty well. I just strongly feel like a good next step for you as a composer is to work on adding depth (but not dissonance) to your harmonies. This is something I struggled with immensely during my first few years as a composer too.

Hope you found this review helpful. Please reach out again for more feedback once you've tried my harmonic layering exercise! ^_^

Creeperforce24 responds:

I’m starting to think none of this will help and I’m just using the wrong presets, or maybe I’m just learning still as you said, either way.

Maybe it’s just my style of music, even though I take inspiration from waterflame and predatormusic, I try to keep things more original, I feel I might just need to get better.

thanks for your feedback.

[Radiance]

Hey TheGrassGuy! Believe it or not, two months later I'm still circling back and trying to give people some NGUAC feedback on tracks where the judges didn't provide it initially.

Love the laid-back mood and acoustic sound design here. Reminds me of a 70s soft rock ballad or something. There's a great sense of gradual build-up into the part at 1:35 or so. The breakdown at 1:52 comes on a bit suddenly, but you transition well back into the upbeat and busier section at 2:25, and the expressive piano there is especially nice. The mixing here is also rather good - crisp drums and well-balanced frequencies throughout. The rich strings and melodies at 3:08 hit the piece home quite nicely, and I'm also a fan of the mellow outro. "Radiance" is a fitting title - this piece just has an elegant kind of buoyancy to it. Stellar work! Hope to see you back in the NGUAC next year. ^_^

[Silver Phoenix]

I like the echo-y strings at the beginning and the dark tone of the piece at :08. The eerie percussion at :11 helps establish the atmosphere, and the brass and other sound design elements all mesh nicely together as well. I think I would’ve liked to hear a bit more of the militaristic percussion in the mix at around :40 onward, but otherwise the production quality is great here. There’s a lot of pent-up tension in this piece, but I’m not sure it ever really gets resolved. You do a good job of creating variety with the instrumentation, but after a while the harmonic framework gets a tad repetitive. The pattern of the heavy downbeats with the dramatic quarter note riffs following (1:06, 1:21, 1:38, etc.) is effective at ratcheting up the intensity for a while, but also gets fairly predictable after a couple of minutes, and it doesn’t help that during many of those riffs the rhythm is fairly square. Still, the melodic content, sound design, and mixing are characteristically strong here, and I thoroughly enjoy the cinematic style of this piece. Keep it up, LSD! ^_^

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

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Finally I have a bit of time to respond :'D

I composed the short intro on the piano, but it took the longest time for me to figure out what instrument should play it, in this cinematic version. I tried all kinds of things, but ended up going with just a solo violin at the end. I'm glad you like it, for that reason!

Nice catch with some of the percussion dropping out after the first section of the piece! The idea was to change things up and keep things progressing, but in hindsight I agree that the execution could have been better. I also see your point about the lack of many satisfying resolutions. On one hand, that's intentional, as I wanted to keep the tension growing until the climax. But I think it just goes on for a bit too long and stagnates a bit, unfortunately.

Those problem-areas aside, I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the composition! I would like to do something very similar to this again in the future, but just... A bit better xD

[Bewitched]

I like the phasing synth and quirky percussion at the beginning. Super catchy and creepy content here - it’s starting to sound like Halloween already! The piece is a bit slow to progress, but the rich atmosphere and rhythmic content help keep me engaged. The drums get a tad buried in the mix at times, although otherwise the production holds up rather well. My main complaint here is probably the lack of variety, especially early on, although the breakdown at 2:36 does help break up the quirky, energetic sections a bit. There’s a good point of arrival at 3:08, and overall you hit the piece home well. Aspects of the chord progression are a bit generic here, but that’s surely counterbalanced by the experimental texture. Overall, this is a really creative and evocative piece, LordAndiso. Still not sure if it’s supposed to be a nightmare or a daydream, but that’s probably a good thing. 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
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

LordAndiso responds:

Thank you soo much :D As always... this keeps me super motivated :3

[Walking with Anxiety]

I love the wonky meter and rich sound design here. The increasing frequency of the electric guitar strums over the first minute gives the piece a subtle sense of build-up, even if it’s fairly slow to progress overall. The prominent bass at 1:23 is really nice, as are the soothing vocals at 1:39 and the subtle build-up into 2:00 or so. When the lyrical vocals finally come in at 2:07, it feels really profound somehow, like everything else up to that point was an attempt to say something as directly as you do at 2:07. The 4-count at the end was a bit cheesy, but also strangely meditative. You definitely broke the fourth wall with this one, Spoonman, and your raw, down-to-earth style has always been really compelling to me. Strong production and phrasing here, too. Thanks so much for participating in the NGADM this year! Been an absolute pleasure hearing your music (and I damn well intend on listening to plenty more of it after the competition, too). ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[Wonder Of Heavens]

I like the dreamy sound design and tranquil mood at the beginning. The fade-in at the beginning threw me off a bit, though - sounds a bit unnatural for a piece like this. That said, the texture comes together really well by :18, and I love the melodies and crisp drums. The rhythmic content and progression are also good, and the organ riff at 1:10 hits the spot after a high-octane first minute of content. This piece is full of variety, and yet it’s so smooth-flowing. The production is also rather good, although at times I would’ve liked to hear a tad more of the drums in the mix. Still, you’ve thoroughly knocked this one out of the park, FJOB. Killer melodies, sound design, mixing, and beats here. Keep it up! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.5/10

[Collapse (NGADM r. 3)]

I like the eerie mood at the beginning and the sense of build into :26. The mix at :26 sounds a bit distorted, and I would’ve liked to hear a bit more of the drums. The vocals at :53 fit in well, and their robotic-sounding production matches the rest of the sound design nicely. The drop at 1:19 was catchy, if a little generic, and I like the breaks at 1:47. The airy breakdown at 2:12 was good for some variety, and I really like the rich, apprehensive texture by around 2:30. I appreciate the variations on the vocals at 3:06 and the second drop at 3:32. Throughout the piece, the rhythmic content and gritty sound design are really enjoyable, and the added layering in the treble range on the synth pattern at 4:01 really helps hit the piece home. Overall, this is a catchy and compelling track, DenPelm. Aspects of the arrangement and harmonic framework are a bit cliche, but the synths are well-polished, and you’ve kept my head bobbing and foot tapping throughout. 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
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
8.5/10

[Rediscovery (NGADM '23 R3)]

I like the majestic riff at the beginning and the gradual swell in energy and volume over the first minute of the piece. The melodies and sound design are beautiful as always with you, Papkee. The return to the pitter-patter piano riff at 1:15 or so was very gracefully phrased, and the middle section of the piece strikes a great balance between a sense of wonder and a sense of anticipation. The stop-start transition at 2:36 actually works rather well too, and the final climax at 2:42 is characteristically orgasmic. The mixing is not perfect here - I wanted to hear a bit more of the shakers during the final minute and more of the woodwinds in the places where they came in (:45, notably). Otherwise, this is a top-notch track, Papkee. By all means, keep it up! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
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
9.75/10