TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Let Me Take You Out Tonight (recomposed bass)]

I like the mellow guitars at the beginning and the crisp drums at :16. The vocals are also really nice - conversational tone at first, but rather soulful too. The first vocal phrase lasts a bit of a long time (until 1:30), but the chorus at 1:30 has a really cathartic vibe. I like the solo at 2:09 too. The vocals at 2:23 sound like they’re straining a bit on the higher-register notes, but the transition at 2:39 was one of my favorite compositional details of the piece. I also think the vocals sound a tad dry in the mix at times - especially during the refrain, pushing up the reverb and chorus effects a tad could help give them some extra depth. Otherwise, I really like this piece - great, feel-good vibes, strong guitar and drum work, solid production, and vocals that are 90% of the way to professional quality. Keep it up, SquidSacksArt! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.5/10

[Take Me Home (feat. Kasane Teto)]

I like the tranquil piano at the beginning. The vocals sound a bit artificial, and also a bit harsh in the treble end of the frequency range. The piece is also pretty slow to progress, although by 1:24 the texture is nice and thick. The harmonic progression sounds rather repetitive, though, and the drums sound a bit strained in the mix. It might help make the kick sound punchier if you get a little stricter with the equalization in the harmonic instruments - they really shouldn’t have any frequencies below around 200 Hz, especially since there’s such a prominent bass here.

Compositionally, I also would’ve liked to hear some more melodic development later in this piece. You up the ante a bit during the second refrain by keeping the arpeggios going throughout, but in terms of the foregrounded content of the piece (vocals, mostly) the arrangement feels a bit cyclical and predictable. Still, this track is very smooth-flowing and has quite a bit of variety in the energy level. You’ve used mixing effects well, especially reverb and filtering. Clean up the mix a tad and maybe increase the pacing of the composition a bit, and this would easily get a point or two back from me. Keep at it, SpecialGuacs! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Sly - Kinesis]

I like the crisp beats and the creative pattern of emphasis. The sound design is also neat, although the texture is pretty minimal. The bass at :24 is nice, but I would’ve liked to hear a bit more of it in the mix given there aren’t many other harmonic elements to the track. By :44, it’s really bumpin’ though. Compositionally, the piece doesn’t quite feel fully fleshed out. I would love to hear some more ambitious melodic content or just richer harmonies in general. Still, this is a really catchy track with some neat instrumentation. Keep at it, SlyFrost! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
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
7.75/10

[Beyond The Sky (Demo)]

I like the mellow pads at the beginning and the crisp beats at :11. The piano instrument sounds a bit overly contained in the mix - might help to give it a bit more room to breathe in the equalizer, but it could also be the quality of the VST. Hard to tell. Otherwise, the sound design and production quality are solid, and I also really like the rhythmic content at :11. The breakdown at :55 was good for some structural variety, but drags on for a tad too long. I like the delayed entry of the synth bass at 1:40, and by 2:00 the piece has a nice, upbeat vibe. Compositionally, it still doesn’t quite feel complete, though. Some more dynamic melodic content and a thicker texture during some of the downtempo sections would be welcome to round out this piece some more. There are a lot of great individual compositional ideas, though, and I also really like the evocative mood and, other than the piano towards the beginning, the sound design. Keep at it, PurityStar! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

PurityStar responds:

thank you! I had to submit what I had due to time constraints but thank you so much for the feedback

[The Chrysanthemum Forest]

I like the mellow piano riff at the beginning and the string drone. Great dramatic flourish into :29, followed by some nice eerie percussion and more mellow piano riffs. The pacing of this piece is actually really great - so much variety in the sound design, but it all flows very smoothly. I really like the crisp guitar at around 1:20 and the quirky synths at 1:48. Love how the piece “resets itself” at 2:07 and follows a similar progression of instrumental hierarchies in the second half, even though it’s not quite the same. The production quality of this piece is also really good. If I had to complain about one thing, it might be that the piece lacks a strong “point of arrival” that ties it together narratively. As loose and creative as the arrangement is, it feels a tad directionless at times. Still, this is one of those rare one-in-a-hundred tracks that completely breaks my rubric. On paper, you haven’t delivered a substantial portion of my criteria (especially in the “structure” category), but I still like this track a LOT. Keep up the great work, PixxlMan! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
9.25/10

PixxlMan responds:

Thanks for the thorough review TaintedLogic! Really glad you liked it!

[The Hard Way]

I love the rustic quality of your vocals and the narrative appeal of the lyrics. The mix could use a bit of cleaning up, though. The drums don’t come through the texture very clearly, and the lead guitar also sounds a tad too far back in the mix. The spoken word part at :57 was a tad cheesy, but you really nailed the frantic solo at 1:14 with the slap bass backing. The transition at 1:49 was a bit sudden, but I think that section hits the piece home nicely. Good comedic appeal at the tail end (pun intended).

Overall, I like the vocal delivery, guitar work, and storytelling effort here a lot. I think the arrangement could be a tad less disjointed with some more gradual transitions - at least something small to foreshadow the explosion of energy at 1:14 and “return to earth” at 1:49. The production quality could also use a bit of polishing, and simultaneously the piece could use a bit more atmosphere - maybe some more reverb and chorus effects on the vocals, etc. Still, there are a lot of strong elements of the composition and sound design here, including the airy guitar solo in the middle and soulful vocals. Keep at it, Percentblue! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8/10

Percentblue responds:

Thank you so much for your awesome and indepth reply. I have a ton of fun with these contests and always learn a lot. Cheers 🍻

[Forgiven.ex3]

I like the distorted vocals and slidey synths at the beginning. The mix is a bit dry, and could use a tad more atmosphere. The fade-out at :27 also threw me off a bit. The beat at :30 is a bit too loud and distorted, especially the kick drum, and the harmonic content there is a tad repetitive. Again the volume automation at :58 doesn’t quite work for me. It might help shape the piece a little better to add some filtering automations that are more gradual and/or are foreshadowed with other automations (reverb, delay, etc.).

I really like the plucked synth harmony that comes in at 1:14, and the transition into 1:28 is a lot smoother, but the excessive loudness at 1:28 still bothers me. I wonder if the output is coming through super warped because there’s just too much volume, or if you intentionally just added a lot of distortion effects on the kick. That said, the rhythmic syncopations at around 2:30 are super catchy, and I like the use of the vocals at 2:42 as well.

Overall, this piece could use a bit more room in the mix with some more careful control of the volume levels, which should in turn open you up for some other mixing effects to smooth over the awkward transitions and give the piece a richer atmosphere. But the compositional ideas here are still pretty neat, so you have a solid base to build on. Would love to hear the piece again if you get around to dialing back the distortion and making the arrangement a bit less disjointed. Keep at it, NotZec! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[-= Unleashed =-]

I like the mysterious mood at the beginning. The echo-y acid bass at :09 kinda hijacks the mix when it comes in - I would soften up the volume levels on it. By around :45, I’m enjoying the quirky mood and rhythmic content of this a lot, although the mix could use some cleaning up. The texture is pretty bass-heavy, and the drums sound a tad indistinct at times. I’d consider using an equalizer to cut out the frequencies below around 200 Hz in all but the bass and kick. That should help clean up some mud in the lower end of the frequency range.

The section at 1:30 was good for some structural variety, although at some point I would’ve liked to hear some more dynamic melodic content. The rhythmic patterns in the main melody here make it feel pretty repetitive and stagnant after a while. The key change at 2:25 was a nice touch, but this piece could still use a stronger melodic appeal with some bolder compositional decisions later on - it’s challenging, but try to create a melody whose contour doesn’t repeat in a recognizable way after the first couple of measures or so.

Overall, I like the sound design, ominous mood, and danceability of this one. The mixing could use a tad bit of cleaning up, and the composition could’ve been a tad bolder in places, but it’s still going to be stuck in my head for a while. Keep at it, Notmyfault09! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
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

[From The Heart]

I like the airy guitars at the beginning. The piece is a bit slow to progress, and the strings at 1:02 sound pretty inauthentic, but I like the melody writing and smooth flow of this track a lot. The breakdown at 1:35 was good for some structural variety, and I really like how the plucked string melody hits a high note right as the beat comes back in at 1:48. After a while, the harmonic backing is getting a bit repetitive. The key change during the refrain at 3:07 was a nice touch, but at some point some bolder compositional decisions would’ve really taken this piece to the next level. Overall, this is a well-produced track with some nice melodies, smooth transitions, and a really pleasant use of reverb and other mixing effects. Minus the strings, the sound design is also good. The composition wasn’t entirely bland, but finding ways to make it feel looser and more dynamic would take this piece into top-tier territory. Either way, solid work here, NnolokK! ^_^

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[Starburst]

I like the cute synth pattern at the beginning and the subtle build-up before the main beat comes in at :14. The melody at :28 has a lot of soul to it. The production quality also holds up pretty well, although the drums and bass could both use a boost in the mix at times. The transition into 1:23 could’ve been a tad smoother, but I like the tranquil vibes there and the “B” melody at 1:36. The first refrain from :28 to 1:23 also could’ve used a bit more structuring - even something as simple as the melody at :56 being a different instrument than the melody at :28. Same thing with 2:17, actually - those high-octane melodic phrases are just a tad too long to hold my attention when they have the same instrumental hierarchy. Other than that and the abrupt transitions, this piece is really strong. Great sound design and melody writing. Love the prominent synth arpeggios that are playing for most of the piece. Keep it up, New-Milestale! You’ve earned a scout. ^_^

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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10