TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Should Have Stayed Home, Should Have Stayed Out Of Trouble]

I like the phasing at the beginning. The sudden punctures of the pads at the beginning contrasts nicely with the airy atmosphere of :15. Reverb on the clap felt a bit excessive, but also contributed to the atmosphere in its own way. I especially like when, later on, you interchange the drier clap and wet one. The progression is pretty slow here, but I like the soothing mood and sound design. The production quality is also good. The transition at 1:45 felt very gradual, yet the sharp attack at 1:56 still felt heavy and jarring in a way (but I think that's what you were going for). You clearly have a great sense of harmony and progression, though. The piece just takes a long time to develop. There isn't a lot of prominent melodic content in this piece, and I would've liked to see a more creative ending than a fade-out. That said, I like how the texture erodes away in a subtle way before the transition at 3:52. The sound design and atmosphere have really sold this piece. Keep up the good work, RedSoul92! ^_^

RedSoul92 responds:

It's definitely a main idea that drags around for 5 minutes, the absence of a lead melody is intentional to give the ambience a bigger role. The fade-out may have been caused by a lack of structure in the ending.
I will keep it up, thnxs!

[Asher Postman - Going to the Sun (ft. Annelisa Franklin) ParabolicX Remix]

I like the chill atmosphere and vocals at the beginning. Mastering is rather strong too. Nice sense of build-up into 1:12. The drop there was nice too - good pacing especially. The somewhat generic instrumentation and arrangement detract from the piece a bit, though. That said, you’re clearly a talented producer. Everything sounds clean, loud, and distinct in the mix. There’s the perfect amount of reverb, and the drums are crisp and clear. Very feel-good sort of piece. Well-structured and flowy too.

Sorry we had to disqualify you. I hope there are no hard feelings. It's a good track, but it simply doesn't fit our criteria for originality (and maybe not the site's either).

Good luck with your future projects, man.

AtRysk responds:

No hard feelings. Thanks for the feedback!

[Cutting Corners]

The reverse crash at the beginning felt a bit forceful compared with the calming mood of the rest of the piece. Beautiful sound design and melodies, though, even if the piano melody sounded a tad square rhythmically. I like the ongoing sense of directionality in the texture until 1:06. The stop-start transition has a nice sense of drama about it, but I still thought it was a bit abrupt. Nice work with the progression otherwise. You know how to give the composition of your tracks an ebb and flow really well. The final climactic section at around 2:35 is super great. I think the lower string line could've come through the mix a little clearer at 2:40, but otherwise I didn't notice any huge problems with the mastering here. My biggest compositional complaint is that there's a lot of transitory/build-up content without much cathartic/emotional height content. Perhaps that's merely typical of cinematic tracks, though. Overall really strong work here! You really sold the drama with this one. Good luck in the ADM, AceMantra. ^_^

AceMantra responds:

Thanks for the input and kind words, TL! I totally agree with all of your points. I meant to make the transitions a little smoother, but I ran out of time as usual. But it's finished and that's what matters.

Thanks again, and good luck to you as well. :)

[stardust [NGADM Round 1]]

I like the chill mood at the beginning and the sharp snaps on the off-beats for the first 30 seconds or so. The balance seems a bit off to me, though. The chord progression/bass are really heavy, and the melodic content doesn't really shine through the mix that well during the refrain. Then, the breakdown at :59 comes on really suddenly. A subtle filter doesn't really cut it as a transition in my eyes. I like the more gradual sense of climax into the next refrain, though. Overall, the production quality is really strong here, and the mix has a lot of top end that sounds really good (those crisp hi-hats, soaring synth arpeggios, etc.). The sudden transitions, lack of originality in the composition, and balance issues just detract from my enjoyment of all these positive elements, unfortunately. And then the outro sounded pretty ominous, which didn't really fit the character of the rest of the piece imo. Overall, I'd say that you're clearly a talented producer, but I can tell that the piece is rushed. Good luck in the ADM, though! Keep at it, N1NJA-Official. :^)

N1NJA-Official responds:

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, I didn't really have a single cohesive idea throughout, coupled with stress to finish and cpu issues with playback from too much layering. A lot of the fine details were glossed over like you mentioned.

[Quixotic (Original Mix)]

I like the mysterious intro, and the hard-hitting texture at :17 predicates the rest of the piece quite well. The mastering is so loud and punchy - truly a treat. The piece takes a little while to develop, but at the drop at 1:31 it feels really climactic and cathartic. The vocal samples are a bit overused after a while, but this piece maintains a great punchiness and drive. I would've liked to hear some more harmonic depth at times, although I commend you for keeping things interesting with the tempo automation at 2:30. The structural variety at 2:53 was quite welcome. I like that jittery bass synth at 3:28 a lot. After a time, the sound design has so much variety (and the piece is so long) that it lost an element of cohesion imo. The last 20 seconds or so have a lot of jarring changes in the texture too, and I don't think they did a great job of wrapping up the piece. I'd rather see you try to consolidate some of your ideas and expand on them, rather than spread the thematic content of this piece too thin with a lot of fleeting riffs and ideas. Still, the production, sound design, and atmosphere are all impressive. Keep at it, Kaixo!

KaixoMusic responds:

Thanks for the review :D

[Condensation]

Cool FX at the beginning. I love the rich atmosphere and sense of climax into :15. I wasn't a huge fan of the percussion sample that was playing at the off-beats at :15. Something about the timbre just didn't seem to fit the rest of the piece. That said, the production quality is strong, and the refrain at :48 feels nice and cathartic. Nice work with the slap bass, too - it's a really fun addition to the texture, especially when it has that mini-solo at 1:03. The synth entrance at 1:30 (and a couple other places) sounds a tad harsh. Might need some more filtering or volume adjustments. The piece really starts coming together by around 2:20, though. The melodic content there just expands on the other motifs of the piece so well. The stop-start transition at 2:47 wasn't my favorite. It just didn't seem to match the smooth-flowing vibe of the rest of the piece very well. That said, the dreamy outro was a plus. Overall, nice work! I love the atmosphere and sound design here. Good luck in the ADM. ;)

ColinMuir responds:

Thank you TL, for always giving such real reviews :)

[Melt]

I like the ominous swell at the beginning and the relaxed atmosphere. The drums sound nice and crisp, and the E-piano is gorgeous and spacey. I think the drums sound a tad dry, though. They could use some reverb. The sound design really starts coming together by around 1:10, but there’s a lot of distortion in the texture at that point. The melodic content at 1:20 is really cool with the pitch-bending. The instrumentation here is also really cool. My main complaint is that the piece isn’t really structurally complete. I think you needed to flesh out the composition more before the piece really came together as a stand-alone track. That said, the atmosphere, melodic content, and automations are all huge pluses. Keep at it, YHTFLKC!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.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?)
.25/1
Composite score
7.75/10

YHTFLKC responds:

Thank you very much.

[Author wind - Truth]

I like the cute synths and atmosphere, but the white noise at the beginning sounds a tad harsh. I’d suggest some more filtering and automation to diminish its role its role in the mix. I like the sense of climax starting at :52, and the cathartic part at 1:15 fit in well. I think the hi-hats are a bit too loud at 1:28, and the melodic content isn’t as up-front in the mix as I’d like. The blissful mood and instrumentation here are great overall, though. As for the mastering, I think you could stand to cut a bit of reverb and equalize things a bit more strictly. Right now, the mix is loud and full, but could benefit from a bit more clarity. I also would’ve liked to see vary the melodic content a bit more at the second refrain. That said, the post-chorus at 3:11 helped create some variety. Overall strong work here. Especially nice job with the atmosphere, melodies, and texture. Keep up the good work, Wind1823!

8.25/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.25/10

Authorwind responds:

Woh! THANKS ;)☆
I should try to fix it;;

[Good Post-Modern-Imminent-Nuclear-War Vibes]

Awesome title, man! There’s a mic pop at the beginning that I don’t think you want in there, though. That said, I like the organic texture at :08, even if the panning on it was a little too strong. The vocals sound a bit strained at times, like at :32 on the “said” melisma and again at 2:34. The texture is really smooth and soothing, though. I really like the lyrics. The soil/root metaphor was quite clever. The down-to-earth folk vibe of the piece was great. The drums sound nice and crisp in the texture. Nice job incorporating the structural variety at 2:35, too. I think the blending on the vocals would be better with some more reverb, though. The vocal editing could be cleaner. Some pitch correction may be in order, as far as it doesn’t compromise the organic vibe of the piece. Sometimes it just sound like you’re struggling to hold onto notes for as long as you do, which compromises the overall soothing vibe of the piece. I thought the climactic part at around 4:30-5:00 tied the piece together really well, but then the outro (5:00 on) dragged on for way too long. The melodic content at 5:35 is really nice, but at that point it sounds like you’re taking the piece in a different direction instead of wrapping it up. Overall, this is clearly strong work, though. I love the instrumentation and the harmonic content. You’re definitely a talented guitarist and vocalist, and the thematic content of the piece came together really well. Keep up the good work, Verbicidemusic!

8.75/10

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

verbicidemusic responds:

Thanks man, your critiques are always extremely helpful and appreciated! Tis' true about the vocals, I'm by no means a trained vocalist haha but glad you dug my drumming and guitarwork tho (clearly my stronger suits lmao)

[Speakers]

I like the jazzy chords at the beginning and the ghostly atmosphere at :17. The beat sounds nice and crisp at :17, and the sound design is really enjoyable. The melodic content at :50 is beautiful. I think there may be a tad too much reverb in texture, and there’s also a bit of atonality here and there. That said, the mastering quality is really good. The mix is loud and clean (despite the excess reverb), and the texture sounds quite well-balanced. I also liked the structural variety you incorporated, starting with the short breakdown at 2:24. I really like how the energy picks back up towards the end with the string solo at 3:12. Texture is really full, but still sharp and punchy with the drums. Overall, this is a really admirable piece with some really cool sound design and melodic content. The violin sounds a little inauthentic in its higher range, but that’s certainly my only complaint about the sound design. Composition and production are strong as well. Keep up the good work, Spectronoid97!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.25/10

spectronoid97 responds:

HEY MAN! Thanks for your review, I greatly appreciate it!!
Yeah, mixing is one of my main enemies when it comes to music making, because my computer can't handle a lot of things happening at the same time or my CPU starts bitching, but I try my best hahaha. And also the violin part sounds a little too computerish because I don't own any VSTs or libraries for orchestral instruments (or anything at all really hahaha). But thank you so much for letting me on the next round of the competition! I'll outdo myself, at least I hope I do. xD