TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Cracking the Code]

Cool synths at the beginning. I would've preferred the snare to be a bit more full-sounding and less static-y, but the rest of the sound design is really nice. The harmonic progression and melodic content are both satisfying, and the modulation at 1:07 is a nice touch. I think the texture could use a bit more fill in places, but at the same time I really like the relaxed vibe this has. The ending came on a bit suddenly. The piece loses a bit of cohesion between the pretty dynamic middle section, but still comes together well by the end. I like the mixing effects a lot here - there's a very spacious mix with some fun echo/delay effects on the lead. Overall solid work!

ChronoNomad responds:

Hey, TL! I really appreciate the critique, man.

Glad you like the synthy stuff, but I guess those snares just don't quite pass muster. Ah, well...I tried several on for size, and ended up choosing this one. What can ya do? lol

Lots of really nice comments, and I pretty much agree with your assessment. The abrupt ending was planned, so hopefully it works okay, but I'm not thrilled with that last transition into the main melody...or lack thereof. Sadly, just a couple days after rendering the track for submission, my computer gave up the ghost. Got a new one up and running now, but even if I'd wanted to make adjustments, the file is no longer accessible. :(

Eh, life goes on. Thanks again for stopping by, having a listen, and leaving a review! They always brighten up my day.

[Allowed to Dream Reality]

Woah. Really interesting harmonies at the beginning. Seems like you're using a lot of borrowed/applied chords. I really like the melodies at :45. Another unique thing about this piece is that there's a noticeably very wide interval between the voices; around 1:30, for example. Upon second listen, though, I might just think that because each line has such an unconventional contour. The breakdown at 2:23 works really well, and then the somewhat clashing chords at 2:41 sound rather calming. The piece ends with a somewhat tranquil, jazzy passage which I think did a great job of bringing these experimental "dreams" back down to earth. ;) Overall, really cool piece! I totally appreciate all the harmonic eccentricities here. Keep it up. ^_^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Oh hi! Thanks for the review :DDD
I'm not sure if I'd call them borrowed chords or not, as there is no main scale. The scale changes with every chord (aside from a few exceptions), so I really don't know how else to describe it :p
I mainly use the same 4 chords, from 4 different scales.

I enjoyed reading your analysis of the different parts!

[Color Shift]

I like the quirky synths at the beginning. Flashy chords, smooth bass, and solid atmosphere. Vaguely reminiscent of funk between the guitar synths and heavily syncopated drum pattern. Melodies are strong, and overall the piece is smooth-flowing and well-structured. I really like the guitar solo at around 1:50. Production quality is great. Loud, clear, and punchy mix throughout. A couple of small complaints: the texture is made up of a lot of staccato-y elements. I felt like it needed some drone-like pads or something to smooth it over at times. Also, the fade-out ending lacked creativity. Other than that, really enjoyable piece. Sound design and production are major highlights. Keep up the good work!

Also, I've added you to the PM list for next year's NGUAC. :)

Tetfima responds:

This is probably the best feedback of my work that I've ever recieved, TL, thank you. And thank you, I think it would be cool to enter :) I have a version of Color Shift without the unneeded lead at 1:12 that I'm going to replace with. I really like the chords and bass there and the lead distracts from that. I'd like to hear more of your opinion on my future works, so don't be a stranger!

email: [e-mail]

[Kytoon - Save My Breath]

I like the smooth guitars and atmosphere. I wish you would've let the reverb fade out by its own accord at :21 instead of the sudden cutoff, but the raw vocals and progression are really enjoyable here. At times, I wanted the vocals to be more up-front in the mix, especially at the busier sections. One thing I really liked about the vocals was the call-and-response structure of some of the phrases, like at 2:20 for example. Nice touch with the solos at the end of the piece, too. The lyrics feel pretty powerful overall, and the structure definitely amplifies that effect. Production is super clean. Overall great work! ^_^

GhostLawyer responds:

Thanks for the thoughtful response! Always a struggle to keep the vocals on top of everything without getting too compressed - constantly trying to improve my mixing in that regard.

[Cat Trap]

Interesting rhythmic work at the beginning with the hats and metallic clanging sample. At first, I don't think the clanging quite feels quantized with the rest of the beat, but by :23 the piece comes together pretty well. I think the build-up into :23 is also really smooth. The atmosphere and sound design is great here, and the beats sound pretty crisp. The pause at 1:32 (and other places) was a bit long, and the synth at 1:38 was pretty grating on the ears. Overall, though, I think my biggest complaint here is that the piece needs more variety. The progression is very slow for most of the piece, and the piece gets very repetitive after a couple of minutes. I'd suggest implementing some stronger melodic content in the piece, even if it's just in a bridge or something. That would really help give the piece a sense of overarching direction. Still, the mood here is really engrossing and the beats are super catchy. Keep it up, DjRemedy!

djRemedy responds:

Thank you for another solid review, TaintedLogic! I appreciate the time you take in your comments... Couldn't have said it better myself. You rock!

[freezy destroyer]

I like the arpeggios at the beginning and the airy synths. Chord progression is a tad cliche, but I like the sense of build-up into :44. The drums could stand to come through the mix a bit stronger at the drop, but I like the rhythmic work with the bass. The arpeggios are getting quite repetitive by around 1:20, and the transition at 1:44 was really sudden. I think the harmonic framework of the piece could use a tad more fleshing out, but besides some potential for the drums to be punchier the mastering was rather good. There might be room for a tad more clarity by eliminating some reverb, but that's more of a detail than anything else. Arrangement/structure-wise, I think I wanted another drop to add some finality to the piece. The part at 1:58 felt more like a bridge. Overall, though, cool sound design and satisfactory job with the production. Piece is smooth-flowing and catchy too. Keep at it, man!

cathatmusic responds:

I have no memory of you commenting on this. but thank you for giving me some feedback! some of the stuff you mentioned I am just learning how to fix nowadays :p

[Transient]

Aha! Good to hear from you, Lockyn. ^_^ I like the spacey synth patterns quirky bass at the beginning. Really fun melodic riffs by around :40, and you really start taking it in a different direction with the piano melody at the 1-minute mark. I think some of the transitions could've been a bit more gradual/well-shaped, but tbh that's my main complaint here. The production quality is really strong as always. Crisp, clear beats and loud, punchy mix throughout. The drop at around 2:05 was a bit more ominous-sounding than I thought it would be, but I like how you quickly defaulted back to your smooth, beautiful melodies by around 2:40. :) I also thought you could've done a tad more with the drums throughout this piece. It's a pretty straight-forward kick-clap-kick-clap for most of the piece. The passion of the melodies at 3:47 was really nice. The second drop might've needed a bit more variation to draw some contrast from the first one, but at the same time I respect the amount of cohesion that you gave this piece (despite its quite substantial length). Classic Lockyn piano outro, too. Strong work again! Looking forward to listening to your whole album when I have time. Keep it up, man! ^^

Lockyn responds:

Hey TL, thanks again for the review. I agree with most of your points, very valid criticism. Cheers mate!

[Avalanche!]

I like the ominous sitar at the beginning and the mini-buildup into :18. The oom-pah rhythm of the harmony at :18 was really fun. Melodies are strong too. Some of the instruments are a bit cheesy, but it also sets the scene for a video game or short animation really well. The mix is strong and well-balanced. Part of me wanted some more prominent percussion in the piece. Feels like most of the top-end is hi-hats right now. That said, the composition of the piece makes up for that with its narrative structure and constant sense of ebb and flow. Nice work! ^_^

Possibly responds:

Thanks very much for the review. The thing at the beginning is a hammered dulcimer, the closest I had to a Cimbalom, which is featured in Klezmer music, which the guy wanted me to reference. Thanks again!

[Oncoming Storm]

I really, really....REALLY should've checked out your music earlier. I'm impressed. I liked the pensive mood and atmosphere at the beginning. The background distorted whoosh noises were a bit too in-your-face for my taste at the very beginning, but that's a tiny detail. The progression is also a little slow towards the beginning, but I'm loving the cinematic vibe by around the 1-minute mark. The grainy, static-y synth bass there doesn't add a lot to the texture. I guess I wanted it to be replaced with something that was a bit more polished, like a round sub-bass or something. I'd also like to see the bell-like melodies at around 1:45 come out a bit more. The production is probably my favorite part of the piece, but I think the sound design is quite pleasing overall (despite my issues with a couple of choices). The piece really comes together by the end with the quirky mood and staccato-y riffs in the upper-mids. Nice work! Atmosphere at the end was a great touch too. Keep up the good work, Adrean! ^_^

ADR3-N responds:

I want to be completely upfront about this piece and just say I had no idea what I was doing, haha. New PC, new SFX, had to redesign my FX library since I lost a lot of what I did have, and I've never done a piece quite like this... like ever.

I think you're probably right. I was thinking of taking those whooshes down about .5 dB -- although they're actually wind and rain samples, singing dunes in the key of the song.

1:00 I was considering taking that bass down and applying some silky flange-y FX but I thought the song needed some grit. Perhaps I could have given it more life with another sidechain input in fabfilter C2 or lowpass/LFO play there. I find that subby basses take up a lot of space in the mix -- like those kicks and bass drops -- the former is hard to manage alongside a fat bass.

Yeah, that synth bell thing probably could come up a bit -- it's actually the second to last melody I wrote; I appended it to the end as well as sort of a tie on. Like at 2:21 through 2:32, lots of Eric Whitacre influence there. Probably should have brought both up by about 1-2 dB.

Production wise, mixed at -6 dB with the volume on like 10% before I touched the master. I wish I had EQ'ed out a lot of the sub pre-compression. Each track has a multiband compressor on it in lieu of an EQ to keep a more natural frequency range.

Also, thank Quarl for pestering me to bother with atmos, haha.

Thanks for the review! Lemme know if you have a piece you want looked at. :)

[MDK - Press Start (Froej & Trickshot Remix)]

Good to see it ended up on the site! I like the sound design at the beginning. Sounds very cutesy, with retro VGM vibes. Catchy rhythmic work at :34, too. The pacing is nice, and I like the build-up into 1:09. The chord progression and arrangement of the piece are a bit cliche, but the production is pretty strong. The mix is loud, but not overly compressed. I think you could've done a tad more with the drums in the piece, but I like the filtering work at 2:03. The distorted guitar chords at 2:20 were a bit off-putting, but that's the only sound design choice that actively bothered me in the piece. It's well-structured and smooth-flowing too. Might've been a tad dragged-out with the lead-in to the final refrain at 3:12, but overall I liked the composition a lot too. Nice work guys! Gl in the remix contest. ^_^

Froej responds:

thanks for your feedback :)