TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[AIM] Felix Zophar - Hold On Longer]

---Official AIM review---

Catchy piece. I think the rhythm is a bit hard to follow before the beat comes in, but despite still being a bit generic, I think you did a better job with the sound design here than in the last piece I reviewed. Those quirky pads are pretty cool, and I like the filtering work you did on them at around 1:09. Nice job leading into 1:21, although I thought the transition at :30 could’ve been a little smoother. The drums are stronger this time, too. The snare sounds fuller and better balanced. There were several parts of the piece that were pretty minimalistic, although I like the automations with the pads, and I thought it worked well when the build-up in the filtering effects “reset” itself, like at 2:38. The piece feels really repetitive by around 3:30, especially with the chord progression and the thin melody synth. I don’t think you added much new content during the second half at all. The texture might need more fill, and the drum pattern especially lacks creativity. Similar to your last piece, the track ends abruptly after the final refrain. I still admire your sense of melody and harmony, though, and I think the mixing and mastering were a fair bit stronger here. That may be partly due to the minimalism, but you also had a nice sub-bass to fill in the texture a bit for this piece. Overall solid work, but it didn’t need to be 5 minutes long and/or this structurally repetitive. Keep at it, Zophar!

7.5/10

P.S.: I made a mistake in scoring your first track. Should be an 8/10, not 7.5. :)

FelixZophar responds:

Again, thanks for the long review. I still use a mobile DAW. And it's a lot harder to make good stuff on! Yeah, I think it should have been shorter too! Thanks man!

[[AIM] Felix Zophar - You Can't Hide]

---Official AIM review---

I like the dark mood at the beginning. The snare sounded really thin, and I also thought the hats at :12 (and other places) sounded a tad harsh and unpolished. I like the build-up into :49. You have a good sense of harmony and rhythm. I think the ghostly melody sounded a bit too pizzicato-y. It would help create some contrast between the verse and chorus sections of the piece if you had a more imposing, full-sounding melody synth that complimented the angry bass that also plays during the chorus. I also think you might’ve needed a smoother transition at 1:17. You overuse the transition with the hats to the point that it sounds superficial. After that point, the piece is a bit repetitive, and the new content that does exist (2:06) seems a bit forced, probably because of its abrupt entry. You did a better job of leading into the final refrain at 2:27, but I think the mix is a bit strained at that point. The hi-hats don’t come through as clearly as before, for example. There also isn’t really a proper ending to the piece after the last refrain. Overall, I’ve nitpicked a lot here. I think you have a good sense of structure and harmony, but your piece needs a bit more shape and contrast at some important junctures. A lot of the transitions here are pretty rough, and could use things like subtle dynamic shifts, cross-fades, and automations to smooth them over. I also think the instrumentation is a bit generic and even unpolished in the drums, as I mentioned before. Some more careful equalization/filtering will simultaneously help clean up the sound design while also making sure the mix is as clear as possible. Those are my main complaints, but I want to reiterate that you’ve done a lot of good work with the mood, atmosphere, melodies, and structure. Keep at it, Zophar!

7.5/10

FelixZophar responds:

Thanks for taking your time to write this! I honestly wish I changed the build up a little. The drops took a little bit to write. I felt very pushed when making this. But I use a mobile DAW when I made this. But I use an older update of it since the new one isn't compatible with my iPad :( But the older one has fewer synths and only six effects! I really wish I had the newer version though. My friend @MutantNebula has it and it's awesome!!! But thank you. I some day hope I can get the newer version or FL Studio.

[AIM - Peacemaker]

---Official AIM review---

I like the retro vibe at the beginning. Feels really organic, too, like I’m listening to a live performance put on by a seasoned wild west jam band. The piece was catchy and had a refreshing mood. I think the intonation was a bit off at times, but perhaps you did that on purpose. The solo that starts at 2:07 was probably my favorite part of the song. The piece didn’t have much structural variety otherwise, so that part really stood out. As for the mixing, the drums are nice and crisp. I would’ve liked to hear a little more bass, though, and at transitory moments even a bit more of the strumming. The mid-high range guitars seriously dominate the texture for most of the piece, and altering the balance would be a good way of creating variety in a piece that has a pretty uniform sound design throughout. Overall, you nailed the mood and atmosphere. Composition could use a bit more shape and contrast (right now, it has a bit of a drone-like quality), but overall solid work. Keep at it, LexRodent!

8.25/10

LexRodent responds:

What a nice and detailed review :)
I get what you mean regarding the intonation ; I have to admit the background guitar was a bit off tune when I recorded it, but that dirty sound together with the sliding notes grew on me and I decided to leave it like that. Bass was indeed the part I had more doubts about.
I'll try to apply all this suggestions to improve the track once the AIM it's over.
Thanks for listening.

[AIM - Old Meadow Rain Dance]

---Official AIM review---

I like the dreamy pads and pensive mood at the beginning. The percussion sounds like it doesn’t have a lot of tension, but otherwise contributes to the texture pretty well. The piece is pretty slow to progress, and also can sound rather atonal at times, especially after that e-piano comes in at :57. There was a good sense of climax into 1:24, but I think after that point it was hard to distinguish the harmonic progression of the piece. It started to lack directionality, and it might’ve been nice to ground the piece in some more melodic content, even if it’s meant to have a drone-like quality. The jittery effects at around 2:24 are pretty cool. I definitely like the sound design and atmosphere of the piece. As for the mixing, you do a good job of having a variety of frequencies, although the reverb may have been a bit excessive at times. The drums could’ve also been more up-front in the mix. I think the abrupt transition at 3:17 actually works quite well to bridge the gap between the moods of the sections on either side. The variations in the bass line at 4:00 were also quite welcome. After that, the piece seems a little disjointed from the rest. I suppose I would’ve liked to see you offer some more conclusive content in the second half of the piece that expanded more on harmonic themes presented earlier. That said, you nailed the mood and atmosphere with this piece. I think the composition might need work, especially during the first 3 minutes, where you rely mostly on adding instruments at fairly regular intervals in order to form the progression of the piece. Also, the atonality started to bother me a bit after a while. Overall, soothing piece with some cool instrumentation. Keep at it, Primallightmusic!

7.5/10

primallightmusic responds:

Thank you for the awesome feedback, I will definitely put it to use.

[AIM - Quirky Little Circuit Girl]

---Official AIM review---

I like the suspenseful beginning. The mood is a little ominous at first, but eventually a more upbeat vibe takes over. I wasn’t a huge fan of some of the instruments, including the kick, which was a little heavy on high-frequency tones. Overall, the sound design is quite refreshing, though. The smooth bass, cute staccato-y synths, and warm pads set the mood quite well. I think you could’ve foreshadowed the major structural change at 1:52 a bit better. That said, I like how that section functions structurally within the context of the rest of the piece. You do a great job of creating a huge variety of textures in this piece. If I had to criticize something about the composition, it’d probably be that the most memorable melodic content in the piece is a little back-loaded until 3:06, whereas the beginning ⅔ or so of the piece has a lot of downtempo sections. Still, I also commend you for making the ending seem really climactic by having the most prominent emotional height at the end. Overall, the composition here is really good. The mix is also pretty clean. There were a couple of moments when I wanted the kick to be a bit stronger (1:45, 3:30) but overall the drums were really crisp, strong, and well-varied. There aren’t a lot of things that jump out at me as being hugely problematic with this piece. It’s just a lot of little things. Keep up the good work, TheOneAfromaster!

9.25/10

TheOneAfromaster responds:

Wow, great review! I see where you're coming from in reference to the melody at 1:29, I guess I wanted it to be more of a sneak peak than the main idea (perhaps if I just made it repeat?). As for the section at 1:52, I did hide many segments of that new melody throughout (:25, :35, :58 in the harp) but I can see now that a subtle reference to a large mood change probably wasn't the best strategy, so I'll work on that. Thanks, TL!

[AIM - Ichor Valley]

---Official AIM review---

I like the ominous beginning and the sound design. The textures are somewhat indistinct, with few discernable notes besides the creepy violins in the first minute. There’s little in the way of progression besides a few swells until 1:15, in fact. I really like the vocals, even if they sound a tad robotic in their low register (probably because of the sample, I’m guessing). You certainly nailed the mood and atmosphere. This piece has a lot of suspense, but at some point I wanted to see that suspense released. The song doesn’t quite feel structurally complete otherwise. Similarly, the ending feels a bit sudden. It’s neither a dramatic flourish nor a gradual taming of the Wyverns. Instead, it’s quite ambiguous. Overall, though, this piece is truly captivating. Engrossing mood, haunting vocals, and easily vivid scenery. Piece really puts an image in my head. That’s a good sign. Keep up the good work, SmokeAvery!

8.75/10

SmokeAvery responds:

Hey thanks alot for the review, every year you guys help me improve and i'm thankful for that!

[AIM - out of order]

---Official AIM review---

I like the retro FX and the sing-songy harmonic riff at the beginning. The glitchiness that follows at :10 was a good idea, but I think it would’ve preserved the flow of the piece better if it had a stronger rhythmic pulse. Nice use of thematic elements here (the vocal backing is reminiscent of doo-wop, for example). The lyrics are vastly entertaining, and also have an element of humor. The vocals themselves are also quite strong, and the foreboding dystopian elements of the piece are integrated well into the rest of the texture. I suppose I would’ve liked there to be a bit more connectivity between the first minute and the section at 1:09. The pause at 1:07 was a bit awkward. That said, the piece has a great element of storytelling and even a cinematic flair. That said, the rest of the piece feels a bit disjointed, and the transitions remain rough during the instrumental part (e.x., 2:10, 2:39). You have a lot of cool isolated riffs and harmonic sections that display a range of talents, but the cohesion of the piece as a whole just isn’t there. There was a brief, perfunctory attempt at 3:22 to tie the piece back into the thematic elements of the first minute, but instead it evolves into a blissful synth-heavy part at 4:15. Overall, this is really stimulating work. The mixing and mastering are fantastic. The instrumentation is very well-utilized, even though the orchestral instruments clearly aren’t real. My main concern with this piece is that you left a bit too much for the listener in terms of filling in the story. There are a lot of rough transitions, and a huge variety of textures that don’t quite come together as a coherent whole for me by the end of the piece. The piece has a strong thematic flair, but the execution of that strong character is compromised by the disjointed structure of the piece. Still, this track is a big accomplishment. Keep up the good work, Miyolophone!

9/10

Miyolophone responds:

Thank you for the review, TL! I went into this track understanding that I was taking a massive risk and I understand that it won't pay off for everyone.

I'm not usually one to defend my ideas against reviews, because it usually just makes the creator look like a defensive jerk, but I'd like to note a couple of important things about your criticisms.

The piece is meant to be largely surreal, dreamlike, slowly unraveling. I don't think I would be doing the original art justice if it weren't— it has "surreal" in the tags and you can literally see the figure disintegrating into pixels, becoming formless and incoherent. Also, one of the rough transitions you mentioned was meant to be a bit of a joke— 2:39 is literally the sound of an elevator dropping in, followed by elevator music, but that may not have been communicated effectively enough, haha. If you feel like the piece was too disjointed then that's still fair but I would at least like to eliminate doubt that it was accidental.

In terms of filling in the story, there's not really much to fill in, and in fact you literally filled in more than I provided in the description by noting a "dystopian atmosphere." I never said there was anything dystopian about this situation— it could be an entirely isolated incident involving this character alone, it could be a metaphor for addiction, it could be any number of things— and yet you inferred it without question. II didn't intend for the listener to get anything out of the piece other than what I spelled out above, but you actually went beyond that haha

Anyway, I think I'm edging into defensive jerk territory here, but I appreciate the criticism and I'll certainly keep it in mind for the future. And I'm glad you found the lyrics funny, I was starting to think I was the only one :P

Edit: Sorry about this review response, I've been thinking about it a lot lately and this was a pretty lame thing for me to do lol. All your criticisms were totally valid and I am so thankful that you took time out of your day to give feedback on my track!

[AIM - Music Identified [no drums]]

The oscillating synths at :13-:20 are really cool. Definitely a lot of bold choices with the sound design here. I think the dissonance is a bit excessive at times, but the mixing also inflates the sense of dissonance to an extent. Namely, the panning at :22 is a bit too strong for my tastes, and the range of some of the synths (high-pitched bell-like one at :48, for example) makes it so that the harmonic patterns aren’t very digestible. The drums were pretty sporadic as I recall, but I think this piece has structural problems beyond that of the drums. The rhythmic effect of the piano that comes in at 1:27 is pretty nice. Clearly, you have a good sense of rhythm and flow, but the composition lacks a fundamental element of dynamism that significantly detracts from the piece imo. Perhaps it was a mistake to call you out for a lack of melodic content, as I did last time. I’ve heard people call me out for emphasizing melody too much before. That said, I’m still confused about the moods and emotions the piece is trying to convey. You use this apparently harsh, rhythmic pattern as a background (2:19, other places), yet you do very little to expand upon or resolve the inherent tension between that riff and the other, brighter elements of the song. I think you could begin to solve this in a lot of ways: more dynamic contrast, a stronger sense of directionality and phrasing, more distinctions between disparate sections. But quite frankly, right now this piece simply doesn’t display a strong sense of musicality in several important areas. Don’t take it personally. I know you’re a talented musician, Quarl. But I can’t help but feel that you’ve sold yourself short with this piece. Sorry.

5.5/10

Quarl responds:

I sell myself short everyday, cheers!

[endK - Cotton Glade]

---Official AIM review---

I like the cutesy, upbeat vibe at the beginning and the melodic content that begins shortly thereafter. Bass is especially prominent in this one, too. The texture is a little thin at times, but I love the call-and-response style that occurs between several of the melodic instruments. They just mesh together really well, both rhythmically and harmonically. There’s also quite a lot of structural variety between the sections at 1:17 and 1:51. Production quality is top-notch as usual. Everything sounds really crisp and clear in the mix. The final refrain at 2:35 did a great job of hitting the piece home. I especially like the quirky descending line at 2:51. The sound design is really fun, btw. I think I have to take issue with the ending, though. It came on a bit too suddenly. I think it would’ve been cool to create a slightly more downtempo rendition of the main melody (an echo effect, in a way) as a coda, although that’s just one idea. Overall, strong work yet again. Keep it up, EndK! :)

9.5/10

endKmusic responds:

I was actually quite happy how the ending turned out, since, at first, it was supposed to be 10x worse. >.<
But I do agree that it could've used some more air in between or that I could've slowed down in some way, as you said, to get you kinda more prepared, eventhough I'm pretty satisfied with the result.
It kinda sudden and not sudden at the same time.
That 2:51 lick was my favorite part too!
Thanks for the kind words and nice in-depth review Andrew! :)

[TruGames - Piece]

Really gritty and distorted texture at the beginning. It's hard to make out the changes in notes, in fact. There's a vague sense of climax into :50 when the drums come in, but there's such a lack of distinction in the texture that the directionality of the piece up to that point is pretty meaningless. Your sense of harmony and structure are actually pretty good. The problem is that the instrumentation is cliché at best (especially with the drums), and simply way too harsh-sounding at worst. Sound design was just a bit too experimental for my tastes here. The composition could also use a bit more depth. The rhythmic aspects of the melody sounded especially square. At the very least, a lack of clarity in the mix is not a problem. Your drums sound crisp, and all the other instruments are loud and well-balanced. Again, the harmonic work is solid. Hope you found this helpful. Keep at it, man!

WingedHarmony responds:

Thank you so much for the feedback! I'll make sure to not let everything be so harsh in the future, as this was exactly how you described the sound design; experimental. I'm just trying to find what I work best with is all. And again, thank you so much for the feedback. I'll take everything you said into consideration. :D