TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Spectre of the Marionette]

I like the waltz-style instrumentation and time signature. Melodies at :05 are beautiful, and the build-up into :27 is great. The piano flourish at :38 is great, and the victorious, blissful mood here really sells this piece well. I also appreciate the structural contrast at 1:03. I thought you overused the crashes a bit at around 1:20, and also that the brass sample at 1:56 sounds pretty inauthentic. That said, the sound design here is fantastic otherwise. I also would’ve liked to see you vary the main melodies a bit the second time around, but I don’t have any other complaints with the arrangement or structure either. Very strong work, overall. The production is quite good, too - well-balanced, clear, full, and loud. Not much to complain about here at all, Tennon. Keep up the great work!

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?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.5/10

Tennon responds:

Wow, thanks for the review! I was waiting for you to mention the piano at :38 lol!

[Vengeance Fighter]

I like the sound design from the get-go. The piece might need more of a proper intro, though. As it is now, it kinda throws the listener right into the action. I also think you could’ve used more phrasing in this piece. The first 30 seconds or so doesn’t have a very good sense of build-up. The refrain at :34 is fun, but I think you tried to do a bit too much with it in a sense. The texture felt very busy, and the progression of the melody a bit haphazard. The post-chorus at 1:01 was a nice additional structurally, but I think the drums could’ve come forward in the mix a bit more to make that section feel more punchy. In general, the mix here is pretty loud and well-balanced, but also a little dry. Some more reverb would give this piece a more full-sounding texture too, but be careful not to overuse it. The clarity of the mix is more important than having lots of reverb. The outro bit at 2:21 was fun, although I wish you had changed up the second refrain a bit more so that it didn’t mirror the first one as closely. Overall, cute piece. Keep at it, NGBaronAwesomeness!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
7/10

NGBaronAwesomeness responds:

Thanks for the review dude! Although I didn't get into the KO round I still beat my friend @OfficialHenyx (who is, by the way, generally better than me at everything) by making a song in a genre that I've never even tried before.
I understand how in the beginning of the song it was a little one-dimensional, and that's mainly because I intended to make the transition between the intro and the next part more suspenseful.
Also, I agree that the mix was kinda bad. The software I used to create this song didn't have a very good mixer/master, and even if it did, it wouldn't have been very user friendly.
But with all that out of the way, thanks for making a full-on review of my song, I greatly appreciate it.

(P.S. I can't afford supporter rank so I have to go with "NGBaronAwesomeness" thanks to myself 3 years ago. It's Prospect if you were even wondering 😝)

[Miston Music - Warm Mood]

I like the thin, pizzicato-y synth sound at the beginning and the subtle build-up into :15. There are a lot of short, staccato elements to the texture; I think you may have needed a stronger pad or something in there to fill out the texture. When the harmonies dropped out at :47, it was a bit jarring, but I enjoyed the refrain at 1:03. Melodies are cute. The mix is also really loud and clear here, although sometimes I think the drums get a little distorted (1:22, for instance). The breakdown section at 1:37 was nice. The pacing of this piece is really fast, though. There are a lot of distinct sections squeezed into a short amount of time, and that can come across as disorienting as a listener. Also, I’d encourage you to double-check how harsh the upper-register frequencies in this piece sound, especially at 2:57 or so, for example. Otherwise, the arrangement of this piece is really nice, and it feels conclusive by the end. Aspects of the harmonic progression were a bit cliche, but overall the piece feels engaging and fun. Keep at it, Miston!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
8.5/10

Miston responds:

I’m glad you liked it. ;)

[The Reunion]

I like the nature sFX at the beginning and the quirky percussion that comes in at around :15. The progression is a bit slow, but the piano line at :41 was really nice too. Has all the makings on an ambient beauty, especially with that lush cello. All of the elements of the texture sound so well-reverberated and full. I also really like the big break in the flow that the flute provides at 1:45. The piece really started going in a different direction afterwards. The melodic content of the strings and flute are beautiful, and I love how the melodies are tossed around between the different instruments. I guess my main complaint here is that the melodic instrument absolutely consumes the texture when it’s playing. I wanted to see the texture fill out at some point with some harmonies that were a little more present in the mix. That said, the arrangement of the piece is really nice, and ambient beauty minimalism is the right kind of minimalism to have. The voice acting at the end was so well done that I was worried (until I read the description) that it was from a movie or something and I was going to have to disqualify you. XD Seriously, though. Captivating work. Keep it up, LucasMasoch!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
9.5/10

Baumarius responds:

I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I'll probably go back and work on some of what you specified before I release it on the album. Thanks for the review!

[Corkscrew - Infinity]

Cute synth riff at the beginning. Pretty generic drums, although they do sit nicely in the mix. I’m loving the blissful mood and climax into :30. Mastering is really strong here - clean, clear, and loud mix, yet not overly-compressed. The melodies at 1:00 are really nice. Well-balanced frequencies and full texture here, too. The transitions are smooth, and the structure is pleasant. That said, my main complaint with the piece is actually the lack of originality. The chord progression, arrangement, and instruments all seem pretty generic to me, tbh. I also would’ve liked to see a bit more variety on that final refrain at 2:30. The modulation at 2:46 does help, but it’s also a bit of a generic step-up kind of modulation. Overall, the blissful mood, cute instruments, and strong production quality really helped sell this piece for me, though, and the sweep at the end was a nice touch. Keep up the great work, guys!

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
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

ItzCorkscrew responds:

Omg this is actually the BEST review I got on a song, you absolutely should review my next songs too! Thank you for listening :D

[Spinning]

Very loud mixing throughout. Usually that’s a good thing, although I think it distorted some of your other instruments at times because the compression’s so heavy. The drums also sound a tad generic, although a lot of the synth riffs here are super catchy. The change-of-pace at :51 wasn’t foreshadowed very well in my opinion, but you did a good job leading into the drop at 1:16. The drop itself is a little minimalistic, and overuses ascending lines that don’t really add to the sense of direction of the piece. The re-intro at 2:05 is nice, and the riff at 2:21 is probably my favorite of the piece. It’s also probably the closest you get to offering some strong melodic content up to that point, and I wanted to hear more melodic content early on in general. I also think the second build-up of the piece is very similar to the first one, and I would’ve liked to see some more variation in that regard. The part at 3:24 was a pleasant surprise. You really took the piece in a different direction towards the end, which was a risk that paid off in my opinion. The piece sounds conclusive by the end, and the thematic elements of the piece come together nicely. Overall, this is strong work. My main complaints are probably with the generic sound design and arrangement elements, the overuse of minimalism at different points, and maybe even the over-compression. Other than that, strong work with the structuring, mastering, mood, and harmonies. Keep at it, Hippokopter!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

Hippokopter responds:

That's a schmancy system you got there. xD

Thanks for the insightful review, too! By the way, when you say, "too much compression," that doesn't really register in my dubstep infected mind as a bad thing... xD

As I write this review, I see that I've been eliminated... At least I can get back to my one-song-per-week-ish pace. On the bright side, if I got this close to getting past this round, and I haven't been producing for more than a year, get ready for me to wallup this comp next time around. xD

[Dark Secrets (NGUAC 2018)]

I like the dark mood at the beginning. The strings sound a tad muddy in the bass range, and the (piano?) at around :20 sounds a tad harsh in my ears. Great suspense, though. It’s really nice for an ambient loop in a video game or something, but it also doesn’t really sound like a structurally complete stand-alone piece. The progression just seemed to be getting started when you launched into that ritardando on the main riff at the end. Overall, it’s a good start, though. Please PM me if you ever flesh this out more. I’ll leave you another review. As for now, I can’t give you much credit for structuring or composition, but the content you do have here is pretty good. Keep at it, GearWax!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.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?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.25/10

Iosun responds:

Thanks, yeah, this actually is supposed to be a loop in a video game. It’s for a project as well.

Don’t really plan to pull it past this cause of that reason

[Firestride]

I like the majestic orchestral sound at the beginning and the sense of climax into :22. The melody at :22 is nice, and the mix is strong and clear without being overly-compressed. The oscillation between relaxed and energetic sections in the piece is great, but occasionally the transitions between them are a bit abrupt (2:12 and 3:01, for example). Well-balanced texture and frequencies overall. The super quiet and emotional breakdown at 3:01 is something I didn’t really see coming, but it really helped you maximize the dynamic contrast in this piece. I think occasionally the instrumentation here is a bit cheesy, especially with the synths, but overall I don’t really have many complaints with the sound design either. The pacing of the piece can be a bit slow, relying on big changes every certain length of time instead of gradual ebbs and flows within the phrase. Overall, though, the piece comes together really well with the extended climactic section towards the end. The transitions and shape of the piece are the two elements I think need the most work. Strong effort overall, though! Keep at it, EverReverb. :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

AED4 responds:

Thanks for immensively detailed review once again :) And thank you for hosting and arranging NGUAC for the fifth (?) time!

Cheesiness was indeed something that i was afraid of, but in the end I just had to embrace it :P

[Derpcat - be happy]

Cute synths at the beginning, but they sound a tad dry. The riff at :15 is really cute and fun. Nice filtering work leading into :30, but the minimalism there threw me off a bit and didn’t really help with the directionality of the piece. The filtering at 1:00 compromises the sense of catharsis typical of a refrain, though. Much of this piece sounds rather transitional and repetitive. The melodies are nice, and perhaps 1:30 functions better as a refrain despite the conspicuous build-up into 1:00. I also think the mix, while loud and clear, is a bit over-compressed. Perhaps my biggest complaint is that the piece isn’t really sufficiently varied during the second half. There’s very little new harmonic content added to this piece after the first minute, and the result is that it’s hard to stay engaged after a while. That said, the production quality, blissful mood, and fun synths sell this piece well. Keep up the good work, DerpCatOfficial!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.25/10

DerpcatOfficial responds:

thanks!