TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Rapid Eye Movement]

I like the relaxed mood at the beginning. The spacing on the chords is a little too tight to maximize the level of expression, though - they end up sounding a tad clunky and indistinct. Still, I like the crisp drums at :20 and the cute synth at :41. The piece is pretty slow to progress, but has a great rhythmic appeal and sound design. The breakdown at 1:15 was a good idea, but also a bit bland - might be a good opportunity to add a “B” melody or other new instrument. The piano at 1:50 is a nice touch, but it could’ve been a bit more creative rhythmically. Towards the end of the piece, it seems like it’s missing a big moment of climax or resolution. Overall, I like the moody atmosphere, instrumentation, and experimental texture of this piece. Also, the production quality holds up well, although the mix is a tad quiet. More importantly, some of the compositional details just need a tad more fleshing out. Keep at it, Katatatatataris! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.25/10

Katatatatataris responds:

Thank you for the review! I’m very grateful that this contest has such good judges, I could definitely hear what was lacking in this song lol. Next year I’ll make it into knockout

[Call me feat. FL studio]

I like the tranquil mood at the beginning and the transition into the rhythmic club beat at :26. This piece has a good sense of atmosphere and some cool compositional details (like the glitchy effect at :45), but some of the transitions are a bit abrupt. The low-mid-range melody at 1:01 is cool, and really helps play up the ominous mood pervading the bulk of this piece. I also like the build-up into 1:27, and I applaud you for taking such an experimental approach to the rhythm at 1:40, which really helped jazz up an otherwise fairly bland drop. The eerie bells and relaxed pads at 2:20 threw me off a bit - that’s another super sudden transition - but also helped bring the piece full-circle towards the end. Overall, there are a lot of creative twists and turns in this piece that make it stand out among the other house/trance tracks in this competition. The production quality also holds up well, and I like the sound design and rhythmic content as well. The choppy arrangement/rough transitions is the one major item to work on in my view. Keep at it, Justik! ^_^

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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

JustikShow responds:

THX! 😊

[kerosene]

I like the sound design at the beginning. It’s a little hard to follow the meter at first, but it gets better once the beat comes in at :15. I’m not a huge fan of the over-processed, vocaloid-sounding voice. The lyrics are pretty dark, but I especially like the first 2 stanzas and the “3 a.m.” one. The mix is definitely a bit rough around the edges, and during some of the busier sections it’s hard to hear the drums. The texture could also use some softening at times, especially at the top end of the frequency spectrum, maybe with some more wet reverb or stricter equalization. There are a lot of cool effects in this piece, though - I especially like the gradual ascension into chipmunk territory at 1:45. Overall, the piece is a tad experimental for my tastes, but it’s still very catchy and creative. Keep at it, jamie-bs! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.75/10

jamie-bs responds:

thanks for the opinions dude! its one of the first songs ive made in this style and i agree that its pretty rough in general-- i mixed it myself and im still learning how to do a good job on that sort of thing (the demo mixes were WAYYYY worse). i do agree i coulda futzed with the drums a lil more i kinda wrote them and then forgot about them in the chorus.

[ic-koomotey - square]

I like the phasing effect at the beginning and the cute synth riff at :15. The minimal, 8-bit drums are nice too, and the bass sits nicely in the mix. If anything, the melody could be a bit more prominent in the texture - maybe some more compression would help, but just don’t overdo it. I appreciate the variation in the lead riff at 1:20 or so, but by 1:30 it gets a bit difficult to follow the contour of the melody. I would’ve also appreciated some variety on the main riff during the final refrain at 1:43. The arrangement of the piece is a bit generic - an additional bridge or solo from a different instrument might give it some extra pizzazz. Overall, I like the sound design, atmosphere, upbeat mood, and melodies. The piece could use some more variety and polish on the mixing, but most of these complaints are minor. Keep at it, ic-koomotey! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

ic-koomotey responds:

Thanks!
I can make more complex sound, but simplicity is the main part of IC-KOOMOTEY's concept and my upcoming EP "polygons and angles" which will be released on August 19

[BeepBox-Song 73]

I like the bass-y groove at the beginning. There are some catchy rhythms and cute sound design throughout, with some rich harmonies starting at around :20. The transition at 1:00 is pretty abrupt, though, and the part at 1:03 sounds very different from the rest of the piece up to that point. Maybe it would be less jarring if you had transitioned gradually into that part. I also think the claps and snares could be a bit louder - try adding a compressor to them. The structure of the piece could use some more fleshing out, too - right now, the arrangement feels a bit choppy, and there isn’t really a stand-out melody here, just some catchy and mostly rhythmic riffs. Still, I enjoyed this piece for the instrumentation, upbeat mood, harmonic content, and danceability. Keep at it, DoTeRqwe! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.25/10

DoTeRqwe responds:

Thank you for the detailed description of what you liked and didn’t like!
Usually people don’t mention what exactly they liked and what would be better to change (probably so as not to offend), so it’s quite useful to find out in more detail what would be better to change in the future. Thanks for listening and nice words :D

[apocalypse keeper]

I like the pacing and the gradual fade-in of the strings at the beginning. The chord progression is a bit generic, but the melodies at :33 are nice. In terms of arrangement, the piece is smooth-flowing and well-structured. The instruments are a bit cheesy-sounding - the strings in particular sound pretty fake, and the synth bass line is a tad undecorated. That said, I like the synth arpeggios at 1:08. Clearly, you have a great sense of harmony, rhythm, and progression. Some more variety in the main melody and a longer, more expressive final refrain at 1:30 might’ve made the composition stronger. Otherwise, my main complaints are with the sound design and mixing, but I know MuseScore has a lot of constraints in that regard. Still, this is a catchy, cute, and upbeat tune with some strong melodies. Keep at it, detalexip! ^_^

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
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.25/10

detalexip responds:

thank u

[D4 - Aerodynamix]

I like the gritty bass at the beginning and the edgy guitar at :19. The texture is a bit thin, with a lot of missing upper-mid-range frequencies, and a pretty staccato-y articulation to the notes that could use some contrast at some point for variety and to fill out the mix. You clearly have a great sense of rhythm, progression, and sound design, though. Also, the mix is nice and punchy, even if the drums don’t quite always stay on top of the guitar the way I want them to (I can especially hear them struggling to come through at around 1:30). After a while, the harmonic content of the piece is pretty repetitive, and I appreciated the thicker-sounding bass you added at 2:30, although the squeaky harmonics there sound a bit harsh. The outro at 3:06 really threw me off - the transition was sudden, and having a light, airy piano introduced after 3 minutes of frantic guitar music made it seem really out-of-place. Overall, I like the energy, rhythmic content, sound design, and progression of this one. The production and, especially, the harmonic aspects of the composition could use a little more teasing out. Otherwise, solid work here, D4W1LL! Keep at it. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

D4W1LL13 responds:

dully noted. thanks a lot!

[Contact]

I like the furtive atmosphere at the beginning and the bass-y synth groove at :15. I like the bright-sounding pads at :45, but they also take up a tad too much space in the mix. The drums don’t quite sound sharp enough at times, especially the snare, which could probably use some more compression. I like the revolving spate of melodies, but after a while the piece lacks an overarching sense of direction - the synth brass at 2:33 sounds especially out-of-place. The transition at 2:16 is really smooth, and in general the piece has a nice sense of flow about it. The breakdown at 3:01 was a nice way of creating some variety in the energy level and thickness of the texture, and the slower pace of the melodies that follow was a nice way of wrapping up the piece. The arrangement feels a bit formulaic here, with the same drum roll used for most transitions, and major changes to the texture occurring at very regular intervals. That said, the melody-writing and sound design are both enjoyable overall, and despite some minor complaints of mine, the production quality holds up pretty well. Solid work, CosmoSynth! Keep at it. ^_^

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

CosmoSynth responds:

Thanks for the thorough feedback buddy :D

[CHARACTER SELECT //Level 356.98FM//]

I like the sound design and rhythmic content here a lot. The mix sounds very quiet and flat, though. I would suggest using some more compressors, especially on the drums, and equalizers on every instrument besides the bass and kick drum to free up the low end of the frequency range. That’ll make the texture sound a lot less muddy and give the drums and “heys” more bite. The bass is also just a tad too loud relative to the harmonies and percussion here. Still, you clearly have a good sense of harmony and progression. Just need a little more attention to detail on the production/mastering side. Keep at it, AVVENTURA! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
5.5/10

AVVENTURA responds:

thank you so much for the feedback it was very helpful! I applied it in my project, and I saw results :D

[A Rainbow Of Impossible Colors]

I like the eerie fade-in at the beginning. The glitchy breaks at :14 are a bit harsh-sounding, and the texture here could use more fill in general, but the reverb/filtering automations are pretty cool and help maintain a sense of direction. Some of the transitions are a bit abrupt, like at :53. The following 17 seconds, until 1:10, were a bit disorienting, with a hard-to-follow rhythm and a lot of different sound design elements thrown in there that didn’t blend very well together. The piece stabilizes a bit by 1:12, but I think both the snare and the pads have a bit too much treble. The faller at 1:41 is cool, although the glitchy tremolos at 1:52 were a bit overdone. The strongest aspect of the piece is the production quality - I can hear all the instruments clearly throughout, and the use of mixing effects and automations certainly helps maintain interest over time. In general, the grating and experimental nature of the sound design is pretty off-putting for me. The frequencies need more of a sense of balance, with more bass at times and more mid-range/atmosphere at others. The arrangement can also be pretty choppy here, with the structure of the piece often sounding just as experimental as the texture. Still, I admire the creative rhythmic content, production value, and unique compositional details of this one. The title seems fitting with the evocative, but sometimes overwhelming, attributes of this piece. Keep at it, Artackni! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.25/10

Artackni responds:

I guess I'm going with something more melodic and less experimental for following NGUAC rounds lol. That being said, the song really isn't the best.

Whatever. What matters is that I passed the tryouts, even if the score ended up being shitty.