TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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!

[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! :)

[With Gun & Crucifix]

You just keep hitting home run after home run, my friend. The rhythmic work with the strings is really catchy, yet also makes the piece feel really accessible. Seamless transitions between the brass melodies, vocal credos, and prominent string sections. Even in a rather energetic piece, you still fit a breakdown in there at 1:50 that has a nice call-and-response substructure. Super tight production again. Yeah, I'm going to need to check out more than what you've posted on NG this year. Where can I buy your music, man?

Keep up the great work!

Danman87 responds:

Thanks so much man, really happy you enjoyed it! I currently got one album out, which is called "The First Five Years". It's available on most of the large music portals, but admittedly fairly old by now, which is why I'm planning to have another two out this year. One being a commercial video game OST, and the second one a trailer album that will feature this track. :)

[Thunderdome]

Wow. Never thought I'd see you on this site again. I don't think I was even here for your original run, but I remember the Stick War soundtrack being one of my main motivations for joining this site myself.

Anyway, I love the dramatic mood and crisp percussion. The vocals are great. Sound design in general is killer, and I think your mastering has improved quite a bit since I last listened to your music regularly. This is a piece that really tells a story. Really full texture and nice use of structural variety too. The vocals sound really wet and thick, like this was performed in a concert hall. Excellent music. Amazing amount of emotion and dynamic contrast. Welcome back, Dan!

Danman87 responds:

Haha yes, I remember that pretty much the majority of audio artists here had their music in Stick War! They even aquired a commercial license for their mobile game a few years back!

Thanks so much for the review! Really glad you liked the track! And yes, I've learned quite a lot in terms of mastering over the years, something that I used to consider one of my weak spots. :)

[Love the Night]

Very quiet beginning. ._. Really maximizes the emotional appeal. Sounds like solitude amidst a winter storm. Melodic content is beautiful. There's so much dynamic contrast, and the rhythmic work at 1:30 or so is really nice. The descending line at around 2:00 really got me too. Love the shifting moods at 2:15. Piece really tells a story. Flowing and beautiful as normal. I especially like the part between 3:30-4:00. Sounds like hurried footsteps muffled by the snow. In all honesty, the part after 4:15 seemed quite unnecessary. You never quite arrived at a satisfying cadence after that - why not end the piece on a climactic note? Still, one of my favorite compositions of yours in quite a while. Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip to Iceland! Keep up the great work. ^_^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hi there!
I'm really glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for all the visual imagery!

I'm not sure from your review if it was clear, but this piece is an improvisation. Maybe I should've been clearer in the description :D
The part after 4:15 is my favorite part, so I have to disagree with that xD

I feel like modern music listeners have become somewhat of addicts to climaxes, drops, and endings that end in the expected way or expected note. Seemigly to the point, where they find it more difficult to enjoy the more intricate and surprising aspects of music. That's part of why I love improvisations, as they tend to be way more free than formulaic compositiions!

Thanks for reviewing ^____^

[AIM - Electric Nectar]

---Official AIM review---

I like the subtle fade-in at the beginning and the crisp beat that comes in at around :10. Really catchy piece. The transition at :30 could’ve been stronger. The drum fill there that serves as a transition is really subtle. Bringing it out more could help make that moment of the sudden heavy guitar entrance a little less jarring for the listener. I also thought the drums could’ve been stronger once the texture gets a little busier. Some more compression could really go a long way there. The melodic content at :59 is really good, though. This piece has a really interesting structure, but an odd drone-like quality. I think you need to work on smoothing over your transitions as a priority. One thing I really like about this piece is that it feels really dynamic given the loosely related solo sections, yet underlying the texture is a repetitive riff that still makes the piece feel cohesive. Really creative way of finding a balance between repetition and variety there. I didn’t think that fade-out ending added much to the piece, though; made it a bit underwhelming. The melodic content, atmosphere, and structuring go a long way with this one. Strong work overall!

8.25/10

VortexVisionz responds:

Thanks so much for your review! I truly appreciate it. I'm with you on everything you picked out with the song, I'll be sure to keep this in mind for my future uploads! Cheers

[Felix Zophar - Puddles]

I like the emotional appeal at the beginning and the cute melody. The piece is pretty minimal, but also very relaxing and tranquil. Very straight-forward structure, but also pretty effective. I wish the piece came back full-circle a bit more, though. The pace and textural fill really slows down after a while, and instead of functioning as a breakdown it just kinda becomes less engaging. Certainly couldn't hurt to add another "A-section" or something, maybe with some more variety. Great job with the mood and melodic content, though. Overall pretty cool stuff.

FelixZophar responds:

I'm trying to write chill melodies and stuff like that. I'm trying not to write as much "hyper" stuff, like house.