TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[CYANEKO WORLD]

I like the busy beat and prominent pads at the beginning. The reversion to the minimal atmosphere at :23 threw me off a bit, but I like the rich texture and cutesy synths at :30. I wish that section at :30 was a bit more dynamic, though, and there’s another really abrupt transition at 1:17, with the jazzy chord at 1:23 and ringing sound at 1:25 serving more to confuse me about the direction you’re going in here rather than help me get there. The mellow section at 1:26 was nice, although there’s another abrupt transition at 1:57, and that distorted bass doesn’t do too much for me. I would knock it back in the mix substantially if you wanted to keep it. Other moments with rough transitions include 2:27, 2:56, and 4:39. The spacey breakdown at 2:57 is good for some variety, but also doesn’t seem like it relates back to the earlier content in the piece very well. The drum work during the last couple of minutes is impressive here, but the harmonic content feels pretty repetitive and stagnant. The atmospheric outro during the last 30 seconds is nice too.

Overall, my favorite part of the piece is the production quality. Everything sounds really crisp and clear in the mix throughout. The biggest problem I have with it is the disjointed arrangement and the lack of cohesion in the structure. I think you need to consolidate some of your ideas and work on transitioning gradually between each section. Stop-start transitions should be used sparingly, and it’s rarely a good idea to introduce new harmonic elements during the transition that are not going to stay with the piece after the transition (example: 1:17 - 1:26). Integrating and overlapping the melodic section at :30, the jazzy downtempo one at 1:26, the rich pads and subsequent beats at 3:04, and the spacey outro at 4:40 will not be easy, but it’s generally better to make your piece have a coherent harmonic structure rather than have it sound like 4 different tracks playing in succession. Having some core repeated riffs that span the entire piece will help with that coherence. But don’t truly integrating these different riffs into a progression that sounds smooth will be tough, which is why I suggest only using 2-3 of the 4 “song seeds” here, at most. Also, I’d strongly encourage you to remove the “thanks for playing” sample at 5:00 - I highly doubt you have the licensing rights to use it.

Still, overall this piece is catchy, well-produced, and has some great sound design to boot. Keep at it, Cyaneko! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.75/10

cyaneko responds:

ah thank you for the feedback ^_^, everything sounding crisp is one of my main priorites with the overall mix

[Winter (2023 Edit)]

The tempo automations and pensive piano line at the beginning are pretty neat. The thin, high-pitched kick at the beginning sounds a tad out-of-place, but I like the strings at :20 and the gradual build-up into :32. The new rhythm at :33 threw me off a bit at first, and overall this section feels a tad anti-climactic. Might help if you had added a bit of a pause or something at :32. The snare at :56 (especially the one in my right ear) is not my favorite - maybe it would help if you had kept all of the percussion front-and-center in the mix. I think 1:35 is my favorite part of the piece, though - it has a slightly more sophisticated air about it, and transitions well back into the main melody at 1:59. The outro also sounds nice - the violin at 2:37 sounds a bit inauthentic, but the thin, almost squeaky sound of the sample has a nice furtive quality that serves to mimic an echo of the refrain. Overall, I really like the melodies and upbeat mood of this piece, despite a few rushed transitions and a couple of odd sound design choices (especially the panning on the drums). I feel like this piece is 80% orchestral and 20% drum ‘n’ bass. :D Still, enjoyable track. Cute harmonies, strong sense of direction over time, and some nice rhythmic content to boot. Keep at it, CelestialChaos! ^_^

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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

CelestialChaos responds:

I appreciate the review! I agree with all of the comments, unfortunately I lack the technical know-how to fix them lol. Mixing is not my forte, but I’m planning on working on that and transitions for the KO round. Thank you so much for hosting NGUAC!

[Into the Devil's Lair]

The drums at the beginning sound a bit gritty and unpolished - it might help to soften them up with some filtering, and perhaps some wet reverb on the snare. The way the beat oscillates in and out is a bit bizarre, but the texture comes together well by :51. The arpeggios might’ve come through the mix better with some stereo widening or more careful equalization. In general, I think the texture here is a bit dry, and could use some echo/delay effects, reverb, and other mixing effects to help fill out the atmosphere. The mix in general is also a bit quiet, and might benefit from some more compression.

Compositionally, the piece has a nice harmonic depth to it. The bass is perhaps a bit too loud, and the drums a bit too quiet at times, but I love the rich pads at 2:36 and other places, as well as the rhythmic content and variational sections like 3:08. The drums could use more variety, especially during transitory moments, just to help smooth over some of the transitions. The energy level of the piece also seems pretty constant over time, and at some point I would’ve liked to see you switch up the instrumental hierarchy or main melodic riffs in the piece.

Overall, you clearly have a good sense of harmony and progression. Learning how to enhance the level of interest in your piece by using more mixing effects, automation, and atmospheric elements is a good next step for you. Keep at it, BigBlueBazooka! ^_^

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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

BigBlueBazooka responds:

Thank you.

[Love you more (Remix Madeon - Love you back)]

I like the floaty synth at the beginning. The vocals sound good, and the instrumental tracks around it really help fill out the atmosphere. I also like the synth guitar at :45, and the drop at 1:03 has a refreshing and well-varied sound. The drums here are a bit bland and generic, but otherwise the sound design is great. I’m loving that subtle riser at 2:05, and I also thought the transition into the breakdown at 2:15 was creative. The filtering work during the breakdown is really nice, but I would’ve liked to hear more of the atmospheric guitar at 2:33 in the mix. The momentary key changes from 2:52 to 3:26 are really neat, although 3:30 ended up being a bit of an anti-climax. I don’t think the piece every returned to the same level of intensity it had at 1:03, but overall the catchy synths, rich atmosphere, and solid mixing of this piece are big pluses. Aspectrs of the sound design and arrangement are a bit generic, but you’ve really stretched out the harmonic framework at 2:52 - 3:26 and found other ways of making this piece your own. Strong work, BAOWZ! Keep it up. ^_^

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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.25/10

BAOWZ-Tobass responds:

Thx for taking the time to review the tracks. It's hard to be truly original in electronic music these days, glad you enjoyed and thanks for selecting me✌️

[Aestrul - Hopeful Day]

The synths at the beginning are cute and airy. I wasn’t a huge fan of the drums at :22, though - the clap is very heavy, and the kick has a lot of upper-register tones. In fact, the entire texture has a bit too much reverb IMO, and the piece is also pretty slow to progress. There’s a good sense of build into 1:22, but the texture there is rather distorted. The call-and-response action between the acid bass and quirky pads was a good idea, but the harmonies they’re playing could’ve been more dynamic. The tranquil breakdown at 2:33 is nice, although it was also a bit of a missed opportunity to introduce some novel harmonic content into the piece. During the second drop at 4:12, the claps take up a lot of space in the mix, and the acid bass also distorts the mix a lot when it comes in. The texture would sound much clearer and more well-balanced without so much reverb on the synths and drums. The piece is also pretty repetitive after a while. At some point, it would’ve been nice to switch up the chord progression or add a new, more variational melody on top of the existing harmonies. Still, I really like the atmosphere and sound design of this piece, and the transitions and rhythmic content are also good. Clean up the production quality, and this piece could be a really banger. Keep at it, AstralJam! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
6.75/10

AstralJam responds:

Thanks!

[Alone in the light]

I like the airy piano line at the beginning. It threw me off a bit that it stops and re-starts again at :06, but the detuning work at :27 is pretty cool. From :28 to :46, the continued detuning coupled with the white noise filters and drum fills sounded pretty cheesy, though. The drop at :46 is catchy, and the chords on the down beat sound nice and rich, but most of the drop is pretty minimal and bottom-heavy in the mix. The transition into the breakdown at 1:21 is a bit abrupt, but I like the creepy piano riff at 1:29 and how you integrate the busy beat of the drop and the piano and atmosphere elements of the intro at 1:38. I still think the mix sounds a tad thin here - you might consider giving some of the harmonic instruments a bit more room in the EQ if possible. Still, the soaring piano lines and demented bass riffs towards the end really help this piece come together nicely. Keep it up, Artackni! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

Artackni responds:

Thanks for the review! This song was a big milestone for me, as I finally (almost) got the sound I wanted to get. Definately will be doing melodic neurofunk for NGUAC, and gotta say, I improved a lot since then, in, well, everything, but most importantly, mixing and mastering. Excited to see if I make it to the final round, or, perhaps, even win the competition!

[epic drop]

I like the catchy synth riff and crisp beats at the beginning. The lead synth sounds a tad distorted in the mix at :16, and you can tell the higher-pitched synth is getting distorted by the heavy bass underneath at :27. You might try getting a bit stricter with the equalizers - really make sure that none of the harmonic instruments (i.e., everything except the bass or drums) have frequencies below 200 Hertz or so. I also think there are a couple of sudden transitions here, like at :51 and 1:03. That said, I like the cutesy instrumentation and more upbeat tone to the piece by 1:20 or so. The open hat at 1:27 is another element that seriously gets buried in the mix - that might be a good candidate for some stereo widening or something. During this middle section (1:20 - 2:30 or so), you also overuse the stop-start transitions, like at 2:01 and 2:14.

I like how you brought back the riff at the beginning at 2:19, although the vocal bridge didn’t quite work for me. It kinda disrupted the flow of the rest of the piece - it would’ve been better if you had kept the beat going while delivering the vocals at the same time. Again, the hat at 2:50 needs a bit of a boost in the mix, and much of the content during the next minute felt a bit repetitive. I like the transition with the arpeggios at 3:27, and the bass-y breaks at 3:47 are also cool, but the mid-range pad you layer on there at 3:51 needs to poke through the mix more. Towards the end, I would’ve liked to see you vary some of the main riffs a bit more, especially the one at 4:05. That said, the melodic flourish at the very end of the piece was very well done.

Overall, I like a lot of the compositional elements of the piece, as well as the sound design, but the mixing could use some cleaning up, and the arrangement is a bit choppy at times. Still, I really enjoyed the rhythmic content, creative drum lines, and rich atmosphere of the piece. Keep at it, AndrewCr! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.25/10

AndrewCr responds:

I just noticed this, sorry for replying late!
Thanks for the criticism, I can tell you really looked into it and brought up every single mistake. Still, I'm not changing anything, I want to keep the original here

P.S.: Btw, I actually didn't know about that 200 Hz thing, thanks for that!

[Onslaught]

The synth at the beginning is cool, and by :12 or so I’m really digging the rhythmic content. Most of the instruments here sound pretty dry, though. Have you considered adding some reverb or other mixing effects to fill out the atmosphere a bit more? The texture is pretty thin and bottom-heavy, with not a lot of atmospheric or melodic content to counterbalance the prominent rhythm section. I also found the stop-start transition at 1:35 to be a bit jarring. The strings during the second half of the piece were a good idea, but by 2:00 or so I can barely hear them - I think the bass is overwhelming them. The piece has a lot of pent-up tension, but not much in the way of a “point of arrival” or climax that helps release some of that tension. With a little more effort, I could see this piece making a really good loop, but in terms of a stand-alone composition I also wanted to see more higher-pitched tones and and more memorable harmonic riffs. Still, the sound design is really cool - reminds me of some soundtracks @ConnorGrail has made. I’d encourage you to keep working on this, though - with some additional harmonic layering it could be a total banger. Keep at it, AdmiralEnsin! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
6.5/10

AdmiralEnsin responds:

yeah i made this a long time ago when i wasn't very experienced. thanks for the feedback though

[Shine Bright]

I like the bassy groove at the beginning. Really refreshing sound design throughout this piece, and the drums are nice and crisp in the mix, which is great to see. The melodies at :19 could use a serious boost, though - the bass and pads kinda overwhelm them right now. Otherwise, the piece could use a tad more structuring - a bit more ebb and flow over time to really sell the narrative aspect of the piece. I’d encourage you to keep working on this. You already have the instrumentation, atmosphere, and melodic content nailed. You could do a lot more with the composition, though. I want to hear those melodies take it to the dance floor at some point, not just hide in the back of the party by the punch bowl (or, to be more literal, I’d suggest using some more compression on them and push up the gain knob a bit). Still, you’ve already got a great sound brewing here. Keep at it, Xanaxo! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

xanxoepico responds:

Ayyyyy thank you very much for the detailed review! I'm still working on my composition aspects, trying to get better every time, hell this song in particular was a bit of a step forward compared to my previous stuff, but I still get too comfortable with repetition me thinks.


Also it's xanxo not xanaxo! XD

[Ritualistic Alchemy]

I like the foreboding atmosphere at the beginning, the storm sound effects, and the percussion that sounds like a ticking clock. The demonic vocals at :35 and the cinematic flair of the rest of the sound design are really great together, and the sense of build into 1:07 is nice too. The drop itself is a bit minimal, though, and I might’ve filtered out some of the high-end frequencies on that atmospheric screeching. The majestic breakdown at 1:54 is absolutely gorgeous, and I like when you integrate the orchestral sound design with the energetic beats at 2:24. The string arpeggios at 3:00 are a good way of re-introducing the listener to the ominous overtones of the piece, and I like the way the drop at 3:30 leads with the bass this time, as opposed to the upper-register content. I really like the jittery vocals during the outro at 4:47.

Overall, I think my favorite element of this piece is the production quality - everything sounds really loud, clean, and clear in the mix - although sometimes the harmonies could’ve used a bit more room to fill the atmosphere (the synth guitar at 3:54 comes to mind). The composition is enjoyable, despite the minimal drops, and the sound design is top-notch. The arrangement and harmonic framework are a tad generic, but otherwise you really made this piece your own with the apprehensive mood and instrumentation. Keep at it, WingsOfAsh! ^_^

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
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

ESHRR responds:

Thanks for the review! I’m excited to start the next round!