TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM - Gemini]

---Official AIM review---

I like the dreamy vibe at the beginning and the bell-like synths. The vocal samples and the gritty bass at :14 are also good. The beat at :26 is very catchy. I think you have a fantastic sense of rhythm, and the sound design in the pieces I’ve reviewed for you is very well done. You didn’t foreshadow the slightly more laid back section at :55 very well, though. The melody at 1:09 is nice, although the rhythm of it is a bit square, especially compared to some of the exceptionally creative drum patterns you have in this piece. The dreamy synth pattern at 1:49 is really nice, too. While in general the piece is well-structured, it feels like you’re following a formulaic pattern for the progression instead of taking the piece in a new direction with each rendition of the theme. I’m sorry if this advice sounds repetitive from my other review, but I’d love to see you vary 1:49 a bit more given that you have the same exact same section at :27. That might help give your piece a bit more directionality and resolve. Stylistically, this is very similar to the other piece you submitted to the contest, although I love the interaction between the two melodic synths at 2:30 in this piece. Strong work yet again. :)

8.5/10

DarkHorseOrchestra responds:

Thank you for the reviews! Helps put in perspective what I needa work on. Definitely appreciate it!

[Misshapen Pearl]

Beautiful minimalist strings at the beginning. I love the contrapuntal nature of it too. The intricate rhythm of the flute at 1:05 didn't suit the texture entirely well imo, and the next minute or so is largely characterized by rapidly shifting foreground textures (first flute, then strings, flute again, then organ, vocals, etc.). I just thought the piece lost its sense of directionality a tad in the middle section there. That said, the piece comes together really well by around the 2-minute mark, and I love the dark answer by the cello and bass at the very end. Overall very strong stuff. I think your style has changed quite a bit since 2007 judging by this, but this piece still has a great dramatic and organic vibe. Keep it up, Phonometrologist!

Phonometrologist responds:

Hey TL, you're quick. I agree with you on the criticism. If this piece that I were to conjure up was purely without any prior influences, I probably wouldn't choose to add the flute part. But since it was part of the original, it's married to the music and I'm not about to object now to the odd pairing. Originally I used one of Bach's flute sonata's as a guideline since Whirlguy wanted a snippet of music inspired by the Baroque period. Hence the title.
Thanks for stopping by once more.

[Entirely Elated]

I like the upbeat vibe at the beginning and the hi-hat rolls at :09. The quirky chopped vocals at :22 suit the texture well, and really contribute a lot to the climax into :34. One criticism I have is that the snare sounds a little thin, with a lot of top-end frequencies and not much else. Excellent job with the melodies at around the 1-minute mark, and the saxophone at 1:34 was really refreshing. The drops are really cool. Very refreshing sound design and intricate rhythmic design. During the middle section of the piece (1:00 to 1:53 or so), I think you tried to cram in just one too many melodic ideas. Consolidating some of your melodic ideas in this piece could help give it a bit more cohesion. Production quality is really solid here, though, and I like the dreamy ending of the piece a lot. Overall great work! Fave'd.

MrKoolTrix responds:

Thanks for the feedback, TaintedLogic! :)

[Welcome to the Creepy]

The little oom-pah pattern at the beginning is nice. Feels almost melancholy in a way. The reverb helps emphasize a kind of sadness here. The rhythm is very square, yet the piece has a real human quality to it in the progression. I would've liked to see you use some more dynamics, phrasing, and humanization on the instruments to amplify the emotional appeal. It's a simple piece as it is, and so probably needs a bit more variation along such parameters to keep my attention. Still, nice work with the harmonies and atmosphere. Ritardando at the end was also a plus. Keep up the good work!

LumpyDumpyBuuu responds:

Thank you very much for commenting and all comments will be helpful.

[Virtual Riot - Stargarden (Aelon Remix)]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The quirky lead is also a big plus. The "reset" at :28 was a nice touch structurally. The build-up at :45 is good, but you have gone a bit too far with the reverb there. The drop at :56 is pretty amazing. That bass is absolutely scrumptious, and you got really creative with the rhythms and automations there. My main complaint here is that the second half of the piece is very similar to the first half of the piece, save for the drop. I really would've liked to see you vary that melody in the subtle, cute lead at 1:32 instead of just repeating it from the first half. I also would've liked to hear another point of climax towards the end that mirrored the level of catharsis of the first drop. Still, hard to complain about much here. Excellent atmosphere, instrumentation, and structuring. Production is solid as well. Keep up the good work!

Aelon responds:

Thanks!

[KChG - Phosphorescent]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the synths. Good sense of atmosphere and direction. The transition at :13 was neat, yet didn't disrupt the flow too much. Nice work with the crisp hi-hats and overall instrumentation, too. The mix is pretty clean, and the snare really packs some punch. The quirky, hollow-sounding snare at 1:24 is especially cool. The transition at 1:52 was a bit lazier with the generic 4-snare roll, but overall I thought this piece was rather smooth-flowing. Nice job with the automations too. The section at 2:33 has a really ominous vibe, but a couple of great details with the clicks in the beat and the atmosphere. It might've dragged on for a bit too long, but overall that section really gave the piece some shape and helped you gear up for the final section. The piece never really reached the emotional height I expected at the end, but you certainly kept up the excellent mood and atmosphere of the song 'til the end. Great work overall. Really fun stuff with the sound design. Keep it up!

KChG responds:

Thanks dude! I appreciate the criticism. I wanted to craft the end into a space feel kind of like you’re stranded in a ship or something

[Sieoctik - For Real]

Intro is really interesting. Kinda throws you right into the action of the song, yet the beat is still really minimal until :28. Still, I'd suggest leaving a little more space in the texture at the beginning of the piece, especially since most of the rest of the piece is so minimal. The riser at :34 has a really distinct sound, but I think the way you use it as a moving note at :41 is a bit of an acquired taste. You also come in at 1:16 with another rendition of the drop that sets the pace of the piece to go really fast. I'm also confused by the riff at 1:27, which I don't think was foreshadowed much by the harmonic framework of the piece. I gotta be honest: the structure and progression of this piece is all over the place, and seriously lacks melodic content or textural fill. I'm also really confused by the riff at 3:26 - I just think it's pretty jarring when an instrument is introduced for the first time 3/4 of the way through a piece. That said, the mixing and mastering is still really strong. You're clearly a talented producer, but the composition needed more effort. There's just very little sense of development, phrasing, and resolve here. I know I've been tough on you in this review. I think the main problem is that you tried to take the piece in too many different directions in a relatively short period of time, so it came across as a bit obtrusive. Keep at it, man!

sieoctik responds:

What can I say? I’m a man that likes to experiment lol. Thanks for the feedback though. I learned something new.

[Concept Delay]

I like the rhythm at the beginning. Some of the percussion sounds a bit harsh in my ears. I think you either went overboard on the panning, or maybe it's just that the stereo shaping is too wide. Still, cool beat. Very refreshing sound design and killer mood/atmosphere. I'd highly encourage you to flesh out the structure a bit more. Chopped vocals were probably my favorite element of the texture. Keep at it, man!

DJDureagon responds:

I think that i didn't put it through a de esser. Sorry about that. I didn't want to inflict pain with the beat. Thanks for the feedback ill surely take it all to heart.

[[SkiT] Night Bloom]

The bass at the beginning has the tone of a sub-bass, yet I think it's an octave too high to function as such. The bell-like synths at :11 work well, despite a few harsh frequencies in the upper range. The entry of the pads at :33 wasn't foreshadowed very well, and in general I think the texture of this piece is pretty thin and dry. You could use some more reverb, especially on the drums and more atmospheric synths. The pads at 1:27 seem to be distorting the mix a little. I'd suggest being a little stricter with the equalization there. The piano at 1:50 sound pretty dissonant - I think the bassline and the chord progression clash a bit harmonically. Also, up until that point the piece has a sort of ever-evolving texture that isn't very well-grounded. The repetitive nature of the last 1.5 minutes or so of the piece helps on this front, but I think you could still do better to shape your progressions a bit more. Try experimenting more with automation, dynamics, and the like. Overall, there are a lot of cool ideas here - I mentioned the bell-like synths and the impressive drum work - but I think the composition could be a bit stronger. Keep at it, man!

DaMastrofSkiTsees responds:

Thank you so much for your input! I'm not gonna lie, I'm still new to FL so I didn't find a way to further polish the synth. I can't believe I didn't think about adding reverb to the drums. The pad was just a tweaked preset as I spent way too long trying to produce the sound I originally wanted. The dissonance for the piano was intentional but I feel like everything got drowned out at that part :)