TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sunrise Adventure]

I like the tranquil vibe at the beginning. Tiny detail: when the harp cuts off at :09 it disrupted the flow a bit. I like the cute instruments and harmonies. I think the bass is actually a bit too loud this time - sorry for the complete 180. The piano melodies at :40 are cute too. The texture breaks down a little quickly at :49, but I like the structural relief that :53 offers, and the percussion at 1:12 is a nice touch. The riser at 2:01 didn’t quite fit the character of the piece IMO, but that’s another small detail. The transition at 2:11 could’ve been smoother, too, and then the mood goes through another sudden shift at 2:17 - all of a sudden it’s got this tranquil, funky vibe that heavily contrasts the bouncy energy of most of the rest of the piece. Not that thematic contrast is a bad thing - I just think you could’ve connected the two a little better. 3:34 is another example of a time when the reverb and crash combo doesn’t quite cut it as a transition. I know I’ve nitpicked a lot in this review, but overall the sound design, atmosphere, and mood are really quite strong. The mastering is also strong, but you may have gone a little overboard with the reverb. Still, the cutesy melodic content and instruments really hit this piece home. It’s a fun piece. Keep it up, guys! ;)

9/10

johnfn responds:

thanks TL! it will indeed be kept up, at least for another round! :o

[Lighthearted]

I like the bouncy, upbeat vibe at the beginning. The progression is cool - the low energy section at :55 contrasts nicely with the frantic part at 1:05. The percussion didn’t do much for me, though. It sounds really dry and unpolished, and I wish you did more with it. I thought the change-of-pace at 1:55 was a bit abrupt - hard to anticipate it without much foreshadowing. It’s a cute and fun piece, but I think you could’ve done a bit more with it. Given that it’s a solo instrument piece, I think it needs a bit more phrasing and dynamic contrast to really hit it home. The ending is rather abrupt too. Overall, I commend you doing something so different from what I’m used to seeing from you. I appreciate the balanced use of frequencies and the cheerful melodic content. Keep at it, Noisysundae. ;)

8.5/10

Noisysundae responds:

I admit that I had no idea how to end this, given the time left before the deadline. :P
I cut the bass off that snare sample, that might be why it's so dry. Hmmm, looks like the subtle reverb I added didn't make up for this. :(

[Discord Server On Saturn]

I like the ambient plodding sounds at the beginning and the warm pads. I think the lead at :24 might’ve needed a bit more reverb to blend in with the atmosphere, though. I like the progression at around :40, but by :44 is a bit too loud and the snare is a little quiet. It sounded like the progression was straying a bit too far from its owner by 1:45, so I’m glad you offered a re-intro there. The details in here are really well done, from the puttering white noise to the radio effects at 2:17. The piano at 3:05 had a great, warm sound, but I wished you had foreshadowed its entrance a little better. I’m generally skeptical of new instruments that are introduced during the last 30 seconds of a track. Overall, the piece doesn’t quite come together for me - there’s no emotional height during the second half, and little cohesion overall. You nailed the mood, atmosphere, and sound design. Some structural repetition would help this piece a lot, though. Keep at it, 1f1n1ty. ;)

8.75/10

Onefin responds:

There are no new instruments entering in the last 30 seconds, those are all things you've heard before. Except the piano. That was new

EDIT: I don't remember if I was joking or if I was just dumb, but I just repeated Tainted's exact point \_\

[A City Not Forsaken]

I like the warm atmosphere at the beginning. The vocals are gorgeous. The progression is a little slow towards the beginning, but I like the tranquil piano that comes in at around the 1-minute mark. Nice use of phrasing at 1:35. You’re definitely giving the piece a strong sense of direction, and the synths that fade in at around 2:15 were an intriguing and quirky touch. The instrumentation takes another drastic turn at 3:35, and I like the vocals at 3:48 a lot - they’re very smooth and soulful. That said, I can’t help but be turned off a bit by the lack of cohesion of the piece. There are distinct sections, all with very distinct sound designs, that are only loosely connected. At 3:35, you appear to fade out the piano, only to fade in the guitar, almost as if this track is an album preview, playing short clips of several songs in turn. I don’t think that’s the effect you want the structuring to have on the listener. Despite the thematic similarities between the sections of the piece, I think you need a little more repetition to keep the listener grounded. I also thought that the vocals at 3:48 constituted the first example of a prominent melody in the piece, which is problematic. Furthermore, the panning on the guitar was a bit too off-center for my tastes. The guitar provides a clear pulse that gives the piece a lot of drive and, as such, I think it should be mostly front-and-center. That said, the production quality here is great overall. Despite my criticisms, there are a lot of strong attributes of this piece: the emotion and atmosphere, the mastering, the excellent blending of your instruments (especially during the first half of the piece). I’m a stickler for structuring, though, and it was hard for me to ignore the fact that this track sounds like at least 2 different pieces. I commend you for taking that risk, but it didn’t pay off for me, I’m afraid. Nice work nevertheless! I’m looking forward to hearing your future tracks. :)

8.25/10

Phonometrologist responds:

Greetings TL,
You are quite right in pointing out some of its flaws in its current state, but you and I both arrive at different responses. Oh how boring music can be if one didn't take the risks to stray away from what one is taught and what one ought to do with sound! If given more time, I would have made the transitions more seamless, but I literally wrote the first half of the piece the day it was due and spliced the two pieces together 20 minutes before the deadline. The beginning comes naturally whereas I spent a lot of time chipping away what would eventually be the latter half of the song. Even then, and as jarring it may seem, I couldn't help but smile and laugh to how it turned out. Why not? Of course I can write a piece with more uniformity, but consider it a dream yet to be and yet to come as the scenes of a devastated, forgotten city finds life once again forevermore.
In terms of the technical and a mixing choice I made, the guitar being off centered comes from a retro perspective. I could have stacked the guitars, but decided not to at the time of recording. Even now, I was just listening to Space Oddity by David Bowie where his acoustic guitar is entirely played in the right speaker. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. I still plan on updating this track now that I have the time to do so.

Cheers

[In the Mist]

I like the tranquil, bassy intro. Has a quirky pulsing vibe, and also leaves you a lot of space for climax later on. The progression is a little slow, and the basswork suddenly drops out at around the 1-minute mark. The minimalism was wearing on me after a while - I think you needed to introduce some drums earlier to give this piece a little more drive. Same with melodic content. The beat pattern at 1:45 is really cool, though. I like the climax into 2:14, but the minimalism there was really underwhelming. Same with 5:15. I think anti-climaxes like that are best when the lead-up to them are not minimalistic themselves. The transition back into the floaty synths at 3:17 also seemed a bit lazy, and the very end of the piece is rather abrupt. Perhaps this piece is fitting for a DJ intro number or club mix, but as a stand-alone composition it leaves much to be desired. Solid work with the sound design, atmosphere, and mixing. I’d highly recommend putting more effort into your compositions, though. Keep at it, Voltus! ;)

6.75/10

Voltus responds:

thank you for your feedback and thank you for the time and effort you and all the judges put into this contest! I wish you good fun for the final round. :)

[Market Day (KindLing A0S1)]

I liked the pensive mood at the beginning, and the percussion was a nice touch. Good use of reverb and progression. The texture is rich and has a great sense of drive about it, even without much in the way of drums or bass. The sound design is really strong. I think the melodies at 1:12 are a little too loud, and it’s also easy to tell that the string sample there is fake because of it’s slow attack. Overall, the production quality here is really strong, and I liked the tempo automations at 1:50. The bell sound at 2:06 was a little harsh-sounding - you may want to take some treble off of it in an equalizer. Still, I appreciated the tranquility, which offered some great structural relief from the earlier energetic section. The texture changes drastically at 2:32 and again at 2:55 - the piece doesn’t have a ton of structural cohesion, so I’d be careful about trying to cram too many melodic ideas into one piece. That said, the piece comes together nicely with the return of the powerful string solos. Overall, the composition here is absolutely fantastic. The slight balance issues during the string sections were the only things that actively bothered me. Keep up the great work, Miyolophone! ;)

9.75/10

Miyolophone responds:

(ahhhhh the attack was all the way down stupid viola sample)
Thanks TL for the feedback and obscenely high score! Like I said to johnfn, I'll make sure to treat my melodies and textures with respect and dignity instead of just tossing them around next time ;)

[Snapshot]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The piece has a great dreamy vibe for the first 30 seconds, and then the melody at :32 really hits home the smooth sense of bliss that the intro set up. Some of the synths may have been a bit generic, especially the chords at 1:21. That said, I really enjoyed the drop at 1:34. The sub-bass was a nice touch, and I love what you did with the filtering on those pads at around 2:05. The thin texture at 3:04 was a little unexpected, but by the end this piece feels really victorious and cathartic. I love the mood, atmosphere, melodies, and progression here. The theme of the photograph is really well done, too. Keep up the great work, EtzerGD! ;)

9.5/10

EtzerGD responds:

Thank you so much! Appreciate the review and the hours of time you must spend on these contests <3

[Jacques Melissa - Screw everything]

This is a catchy and fun piece. I think the first problem I noticed is that the texture sounds very thin - for example, at :09 the instrumental could just use a lot more fill. The mastering is actually pretty strong, but I think you could’ve used some pads or denser harmonies to eliminate some of the minimalism that pervades a lot of this piece. The piece is very repetitive after a while, and the comedic value of it doesn’t exactly convince me to take it seriously as a stand-alone composition. It also has an abrupt ending and, while the theme and mood are amusing, the instrumental doesn’t actually have a lot of moving notes. Overall, I liked it. I laughed. I had a good time. But I think you need to do a lot more with the composition in order to get full credit in the “melody/harmony/texture” category. Keep at it, Djhoneyb. ;)

7.5/10

Jakki responds:

thanks for the criticism! I'll keep your points in mind when I am doing more songs.

Also glad you laughed haha, it's supposed to have a little comical value, but certainly it isn't totally a joke song.

Cheers

[Shades]

I like the air of mystery at the beginning. The pacing is a little slow, but the spacious nature of the texture during the first 30 seconds or so really helps spur on the apprehension. The transition at :59 could’ve been a bit smoother. I also think you might’ve overused the minimalism here a tad. The piano also sounds a bit indistinct at 1:43 - perhaps toning down the reverb would help give it some clarity. I think this piece is also lacking strong melodic content. The arpeggiated guitar riffs at around 2:15 don’t quite fulfill my melodic desires. I think the structure could also be a bit more cohesive - you don’t really keep the listener grounded in repeated sections very well. 3:31 was another rather jarring transition. I liked the distorted experimental noise 3:37, but I think you could’ve implemented it into the rest of the composition a lot better. Overall, there are a lot of cool ideas here, but I think you should try consolidating them a bit more. Production quality is strong overall, and you nailed the mood and atmosphere here. Keep at it, Azhthar! ;)

8.25/10

Azhthar responds:

Cool! Thanks a lot for the feedback! It is good to get these many different oppinions and I really appreciate all the work you people are doing by listening, judging and reviewing all these tracks.

It is funny how different the feedbacks from the different judges are. Also funny that you write the production quality is strong because I thought that´s the biggest flaw in this track. Johnfn liked the composition but heavily critizised the mixing. You liked the production but critizised the overuse of minimalism while FinnMK pointed out that my overambition ended in too much complexity, lol... I get your points, though ;)

You wrote about the lack of strong melodic content. I have to say I this is a bit complicated in this track. There is a melodic motiv which is varied a little all along the track (introduced in the solo piano part after the intro). The motiv is very simple and actually starts even more simple by repeating the same note (G). The G is quite important for this piece because it´s part of every chord, except in the part from 3:18 to 3:30, where the piece ironically shortly is transposed to G-mayor. You find the G all around and after that short solo piano part from 1:00 to 1:14 it is taken over by the bass which is continually playing the G under every chord until ~2mins, while the melodic motiv is now covering different notes. The part with the arpeggiated guitar you mention is (except the intro) the only part without melody in this track...

Sorry... I think straggled a bit :) For sure you are right that it isn´t very catchy, though, but more nerdy and making the piece a bit more congruent overall I guess ;)