TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Don't Need Love]

I like the tranquil vibe at the beginning. The vocals are great - super smooth and conversational tone. You scoop up to a few of the notes at the beginning of phrases, but unfortunately that seems to be a trademark of pop. The lyrics themselves are very amusing as well. Again, your style reminds me of something out of a musical or something, probably because it’s a piece that clearly has a story attached. :) The first verse dragged on a little long, though, and the refrain doesn’t do much to resolve the tension there. I did like how you have a constant build-up ingrained in the texture, though - the pizzicatos at the second verse were a nice touch. The instruments blend well together in general, and the production quality is very high. The injection of passion at 1:45 was much-appreciated. The guitars at 2:30 really helped give the piece a sense of direction as well. The layered vocals at 3:46 are great. Overall, this is another excellent composition. It feels a little long-winded, but perhaps that’s suitable for a broadway musical anyway. ;) Keep it up, FinnMK!

9.75/10

FinnMK responds:

Your tips are always appreciated mi amigo!

[Rika]

Majestic and uplifting vibe at the beginning. The injection of energy at :26 was a little sudden, and the melodies were a little square, and you could’ve done a lot more creative things with the drums during that section. I liked the vocal samples at :55, though. The melodies and textures are quite enjoyable, though. I appreciate the structural relief at 1:34. Good sense of atmosphere in that section, too. I would’ve liked you to lead up to the drop at 2:00 a little more, but I liked the drop itself. Certainly served as a cool bridge to the latter half of the piece. The melodic section at 2:35 is nice too. This piece has a lot of variety, yet maintains a lot of coherence as well. Variety and coherence are often very difficult to balance, but you’ve done a good job of that here. Given the second drop later in the piece, the structure of the piece is a little bizarre, but I liked the fast pace of the piece. A couple of the instruments you have in here are a little cliche, notably the snare at 3:56 and some of the lead synths. Clearly, you have excellent compositional skills, though, and I didn’t notice any problems with the mixing either. Solid work! :D

9/10

Tennon responds:

Well thanks for the detailed review dude! Yeah one of my styles is the variety of elements in my songs. I like to mix dubstep with other elements such as anime or traditional oriental stuff, it makes my songs more diverse and un-repetitive. Im glad that you enjoyed it!

[Disco In The Dark]

The drum samples are pretty generic, and the kick is very weak and needs more bass. I like the melodies, but the instrumentation seriously detracts from my enjoyment of the piece. The kick also gets seriously lost in the mix later on, and the snare is clearly being distorted by the synths at around 1:30. I think you should focus on equalizing and compression next time - those core mixing skills are really worth an investment. I did like the melodies and texture, though. I think you have a good sense of harmony and tonality. The piece is pretty catchy, and I like your use of reverb. Overall, the piece just needs a lot of cleaning up production-wise, and perhaps a more fleshed-out structure before it stands out compositionally. Keep at it, man!

5.5/10

AlxEllis responds:

Thanks for the feedback man! :)

[Masked Machine]

I like the fun middle-east themed melody and distorted percussion and synths in the background. The texture here is super engaging and fun. I like how you left a lot of sub-bass frequencies in that kick, too. Some more stereo widening wouldn’t hurt to just give the kick a little more clarity during some of the busier sections. At some point, I would’ve liked you to tone down the distorted background synths and offer some structural contrast energy and dynamics-wise, but overall the structure and variety in the piece are quite enjoyable. Very unique and catchy piece. Well done!

9.25/10

Zanzlanz responds:

Thanks so much for another incredibly detailed and nice review. I have no idea how you have time to do all this work in such a short time!

The review is helpful because it shows how I might go about improving production quality in specific ways.

Maybe next year I'll get through auditions :D
Take care my man. Hope you stay well during the event!

[Ebullience (Original Mix)]

I like the energy and rhythm at the beginning. The acid synths are a little generic, but the filtering automations are cool and give the piece a fresh vibe. The kick at :30 is a little overpowering, though, and the piece develops pretty slowly. The hi-hats also get a little lost in the mix. I’d suggest cutting off some of the higher-pitched frequencies in the synths and also compressing the hats to give them a little boost. I like the climax at 1:40, but I think it took you quite a while to get there. The part at 2:35 was also a great point of structural relief, although I’m not always a huge fan of when climactic build-ups lead to breakdown sections. For most of the piece, you have a nice full texture, which is great to hear. As I mentioned earlier, I think the pacing of the piece could stand to be faster. I’m always skeptical of tracks that are this long, and I think you risk losing some of the listener’s engagement by having long periods of high-energy trance (i.e., 3:20 - 5:50). You craft the shape of this piece really well, though - the dissipation of energy later in the piece is really well done. Reminds me of Deadmau5’s long, slow outros. Solid work, man!

8/10

Mich responds:

I was pretty proud of that acid synth given it's coming from a modular analog synthesizer I've put together myself. :P Guess I could've been a bit less reserved with putting the patch for it together though. In the buildup to the chorus at 4:00, I did play a bit with making it go into crazy resonance, if you listen for it you might pick it out then. All in all it might be a little bit buried in the mix there.

Coming up with an adequate kick is something I still struggle with a bit, so I guess I agree on that point.

As for the slow development; personally I listen to a lot of trance, and I like listening to the full length unmixed versions, which are about this length, some to over 9 minutes. I like the slow progression of it. This particular song was initially over 11 minutes long (see link in description), so I've already cut down on it a great deal I think. :P

All in all, the main purpose of long intros and outros is for mix-ability.

Anyway, thanks much for the review!

[Kalais]

The melody at the beginning is a little square rhythmically, and I’m not sure the mood of the strings and piano fit the glitchy beat very well. The panning on the drums just makes them even more jarring. I think you could’ve gotten away with making a piece that melded these two contrasting themes together, but not at the same time. The main problem here is definitely the way the texture and mood are abused. The piece itself was pretty short and could use some more fleshing out structure-wise. I didn’t notice any mixing or mastering problems. The sound design itself is pretty good - I actually like your string and piano samples, which is not something I say too often. Keep at it, man!

6/10

sapoman responds:

Thanks.

[Fake Sonata for a Virtual Clavichord]

The instrumentation and square rhythm of the beginning combines to give off a kind of regal vibe. I think you may have overdone the reverb a bit. The piece has a nice flow, but I don’t think you vary the dynamics or articulation often enough to keep me engaged. I did like the mood of the piece, though, especially the 3rd movement. The movements themselves are all quite short - perhaps you should flesh them out a little more. Otherwise, the structure and musicality of the piece is a little hard-to-follow. Still, my biggest worry is that you haven’t varied the energy, expression, etc. enough to carve some shape into the piece. Without that variation, the piece doesn’t have the same sense of direction and form that solo instrument pieces usually capitalize on for engagement. It was a neat idea to use a clavinet solo for the audition, but unfortunately I’m not sure your risks paid off. Keep at it, my friend!

5.5/10

LexRodent responds:

All of them fair points.
Thanks a lot for your detailed review.
Looking at it in retrospective I realize I made a terrible track choice for the NGADM auditons.
No better way to learn than screwing up :D

[Emotional Distress (NGADM 2017)]

I like the mysterious mood at the beginning. The distorted bass that comes in soon thereafter is a nice touch. The piece is very slow to develop, though. I think you should’ve at least introduced some drums by around the 1-minute mark to give the piece some drive. Otherwise, you probably could cut the length of this piece in half and still have appropriate pacing. I liked the melodies at around the 3-minute mark. The texture has a nice richness, and I like the gentle pulse of the chords and guitar fading away every 2 bars. Still, this piece drags on for way too long, and the progression changes way too slowly to keep me engaged. The subtle changes in the texture over time that are there (for example, the addition of the drums at around the 8-minute mark), aren’t enough to maintain interest. I mostly liked the instruments, although sometimes the grouchy bass gets in the way a bit too much IMO (example: 6:40). I’ve been a bit harsh on you in this review, but overall the piece is pretty good. If I had to change one thing, it’d be an easy fix: doubling the pacing of the piece. If you think about the pacing and variety a little more next time, you’d probably be in the round of 64. Keep at it, man!

6.5/10

TheB34R responds:

Thanks for this feedback, this is the type of feedback that is helpful due to the fact that you have said some of the key parts plus give the example of a part that could be changed to make it better.

[Body High]

The reverb seems a little excessive, but I like the sub-bass and some of the other samples (maybe not the low brass hits, though - sounds a little generic). The refrain at :32 was cool, though. The has a rich, full texture that’s uncommon in trap in my experience. I also like the ominous synths and the breakdown at 2:00 or so. The piece is pretty short, and I would’ve liked to see you have more melodic content after the breakdown. The track also sounds like it cuts off suddenly. Mixing-wise, it’s a little hard to distinguish the kick and sub-bass, but besides that everything sounds pretty crisp and clear. Submitting trap to the NGADM is a bold move, but overall I like this piece. Keep at it, man!

7.25/10

Zodiax responds:

Thank you for the kind words sir. Constructive criticism is always very helpful.

Trap is very overplayed, but I'm quite happy with this piece which is why I submitted it.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to join!