TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-Chilljoy-]

Fun title. I like the relaxed mood and cute synths. I wasn’t a huge fan of the was the kick was mixed, though - the sample just has a bit too much treble for my tastes. It’s a very smooth and upbeat piece, though. I enjoyed the sense of catharsis at 1:06. With slightly different instrumentation, this piece would work really well as a pop song (which is a good thing, at least during auditions). It does get a little repetitive after awhile, especially at around 2:30. I don’t think it needed to be quite this long. You may have also overused the sweeps by the end. This piece’s simplicity is a blessing and a curse in a way. The texture fits the style really well - easygoing, carefree, etc. - in that it doesn’t sound too busy at any given time, but I think you still need a little more variety in here. Overall, pretty solid work. I hope you’ll get the chance to make something else for the competition. Keep at it, man! ;)

7.5/10

GlitchmasterMusic responds:

Thanks a lot man, you basically nailed exactly how I feel about this song :)

[~The Permanent Destination~]

I like the dark mood at the beginning and the instrumentation, which certainly helped facilitate the ominous nature of the track. It’s a little slow to progress, but I enjoyed the dissonance at :58 and the subsequent vocal samples. You have a good amount of reverb in here that helps to create a nice, full texture. The drop at 1:28 was thoroughly enjoyable, although after that I was looking for some stronger melodic content, which isn’t really present for much of the piece. I liked the descending synth line at 2:40 or so. The reverb might detract from the mixing a tad, but personally it doesn’t bother me that much. The atmospheric breakdown at 3:20 was also a tasteful point of structural relief. I’m really impressed this is the first track you made using FL Studio. I would’ve liked some more variation on the drop the second time around, but that’s a small complaint. The outro was effective, and just as mysterious as the opening in a way. Solid work. I like this piece a lot!

8.5/10

Gravidi responds:

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a thought out review! It really does mean a lot that you enjoyed this track. I'll make sure to think about how I can improve on future songs based on your comments here. THANKS!

[Abril]

I like the somber mood at the beginning. Those string samples sound very romantic, almost in an over-the-top Hollywood sort of way...I’m a little ambivalent about them. The harmonies really emphasize the 1-and-2-and- pulse of the piece, but I would’ve liked to see you add some more space to the texture at some point in the piece. That said, the mood and atmosphere of the piece really won me over here. You have a great sense of melody, and the piece’s oscillation between more and less energetic was very effective. Good job!

8.75/10

AzulJazz responds:

Thanks a lot!

[Them Strangers - Wrong Place]

I like the groove at the beginning and the sense of climax into :20. The progression is pretty cool, and I’m really enjoying the instrumentation. The vocals are super clean, and the distorted guitar in the background of the chorus works really well to add some atmosphere. I think the mixing is a little weak. You can especially tell that the drums need some compression - the kick gets lost on the chorus, and I wasn’t a fan of your samples anyway. The mood of the piece really made it special, though - there’s a lot of character here. I might’ve asked that you vary the chorus a bit during the last refrain, and the fade-out ending was a bit lazy, but overall I like this piece a lot. Well done!

8/10

oldmanorange responds:

Well thanks for enjoying it.

[AIM - Theme for the Keeper of the Reef]

I like the aquatic theme, manifested in the wave samples. Nice job establishing the mood - it’s very tranquil and dreamy. Instead of adding onto the dreamy pads, though, you replaced them with this square, wandering synth, which I thought was questionable. The progression thereafter is a little slow-paced, and I wasn’t a fan of the short pause at 1:33, which halted the flow IMO. The sound design here is really interesting, but the minimalism really doesn’t help this piece. Almost 3 minutes in, I have yet to hear some strong melodic content. The piece also has very little coherence, and the structure seems like somewhat of a collage of ideas. I really would’ve liked to see you carry those pads with you throughout the piece - they really could’ve helped tie the piece together, which you made a last-ditch effort to do by bringing those wave samples back towards the end. It wasn’t enough for me. The numerous different directions of the piece make the listener’s experience jarring. Clean up the structure and coherence of this piece, and it has some serious potential. Otherwise, your quirky instruments and well-crafted mood gave you a lot of points. Keep at it, man!

6.5/10

Maverickmode responds:

Well, thank you for the encouraging words and honest critiques. That pad synth you were talking about is the one I lost about halfway through. I would have liked to use it more, but it's lost to time.

[Cs - 'Ambistep']

The bell sounds at the beginning were a little harsh-sounding. I’d recommend removing some of those treble frequencies in an equalizer. The drum samples at :35 sound pretty generic, but I like the ambient vibe you’ve created here. The minimalist section from :50 - 1:20 isn’t my favorite, though. It seems like you’ve put in this experimental chord progression where there should be some more melodic content. The pads are clearly distorting the drums throughout the entire middle section of this piece, too. Please look into using an equalizer and compressor; I’m sure there are tons of tutorials on YouTube for using them in whatever DAW you have. Both of these tools will help each instrument in your track sound clear and crisp, and the equalizer may also help with blending. The fade-out ending here came across as pretty lazy, btw, like you gave up on crafting the structure of the latter part of the piece. Overall, I’d strongly suggest creating a piece centered around a stronger melody next time. Here, it seems like you’ve based the harmonies entirely on the chords - which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the melody should really be priority number 1. When you feel like you’ve written a piece with a strong, memorable melody AND you start using equalizers/compressors to your advantage, PM me. I’ll give the track a listen. Good luck!

4/10

Csucskos responds:

Ohh man. You are killing me.
(Since this is the NG Audio Death Match it is OK. :D)

[-586rick- Overdrive Ostrich]

I like the intensity and drive. I think the mix could use a little cleaning up. The kick is clearly fighting for attention, and the snare could be a lot stronger. It’s possible that you’ve also used a bit too much reverb, but I think you should focus on doing some more care equalizing and compression. The texture is full throughout, but it isn’t varied much at all, which is a problem. I also wouldn’t consider this a structurally complete piece. It has a lot of good ideas, and you have a great sense of harmony and progression, but I’m not seeing much in the way of phrasing or development that defines a complete piece. The notes and patterns themselves change, but not the instrumentation, dynamics, energy, etc.. Going forward, I’d strongly suggest focusing on varying the character of your piece more through the addition of new instruments, changing the dynamics, and creating more drive with the drums. If you did that more here, this could’ve been a really strong piece. Keep at it, man!

5.5/10

586rick responds:

Thanks for your constructive review, For now I just remake them so I understand its not really dynamic, but I want someday to be able to remix all my remakes in my way so it could be unique in its on way.

Thanks again to let me have a chance for this competition.
Cheers
586rick

[Route]

The synths are a little cheesy and generic, but I like the addition of the harp. It actually meshes really well with the smooth 8-bit vibe of the piece. I’m also really enjoying the percussion at around :50. The minimalism gets old after awhile, though. I think you needed some more fill between :50 and 2:00 - pads, mid-range harmonies, or maybe some hi-hats or toms to add some punch to the percussion. Compositionally, this piece is actually pretty strong. You have a good sense of melody and harmony, but the texture lacks fill. I want to see you use the entire frequency range to your advantage at most (if not all) times in the future. The fade-out ending came across as a bit lazy. I didn’t hear any particular problems with the mixing or mastering, so that’s a huge plus.

7/10

Zechnition responds:

Thanks for the review! I didn't know I was progressing so much with my mixing.

[Rex: Origins Rap]

This is a fun and catchy piece, but I don’t consider it structurally complete. Cool use of sound design, and the rapping was also quite enjoyable. The lyrics came through very clearly despite the fast pace of the song. You pull off the texture quite well here, and you clearly displayed a great sense of rhythm. I was really torn between giving you a 3 and a 7; in the future, I really want to see you flesh out your work and also take it a little more seriously. The arrangement is seriously lacking, and the piece is pretty unpolished. You clearly have a lot of talent, though. Comedic pieces are usually frowned upon in the NGADM, and the addition of the kazoo doesn’t really help your case there. I’m going to help you out here score-wise, but I wouldn’t expect any compassion from the other judges if I were you. Keep at it, man!

7/10

Kwing responds:

Thanks for the feedback! Keep in mind I did everything here - the kazoo, the throat singing, the beatboxing, the layering, the writing, the rapping, and the mastering - all during a 42 hour Game Jam while I was programming and animating the game that this came from. Game Jams are notoriously unpolished and what you're listening to is one of the aspects that I really couldn't afford to put more work into.

I decided to submit this to the Audio Deathmatch because it has absolutely zero samples that I don't own, since I made the beat completely from scratch. Not sure if I would have had a better chance submitting something using someone else's beat.