TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Damn Motherfucking One]

I like the atmospheric fade-in, although some of those instruments sound a little generic. I would’ve liked to see you maximize the impact of that initial climax before diving into the lengthy piano section that follows. You seem to set the pacing of the piece up to be pretty rapid with the 15-second intro, but then it’s actually rather slow. I like the drums - they have a great organic roots rock kinda vibe. The piece has a great sense of climax over the course of the next 3 minutes. The drums could’ve even been stronger towards the end. The rhythm is pretty square for most of the piece, though - a lot of straight eighths going on. I also feel like you could’ve maximized the climax by adding a really dominant and empowering melody somewhere. That distorted guitar thing at 2:53 doesn’t quite cut it since it blends into the rest of the texture. That said, the texture of this piece is one of my favorite elements. It’s so full and rich, and really shows off your great sense of harmony. I like this piece a lot, but I think you could’ve taken even more risks in certain elements of the composition and structure. Still, keep up the good work man. :D

8.5/10

MysteriousPresence responds:

Thank you very much for the review and for that cool note (even if I didn't make it :'3) !
I will take in consideration every advice you gave me in order to improve myself. Maybe I'll make it in the NGUAC who knows ? If so, count on me to produce the best I've ever done ! B)
Thanks again ! =D

[Luminous]

I like the ominous vibe at the beginning. It sounded cool how you used the piano for both the dark atmospheric bit and a brighter, more melodic sound at the beginning. The drums at around :45 mesh with the counterpoint pretty well. I wasn’t a huge fan of the string samples shortly thereafter, however. They sound pretty fake, and also cut off suddenly at 1:16, without adding much to the piece IMO. At the drop at 1:30, the kick becomes lost in the mix, and in the general I think you could’ve made the drums a bit stronger and crisper. The chords at the drop are probably doing most of the distorting. I’d be really careful about how you equalize them. You have a good sense of melody and harmony, and the composition is overall really good. Strong transitions and structure, although I wasn’t a huge fan of the buildup-to-outro model at 3:05. That said, the real downfall of this piece is in the instrumentation and mixing. I think those should be your main areas of focus going forward. Keep at it, man. ;)

7.25/10

DJ-DG responds:

Thank you man for the constructive feedback! Will definitely keep this in mind for the future!
Honestly, the strings were a sort of an add-on to the main piece... didn't work too much on their expression and whatnot...
Yeh, the chords do distort quite a bit... I kinda wanted that effect tbh but it went too far I guess...
My mixing needs work, I know, but in my newer stuff the drums are hopefully a lot better...
Anyway man, thanks for the honest views!
-DJ-DG

[Geoplex - Drift]

I love the warm texture and upbeat mood. It's a little slow to develop, but the sound design is great. The melodic content at around :53 is really enjoyable, too. The mixing and mastering are solid. I like how the piece gets more melodic as it goes on. Atmosphere is especially nice in this one. Keep up the great work, Geoplex! ^^

Geoplex responds:

Thanks man! Slow development was what I was aiming for, I was actually thinking it was too fast while I was making it, haha. Might be because the song I got the idea from was literally 7 and a half minutes long though

Thanks for the feedback dude, I appreciate it :)

[Deep Fried]

Hey man! Haven't seen a post from you for a while. I like the relaxed mood and busy beat. Cool ambient effect at :40. Makes for great background music. Texture feels nice and full - the snare and ping-pong synths fill in the higher frequencies pretty well. You have a great sense of rhythm. You might've overused the sweeps a bit, but it didn't bother me too much. The mix is totally clean, btw. Everything sounds so clear and crisp in my headphones. ^_^ Yum...

SynchroSpectre responds:

Oh thanks haha, I just saw this incomplete song and it had potential so I worked on it for a bit. I didn't care too much for this song, I didn't know where the creative direction was gonna go so I just posted it here lel.

[NGADM 2017 Auditions Podcast]

Thanks for the shout-out! Good to see you're getting the word out. The background music was beautiful, btw. I should really check out more of your music. Well-produced podcast, though. Your accent reminds me of Jenna Marbles. :)

ChronoNomad responds:

Had to Google Jenna Marbles, and what do you know--we were both born in Rochester, NY! Not sure if that means anything, but I did think it was an interesting little factoid. I usually pick up the regional accent fairly quickly, and I've been all over. Of course I can also sound "more professional" with less of an accent, but this was meant to be more on the easygoing side.

I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed the music and found the podcast to be well-produced. And I figured it was high time to give credit where credit is due! This just seemed like a really good way to do it.

To be completely honest, the recording session was a pretty quick and dirty single-take affair. Mixing in the background music took longer. Thanks for leaving a review! :D

[AIM - Chris, the Boat and the Tormented Sea]

I like the flowy vibe and bright tone. The mood changes a lot from chord to chord, which adds a lot of tension to the piece. It seems to have a very uplifting direction at around the 2-minute mark. The marked pause at 3:00 was a bit jarring, and I'm not quite sure of the purpose it served in context. The structure of the mini-phrases in the piece gets a little repetitive, and I would've loved to see you open it up a little more after a while, but the mood of the piece is what really ties it together IMO. It could even make a decent loop. The music really breathes despite the structural repetition. Keep up the good work, LSD! ;)

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Leave it to you to call my piano music flowy ;)
I kid, though, since obv this if anything is one of those flowy tracks. Quite intentionally so, considering how much the sea tends to flow ^___^
I did indeed intend for the mood to be ambiguous and quickly changing, once again, kind of liek the ocean :D
I'm not sure I would call the point at 2 minutes uplifting, but more like someone bravely facing a challenge; not sure exactly what I'd call that, since it isn't pure bravery :V
I know what I feel better than I can describe it in words xD

The 3 minute mark is the silent cruelty of the sea, while you desperately struggle, with nobody around to help; a sudden realization that maybe things won't work out.

I didn't want to diverge too much from the style of the piece, since that is pretty much all it is, along with some good chord choices. This is also, naturally, because it fits my interpretation of the art better. Thanks a lot for the review, TL (#Fearless Squirrel)!

[Soulflight]

I like the rich texture at the beginning. It has a very relaxed mood, and I like the wonky pads at around 1:10. The melody at 2:24 is super catchy and has an easy-going, almost cascading vibe. The part at 3:54 was another highlight - it was a new injection of energy into the piece that served it well in context. It seems like you're using a different drum kit than you used to, btw, which I approve of. The piece was a little long, but it still kept me engaged. Well-structured, smooth-flowing, and well-mastered track overall. I absolutely love that major 2nd riff you sprinkle into the background at various places, 5:55 for example. The ending has an especially bright feel to it as well. Keep up the good work, Lockyn!

Lockyn responds:

Hey TL, definitely always look forward to your reviews. Thanks for the love and support as always! Cheers and I'm glad you enjoyed :)

[3xOsc Party]

Really amusing concept. My favorite elements of it are probably the portamentos and the tempo. Sounds like a clown just got home from work and starts doing acid. XD The chords probably made me think of something circus-y. Well done. If there's any way I can convince you to make a full piece out of this, I would. ^^

EnNinja responds:

Thanks man. I might maybe finish it sometime in the future xD

[Incursus]

I like the synths at the beginning and the filtering effects that create a mini-climax into :07. The piece was a little slow to develop, but the stop-starts at :30 ruined the flow for me a bit. I would suggest adding some reverb to smooth it over a bit there. It sounded like the piece was building towards something around the 1-minute mark, but you didn't exactly release the tension. I like the tempo automation at around 1:30. I was craving some more melodic content by around the 2-minute mark, but it never really came. It seems like you have a couple of cycles in this piece where you skip right over a drop/refrain and go from a build-up to a breakdown immediately. I think the structure would be a lot more effective with an emotional height in there somewhere. Your build-ups are also fairly drawn out, especially the one from around 3:10 - 4:30. It's just a little excessive, and once again only leads to a chill chordal section. This piece is very long and has a lot of tension that never quite resolves. I like the style of this piece, but I think you should think more about the composition next time; cycles of tension and release are really effective in music, but you need some more release for it to work here. I also thought the piano at the end sounded really fake, and the ending itself wasn't that conclusive. Sorry to be so harsh on you, though. It's a bit of an experimental piece, but it certainly conveys some neat moods and has a cool unpolished aesthetic. Keep at it, man! ;)

stegosaurus responds:

Thank you for the very in-depth review, in some areas this track turned out quite rough, since this was my first time trying to produce industrial music. It's interesting seeing the critique with the piano, since my intention was to sort of mess with the uncanny valley with it. I do certainly agree that the composition was kinda lacking on this piece, since my main focus was the sound design. Thanks for the review, and I'll have something a bit more polished for this year's NGADM.