TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[IV]

I love the atmosphere at the beginning. The spacey instruments are cool, from the luscious pianos to the synth arpeggios at :09. The mixing and mastering are top-notch as always. It's a little slower to progress than most of your other pieces, but it affords the track a great sense of climax and "breathing room." I guess one instrument I wasn't a huge fan of was the melody synth at 1:15. It was just a little high-pitched and harsh-sounding for my tastes. The melodic content itself was very enjoyable throughout, though. Also, I've digging the chord progression by around 1:35. I'm also a huge fan of bass slides (1:32) in general. :3 When the piece started adopting a more orchestral texture, I was completely hooked. I guess I was a bit disillusioned by the build-up at 2:07, however. It didn't really lead anywhere, and then you switched gears and launched into another tension-ridden electronic section, as opposed to the cathartic orchestral content I was expecting based on the build-up. Oh, wait, it's a mash-up. That explains some stuff. XD When the Latin vocals came in, I knew I was missing something. I still think this medley lacks some sort of epic climax, but at the very least it feels conclusive enough by the end. Overall great work, undoubtedly! I think you should experiment more with electronica, Step. ;)

Step responds:

Heyyyyy. Thanks for reviewing!

You read my music like a book sometimes. I definitely intended this to progress more slowly than my usual music, which you pointed out. Things like the buildup lasting from 1:32 - 2:07 or having such a long instrumental intro before the vocals come in aren't things I usually do.

We're gonna have to agree to disagree on the synth at 1:15 :(. That kind of thin, sine/triangle-based synth is something you hear often in the Metroid Prime soundtrack, and I wanted to emulate it. I like how precise its pitch is and how it cuts through the mix, just like it does in the original soundtrack. Perhaps it was a bit too harsh/shrill though. You might be right!

2:07 is something I can't disagree with you on though. I was hoping that the buildup with 2:07 would be the tension building which would carry over during the quieter bit and then get released at 2:12. That was my plan, at least. Didn't really turn out like that and what we ended up with was an almost arbitrary-sounding change in direction. In my defence, it was damn difficult to smoothly transition between those two sections! As I told Skye below they're in a different key/mood/time signature, so I definitely found trouble progressing to the second half in a way that made musical sense.

Aw, I was kind of hoping 4:08 would be the "epic climax" you're talking about. I threw everything I had into that part haha.

Thanks a lot for the honest review. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[Johnfn's Low Budget Cooking Show]

It's super catchy and flowing. I wasn't a huge fan of some of your samples. The snare at :54 comes to mind - it just seems a little heavy for the otherwise light, cute, and brisk mood of the rest of the piece. Also, some of the harmonies at :32 could've been a little more up-front in the mix IMO. That said, I love the mood and simplicity of it. Of course the cooking show is low-budget, though - you spent more time on the intro music than the actual cooking!

Keep it up, my friend. ;)

johnfn responds:

Actually you are right that snare is out of place >:( Though I don't really hear any harmonies at :32 lol. But yeah I agree with your assessments!

[3MBER - I Will Be There]

I like the atmospheric intro and panning. It has a great bright tone to it, and the vocals help enhance that effect. Perhaps the change-of-pace was a bit sudden at 1:14, but I think the frantic nature of the melodic section was fitting overall. I think you should’ve brought out the plucking melodies at 2:02 a bit more. The pads overwhelm them a bit. I appreciated how you offered some structural relief at 2:26, but I think you could have maximized the emotion by incorporating some more dynamic contrast and phrasing. I would’ve liked to see some more melodic development here. The piece needed another moment of climax to really tie it together IMO. Right now, there’s only one “emotional height,” and it occurs about halfway through the piece. Instead, I’d suggest at least 2, which would give the piece an overarching sense of direction, because otherwise the energy just dies out over the last third or so of the piece. The mastering was impressive, though, and I enjoyed a lot of your synths, especially the Far Eastern-sounding one at 2:02. You used the frequency range well overall. All things considered, this is solid work. Keep at it, man. ;)

7.5/10

x3MbeRx responds:

Thank you for the in-depth review :) The two week time frame was really the ultimate cause of most of those problems I think. I generally like to have at least two "drops" but I tried to focus more on getting a good mix and master on this one.

[N1NJA - Traverse The Unknown]

The intro was pretty cool. It felt very contained and minimalistic at the beginning, so I enjoyed when you started opening it up a little more at :45. The melodies at 1:15 were a little too jumpy (as opposed to stepwise) IMO. The transition at 1:45 was effective, but I think the pads overwhelm the melodies a bit at 1:47. I would try to create more space for the melodies in the mix with some more careful filtering. That said, one thing you’ve done really well in this piece is created a lot of space (as opposed to overwhelming the listener with constant energetic content). You did a good job of bringing out emotion in this piece, like at 2:49, even if the rhythm was a little square there. I liked the build-up into 3:53, although it doesn’t have quite the same cathartic vibe that 1:47 has. In general, the ending felt a bit rushed, and you could’ve capitalized more on changes for melodic development there. In general, I think you really missed out on some opportunities to vary the rhythm more. From 2:19 to 3:23, the most mobile notes are straight quarters, which, despite the emotion, makes the piece seem a bit dry and robotic. Also, I would’ve liked to see you vary what I regard as the main melody (1:47) later in the piece in a climactic way. Right now, there’s not much of an overarching sense of direction here. There were also parts of the piece that felt a little minimalistic, but I think they could still keep my attention if you incorporated some more dynamic contrast and phrasing. I didn’t think any of your instruments or stylistic choices were very unique either. Fortunately, the mastering is up to par and I enjoyed the emotion and atmosphere. Overall pretty good work. If you fix a couple of structural and instrumentation choices, this would be a really solid piece. Keep at it, man. ;)

6.5/10

N1NJA-Official responds:

Thanks so much for the feedback and for organizing this whole contest! This contest really helped me improve a lot as a producer. Hopefully I'll do better next year :)

[[HadenTheCreeper] -Surge-]

I like the beginning. It’s atmospheric and pensive, if a little square rhythmically. Luckily, :32 adds some rhythmic spice to this thing. You’ve used the frequency range really well here. If anything, it’s a little bass-heavy. It’s pretty slow to develop, though. I kept waiting for a build-up into a more climactic melodic section that never really came. The mixing and mastering are solid in general, and I love the unique sound design and atmosphere in this piece. The problem is that you don’t really have enough structural ebb and flow to keep it interesting. I wanted to see more dynamic contrast and overarching development to the piece. Right now, it has a sense of continuity that’s fitting for a spacey club, but as a stand-alone piece it fails to keep my attention. If you add some more careful structuring here, it could be top-tier content. Right now, I think you’re limiting yourself compositionally. I wanted to see you build off of those groovy synth patterns later in the piece, instead of setting up the structure so that you barely introduce anything new after the first minute or so. You even seemed like you were taking it in a new direction with the chord changes at 2:12, but ultimately it didn’t lead anywhere. The atmosphere and mood are huge pluses, though. Hope that helped! Keep at it, man. ;)

6.75/10

MrCreeperGeometryDas responds:

Thanks for the review. :) I am really big in the ambience part of the audio, but the bigger beats are harder to get into for me. Some of my other tracks did well with it, but sometimes things like that don't go well with some styles in my opinion.

[Colored Sky]

I like how you left yourself a lot of space for climax and contrast at the beginning. I enjoyed the filtering at around :10, and the part at :15 had a nice, spacey yet groovy vibe about it. I would’ve liked to see a clearer transition into :45 before that roaring melody, just to lead up to it more. The instruments here mesh really well together, though. I loved the transition into the re-intro section at 1:15, and 1:30 made the piece sound much brighter and upbeat. This piece has a great sense of melodic development. It clearly progresses to a more victorious and empowering mood by the end of the piece, with the melodies at 2:00 serving serving as an excellent manifestation of that mood. I thought you shouldn’t have introduced a new instrument 30 seconds from the end of the piece, though (2:30). The spaciness of the outro was awesome, but it’s usually a good idea to aim for coherence with an instrument in the intro or breakdown as a coda instead of varying the piece further. I think the mixing and mastering are both really solid. I can hear all the instruments clearly throughout, and the drums are super crisp and up-front in the mix. I might interject that the chord progression is a little generic, and while I see a lot of upbeat EDM in this competition and around NG, I like this piece a lot overall. The race to get into the Final Round is going to be really tight, but if it were solely up to me you’d be there in a heartbeat. Keep up the good work, man. ;D

9/10

littlelamp100 responds:

thanks for the feedback :) can't wait for to see the final round results once i finish :D

[Lost Ones]

I like the vocal samples at the beginning. The heavy breaks at :30 were pretty good, although I thought the bass completely overwhelmed the drums. It’s generally a good rule-of-thumb that the drums should be the loudest instrument in the mix, and here they were a tad underwhelming. I would suggest compressing and equalizing them more carefully. I like the frantic, fast-paced nature of this piece. I think you’ve overused the vocal samples after a while, though. There’s another good sense of build into 1:30. The breaks definitely seem well-varied across the various drops. I wish you had some stronger melodic content in there, especially some that wasn’t solely transitional (for example, you have some harmonically mobile content at 2:15, but its intensity really only functions as set-up for the build at 2:30 instead of being an emotional height in its own right. I like how you had those atmospheric arpeggios in the background during the final drop (2:45), but they got pretty buried in the mix after a while, as did the claps during some of the bass fills (3:09, other places). I think the piece had a good sense of ebb and flow over time, but I still would’ve liked the see an extended section that offered some dynamic contrast, as this piece has a lot of energy that can easily become trivialized through repetition.

7/10

Leelius responds:

Thank you for taking the time to write such detailed review. I will be definitely taking advantage of your points in future projects. It was a fun experiment to be part of the contest and it really let me understand where I currently stand in my craft.

[The Turnip Brothers]

Interesting use of tremelos at the beginning. The first 20 seconds or so had a great sense of suspense and apprehension. The mood changes a little suddenly at :24. I would’ve suggested incorporating more of a buildup instead of a stop-start transition there. Also, your samples aren’t the most realistic, unfortunately, especially the strings, although the instruments still blend pretty well together for a refreshing soundscape. I liked the transition with the piano at 1:04. The rhythm in a lot of parts of the piece is pretty square, though. There are significant chunks of this piece (1:50 - 2:13, for example) that don’t have a lot of mobile content melodically. The ending of the piece is really sudden, and one of my major concerns is that there isn’t much of an overarching sense of direction here. The part at :45 is vaguely reminiscent of a refrain, yet it needs some stronger melodic content. I think part of the problem is that most of the instruments are very staccato and contained. The track never really opens up to release the tension you’ve established throughout. The result is that the piece lacks an “emotional height” that’s used to contrast the somewhat uptight vibe of the rest of the piece. It’s a cool beat, but as a standalone piece I think you needed more of a sense of structural ebb and flow, dynamic contrast, phrasing, and the like. Otherwise, it has a sense of continuity that’s fitting for background music at a trendy restaurant or something, yet it fails to keep my attention as a stand-alone piece. You also don’t really vary the string or brass riffs later in the piece, adding to the lack of a sense of direction. I think the frequencies are well-balanced here, though, and I have no complaints with the mastering. Perhaps the song is a little minimalistic for the mastering to be that important, however. Overall, the composition is what’s really dragging you down IMO. You need stronger melodies, more variety later in the piece, and some fuller texture at some points. I’d say my favorite part of the piece was the drums - they’re very crisp and dynamic. This is a pretty unique track in the way it shifts between moods and instruments, but you need to capitalize more on that by giving it more melodic development and conclusivity. Hope this helped! Keep at it, man. ;)

5.75/10

JourneyJaybeats responds:

Thank you for your input. My instrumental is intended as a backing track. I did not understand your intent on having instrumentals which are exclusively designed for foreground playback entered in your competition. I only really make backing tracks, so that interpretation would, unfortunately, leave me unfit for this type of event.

I find your advice helpful, and appreciate it. I do not contest your review, or your ratings. :)