TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[Dubstep] Blurs - Original]

The rhythm at the beginning is a little hard to follow, but I like the sense of climax and energy and how that eventually resolves into the tranquility at :14. The pace is a little slow for the next minute or so, and I think you could've condensed that section a lot, especially since the drop is so ephemeral (1:29 - 1:43). Then, you transition right into a build-up to another drop (?) at 1:59, which is heavier but not nearly as entertaining IMO. The structure is a little bizarre, and the part at 1:29 functions much better as a post-chorus (which is how you use it at 2:26). You seem to vacillate back and forth between drops 1&2 until the bridge/breakdown thing at 2:54. I think you could've condensed this piece into something more appropriately sub-4 minutes by solidifying the roles of those 2 drops (1:29 and 1:59) into the actual drop and a post-chorus. Right now the way you channel the energy in this track seems kind of out of calibration, if that makes any sense. Either way, I like the instrumentation and production quality. Also, I'm a fan of reverb-heavy endings, so that's a plus. Keep up the good work, Trunotfals! ;)

trunotfals responds:

THe intention was to have a long intro, the whole song was inspired by Seven lions, essentially the song starts at like :50 where from there on out, its a pretty standard layout, save for the "fake drop" at 1:29 which has become somewhat of a signature for me in my songs, You can hear it in Revolution, Transcend, and I believe Never after. All of which have that "tagline" of sorts which I feel is a unique structure and satisfying to me. It's like a mini drop that isnt quite resolving unlike the real drop, which i try to make a complete resolution of tension. The fake drop is always messy and uncomfortable, yet intense and climactic. At least that is my intention. But I get why you think the form is weird in this, just try to imagine the song actually starting at :50, then it really is just intro, verse, buildup (including the fake drop imo) drop, breakdown (basically Drop A, B, the drops in this song are pretty extended) then verse, as it is the exact same form as the intro before, then another buildup or bridge, then drop, then outro. Pretty simple, the buildups are just weird because of that tagline I like to put in.

TLDR My intention was to have a climactic and very non-satisfying drop, that would not be interpreted as a real drop sense the tension is not really released, finally into a further build up of tension into another resolving drop, the real drop.

However maybe you're right an i did not execute in an effective way.

[Enter Newground]

I like the mood at the beginning. The effect at :04 seemed a little out-of-place and overly electronic when compared to the bright, organic, and contemplative sound of the rest of the piece. The piece definitely has a powerful overtone to it. Great job making this piece climactic and emotional throughout, and I love the dissonance you start to throw in there at around 1:25. The loop is flawless. Overall fantastic work! ;D

Phonometrologist responds:

You have good ears. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it. Any "out-of-place" moments that one may feel can be correlated to just how fluent the writing process was for this as I spent an evening writing it. Sometimes to think less in terms of editing helps the creative flow. "First thought, best thought."-Allen Ginsberg

[Run (ft. Anja Enerud & Lapette)]

I like the instrumentation and sense of climax at the beginning. Until around :30, the vocals are hard to make out over the instrumental though. I like the structure a lot, though. The start-stop transition into the second verse at 1:40 was excellent. I also really like the chopped-up vocals (like at 2:30). The kick sounded a bit too forceful for what is, at least in my view, a pretty feel-good track. I also liked the bridge section at 3:50, though. I thought it would've served better as a bridge than as a coda, but generally I have very few compositional complaints with this piece. Nice mastering as always, too. Keep up the great work, Trunotfals! ;)

trunotfals responds:

Thanks for your continuing awesome reviews man! I loved this song. Simple as put haha. but listening back to it now, i did definitely want this to be a bit of a chill feel good song, and the kick is quite intense. Also this might be the one time i dissagree with you, I cant see myself rebalancing the vocals any different. On my headphones they sound peffectly balanced. Infact it gets a little distorted with its sidechaining somehow even. But oh welllllll. THANKS MAN!

[Glare (Fix)]

Interesting how the intro is really engaging. Usually with this genre I see some sort of fade-in or otherwise low-energy section, which seems to occur anyway at :32 in this piece. The chord progression is a little cliché, and I wish the melodic content was a little more varied and less simplistic. The part at 2:30 (and other places) almost seems more like a post-chorus than anything else. Overall, the mixing is pretty good and it's catchy. The instrumentation isn't anything special, though, and it's just really generic. You need to find more ways of making this track memorable - maybe a cool transition, or emotional breakdown or something. Right now, it's pretty mediocre tbh. Sorry if that sounds overly tough. Keep at it, man!

DJ-Zyzyx responds:

LOL That's almost exactly what people said on the original version... if you look at the reviews on it!! XD I'm somewhat better now, but I agree with you. It is generic and catchy but just not good enough. Thanks for the review! :D

[Transcend {Dj-Abbic}]

Hey man! Good to see you're still active on the Grounds. I like the sense of climax this has. The intro was emotional and powerful, and then the drop was also good. I think you should've altered the balance to emphasize the melodic synth over the pads more, though. Also, the post-chorus section (as I see it, lasting from 1:15 to 2:01) was a bit too long. I badly needed some structural relief by the time the breakdown at 2:02 rolled around. ;) And then you transition really quickly into the second drop at 2:30. I was expecting a bit more of a build-up there, especially since it's the last drop of the piece, although I very much enjoyed the variations at 2:55. Perhaps I would've even added the melody at 3:20 before the last drop while you had a riser to ramp up the emotion. Still, these are mostly just some minor structural complaints. The mastering is solid, and I enjoyed the melodic progression of the piece. Keep up the good work, man! ;D

DjAbbic responds:

Thanks for dropping by. Now that I've heard this on a few more speaker systems I have to agree with what you said about placing more emphasis on the melodic synth, the pads felt pretty overpowering when I heard it in car systems etc, and they don't have much variation so it gets a bit old when they stand out so much.

As for the second buildup, I personally do like bigger buildups too, but I did like the way this one sounded when I tried it out due to the contrast in volume (also I haven't done a pause of this scale before :D)

Thanks a lot for the review, I really appreciate it :)

[Let's Dance]

I like the upbeat vibe and the melodies. The chord progression is a little bizarre, but you know how to structure a song pretty well. I'd recommend downloading some samples instead of using FL Studio's speech synthesizer - it just sounds so artificial and robotic. I think you can also clean up your mixing a bit. The kick sounds a lot more prominent at :17 than at 1:30, for example. Try to make sure everything is Equalized properly, especially so that you only have low frequencies playing in the kick and bass. This will help make everything sound clearer. And if you don't know what I mean by "Equalize" just PM me. Otherwise, this is a cool and catchy track. Keep it up, dude! ;D

jjoon responds:

oh! Hello TaintedLogic
Thanks for many advice
I used cubase.
so i am not good at flstudio :D

Thanks

[Into the Storm - Hanupo]

Interesting piece. The melody instruments are really quirky and cool, especially the one at the very beginning. I liked your transitions a lot, like at :17, :38, etc. It's a bit of a fast-paced piece, though, and I think you could've fleshed out some of these ideas more. For example, 1:14 seems a bit out-of-place and you might've done more to create a build-up into it (priming the listener by using some of those heavier synths earlier on, even only on the downbeat of a measure after a transitory moment). That said, the latter half of the piece has a great sense of power and energy to it. I think you need to work on your mixing a bit. During that really intense section from around 1:45 - 2:15 the kick drum could've come through a lot clearer, and at 1:58 the lead is clearly getting distorted by the other instruments (listen to how much more up-front it sounds at 2:13). I would make sure all of your instruments are Equalized properly, especially on the low-frequency end (you really only want the bass and kick to be making sound down there). If you don't know what I'm talking about just PM me. Overall, this is a catchy and fun piece, man. Keep at it! ;)

Hanupo responds:

Wow What amazing advices! Un i changed the mixing of that part a bit... Originally it was lead upfront but i put it behind like bc it was too much but you got a point too. I just pulled down the volume. I think it depends on perception haha. I didnt think about more buildup hmmm Thanks man! You are Awesome!

[agoodgoodbye]

I like the slow pace at the beginning and the automations on display with those held notes at :09 and onward. It makes the piece have a distinct pulse at the same time as its riveting atmosphere. I thought :39 was powerful, if a little bass-heavy. The melodies at around 1:10 were great, but I thought the pads and bass overwhelmed them a bit. Also, despite the tranquil intro, there's a long period of time (roughly 80 seconds) in the middle of the piece that lacks a lot of relief. I think it couldn't hurt to split that up a bit, especially since this piece is relatively short. Also, the coda was drawn out a bit too much. Its length didn't really seem proportional to the rest of the piece. That said, I love the mood and instruments. Nice work!

garlagan responds:

Thanks for the feedback, Andrew. Great review as always. Cheers!

[March of Progress OST]

Wow! Congrats on 1,000 fans! :D I love the percussion, atmosphere, and somewhat exotic theme. The transition at :25 sounds A LOT like another transition that's at around the 1-minute mark in the original version of "The Festival." Yes, I know your music that frighteningly well. I know this probably had to be a specific length for the animation, but this piece is extremely fast-paced. The transitions are smooth and all, but it's just a little jarring to have so many of them in quick succession. Excellent mixing and mastering as always, though. I'll check out the animation when I get a chance. Keep on rockin', Step. ;D

Step responds:

A little late with my reply, but thanks for reviewing! I have lost count of how many reviews you've written for my tracks.

Geez, man. You know my music better than I do hahaha. I completely forgot about that transition in The Festival, but yes, I do love my rising glissandi into dominant chords.

Yeahhh, this definitely progresses very quickly. I honestly had to make a decision between creating a more cohesive whole with less variation, or matching the pace with the animation. The former was the safe way out, while the latter allowed me to show off some cool ideas like morphing the track from tribal/ethnic to orchestral to electronic. I ended up going for the latter idea. The soundtrack probably makes more sense with the animation than on its own. Definitely check it out. It's thought-provoking and REALLY damn cool.

Thank you for the review!