TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Euphoria (ringtone cut 1) {Dj-Abbic}]

I love the upbeat vibe this has! It's melodic, engaging, and has a really full texture. Solid production and progression (even if it's such a short piece). It serves its purpose (as a ringtone) pretty well, too. I like the instruments and the mood, and I liked the filters you used on the pads leading up to around :24 or so. Good job, man! I'm rooting for you in NGADM this round, btw. Keep up the good work! ^^

DjAbbic responds:

I'm glad you liked it. There's is a full version in the author's comments section by the way, this is just a cut from the full song as someone wanted me to make a ringtone out of it. Thanks for the support :D

[The Horror of Self]

Beautiful string melodies at the beginning, although the drone that plays in the background for at least the first minute or so sounds a little dry and dull. This piece has a simple beauty to it that I like a lot. Sounds like an introduction to some sort of movie, perhaps one that takes place in Scotland. XD The progression was rather beautiful, although that drone is still bothering me tbh. I might've transposed it down an octave at the very least, where it sort of rounds off the texture a bit and gives this piece a fuller-sounding mix. You could've done a lot more with this, too. I might suggest holding the slow-paced melodies you have playing here to a minute or so, and then coming in with something more energetic and climactic. I wouldn't really regard this as a structurally complete piece. Either way, I like the sound and I hope you expand upon this at some point! ^^

sleepFacingWest responds:

Thanks! I wanted to go further with this one, but I wasn't 100% sure where to go. I could keep meandering with the modal melody, but it seems to lack direction after awhile.

As far as the drone goes, the stagnant quality was sort of on purpose. I like the way that it creates this dull lifeless ground from which melodies can ricochet and intertwine. I took a lot of influence from early plainchant like this -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eFPJa95qQE

That's one of my favorite pre-polyphonic composers (ca 1100).

I had a teacher who always stressed that a drone is never just a drone and that it's important to find ways to activate them somehow. It's pretty much what I feel like you're saying as well. All good advice. I'll spend some time trying to figure it out. I WOULD like to continue writing this piece, and that might help give it a more solid sense of direction.

[My Fondest Heartache]

Interesting atmosphere here you got here. I think it needed a bit more spaciness, though, which you could've accomplished with some reverb. The snare was a bit dry, and the distorted vocals could've sounded more ominous and cool if they were smoothed out with some reverb. You have a cool mood with the blissful synths and vocals, though. I think you might've needed a smoother transition into 2:11. Even a crash probably would've sufficed. I also thought the snare was a a bit too loud. Again, dialing back the volume but increasing the reverb would've really helped give this piece a nice, flowy and smooth vibe. I admire your sense of harmony and progression, though. There's another sudden transition at 4:14. After around 4:30 it also becomes obvious that the vocal sample clip comes in and cuts off rather suddenly, which probably could've been fixed with some more careful editing techniques. Also, this piece lacks conclusiveness IMO, ending on a rather ambiguous, clashing chord instead of any tonic I could discern. It's really unique and engaging work, though, so I'd encourage you to keep working on this! About the "chipstep" NG genre: I'm pretty sure it's generally used for miscellaneous electronic music. XD Keep at it, SleepFacingWest! ;D

sleepFacingWest responds:

Thanks! I wasn't super happy with this one in general. It was supposed to be on a new album I'm working on, but I cut it out. I'll give your suggestions a try. Hopefully they'll help me like it a bit better.

Thanks for your thoughtful response. As always, you give me good things to work on.

[Day of the Sloth]

I like the atmospheric nature of this piece. I only realized it was "happy birthday" at about 30 seconds in. XD You definitely added a unique and creative mood to the song, but perhaps I would've at least liked to see some more variation, since this piece was kind of really long for just being "Happy birthday" over some warm pads. Otherwise, it probably should've been 45 seconds and not 2+ minutes. "Goddammit Andrew, you're taking this way too seriously." --> There! I said it for you. ;)

Happy belated birthday, LN! ^^

larrynachos responds:

Like I said, I wanted it to loop after 45 seconds, but it didn't work so I just extended it.

Edit: I forgot to mention, this song wasn't for me. It was for a friend of mine.

[Fighting For That Which Is Treasured]

I like the drama and the cinematic vibe this piece has. Makes me think of some heroic adventure across the sea. :D I will say that I thought the production quality was not up to par, I'm afraid. The snares clearly get buried by the strings at around :15, and in general a lot of the instruments could've sounded much clearer. I would suggest using some more careful equalizing and panning, and then compressing the drums. I liked the progression of the piece as it was, but in no way was there any sort of structural completeness or conclusiveness in the piece by the end. It almost sounds like a short, un-mastered preview of a track that you plan on releasing on Bandcamp a few days later! This piece should be twice as long as it is, and tbh that was the thing that most bothered me about it. I love the mood here, and I really admire your sense of harmony and progression. However, you could've done a lot more with the progression, and limiting yourself to 1.5 minutes was not the way to do it. This piece has a lot of potential, so (despite my criticisms) please keep working on it! You simply need more content to capitalize on the emotional value of this piece, and some stronger mixing and mastering would help make sure that your listener can hear every last detail of it. Keep at it, man! ;)

6/10

LloydeSorrow responds:

Indeed. I wish I would have really thought things through and taken more time to flesh things out. It was a big undertaking and I had already started a few days late. I am inspired to improve though! Next year's NGAUC compositions will definitely be better! I won't release something that isn't 100% ready to be released. I've got a lot of time to improve overall.

Thank you for the review and I am glad you like the piece and think that it has a lot of potential. That helps me keep going! :)

[A Little Dream (Original)]

I love the emotion and flow of this piece. You added an appropriate amount of reverb, and the cello and piano compliment each other marvelously. I think you needed a stronger transition into :33 (when the vocals come in), though. The lyrics are beautifully written, and the vocals have a bright, organic sound to them that compliments the instrumentals really well. They might've been a bit too loud, though. If I had to suggest dialing back the reverb at all, it would be on the vocals. I also think that, while 2:15 offers a great sense of structural relief and also mood shift, the vocals maintained the bright and hopeful vibe even though the lyrics themselves didn't suggest that that should've been the case. I must say that I really admire your ability to record layered vocals, though. I've tried this, and I know it can be very hard. The last line felt like a fitting conclusion, though, and I love the smooth-flowing nature of this piece. The verses have a sort of natural structural ebb and flow to them, and I can tell you that (even without headphones) the production is really solid! Great work, you two! Keep it up. ;D

9.25/10

Jabicho responds:

Thanks TaintedLogic!
Your words mean a lot to us! I told peachy about the review you gave us, and I'm sure she'll be very happy to read you when she gets to check it out!

Thanks again! We're very thankul for your time and help!
And we'll improve our future songs thanks to your suggestions! :D

[Hope For A Tree]

I love the tranquil mood at the beginning. The snare seemed a little dry, and the kick was very sub-bassy. I think you needed a second peak to that kick at around 500 Hertz, just to make it pop a bit more (although that's a pretty tiny detail). I liked how you offered some structural relief at 2:40. Otherwise, it was a pretty structurally flat piece, lacking dynamic contrast and melodic development. I liked the bass a lot, though. It really helped keep the texture well-balanced and full-sounding. It was cool that you based this piece off of a Bible passage. I like the lyrics, but tbh I'm not sure the whispered/spoken lyrics did much for me. It kind of added an ominous and apprehensive mood to the piece, whereas the lyrics themselves suggest a sort of empowering process. I don't know a lot about religion, but it seemed to me like the lyrics were referring to God's lifting up the meek, and I think this would've become clearer if the piece had more empowering vocals AND had more of a direction to it. I think you could've accomplished this by increasing the emotion and intensity towards the end of the piece, leading to the ultimate conclusion of "I will live on." As it is now, what could've been an epic moment of revelation at the end kind of falls flat IMO. It was a cool idea for a piece, but you need to capture both the mightiness of God and the meekness of the human soul through a structure that ebbs and flows. Otherwise, it can be hard to keep the listener engaged. It still has a lot of potential, though, so I'd encourage you to revisit this track! I hope you found this review helpful. Keep at it, man. ;)

7/10

SoulSecure responds:

First things first, this is based on a chapter from the book of Job. J-O-B! This guy was SAD and in MISERY. He was so absolutely torn down that he wished that the day and night of his birth would be blotted out and cursed and that he would have never been born. I don't see cause for really powerful vocals or a very powerful/epic atmosphere. Solemn, serene and yet hurt, but joyous, these things describe this song's mood paired with the lyrical themes.

Lyrically speaking the most powerful part is the chorus which is why it is the most powerful sounding part. Understanding your own standing with Christ, that your old self is dead, that when you die you will immediately be with the Father and later you will literally be physically resurrected and live forever as if you were a tree and you were cut down to sprout anew. This is all affirmed (in context) within the chorus.

Sorry if you didn't get it, but this is my style. I don't do things to please others, but to please the LORD my God. This is my ministry.

I'd also suggest you do not critique lyrical themes you do not understand.

[Melancholy]

I like the distorted effects at the beginning and the vocal samples. May I ask where you got those samples from? I think it progresses a little slowly, but I love the unique sound you were going for here, and you communicated this sort of apprehensive, yet also relaxed mood really well. I felt like you could've done a lot more with this structurally, though, which is really quite a shame because the sound design here is really creative. I wanted to see some sort of melodic development or dynamic contrast. As it is, it's very repetitive and ends way too suddenly. You really needed to build off of this more. It's a unique idea, but as a stand-alone piece it's quite directionless. At first, I even thought you intended for it to be a loop because it ended so suddenly. While I think this needs a lot of work, I'm also begging you to expand upon these themes more because it has a lot of potential. You also kept it pretty low-key throughout, whereas I'd rather see this track explode into an awesome melody and come in with all these glitchy effects. You have to really SELL content like this to make it work, Pandasticality. Otherwise, it's not going to keep the listener's attention, I'm afraid. I hope this review helped. Keep working at it, man! ;)

6.5/10

Pandasticality responds:

i agree with you, i did say this song wont get me anywhere but its what i felt like doing, the vocal sample is from "Lissie - Pursuit of Happiness"

thanks for the review.
- Pandasticality

[Tales of the Brave]

I like the energetic, yet somehow sad vibe the beginning had. The drums and strings both add interesting elements to the piece. I love how you combine both longing/melancholy and adventure. The drums were interesting. I liked how you used a stick/clave-like sound almost as a fill-in for a hi-hat. I suppose my biggest problem with this piece, in fact, is the ending. It's not that it was bad or sudden or anything, but it seemed just kind of...well...lazy, to be frank. It sounded like a half-rushed fade-out, almost as if you didn't want the listener to realize that it had faded out, haha. I also think there are slight balance issues. The drums are a little quiet, which is especially noticeable at 1:53. I think it would've been a good idea to make the drums quiet when they first come in at :14 and gradually increase their volume until :39, just to add to the drama. You capitalized on opportunities to display emotion in this piece, but perhaps not the drama. You used a lot of reverb on everything, which kind of smoothed out the texture of the piece in places where I wanted it to cut right through me, you know? Example: the strings at 1:13 sound a bit passive, while the piano melody there is obviously beautiful. I would suggest adding volume automations/filters so that the strings start sounding sharper towards the end of the mini-phrases at 1:13, and then there's a subito piano every 4 bars or so. That would also help you lead into 1:53 better, btw. This is clearly a tiny detail, though, because (as I said) there isn't a lot to fix in this piece. The samples and production are both high-quality, and I really like the various moods you've created here. Great job, LunyAlex! Keep it up, man. ;D

8.75/10

LunyAlex responds:

> 4 year late reply

Thank you very much for the detailed review back then. I read it, noted the critique and took the nice words to heart.

Sorry I didn't reply back then but I wasn't in the right mindset at times and life kept getting in the way.

Now I'm trying to fill in the gaps, haha.

Cheers again!