TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Overcome]

"Outrageously catchy" --> This, I can confirm! I really like the progression of this piece, especially around :30 - :45, and the lounge jazzy vibes at :47 (and other places) added a lot to the piece. As usual, the mixing is really good. I thought that the kick could've been just a bit stronger at times, but that's a pretty tiny detail. Obviously, these are engrossing melodies, and I love the arpeggios at 2:38 (and other places). This piece has a really cool energy about it that you've really highlighted in a lot of your recent tracks. I love it! Keep up the great work, Johnfn. ;D Looking forward to hearing your NGADM track. ^^

johnfn responds:

Just wait until you hear my NGADM piece its EVEN CATCHIER HA HA HA HA HA

[Radiant Palace]

I like the heroic and adventuresome vibe this has. It's definitely fitting for a videogame - full of variety and little riffs that really make it great. It could've used some stronger transitional content IMO, especially at :37 and 1:15. It's coherent enough without being overly repetitive. It has a full texture and a well-built atmosphere to it. It's also structurally pleasing, although the ending was a bit sudden. Are you intending to loop it? Overall, this is a cool piece. Keep up the good work, man! ;D

carhondalet responds:

Thanks for the review, I found it very helpful! When you say stronger do you mean adding more interesting melodies or more instruments? I was intending to loop it for a game although I'm not exactly how or if that can be done in FLStudio but I suppose I could make a proper ending seeing as it presented as a standalone song here. Thanks again for your input man! :D

[The Infinite Cosmos]

I like the edgy sound here. There are a lot of catchy, engaging guitar riffs, and the progression is really cool. The lyrics are good, but the pacing on the vocals seemed kind of strange. The vocals have a very similar intensity between the verses and the chorus, which makes them a little hard to distinguish from each other. You also could've done more with dynamic contrast in that regard. I love the solos at around 2:15, though. The ending could've been a little less sudden. It almost sounds like you cut the recording off a little too early. Instead of ending this rather intense track on a staccato-y bass guitar riff, I sort of expected that bass riff to lead into a more sustained final chord. That's probably a pretty tiny detail, though. Overall, this is a job well done, MetalRenard. ;D

MetalRenard responds:

The sound actually, I didn't check it on enough sources. On my phone it doesn't sound so great. On a full speaker system it sounds good though so I guess it's not all bad. ^_^

Haha! That ending. I was criticised for the ending in a previous song for ending too quickly so I thought I'd mimic the extra section from Underdogs Rise which people seemed to like. I can't win! :P

As for intensity, I wanted it to be a non-stop rollercoaster ride from start to finish, manic, exciting with only a second to breathe in the middle to build anticipation for the moment of truth - are the aliens truly peaceful or are they going to rip us to shreds... Resolved through their mutual love of music. Peace woo!

Thanks for the detailed feedback, I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment and a score, cheers buddy! Sorry for taking ages to respond.

[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