TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Punch Drunk]

I like the guitar riff at the beginning and the sort of oom-pah sort of beat it has. Sometimes, the chords clash a bit. This is a very distorted and ominous sound you have here, especially with the bass at 1:15. I liked the ending, and it also doesn't make that bad of a loop. I think that, stylistically speaking, you took some risks with this piece (especially with the atonality), but it still felt a little minimalistic. You don't really have any predominant melodies or structural relief in this piece. I like what you did with the drums, though. At the same time, I'm not sure how I feel about the way the guitar sort of pulses back and forth in the mix - maybe you could get rid of some more of those treble tones so it doesn't come across as harsh-sounding? Besides that, though, the mixing and mastering is rather good; I can hear everything clearly throughout. I still wanted to see you go more of somewhere with this piece, maybe building off of the melodic riff you had at the very beginning. It seems like it would be more fitting as background music than as a stand-alone piece. Still, this is creative and interesting work and I commend you for it. Keep at it, IndustryStandard. ;)

7.5/10

IndustryStandard responds:

Thanks for the advice! I'm glad to hear that the mixing/mastering came out well because that's something I'm just getting the hang of right now so it's good to know I'm on the right track. I probably won't do any more work on this song, at least not anytime soon, but all your points are definitely good things to keep in mind for future pieces for sure. i have a habit of writing one riff and then just rolling with that but it's about time i started expanding on that i think. Also, though, you said this would work as a background piece better than a stand alone song, and that's pretty much exactly my goal for this song - and most of my music, at least as far as IndustryStandard is concerned. I want to make video game music. But anyway, good advice and thanks for the review!

[Pulse Sketch 2]

The synth at the beginning was cool, and I liked how you used a fair bit of reverb. The reverb really gave it a nice, atmospheric vibe. It progresses extremely slowly, though. That synth that comes in at :28 is way too high-pitched and harsh-sounding. I think you need to a) transpose it down an octave and b) add a volume automation and fade it in so that it's not such a shock at :28. You had some nice melodies, harmonies, and progressions in here, but this is an EXTREMELY long piece considering you have only 2 instruments and very little structural variety. It was hard to discern any distinct, repeated sections of the piece because of the lack of transitory material (which, of course, is rendered sort of unnecessary because, again, you only have 2 instruments in the track). I liked how you started to do something different (more upbeat, etc.), at around the 5-minute mark, yet at the same time the first 5 minutes and the last 2.5 minutes sound like two completely different songs! I think you needed some drums at the very least to move the song forward a bit and also to add some energy. It barely keeps my attention at times because, besides the progression, barely anything changes. In a piece this long, you NEED some dynamic contrast, melodic development, and also you need to build on the texture of the piece as it progresses (by which I essentially mean that you should add more instruments!). Again, I admire your sense of harmony and progression, but you also need to be concise! I usually think it's much more admirable when even a short piece can tug at my emotions than when a long piece can keep me engaged. If I were you, I would take the last 2.5 minutes of this piece, add some drums, pads, harmonies, and effects, and try to turn it into its own piece with all the twists and turns a proper piece should have. As ending credits for a videogame, this piece would work well, but as a stand-alone piece, it just didn't have all the twists and turns I was looking for. Keep working at it, Gruber99! ;)

5/10

gruber99 responds:

Hey thanks for your comments!
The point of the piece was to create a full length composition, with multiple movements, with very minimal materials. No drums or pads allowed! Just 2 channels and 2 pulse waves. Composing this way poses some interesting challenges. Have you ever tried it? Would love to hear what you come up with!

[Chord Play]

I like the instruments and somewhat mysterious mood at the beginning. The beat was cool, and I like the melodies at around :50. You overuse the transition with the crash a lot. It also doesn't really loop that well, and has a rather bare and minimalistic texture throughout. This was a cool idea for a track that you could've done a lot more with, but you didn't. You have the same simple chord progression playing for the entire piece, only varying the instrument you use with it once. This also isn't a structurally complete piece IMO. You need climaxes, bridges, breakdowns, re-intros, or at least a moment of structural relief. It's a pretty good start, but I have a feeling you didn't really display your entire skillset as best you could here. Next time, I'd encourage you to take some risks with your music-making! Hope this review helped. Keep at it, man. ;)

5/10

g4ebguyGT responds:

lol yeh for making it in 10 mins it is ruff isn't it.

[Freeway]

I like the pads at the beginning, but the chord progression is a little cliché. It's not immediately clear how the synth that fades in starting at :08 compliments the pads harmonically. The part at :36 is better, though. It's melodic and upbeat and cute. You also used crashes effectively to transition between the various sections of this piece. The part at 1:04 sounded like you simply repeated the crash while decreasing the volume. Instead, I would suggest using an echo "Ping-Pong" effect and increasing the reverb. I appreciated the variation you offered at 1:56, as this piece was starting to get a little repetitive. I didn't think it needed to be almost 4 minutes long. The refrain plays a lot. Still, it's a structurally satisfying and smooth-flowing piece. I liked the crowd cheering FX at 3:26, but it came as a bit of a surprise so I think you should also use it earlier in the piece. It's rarely beneficial to introduce new sounds during the last 20 seconds of a track. However, the crowd cheering FX did give the piece a rather conclusive feel. I also think this piece is not the most unique - I've heard a lot of upbeat techno just from judging this competition - but I admire your effort at melodic development, dynamic contrast and progression. The mixing isn't bad, either. Keep up the good work, FoxyThePirateFoxPL. ;)

7.5/10

FoxyThePirateFoxPL responds:

Well, thanks!
:)

[Shadow Play]

I like the energy at the beginning and the cute synths. I think you needed a smoother transition at :08. It was kind of confusing with the arpeggios at :06 because it doesn't sound like the transition at :08 occurs on a downbeat (even though it probably does). The bass was also way too loud, and I think you overused those crashes at :28. Maybe it would've been appropriate to fill the texture with some sort of closed hat, but the full-on huge sound produced by the crash is a bit overwhelming. At the same time, you needed the crashes in some other places to help smooth over some of your transitions, like at 2:06. I enjoyed the frantic and energetic nature of this piece, though, as well as the upbeat mood. There were quite a few clashing chords at around :50, but I think that section works well to channel the mood of the piece in a way. It sounds like it'd be good for a videogame. I can discern the structural elements of this piece pretty well, but I still think you should've provided a bit more relief and dynamic contrast. I think my favorite part was at 2:06 - it's very groovy. ;) Overall, I think this is a cool idea for a track that's just a little rough around the edges. Keep up the good work, Frootza. ^^

frootza responds:

Thanks for the review TL. Yeah the :08 mark occurs on the 1 of the beat. The closed hat at :28 wouldn't have created the kind of rhythmic counterpoint I was looking for here, so the crash was actually vital to the mood since it is the "rock out hard, keyboard solo is here" section. The clashing chords you are referring to at :50 is just a really basic example of chromatic diminished dissonance building up to the chorus at 1:01

Unfortunately the intro was actually musical satire, but it's alright that you didn't pick up on it. Just showing how some really basic and dull 8-bit ideas can be fleshed out into something that pops.

This isn't actually music for a video game and more than likely won't be featured in one, but for one of my live bands, in this particular ensemble I play bass and write the arrangements and we have two keys and a drummer.

Just to briefly elaborate again. If there was a crash at 2:06, even if it was closed by hand, would not allow the high hats which are holding quarter notes to be heard, which is what actually makes the Latin rhythm stand out in this instance. The crash would ring out for approximately an entire measure, so the drummer would have to STOMP the floor pedal, or hit it with the stick. Since the groove evolves into the intricate cowbell groove, it just does not make sense to utilize the crash in that manner. Prior to the groove, the high hat is playing, and unless the drummer has a rock crash, that move would be extremely difficult to pull off.

Thanks for the comments, again. I hope that you continue your musical studies so that you get a better understanding of music written for live ensembles, harmony and counterpoint. :)

[Orbital Crises]

The synth at the beginning had a cool melody, but the instrument itself was rather high-pitched and harsh-sounding. I think you should transpose that down an octave. I thought a lot of your other instruments were quirky and maybe even bizarre. This track is missing a lot of bass tones, though. You have a kick in there, but no other bass lines to keep the chords grounded. It seems rather pizzicato-based, which isn't that bad in and of itself, but with such a fast-paced and variational track such as you have here, it can be hard to follow the progression sometimes. I like the mood a lot, though, as well as a lot of the isolated riffs. You have a good sense of rhythm and harmony. I liked the ending, although the last note was a bit too dry to be quite...well...conclusive enough. Sounds like you need some reverb and/or echo effects in there, just to give it that extra finishing touch. I admire your ability to dabble across genres with this one, though. It's very unique and creative. It's not the most coherent piece, though, which, again, makes it a bit structurally confusing. You change up the beat and the melody a lot, for example. Still, a couple of easy fixes would make this piece a lot better: again, transposing some of the rather so-high-they're-in-your-face melodies down an octave. Also, I think you needed more bass tones in this piece, but the sub-bass you bring in at 2:08 for maybe 20 seconds is still too loud. XD I would recommend adjusting the volume levels on your instruments while wearing headphones - that might help you fix some balancing issues as well. The mixing, however, was overall rather solid. Very interesting piece here, Dubwolfer. Keep up the good work! ;D

8/10

Dubwolfer responds:

Oh thank you so much for the feedback! I see exactly what you are saying and will try to tweak it a bit.

A quick note, I'm actually currently producing with an iPhone app called Beatwave, because currently it's really all I have legal access to. But, like always, no matter what I use my goal will be to try and show that money doesn't indicate quality, and if you try hard enough you can make something of equal or even greater value than even the big boys in the industry.

:) This was super helpful I'll see if I can record it again with this in mind.

[Tides of Time]

I like the FX of the waves crashing. The piano had a beautiful, emotional quality to it that was only heightened by reverb. Same thing with the cello. The progression is absolutely beautiful, and while it is rather simplistic, the simplicity adds such a human quality to it that I absolutely love. The mixing is rather solid, although perhaps it's hard to screw up the mix when there are only 2 instruments playing at a time. It had enough coherence to make it structurally pleasing, yet enough variation to keep me engaged. It was strangely open-ended and conclusive at the same time, like the ambiguous last line of a novel that you know your English teacher is going to rant about in class the next day. Amazing job again with the progression and harmonies. This piece tugs at my emotions just like the moon does on the oceans. ;) Keep up the fantastic work, DSykMusic! ^^

9/10

DSykMusic responds:

Thanks so much! I'll aim to keep up the fantastic work :)

[Archangel Assault GD]

I like the energy and progression right off the bat. I thought the claps at :26 were a bit too quiet, though. I think you need to try to heighten the drama during the first minute or so by creating a massive crescendo instead of starting the piece with those bass synths roaring. Otherwise, a full minute of content with flat dynamics that fails to introduce new instruments won't keep my engagement that well. The part at 1:01, which is both more upbeat and more melodic, was interesting. It seems that the melodies are very up-front in the mix throughout compared to the lower pads and drums, though. That may have been a mistake, especially since such a long piece demands better harmonic support. The texture seems full, probably mostly because of reverb and generally good mastering, but it still needs some more going on besides one instrument dominating the mix for the entire piece in order to stay entertaining. I like the progression, but it just needs more structural relief - a bridge or breakdown or re-intro or something that will sort of serve as a reset button for the emotional quality of the track. I also thought that the ending was a bit rushed. With a track like this, I might suggest using tempo automations to gradually slow the piece down during the last 10 seconds. That's usually a good way of leading into an ending a bit more. Also, the last note should usually be on the tonic. Still, it's a fun and energetic track with some cool instruments and harmonies. Keep at it, DocterOreo! ;)

7.5/10

DocterOreo responds:

Hmm i felt like i needed something like that
lets just say my next song is a huge rival of
this one

no one has been able to say which one is better

but anyways thanks for the review

[Through Darkness]

I like the atmospheric pads at the beginning. This piece progresses really slowly though, especially for such a short track. The kick had a lot of higher tones for a bass drum - I think you should've Equalized that a bit more carefully. My main problem with this piece, though, is that it seems very safe. There are some cool sweeps and harmonies and stuff, but you could've done so much more with this. I feel like this should be a roaring, 5-minute long piece with tones of quiet tension and drama that eventually explode into epicness, but instead it's a 2-minute skeleton of a track that seems like it's unfinished. The piece cuts off really suddenly, which I would've excused if it looped well (but it doesn't). The mixing is solid, and, as I said, the instruments and harmonies are cool. However, I'm getting the sense that you didn't really show off your skill set at its true potential here. I want you to aim for a fuller texture with more effects, engaging melodies and harmonies and, well, generally riskier things! Overall, this track is cool but also relatively bland. I'd love to see you really go all-out with it next time! Keep at it, DJmadalrian. ;)

7/10

DJmadalrian responds:

Thanks I will keep working at it!

you are right its not finished I have a bad habit of working on a song for weeks then never finishing it and scrapping it, so I am forcing my self to just throw things out :)