TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Vega]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning, and how you gradually use the kick as a sort of build-up into :23. As with most of your tracks, it's pretty repetitive and progresses rather slowly, but at least it's not quite as long as some of them. I enjoyed the riser that started at 1:18, as well as the uncharacteristically heavy drop for you at 1:29. The mastering was, in fact, rather good, as you alluded to in the description. I thought the drums were a bit loud, which is especially noticeable during the breakdown section between 2:15 and 3:00. Perhaps in order to heighten the contrast between the drop at 3:20 and that breakdown section, you should make the snare a bit softer and drier and gradually crank up the reverb before the drop (this coming from someone who has little experience making music of this genre himself). I love the echo effects at 5:08, though. They really give the piece that last touch of mystery before the final fade-out. Overall, great job! I think you should continue to push the boundaries of this genre and others as well for the good of your music career. This is a stand-out track amidst your other recent ones. Nice job! ^^

SynchroSpectre responds:

Yea it is different from my other tracks; I might get into this kind of DnB a little more. I wanted to try something different and I'm glad that you enjoyed that.

I'll keep doing what I do, thanks for following ;)

[La Valse D'Amelie (Cover)]

I like the slow tempo and pensive mood at the beginning. The pacing in this piece is very good. I like how the energy picks up around :45. I can see an old ballroom, and a couple dancing (slowly at first, then faster as their passion grows). It is a bit minimalistic compared to some of your other tracks, but still very pretty and flowy (as almost all of your piano solos are). Seeing as this is a cover, I can't exactly give you points for originality, but I like how you brought it full circle at the end with the slow dance again. Solid transition at 2:32. Anyway, keep up the good work, LSD! ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hi again! :D
I'm glad you like the tempo and pacing. I've told you a million times, but I like it when you share your visuals XD

And yeah. The reason this seems minimalistic, is because the arrangement is not mine. And even if it was, there's not much to add to this piece; there's not enough room nor time for the fingers to move much, unless you want some really weird harmonics :3

A cover can be original, but this one, surely is not. It's great that 2:32 worked! I always play it like that :D

Thanks again ;)

[Sabrepulse Horizons Remix]

Okay, totally missed this one because AP exams. DX Anyway, now that that's over, this is awesome! :D I love the intro, and it's somehow dreamy and energetic at the same time. One thing I think you should work on is making your transitions less sudden, like at :47. I love the somewhat clashing chords at 1:45. The drop at 2:28 is just freaking awesome, though. I have to say, though, I think you've used that riser (or at least the same instrument) that builds up to 2:28 before. ಠ_ಠ Still, I love the quirky synths that pop back in around 3:37, and how you incessantly switch up the mood of the piece. The structuring and progression of this piece is amazing, and I don't even mind that it's almost 7 minutes long (which is not something I say too often, trust me)! :D Good use of repetition later on in the piece, too, and that drop just releases a wave of euphoria! :O Those cute little arpeggios at 6:25 were a simple, yet perhaps fitting, way to end the piece. Overall, awesome job! How could I possibly resist downloading this if it's free? :D Hope college is going well for you, and I'm looking forward to hearing more of your stuff this summer! ^_^

Lockyn responds:

Thank you so much for the detailed review TL! I'm glad you enjoyed it and that you downloaded it :D Thank you thank you, and good luck with college yourself!

[Winterscape - MusicBoxx]

Haha, I like the distorted beginning and the slow, dreamy tempo it has. It almost sounds like it's from a flashback to one's childhood - a lost memory somehow reignited by a fleeting moment in old age. I see a little girl holding the music box for the first time in wonder, and watching the ballerina in the middle spin in an incessant dance, and then the old woman tearing up as she realizes it's still in her attic somewhere, long since broken, but not forgotten. Sorry, I got carried away there. I think you already know that the mixing/recording quality wasn't great, but other than that, it's a beautiful melody played on a beautiful instrument. :')

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Yeah, I got the tempo pretty much like I wanted, even though I'd have liked it to be even more stable. But it's not easy to crank it at a steady pace!

I think that solo music boxes always give a great atmospheric feel, be it horror, sadness, or like you said, just a memory. And whoah! That's quite the vivid picture you shared there! A pretty nice, and short story.

As for the mixing and recording, this was more of a quick test run :3

Thanks for leaving this review! You're almost at the present... But boy, do I have a surprise for you and the others tomorrow >:D

[Insting]

Yeah! I love the melody and instruments. The filters you put on the melody really give it this cycle of life and death, if you know what I mean. Still, that cycle makes the piece really interesting, even if it's really short. It loops well, and I like that sweep you have at the beginning. The mixing is pretty good, and overall I think this piece has a lot of potential. You should do more with this! You could have an epic electro banger here. ;D Keep at it, man! ^^

fayyn responds:

thanks mate! I have many unfinished projects like this one, I just never feel like finishing them because im happy with what they are now :)

[groovin while breaking laws]

I love the rapid, flowy arpeggios at the beginning. The bass is roaring (which probably means it's too loud)! Otherwise, really catchy stuff. Classic Johnfn-style track, melodramatic crashes and all. ;) This is well-structured, smooth-flowing, and overall a really fun track. I thought you did a good job of making it coherent, yet with enough variety to keep my attention. It loops really well, and I loved how the synth roll starts at 2:45 and finishes at :02! ^_^ Your tracks seem simple on the surface, yet have this really complex and full-sounding texture to them that's just delicious! I love it! Keep up the inspiring work, Johnfn. ;D

johnfn responds:

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TOO LOUD BASS THEDOOR. Unless it makes the drums quieter, then it's probably too loud, I GUESS.

Well whatever. I'm still glad you liked it :P

[Mrs. Robinson (Singalong)]

I love the natural, old-fashioned country vibe here. Given the title, I'm not sure if this is a cover or what, but I loved the lyrics and general mood/themes. It's mellow and flowy, yet very engaging and fun. Almost seems like an audio recording of one of those people who come in and entertain during kids' birthdays by singing silly, feel-good songs. :) Not sure what else to add...it may be a tad dry, but to solve that "issue" would be to take away from the natural campfire-like atmosphere of it. Also, Step, the mix is so clear that it's like I'm right there at the campfire playing shakers along to the beat! XD Nice work everyone. Keep up the good work. ;D

Step responds:

You are making it your mission to review all my recent uploads haha. Always love your reviews.

Super glad you liked this. It is indeed a cover. The dryness might be an issue... I'm not very good at calculating reverb on real-life instruments. I did add some reverb but I never really liked the wishy-washy sound that reverb gave to vocals. We'll be submitting a Summer of 69 cover very very soon - maybe I fixed the reverb in that one. That said, I'm super relieved you think the mix is clear!

Thanks again for the review. c:

[Quirky Stroll]

Definitely quirky...and videogame-y! I like the cute synths and melodies. In fact, the melody at :16 probably almost had too much reverb given the genre. However, structurally speaking, it doesn't change that much until :47. Especially since this is such a short piece, I think the drums and bass should've come in much earlier. Still, I admire your sense of harmony here, and, admittedly, when the drums and bass DID come in, it sounded pretty cool. ;) Nice job with the melody at 1:18, too, but I thought that instrument was a bit too loud and/or in-your-face. Maybe you should've EQ'd out some of the high-toned end of the Equalizer? Idk...it's hard to pinpoint exactly what I didn't like about the synth. Maybe it was the instrument itself, in fact. Overall, though, I love the moods and rhythms and melodies here. Loops flawlessly. Well done, LunacyEcho! ^^

LunacyEcho responds:

=> melody at :16 =>

If any melody were to be complained about for having too much reverb, I would've thought it'd be the one at 1:02! I can see what you mean, though. In hindsight, I should've picked a better synth - the muted-ness gets old after a while.

=> structurally short =>

But if the drums come in earlier, the piece would be even shorter! Although to be honest, I'm surprised it cracked 2:00 in the way it did. Yeah, the drums should've come earlier, but I really liked where I was going with the solo!

=> 1:18 =>

You know, that's the same synth as 0:16. It really is getting old, isn't it? :P

=> loops flawlessly =>

Interestingly, different softwares have different looping mechanisms, so a song that loops flawlessly on Newgrounds might not do so on iTunes or some other website. There are two solutions: only write ambient music, or upload to as few websites as possible. :D

Thanks for the review! And thanks so much for spending such a long time reviewing everything after your exams! Have fun in college!

[Mad Microphone Test]

Lovely piano-playing, as always! :D Don't worry - I'm not going to leave. Not even close. It's kind of funny how when most people sing in English, even if they're from the U.K., Australia, etc., I usually can't tell the difference between their voice and that of an American, yet I can sort of tell you're a European by your singing voice, which is cool. Anyway, I don't think the singing was nearly as bad as you made it out to be in the description. As a pianist, you naturally have a superb since of pitch accuracy. The main thing that made the vocals sound less-than-superb for me was that they wavered a lot, especially whenever you changed notes. Maybe some breathing exercises would help? Another thing is that you might've just been nervous when you recorded this, or you just didn't warm up. Still, I think your voice wouldn't waver as much if you were more confident in your singing ability. Did you practice at all? It helps to hear that you can sing it well before you record it. :) Anyway, I definitely admire your ability to play the piano and sing at the same time. I could not play the cello and sing at the same time...ever. XD I'd love to hear more songs with vocals from you, LSD! Keep it up! ^^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I chose this song because the piano playing is actually pretty easy, luckily. I just can't play something complicated while trying to sing :p

Yeah, in this song it's pretty easy to tell that I'm European. But I can sing just like your avarage American too, if I want to :p I wasn't aiming for any specific accent here, which is probably why it gets a bit messed up in such regards. The redneck version that I didn't upload though!

Well, you say I've got good pitch, but then you notice that I'm actually playing the melody with the piano as well, in order not to stray away XD
Partly, that's so that I can play the rhythm more easily, of course.
My pitch hearing is unusually bad for a pianist though, probably because I barely ever practice that :(

I DID waver a lot. Partly, it's because I had the microphone pretty close both times, so I couldn't sing too loudly, or it'd clip. But I needed to have the microphono on a high volume-receiving (whatever) level, so that it'd catch the piano too :/

And I definitely would need breathing excersises too! I have a weird form of asthma, which may or may not impact, but either way, I've got pretty weak lungs :p
I didn't really warm up either though, and this is definitely not the song that I know best. The problem is, I'm horrible when it comes to remembering lyrics D:
So I only know like 10 songs or so by heart, while I know snippets of thousands XD

I wish I could play much more complicated things on the piano while singing. And you shouldn't worry! I can't play the Cello at all ;)
I aslo wish that I'd find a time and place to practice singing... By myself and online tutorials, like I learn most things. But we have paper thin walls here :/

You'll probably have to wait a while before hearing more songs with vocals though!

And wow, you're really wuick at this! You almost caught up already, somehow 0.o
Only three tracks more to go.

Thank you, a lot. Reading your reviews fills me with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside :3