TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Inside an Eye]

Okay, I love the atmosphere and instruments and chord progression. It has an interesting sense of mystery and wonder to it, yet also a mechanical feel with the percussion. It's as if a child was able to take a one-way trip to Santa's workshop. 0_O Loops well, too! Great job LSD! ^^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks TD6!
I can see what you mean about the kid in Santa's workshop :D
I didn't have time to respond to your message yesterday (friends came over, we partied, got drunk, went to a pub, got even more drunk XD).
However, I'm doing it now, live, so expect it within the hour ;)

[~SW and CS~ Cranial]

Okay, guys, this is just such a freaking awesome track. I love the atmosphere and the beat and the synths. That melody instrument at :24 was awesome - soothing, yet also strangely sci-fi-esque. I love how you use that string of arpeggios at :54 as a transition. I love the structure as well, and the mood is at various times hypnotic, relaxing, apprehensive, and intense. You know I love that drop at 1:55 (how could one not?), and the panning at 2:13 was a nice touch. At times I think you could've done a little more with it, and the ending might've been a bit lazy, but all things considered I just adore the interesting combination of moods and all. Keep up the great work! I favorited you both; just forgot to leave a review. ;D

SkyeWint responds:

Good evening, sir!

The instrument at 0:24 is a theremin! It's a cool instrument which is arguably the first "synth" ever made. Kinda.

The arps are cool, camo really did a nice job coming up with them! :D

The drop was basically me trying to come up with a drop-like sound which isn't entirely cliched and overused. ...also, a generic drop just plain wouldn't fit the track.

Absolutely could have done a bit more with the dubby things and the ending. Couldn't come up with a better ending over the course of several days though, sadly. :<

Thanks for remembering the review! :D

[Icicle Rain]

Another short 'n' sweet one. I love the vibe the contemplative and high-pitched piano gives - very spacey with the reverb and beautiful. It's light, yet very sad in a way. It describes the quiet and mysterious beauty of icicles perfectly, and I also sense the theme of passing time. I suppose icicles take a while to form, though...Beautiful piece. Keep up the great work, LSD! ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Whoah, I'm so surprised for all the positive critique I've gotten for this song so far o.O
I like the vibraphone myself, at least in music where it fits well :D
I think I tried to write something mysterious when I wrote this. I imagined something ice-cavey with icicles that fell from the roof and created cold sounds (somehow, I still remember this...)
As much of my music, the style of this composition/improv is hugely inspired by all the FF games :p
Thanks for the review.

I'll leave a review for your latest upload, whenever I get time XD!!! (I like it!)

[Orchestration]

How did I miss this one? This is beautiful! I love the bright, upbeat piano and progression. Maybe it could've used some more dynamic contrast, but I love the sense of direction it has nonetheless. It's very flow-y and light. It would be great for a videogame if you looped it. I can hear the sense of adventure, yet it's also cutesy in a way. Animated knights headed off to save the damsel in distress. XD Anyway, keep it up LSD! Did you see my PM btw?

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I've been missing a lot of stuff lately too, as I can mostly be active on weekends :p
I'm glad that so many people seem to like this piece, even if the quality is not the best :D
You're not the only one who thinks I should loop it. Maybe I'll remake it as a loop with better stuff one day?
I like your visualisation, as usually XD

I did read your PM! I didn't have time to respond this weekend though :(
I'll try to do my best, and respond this weekend, as I should have enough time :)

[Everlasting Rain]

You're welcome! Review time: so, I like the mood and instruments at the beginning. You definitely leave a lot of room for contrast for yourself, and while it is very climactic, it also progresses a little slowly. I wish there was something a little more memorable melodically going on for the first couple of minutes. The riff at 1:27 was rather good, though, and I liked that subtle bass groove going on in the background throughout the breakdown there. The way you transition back into the "high-point" at 2:14 is good. The ending is really rocking it, giving it a good sense of direction throughout. This is also a good length for this kind of track, I think. I like the way you ended it, too, by bringing it full-circle with that lighter guitar. Although I usually think fade-out endings are rather boring and uncreative, I thought it worked pretty well here. Nice work Rainheart666787! Keep up the good work! ;D

8.75/10

rainheart666787 responds:

Thank you for the review and the opportunity to get my music out there. I will take these points on board and I agree with what you have said. Good luck with the rest of the competition and thank you again.

[Spring Surge]

Haha, it's quirky and cute! I like it. The slow tempo gives the beginning a charming and almost comical feel. I can picture a videogame character strolling down the road, a beautiful morning in his animated world. :') I like the melodies and harmonies, and while the beat was rather simple, it helps move this piece along rather well. I appreciated the more energetic phrases, such as 1:55, if only for the variety. The chord progression may have been a little cliché and the melodies rather simple, but I think it has a really fun character to it, and would definitely be good for a videogame. I love the sense of direction this has going into 2:55, another high point of the piece. The ending was also rather fitting and cute. Great job! Perhaps you can up the tempo just a little bit, as 4 minutes was a little long to sit through a piece this slow and a little simple at times, but overall excellent work! Keep it up, LunacyEcho! ;D

8.5/10

LunacyEcho responds:

Hi, TheDoor!

=> video game character imagery =>

That sounds nice! I'm pretty bad at creating images like that from music myself. :P

=> simple beat =>

My drums beats aren't really complicated. Ironic, since I'm a drummer. I guess it's because when I write music, I focus so much on composing melodic instruments that I get used to the placeholder drums. I wonder if there's a way to change that?

=> energetic phrases =>

The song sort of goes through a relaxed-energetic-relaxed-energetic thing, doesn't it? I find that adding energetic or calm phrases helps the song move along better.

=> cliché chord progression and simple melodies =>

I was trying to make a really LunacyEcho-esque song. What else would you expect? :D

=> sense of direction =>

I guess it could be seen as a journey rather than a transition. :)

=> ending =>

I'm really glad you all liked it! It made me laugh, so I put it in.

=> up the tempo =>

Well, the majority of the song was supposed to be at a pretty relaxed pace, (94 bpm), and I feel a tempo change to one of the faster parts of the song really disrupts its flow, so I tried making the tempo a balance of relaxing enough to play the opening stuff at but exciting enough to play the ending stuff at. I probably could make it a bit faster. :P

Thanks a lot for the review and thanks so much for hosting the NGAUC!

[Primal Time]

I like the mysterious mood at the beginning. The beat is quirky and cool, and the instruments add to that effect. The saw-bass that pops in occasionally also adds to it considerably in my opinion. I think it could've progressed a little faster, although I appreciated that transition moment at 1:13 and the corresponding minimalistic drop. It sort of has this quiet energy and personality to it which I really liked. I'm not sure the vocals at 1:25 really worked for me, though. I feel like a simple bass slide or something would've done the job of transitioning into the drop there. It almost sounds like trap given the beat. I like how you really make the piece come full-circle at 2:23. The ending was a little lack-luster IMO. Maybe you could even make it loop. I think a lot of people don't really like this kind of music because they don't think it's good for neither dancing nor simply listening to, but I personally think this is good for both. This is a stand-out piece in this competition, whether that's good or bad. XD Very interesting work, my friend. You took a real risk with this one, but I hope it pays off because I like it. Keep it up, man! ;D

8.5/10

JoshuaHughes responds:

Thanks for the kind and constructive words, dude! I feel like I've learned a lot since making this and participating in the contest.