TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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.

[Recharge {Dj-Abbic}]

Ooo...very catchy and cool! I love the breaks right off the bat! It's extremely engaging, and it really makes me want to get up and dance. :D I love how you oscillate between energetic and chill, and that melody at :46 is cool. You really create a lot of space for contrast for yourself, and it's very smooth-flowing and well-structured. That melody at 1:47 also really got my attention. The melodic and harmonic content is just excellent, and it always has an excellent sense of direction about it! Nice job with the part at 2:11 as well. The breaks at 2:49 are awesome. You really went all-out with this one and took huge risks, and they all paid off! The mixing is fantastic, and I even really liked how you ended it with that sort of ominous melody. Submissions like this are easy to score: not only am I giving you a 9.5/10, I'm also instantly fav'ing and DL'ing this (the only time I've INSTANTLY done that for any track in this competition). Keep up the excellent work, Djabbic. I do believe that you, sir, have just landed yourself a spot in the final round of this competition! >:D

9.5/10

DjAbbic responds:

That comment about creating space for contrast is quite interesting, as my brother always complains that he enjoys the chill parts but can't enjoy the energetic parts :D.

It's good to hear you liked the melody, as that was the main part of the song which propelled me to finishing it within 10 hours. The ending is also something that I quite like, as it is something I've never tried before, but I guess it worked out in the end.

Glad to hear you liked it so much :D. I'll try my best to top this for the next round.

[Slow Me]

I like the powerful chords at the beginning and the warm mood. The saxophone was a nice touch. It really adds to the chill, yet also quirky mood. I think it may have progressed a little slowly, at least for the first couple of minutes or so, but the part at 1:19 really did something for me. I think it was nice how you found a way to contribute to that chord progression meaningfully. It is a little minimalistic for most of the track, though. There are a couple of transitions that may just need a sweep or crash or something to make this flow as smoothly as the chords, 2:10 for example. I think the lack of fill is somewhat made up for by the mood and interesting structure you have here, and I like the pulsing riser/effect that begins at around 2:34. The breakdown that occurred just after the 3-minute mark also added some structural relief, and I like how you have that re-intro before the variations at 3:55. That said, I don't think this piece needed to be 6 minutes long. It struggle to hold my attention for that long, as most of it consists of variations on one rather simple chord progression. I think you could've even just looped it off at 3:29 and it would've gotten the job done. It does have an interesting sense of direction about it, though, but perhaps I would've liked to see a little more melodic and harmonic development. An interesting piece, and great for just chilling to, but stand-alone I'd say it needs to be a little less...bare and repetitive. Good job with the mixing, instruments, effects, and structuring though! Keep at it, Birdinator99. ;D

7.5/10

Birdinator99 responds:

Chill! I love that word -- glad I'm falling in that category. It's really my jam, honestly. Everyone needs to relax, so why not put it to music?

I enjoy the minimalistic transition at 2:10. I'll have to disagree with you there. The rising effect at 2:34 is great for thickening up that section -- makes it more intense, you know?

The repetitive nature of the song is something I anticipated judges to take issue with. I wanted to challenge myself to think about layering sounds more to maintain listener interest, while using the same chords the whole time. I wouldn't want to make this a loop, but yeah I could have ended it halfway. I felt like I had to more to say, though. I wanted to bring back the alto sax, but to do so before 3:29 might've been too soon.

If I could do it again, I might add a melody, but I would keep the length overall. It doesn't feel "bare" to me, but this kind of stuff isn't exactly crowd-pleasing, so it might feel bare compared to other genres you like.

Glad you liked it for the most part. Thanks for judging AND hosting!

Take care!