TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[soar]

It's that time of the 8 days, isn't it? :D The mood at the beginning was interesting. It was a little distorted, yet there was this epic sort of clarity to the synths and piano that just made me feel like I was floating on a cloud. I loved those riser-transitions like at 1:09. The melodies were excellent, as always, and I love the instruments as well, especially that funky one at 1:38. As usual, you incorporated the guitar very well, and the structure and transitions overall were, once again, very, very good. One complaint I have is that you seem to use very similar drums (especially snares) across tracks. Couldn't hurt to shake that up a bit in the future. The melody at 3:13 is one of my favorites, though. The glitch-y drums around 3:30 to 4:00 sound excellent. You somehow manage to make those glitch-y sounds work well in almost any piece of music, John! :D AH! That cut-off ending really got to me, though. This piece DESERVES a timely cut-off, man! Overall, though, excellent work! Antiskill is awesome, and your piece really fits the art well. Best of luck in the competition! :D Unfortunately, I don't have time to enter this year (I was considering using one of Antiskill's pieces myself), but I wouldn't be surprised if you won. ;D Keep it up, Johnfn! I wonder what April's theme will be...

johnfn responds:

> It's that time of the 8 days, isn't it?

hahaha. Actually I have another song coming out really soon which I was working on in parallel with this one (which is why I was a little more quiet than average).

> riser-transitions like at 1:09

This was really fun to do! I just took a frequency shifter and shifted the frequency of the whole track :D

> funky one at 1:38

Yeah omg I loved that synth.

> One complaint I have is that you seem to use very similar drums (especially snares) across tracks

This is actually a really good idea. The main problem is I have only downloaded like one drum library and I just keep using it haha. Will be getting some more variety in the future :)

> melody at 3:13

You have a really good ear, this was actually my favorite also. That's why I repeat it later on in the outro at 4:43 (you can usually tell how much I like a melody by how often I repeat it haha).

> That cut-off ending really got to me

Lol I'm a derp. I'm getting better at not forgetting to do this but I still do sometimes. I'd fix it except that, since I'm using the demo version of the glitch vst, I lost all my glitching data when I closed (it doesn't save) so I'd have to recreate it all :( If I update this track I'll fix this.

I don't really expect to win the competition but it was super fun to write this track :)

Thanks for the review dude!

[Winding Canyons]

I'm not sure I liked the sample you used for the brass at the beginning, and I think the pauses there didn't make it very climactic. I really liked the riff at :20, though, as well as the harmonies thereafter. I admire your ability to combine a lot of very different instruments into a very concise whole. It was sufficiently varied, and I really like the structure overall. The transition at 1:48 was very sudden, though. I love the melodies at 2:17, as well as the harmonies with the cello, which I thought was very well done! :D The chorus at 3:00 was also a highlight. It does have a cinematic feel to it by the end, but overall I could picture it as a sort of organic-sounding VGM track. I could picture it in a sort of action/adventure sort of format. I also think you could've led into the end better. Overall, though, nice work, LunacyEcho! If you stick to this 2.5-track-a-month thing, you'll get far very quickly! :D

LunacyEcho responds:

=> brass at the beginning =>

I think I layered a french horn, a trilling violin, and a cymbal roll together. I guess it didn't work that well. :P

=> sufficiently varied, structured =>

Well, at least I'm getting better in those parts. I can feel the project working...

=> sudden transition =>

Derp.

=> harmonies with the cello =>

You know, I actually had a cello on legato later in the song, but I think the harmonies you were talking about were the ones on staccato. I'm not entirely sure why, but when I was writing it, I wasn't able to do both in one track; i.e., have one part of the track be legato and another staccato. It usually works, but this time, it didn't. I'm scared of what's happening to my software. :D

=> VGM track =>

Nuuuuu wai u do dis

I was actually trying to gravitate away from video game music, which is one of the reasons my mind used to justify the different parts. :)

=> could've led into the end better =>

Yeah... After spending around half my time on the transitions in the last song, I guess I subconsciously wanted to take a break for this one and didn't try that hard. :P

Thanks for the review, TheDoor!

[The Watchmen Cover]

This is interesting. I like the instruments, especially the echo-y drums and dark, cinematic strings. The crash/effect at 2:16 was also cool. My main problem lies with the vocals. They seemed off key at times and otherwise rather half-heartedly done. I'd assume you didn't rehearse them that much before you recorded it. Sorry. I also can't exactly give you points for originality, but it is a pretty cool tune. I also noticed the mechanical bass synths on my second listen, which I liked. It also loops pretty well, which was a pleasant surprise. Always nice to hear from you, MistaRogerz! Keep it up, man! ;D

mistarogerz responds:

Hah, that's why I don't sing on many songs. Thanks for listening!

[Heroic Loop]

I liked the instruments and mood, but it's very simplistic and, well...short. I think the loop isn't bad at all, but I think the mixing could've been better. It seems like the piano and its reverb covers up the other instruments a lot. Overall, nice job, though. This has potential, and I'm looking forward to your future projects. ;)

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hey! You're completely right :p
Personally I think the loop is quite bad. Or well, I don't think it should really be a loop at all, but I guess I just gave up on the project in an early stage :)
The mixing is practically nonexistent, if I recall correctly. I think I was just trying out som new instruments :3

Oh, and don't worry about not replying to my PM; I know you have much to do :)
And yes, it is pretty odd that I'm still in school although I've completed my exams, it's certainly not customary. I've just had so many courses that there were some mandatory ones that I had missed, which I still have to complete ;)

Thanks for reviewing even this track!

[Energy Flux]

Nice! :D I think it starts off a little slow, but it's definitely very climactic and catchy. I love the melodies at :41. I loved how it got glitchy at :48, although I think you should be careful not to make it sound too harsh. The sweeps also seemed a little too loud at times imo, especially towards the beginning. I liked the breakdown at 1:37 a lot, especially with the syncopated snare. I also really like that bit at 2:57. It's definitely varied sufficiently, and is overall very fun, melodic, and upbeat! :) I like the structure and transitions a lot, especially the one at 3:28. I think elements of the balance could've been better, but with a track like this that's so harmonically complex, it's hard to do, I realize. In general, really nice work! Keep it up, LunacyEcho! ;D

LunacyEcho responds:

=> starts off slow =>

Yeah, I guess. I have a really hard time with both intros and conclusions. I think I went through about seven of them total before I settled on the ones I have here. And I guess they still need improvement. :D I tend to start with a filter on everything quite a lot. Around half the songs in my 'unfinished but may finish someday' folder start off in a similar fashion. I guess that's why I never got around to finishing them.

=> glitchy =>

I suppose I could've lowered the sound, but I was having too much fun with the realization that I could actually do this to care. :)

=> sweeps =>

I'm not sure we're hearing the same song, because I uploaded three different versions of the song on here in the space of about ten minutes when I first posted. The first one had a weird-sounding conc., and the second one somehow left off the filter in the first section. Maybe you were hearing one of those versions. (I hope not, though. Then again, I don't know how Newgrounds works...) Anyways, if you hear a filter in the first part, it's a version that I'm fine with you hearing. If not... Tell me and I'll try reuploading it.

=> syncopated snare =>

I don't know where I came up with that. I realized it might sound nice, and it did!

=> varied sufficiently =>

This one's definitely a lot more varied and progressive than my other stuff. It has a lot less repetition in terms of structure, which I think is quite nice.

=> elements of balance =>

Mixing, mastering, what'cha gonna do? They sound balanced to me, and they sound sorta balanced when I play it out loud, but I don't really have any way to hear how it sounds through any other speakers/earphones.

=> really nice work =>

Thanks! Although I may not be able to keep it up, since I'll soon be entering uncharted territories...

Thanks for the awesome review, TheDoor!

[Lost in Sound]

I love the mood and the instruments. The syncopations work well, and the progression if interesting, if a little slow. One thing I didn't like too much was the instrument you used for the snare. Also, by the end, it gets a little repetitive. I think you need to come up with more creative ways of ending your tracks, man. Overall, though, I like the structure, transitions, and melodies. Good work! ;D

DjGubkafish responds:

thank you

[An Improv on Clarity]

I love the emotion and simplicity of it. The sound design is excellent, and the melodies are beautiful. I love the changes in emotion, e.x. 1:17. I'm really impressed with you piano and improvisation skills, though. I couldn't do anything like this on the cello! At some times, it's very light listening, like the live piano music at a country club, and at others, it's very heavy and emotional, like the background of a PBS show based on a Charles Dickins novel. It doesn't bother me at all that it's not edited or manipulated electronically. It gives it a very organic vibe. I like the transition at 5:37 a lot. It is a little repetitive at times, but you already know that. Like you said in the description, it's good background music. Anyway, my favorite part is 6:37-7:27. I just love the dreamy vibe it has, and the contrast to the contemplative mood of the next section. It's like you're capturing someone's entire life in a song: the mix of emotion, security, reflection, relaxation, struggle, etc. Amazing! I also adored 8:17, as well as the transition around 9:30. One thing I suppose I didn't like was the heavy/low chords you used from around 10:10 to 11:10. I totally fanboyed over the part at 11:35, though. The space there just creates the perfect portrait of a starry night, or a child going to sleep, or something else which has so much clarity in its innocence. I felt similarly about the part around 13:30. 12:35 was also a highlight. You brought that main theme back in a timely manner. I think you should've transitioned more smoothly into 15:22, however. Overall, though, simply fantastic work. It's perfect in its imperfection, so-to-speak. It has an ideal bareness and simplicity to it which lets the haunting beauty shine through. I'm getting the sense that you simply played what you felt very clearly, which is hard to do and extremely creative. This is just freaking amazing. It's like I'm right there with you and the child that I picture when I hear this. This song is the reason why I need more classical music on my iPod. This is easily front-page material. I just love it in a way I couldn't possibly express over the Internet. Amazing. Fantastic. Bravo. There are no worthy words, LucidShadowDreamer. I think I'll let the music speak for itself now...

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

OMG! Thanks for such a super long and totally über-AWESOME review!

Okay, I think I'll have to try a Johnfn style reply for this one...

=> changes in emotion

Yes, I'm glad I managed to play this so truly from my heart. Sadly, this was recorded so long ago that I don't quite remember what was going through my head at the time D:

=> Improvisation skills

Thank you as well for thinking this :D But trust me, only in rare cases do I manage to actually improvise this well XD
If you keep playing your cello, and especially if you practise melodies and improvisation, I'm sure you could learn to do very well too!

=> not manipulated electronically

Well, I did do a few things, to improve the sound quality, but nothing else. I forgot to mention it in the description, but as usually I added some reverb, tried EQ:ing this sligthly (although I suck at it) and ran the sound through UpStereo :D

=> Transitions

Yeah. Most of these worked, as the structure of the song really helped me in leading the piece back to the main melody. But as you mentioned, 15:22 is not that functional. Especially since I totally played the wrong bass-tone and apparently also managed to press a few other false notes hahha XD

=>6:37-7:27

Ahh, I love this part too! :D I think it's very inspired by some of the inspirations that Kyle Landry plays! (He's not on Newgrounds).

=> Catching someone's life in the song

Yeah, I guess so too. It's probably because of all the variations in emotion, as you said. Also, it might be because it almost feels like it takes an entire life to listen through the whole improvisation XD

=> Heavy/low chords at around 10:10 to 11:10

Yeah, in retrospect I kinda agree with you. I still wouldn't edit that part out though, but I should've avoided mashing the low keys so hard I think :p

=> starry night, or a child going to sleep (11:35)

Great. Now I can't NOT imagine a child looking at a night sky filled with stars, through the window while lying in the bed, when hearing that part. But you're right, it really would suit that scenario :')

=> perfect in its imperfection

I feel that way too. This song is actually filled with mistakes, but I've grown to like most of them, since they too add to the improv, imo.

Aaannnyhow. Really, I can't thank you enough for writing such a long and detailed review! It really means the world to me :)
I owe you a big review (probably many) sometime in the future!

[The Sisyphean Cycle]

I love all the traditional VGM sounds. The pads also gave it a sort of epic vibe, like I turned the corner and I could suddenly see a huge animated metropolis in the distance. It loops flawlessly, and seems very climactic, especially into :35. It's a bit minimalistic harmonically, but overall I really enjoyed it. Keep up the good work, Mr. Tibbetts! ;D

BenTibbetts responds:

Thank you!