TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Village Fest - NGADM Round 2]

I like the bright tone of the piano riff at the beginning. The syncopations are really nice, and the melodies at :30 have a whimsical and cutesy quality to them. The Irish flute is a great addition to the sound design, and between percussion and mallets this piece has a really lush texture in the top end of the frequency range, which is fairly uncommon on Newgrounds IMO. The change-of-pace for the outro at 2:31 was another great compositional idea, and the dreamy, shimmering strings and waltzy rhythms throughout this piece truly make it what it is. Strong work across the board, Elias! Good luck in the ADM. ^_^

Santi-Montali responds:

Thank you so much TL! Always appreciate your reviews :)

[Loved by Chaos]

I like the punchy percussion at the beginning and the crisp string riffs shortly thereafter. The choir and brass lines at around :20 - :40 sound a tad thin, though. Maybe they would be more impactful if they filled the entire length until the next note. The romantic-sounding bridge at :48 was a nice touch, and I'm enjoying the distortion in the background and the eerie undertones too. You could've done a tad more to knit the disparate sections of the piece together, but the piece still has an appealing A-B-A form and sense of climax towards the end. Strong work, LSD! I'm particularly impressed with the production here. Good luck in the ADM! ^_^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hey! Sorry I've been so bad with replies lately. I haven't lost any interest; I've just found myself intensely busy.

I'm glad you liked the production! I haven't shown much of it on NG yet, but I think my production has improved even more since this. If I happen to go further in the NGADM this year, I'm hoping I'll be able to summon forth enough time to show you some of it ^____^

[Time Dodger x Spider in the Snow]

I like the minimal beats at the beginning and the jazzy E-piano riffs. Along with your trademark glitchiness and atmospheric flair, I'm really enjoying the progression of this. I like how you incorporated vocals here, although I wish the melodies layered on top of them at around 2:10 were a bit more prominent in the mix. At around 2:40, the vocal lines clash with each other a bit, and may even be a bit flat in places. But the moodiness of the piece and the 8-bit sound design still shine through, and I'm always an admirer of your rhythmic content and atmosphere. Keep at it, LLAAPPSSEE! ^_^

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

Love ya reviews. <3

Yeah, this track needs some more love'n. I only stayed up one night till the afternoon putting it together, hah. I'll hopefully get back to it. The vocals where just a little experiment and a bit raw (insert Gordon Ramsey yelling). Probs are a bit flat -- I'm not much of a singer and am stubborn about auto-tune. I have a version without as well -- may upload for them GD boys, but I'd rather come back with a more solid mix.

[Natural Balance]

Interesting effects at the beginning. I like the bass line and crisp percussion, and the grainy effects blend in better once the beats and atmosphere come in. Another slow-burner of a piece, but the rich atmosphere and dreamy sound design work well together. I especially like the guitar riffs at around 1:40. The momentary break in the atmosphere at 2:00 was a nice touch, too - adds some structural interest without wrecking the flow of the piece. The shimmering/pulsing effect on the pad during the outro is another highlight for me. Strong work overall, KCJSDP! I use Logic Pro X too - LMK if you're available for a collab sometime this fall. I should have some time around the holidays at the very least. :)

SensoryDecay responds:

Okay this is my favorite song that I've made so far. I love everything about it. I took a riff, small riff, just notes really, from Mellowdrone's song Fashionably Uninvited. You won't hear them in the same key but they're there. This is the kinda music, this sound is what I want to just live in. I realize that that's an impossibility, and yet I'm committed. Would so love a collab, yes and I'm sorry I haven't gone through your entire catalog yet WHICH I will do I promise. Thanks for the review man, seriously

[Altered States]

I like the relaxed guitar riffs at the beginning and the minimal drums. I think you're selling yourself short on the potential for vocals in this piece - from what I've heard of your soulful baritone, your voice would mesh nicely with the dark undertones here. The synth bass and atmospheric elements are probably my favorite elements of the piece. At some points, the sweeps are a little loud, but I like the slow-burning climax of this piece. Feels like it needs a soaring solo or more energetic section to hit it home after 2:42, but as it is it has this innate tension to it that's on the verge of boiling over. Really cool aural experience, my dude. Keep it up! ^_^

SensoryDecay responds:

Oof so this one was a really weird experience. I was trying to record acoustic guitar and felt like I did a pretty good job, especially the accompanying acoustic that comes after the rhythm and then I used an 808 bass and it kinda just took a road down a path that I lost the plot on this one, and sticking to my 3min musical end point I just finished without any real payoff or assessment. Thanks for listening though! =)

[Inner Circles]

I like the glitchy beats at the beginning and the echo-y sound design. I would've liked the drums to be a bit more prominent in the mix once the atmosphere fills out at :45 or so. The spacey breakdown at 1:20 was a nice touch as well. The piece seemed a bit lacking on melodic content, but I really like the more dynamic appeal of the synth riffs at 2:18 and beyond. Another piece where you really show off your atmospheric flair. Keep at it, KCJSDP! :)

SensoryDecay responds:

Yeah this was like the second track I played in Logic Pro X and I'm still feeling things out. My whole thing is atmosphere and soundscapes, but I haven't gotten the balance nor the musical integrity to make what I really want. Still learning always. Thanks man!

[Close Enough]

I like the smooth guitars at the beginning and the crisp drums. Your voice is really soothing, and the lyrics feel really pensive and vivid. I really like the richer atmosphere at 1:05, and the sound design aids the reflective mood of the piece nicely. I think a second verse would be a good way of adding a sense of progression to this piece. The harmonic framework gets a tad repetitive by the end of this piece, although I really like the string lines and thicker texture during the second half. Overall, really beautiful and evocative work, KCJSDP! Keep it up. ^_^

SensoryDecay responds:

Thank you! Yeah I was pretty much running on 3 minutes. Meaning I was doing anything to get to that which hindered the piece. It really means a lot that you sent such a great constructive review. Thank you.

[pipeline punch is the best monster flavour you cannot tell me otherwise.]

I like the spacey pads at the beginning and the vocal samples at :15. The progression is a bit slow-paced at first, but I like the beats at :40 and the loud, crisp mix. The piece could use a bit more harmonic variety and melodic development after a while, and I also thought the transition at 1:20 was rather abrupt. The rhythmic content is especially good at 1:51, but the pads there get a bit lost in the mix. Overall, the atmosphere, drum and vocal samples, danceability, and bouncy mood are my favorite aspects of the piece. The compositional details could use a bit more fleshing out, though, and at times the mix seems rather strained. That said, kudos on a catchy and fun piece, xpastelxbloodx! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.75/10

xpastelxbloodx responds:

thanks for letting me come along!

[Supernova]

I like the catchy bass line at the beginning and the crisp percussion. The piece is a little slow to progress at first, but there’s a good sense of build into :46. The climax there was short-lived, and then the piece seems to launch into another prolonged build-up. It seems like 1:54 is the grand conclusion of the build-up, but that section also doesn’t add much novel content to the piece. I think my favorite aspect of the piece is the production quality - very tight mix with a full and well-balanced texture throughout. A close second is the rhythmic content. That said, I think the sound design is a bit generic here, and I wanted to see you flesh out the composition a bit more. Overall, it’s a catchy and fun piece, though. Keep at it, Raj! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

rajbeatsofficial responds:

Greatly appreciated. I agree on the generic sound design; i made a concession with a lead melody that I ended up leaving out to preserve the sonics but it would have gave some unique character to the track if i left it in. Thanks again 👍

[Bloom Kyoto]

I like the melodramatic gong hit at the beginning and the percussion groove shortly thereafter. The texture starts coming together well by :35 or so, although there’s a tad bit of dissonance in the texture at around :45, probably because the woodwind sample seems to have a bit of a pitch arc built into it. The string lines have a great frantic energy to them, though, and overall the sound design is really enjoyable here. There were times when I wanted the percussion to come through the mix a bit clearer, like around 1:20, but overall the mix is loud and clean. There could’ve been some more dynamic melodic content at some point, or at the very least some variations on the main melody, but the middle section of the piece has a decent amount of variety in and of itself. I like how you ended with the gong hit, too. Overall, this is a solid effort, OliRO! Keep at it. :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8/10

OliRO responds:

Thank you so much for this great review Andrew! I think I managed to get a bit out of my habits and create something a bit more fluid, as opposed to squared and too systematic. However I still built a structure template for composing the different parts and I'm pretty sure that's a big reason why I'm limited in fluidity. I feel comfortable enough in the sound design and mixing/mastering aspect, but I really want to bust that thick wall and get better at composing and in the fluidity between the different parts. I feel that's my bottleneck right now.

I love you reviews, they really make me grow.

Cheers mate!