TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-Port Force-]

Catchy piece! A bit minimal, but it has a decent amount of variety regardless. I don't think you mixed it too hard, but I would've liked to hear a bit more of the lead at :58 or so - it was way far back in the mix. The melody writing isn't your strongest here. The phrases feel very stop-start, with the harmonies getting increasingly thin until the track "resets" (like at 1:22, 2:17, etc.). I'd challenge you to make longer, more dynamic melodies with a wider range of pitches. Still, I like the cute instruments, production quality, and rhythmic patterns. Keep at it, CF24! ^_^

Creeperforce24 responds:

MINIMAL!? That is not what I was thinking! Thanks for the honesty tho!

[-Psycho Lady-]

I like the groovy bass line. The texture is a bit dissonant at :11, and I also think the snare could be a bit more up-front in the mix. The brass instruments sound a bit inauthentic too.

I like the more upbeat mood at around 1:15, although there are still a few too many notes that don't seem to match with the other harmonies there. I'd suggest laying out all the chords you want to use in advance and making sure that every note that's playing during a given bar/measure is in the corresponding chord. It also might help to look at some online tutorials specifically on jazz harmonic structure - I'm not sure it's always quite as loose as you're treating it here.

The frantic piano line at 2:40 is probably one of my favorite elements of the piece. It gets a little lost amidst a very busy texture at around 3:00, but it has a really light and airy feel that I like a lot.

Overall, I appreciate you going out of your comfort zone with this one. I hope you find more time to do some more jazz-inspired tracks - it's a really underappreciated genre in my opinion. Cheers! ^_^

Creeperforce24 responds:

Sorry that it’s not that great, thanks for your honesty

[-Dark Woodlands-]

I like the murky atmosphere at the beginning. Definitely feels Halloweeny. :)

The way the drums faded in sounded a bit bizarre. Fading them in with filtering as opposed to just volume might've been smoother. There's a bit of dissonance in the texture at around the 1-minute mark, and the transition at 1:19 is pretty sudden. The texture feels like it's missing a lot of mid-range frequencies. The complex rhythmic structure of the piece would also come through more clearly if the different harmonies weren't so close together in pitch.

I also feel like the song needs a more prominent lead riff. Right now, the echo-y mid-range bass riff that serves as the lead for most of the piece (it plays in isolation at 3:48) sounds a little too minimal and murky to really stand out.

Overall, not your best, but you definitely nailed the creepy mood and sound design. Happy belated Halloween! ^_^

Creeperforce24 responds:

Thanks for the advice!

[-Diagonal-]

I like the cute sound design. The rhythm is a little hard-to-follow at first, but I like the prominent hi-hats and frantic descending lines that start each mini-phrase. It could use a tad more variety later on, but overall it's catchy and has some cool instrumentation. This would make a good soundtrack for a fast-paced platformer. Keep at it, CF24! ^_^

Creeperforce24 responds:

Thanks mate! Glad you like it!

I also showed it to my friend @Thetageist, she had the same issue of it hard to follow. Yeah, I say it’s my standard basically lol, at least transitionings well, just too much (I think)

[-Stranded-]

Alright, thanks again for your patience! I like the atmosphere and the growling bass toward the beginning. The percussion is creative and sets the scene nicely. The different rhythmic elements are totally groovy, and there are definitely some unexpected sound design choices in here - like the guitar at :34 and the airy woodwinds at :55. The transition at 1:08 is a tad sudden, but I like the string line at around 1:20. The guitar line at 1:36 is catchy, but the melodic contour it has is a bit too narrow to be captivating IMO. The production quality is solid throughout, and I like the extended flute lines later on. Overall, I think this piece could use some stronger melodies and some more gradual transitions in places, but the atmosphere, sound design, and mixing are all really strong. Keep at it, CF24! ^_^

Creeperforce24 responds:

Yay! 4 stars this time :D thanks for the advice Taintedlogic!

[ONE WITH EVERYTHING]

I like the blissful melody at the beginning and the cute sound design. The mixing could be a bit sharper - it’s hard to hear some of the harmonies when they’re all playing at once. Make sure you assign all of the instruments a mixer track and, at the very least, add an equalizer to each one. None of the instruments besides the bass and kick should have any frequencies left below 250 Hertz once you equalize everything. Also, the drums sound pretty soft throughout - I’d suggest adding a compressor onto each of the drum kit instruments, and giving the snare in particular a boost in the middle-range frequencies in the equalizer.

Compositionally, the piece is stronger. The downtempo section at 1:59 was good for some variety, and the voice acting was solid. I think the vocals are a tad too loud relative to the instrumental tracks, though. The frantic synth line and faster tempo during the final minute was a good way of hitting the piece home. Overall solid work, WoogLord! Thanks for coming out to the NGUAC. Also, I can indeed confirm that all anime girls are Chargers fans. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

WoogLord responds:

Thanks so much for your feedback! I'm starting to work on mixing more, and EQ work was a tad above my paygrade when reading up on it for this haha. I'm going to watch/learn more on it and make some presets to not think too hard on it for the next couple tracks before I develop my tastes for frequency changes on instruments.

100% agree with all your comments, thanks again for the feedback!

I really enjoyed competing in NGUAC24, I learned a lot, and am thankful to the judges, TO, GOD, my family, my friends, and all Chargers fans (frick the Raiders)!!!

[Dimension (NGUAC 2024 Final Round)]

I like the rich atmosphere at the beginning. The drums are not my favorite - the clap sounds a bit unpolished, and the percussion riff at :15 is a bit dry in the mix. The pacing of the piece starting at around :40 is pretty cool - lots of twists and turns in the build-up to 1:19. The chirping effect at :55 is really neat, although admittedly the pause at 1:11 threw me off a bit. The drop is catchy, if a tad minimal, and ideally I think the clap would be a bit punchier in the mix. In general, the mix is clean, if a tad over-compressed. I like the atmosphere at the breakdown and the gradual fade-in of the bouncy synth riff that really gets its chance to shine at 2:18. The transition at 2:48 is a bit sudden, but I like the squeaky rhythmic riff there and the build-up into 3:17. I think you start to overuse the stop-start transitions at this point, but I appreciate that you switched up the drop the second time around. The thick bass and airy pads during the outro are really nice. Overall, solid work, Whymsical! Thanks for coming out to the NGUAC, and hope to see you back next year. ^_^

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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.5/10

whymsical responds:

thanks for inviting me here! had tons of fun, wish to participate next year!

[Tropical Surge]

I like the quirky rhythmic emphasis at the beginning and the airy pads. The bass riff at :17 is catchy, and has a nice call-and-response going on with the dreamy synth lead. The jumpy melody at 1:02 is also cool, and the texture really attains something that feels “stable” at 1:19. The darker tone at 1:33 is good for some variety, and I really like the shape of the final phrase at 1:50, where the intensity level and register of the melody gradually increase. This piece felt like it could use one last climactic part towards the end to tie it together, although I like the unique structure and experimental details of the texture. Strong production quality overall, too. Beautiful piece, TheNormalMusic! Tropical Surge is a very fitting title. This piece sounds distinctly watery and light. Thanks for coming out to the NGUAC. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.5/10

TheNormalMusic responds:

Woah, almost hit the ceiling! Well, the judging must've been hard in the top 20...
Thank You so much for running these contests. I'm surprised there are people who can organize and run them.
See You next year!

[Don't Be Afraid]

I like the tranquil mood at the beginning. The piece is a little slow to progress at first, but it definitely has some forward momentum by :34, and the drop at :45 has a nice, cathartic feel. The mix is clean and clear, but a tad over-compressed, and the snare sounds simultaneously very loud and a bit too thin. The breakdown at 1:29 was a good way of “resetting” the piece, and the piano echo of the main melody at 1:40 was a nice touch. The piano bridge feels a tad dragged-out, and could definitely use a countermelody or at least some more ebb and flow, but I like the mini-build-up into 2:25 and the transition back into the second refrain at 2:47. The second refrain could also use a bit more variety the second time around, but I do like the high-register tonic chord that plays right at 2:47. Sounds super cathartic.

Overall, I like the upbeat mood, melodies, and production quality of this piece. The arrangement and aspects of the sound design are a bit generic, and later on the composition could use some more variety. That said, it’s also really catchy, and the melody stuck in my head for a while after the first listen. :) Thanks for coming out to the NGUAC, SpeedoRH! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.25/10

EspyoNG responds:

Thanks for the review! I do agree that some of the elements are a little over-compressed, but I actually never noticed the snare's thinness before for some strange reason.

I also agree that the structure and sound design is definitely very simple: I'm going through a phase where rather than taking structural inspiration from other works, I make my own. Same with sound design. I'm not sure if you mean the word "generic" as in "simple" or "boring", but either way I agree that my sound design wasn't particularly complex, and I'll keep working on that! ;D

Huge thanks to you and everyone involved in NGUAC for the opportunity by the way! :)

[Equivocal]

I like the wave-like piano riff at the beginning and the bright, even tone of the piece at :21. At times, the piece could be a bit more expressive, and it especially sounds a bit understated during the first minute, but that begins changing at around :56. The softer tone at 1:26 is good for some variety, and the strumming effect of the more fast-paced arpeggios at 2:02 is really lovely. Combined with the slower pace of the chords, the strumming harmonies create a great call-and-response effect. The extended cadence at the end is a nice touch as well. I think the piece could use a more distinct “point of arrival” towards the end to add some closure. The melody line at 2:19 sounds pretty cathartic, but also a bit…again, the word that comes to mind is understated. Still, I really like how the piece is structured, the balance of frequencies, and a lot of the individual motifs. Really strong work overall, Solacitude! Thanks for coming out to the NGUAC. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.25/10

Solacitude responds:

I had a hard time to come up with something I deemed good enough to post for the final.
I produced a bunch of garbage during this period before getting to this piece.

I think I get what you mean by understated, it might lack a little bit of development of certain motives that I could've built more complexity over, instead of jumping to another motif too quickly. I could make it more thought out, it's quite simple themes that could evolve more in complexity, harmonizing better, adding voices to the part after 2:00. The end I also thought it felt a bit rushed.... Oh well it was rushed! :) I went for an improvisational ending that truly could be better. I went for modulations going into chords that are not heard anywhere else in the piece so it can easily sound off to some listeners I think.. After 2:00 it was all done the last day up until the last hours before deadline. In the end the reception is quite a lot better than what I anticipated though!

I continue to work on this one, and will maybe post the final result in here, but under another title, to keep this one intact so it always fits the comments and score related to the contest.

Thank you very much for the review and kind words! And even more for hosting the NGUAC and all it involves! It's surely a lot of time you dedicate to it, and I feel like it has to be said, thank you for giving musicians this opportunity to test our ability to compose!