TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Drunk]

Hey, thanks for the shout-out! The background chatter at the beginning was a good idea, but it goes on for a bit too long without any moving notes. The audience cheering when the guitar solo starts was a bit cheesy, but made me smile nonetheless. The guitar solos and punchy "hey"s are nice, and I like the atmospheric synths and strings too. The waltzy breakdown at 2:00ish is really nice, and the section thereafter is full of variety. I especially like the drum riffs at 3:08 or so. The mix is punchy and well-balanced throughout, although you may have overdone the reverb at times. The glass breaking sound effects at the beginning and the creepy deflator at 4:00 were the cherries on top, and it seems like you're really getting into the Halloween spirit by the time that ghostly synth at the end comes in. Really cool piece overall, Theta! It seems like the energy level never quite got back to the level of the first half, but the sound design, production quality, and melodies are all really enjoyable, and your transitions have improved a lot! Keep it up. ^_^

Thetageist responds:

Yay! Happy to hear I’ve improved! And since you consider it Halloweeny enough, I’m going to declare that it did what I wanted it to, and enter it into the Spooktacular audio contest now!

[Channeling (Early Demo)]

Nice to hear your vocals again! I like the percussion and the long, lilting vocal phrases. The layering is really nice, and the warm pads in the background really give the texture a rich and full feel. The mic seems a bit overwhelmed at times (like at "much else" at :20-21), and it would be nice to even out some of the levels on the vocal recording. Other than that, I love the reflective mood and sound design here. Keep it up, KC! ^_^

SensoryDecay responds:

Yet another abandoned project. This is a rough draft, but I don't really ever linger on songs to a fault. I just move on. Also I think I recorded the vocals on a headset haha, which is why it sounds pretty garbage BUT does give it some "personality" at least that's my story haha

[Midnight]

Aww yeah, we're getting to the oldies now. I like the crisp drums at the beginning and the eerie atmosphere. What's that puttering sound in the background underneath the guitars and percussion? I can't quite place it. Really evocative and moody piece. I like when the guitar riff at :53 gives the listener some more solid ground to stand on, and the piece flows really well between a murky ambiance and some more concrete guitar patterns. Really beautiful piece, KC! Keep it up. ^_^

SensoryDecay responds:

So this...weird piece. I was drunk at like 12ish, which is why this is called Midnight, in college. I was kinda done with film school and just wanted out so I made this, not really as a "fuck you" statement, but more like a "awww fuck it" statement haha.

[X3ll3n - Spatium Cursu [NGUAC 2022 Final Round]]

I like the airy synth patterns at the beginning and the cutesy lead at :11. The snare sample at :22 isn’t my favorite - it seems really quiet and top-heavy compared to the kick - but I like the climax into :34 and the blissful melodies thereafter. The grouchy bass at :55 was a pleasant surprise, and you incorporated the vocal samples well too. The drums are struggling a bit to pop through the mix at 1:20, but the frantic synth riffs and rich texture there are quite enjoyable. The piano outro was a solid choice too, if a tad cliche. Overall, I really like the melodies, energy, progression, and atmosphere of this one. My complaints with the mixing and instrumentation are minor. Congratulations on your success in the NGUAC this year, X3LL3N! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9/10

X3LL3N responds:

Thanks for your feedback !
It seems my entry, didn't stand out much compared to the other qualifiers, so I'll try to do better next year :)

[Typhon (Unfinished Demo)]

I like the guitars and rhythmic elements at the beginning. I can recognize FL Keys right away. The quirky percussion and electronic elements at around :40 work nicely to channel the energy. The drop is catchy, if a tad minimal, and the snare doesn’t quite pop in the mix there relative to the bass. The re-intro at 2:15 is an effective compositional choice, and I’m enjoying the build-up into the final refrain at 3:19 as well. I think the sound design was more variational and engaging during the second drop, which I appreciated. The piece probably could’ve used a more distinct outro, rather than ending fairly suddenly, but overall the progression is strong here. The production quality holds up rather well, and I’m enjoying most of the sound design choices too (besides some of the percussion and the ever-generic FL Keys). The composition here is strong between the smooth flow and creative rhythmic content, although the arrangement is a bit cliche. Overall, this is a solid and catchy track with a nice and clean, punchy mix. Keep at it, Venomite! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.5/10

Venomite responds:

Haha thanks for the review!! Was trying to record a vocal to replace the keys and extend it slightly but ran out of time! Had a blast being in this competition!

[Champions]

I like the synth arpeggios and synth guitar at the beginning. The drums sound a bit weak in the mix, especially the snare, but I like the melodies a lot, and the stop-start transition at :50 works quite well. At times, I felt like the energy level and/or instrumental hierarchy could use some shaking up, but the brief bridge at 1:56 helps scratch that itch a bit. The rich texture and sound design in this piece are probably my favorite elements of it, but the rhythmic content is also rather creative, and besides the subordinate drums, the mix holds up rather well. Solid effort all around, TheUnnamedPlayer! Keep it up. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

TheUnnamedPlayer responds:

how come i didn't get a notification for this review

[Manentrix]

I like the ghostly melodies at the beginning and the pensive mid-range synth patterns beneath them. There’s a good sense of climax into :25, and the rhythmic content is really catchy at the drop. I like the frantic synth arpeggios at :52, although the reverb is a bit heavy in the texture there. Aspects of the arrangement and chord progression here are pretty generic, but I like how you keep things interesting by integrating the melodies and drops so well. I might’ve liked to hear more variety on the drops the second time around, though. That said, overall the sound design, rhythmic elements, mixing, and atmosphere of this piece are all really enjoyable. Congratulations on your success in the NGUAC this year, Skrillidm! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

Linearity responds:

Thanks Man!

[We Come In Peace]

I like the filtering work towards the beginning and the catchy synth patterns, although the sound design is a tad cliche. The sweeps and atmospheric details are nice, and I’m enjoying the gradual climax into 1:00. The harmonic content is rather repetitive, but the mixing and mastering are solid and the progression is smooth. I think the lack of variety in the texture is a big problem after a while, though. The breakdown at 2:18 has some more atmospheric elements and different chord progression, but the instrumental hierarchy, rhythmic patterns, and beats remain constant throughout. The production quality is probably my favorite aspect of the piece, followed closely by the atmosphere and sound design. I also like the distorted radio noise at the end - adds an eerie flair to the buoyant and blissful tone of the rest of the piece. That said, the composition is a bit bland overall, and there are a lot of pretty abrupt transitions too. Still, it’s a catchy piece with some neat instrumentation and strong thematic content. Congratulations on your success in this competition, Raj! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7/10

rajbeatsofficial responds:

Solid analysis, thank you for the feedback!!

[Realm Between Heaven and Earth]

I like the cutesy synths at :11 and the staticky harmonies around it. The melodies at :34 are really nice, although a bit too loud relative to the beats and harmonies. I like the airy breaks at the 1-minute mark and the tempo automations going into the bridge at 1:30. The piano melodies and church bells at 1:55 complement each other quite well, and the loud, punchy mix really shines at 2:17. The drop at 2:54 has a really blissful feel, and the rhythmic syncopations there are super nice. It was quite the point of contrast between the drop and the majestic orchestral section at 3:45. The strings there sound a bit artificial, though - they consistently come in slightly after the downbeat, but I can’t tell if that’s because of the sample or the sidechaining. Either way, this is compositionally a really ambitious piece that, overall, you pulled off really well. At times, the arrangement sounds a tad disjointed, perhaps because the pacing is so fast. Feels like the piece should be more like 6 minutes given how many different ideas you squeezed into here. That said, the sound design, melodies, production quality, and atmosphere are all huge pluses here. Congratulations on your success in this competition, NebulaTrax! ^_^

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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

RiSUKU responds:

WOW! Thank you so very much! I didn't expect this at all haha!
Thank you, this piece does mean quite a bit to me as it's one of those tracks where I went above and beyond. Your feedback as well as all of the other judges are really helpful and did help open my eyes so some tips production-wise.
The strings definitely were cause of the sampling, I don't know if there's any way to really adjust the attack on it.

Thank you very much for hosting and inviting us to NGUAC 2022! Looking forward to next year's. Cheers Tainted!

[Lordant - Tilion]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the somber cello riff shortly thereafter. The progression is a little slow-paced, but the string swells help add some sense of anticipation and drama. I really like the violin melodies at :56 and the chord progressions at around 1:10. The injection of energy at 1:24 was a welcome change to the texture, and the piece then transitions well back into a mellow and minimal section after the 2-minute mark. The clarinet solo there is particularly lovely, and I also like how you incorporated some non-Western instruments at around 3:10. During this lengthy middle section, it might’ve been nice to find ways of filling out the texture a bit more - a richer atmosphere, or perhaps percussion, would’ve kept things engaging despite the series of slow-paced and tranquil motifs. That said, you transition quite effectively back into the energetic string section at 4:17, and I like the added percussion and dense orchestration at the end. Overall, I’m particularly impressed with the production quality and sound design here. Congratulations on your success in the NGUAC this year, Lordant! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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
9.25/10

Lordant responds:

Thanks for the feedback! :]