TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Curse of the Cat-acombs]

I like the ominous fade-in at the beginning and the echo-y harp pattern that comes in shortly thereafter. The snare sample is a tad generic, and the intro as a whole drags on for a bit too long without creating much of a sense of progression. The build-up into 1:29 was nice, and the drop was full of variety and some fun sound effects and melodic filler.

The volume levels in this piece are a bit unwieldy at times - right after the first drop (1:57), the main melodic riff comes in at the loudest volume the listener has heard so far in the piece, which seems a bit jarring after the very energetic drop section. Also a little on the loud side was the plucked synth at 2:41. You then double down on the “gradually louder verse/bridge content” theme with the part at 4:06. In theory, these volume level changes were a creative idea, but it actually comes across as a bit cheesy and forced.

By contrast, the echo-y and mysterious repeat of the melodic pattern at 5:01 was really nice. Again, the outro seemed a bit dragged-out, much like the intro, and for a track this long you don’t vary the harmonies of the piece too much. That said, the sound design, rhythmic content at the drops, progression, atmosphere, and mixing are all on the plus side for me. Keep at it, Darkkit10! :)

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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8/10

Darkkit10 responds:

Thx

I’ll eventually make a remastered version and fix these things

[House Down]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the ominous synth pattern at :11. The snare at :44 is a little loud compared to the synths, and the texture of the piece remains quite minimal throughout. You have a good sense of harmony and progression, but the composition felt a little underdeveloped here. Some stronger melodic content or some more dynamic harmonic elements would help this piece out a lot. That said, I admire your sense of atmosphere, and the production quality here is really strong. Keep at it, BigTWONeli! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6/10

BigTWONeli responds:

This is the most in depth form of criticism I’ve ever gotten, and I love it! Thanks man I really appreciate the thoroughness

[Wyoming]

I like the spacey pad at the beginning and the distorted bass. The lead synth at :20 is a bit cheesy, but I like the upbeat mood and quirky percussion. The pad that starts fading in at around 1:05 clashes a bit harmonically with the lead - it sounds like they’re competing for attention a bit too much there. The breakdown at 1:25 came on a bit suddenly, but I like the bright pads at 1:42 and the rhythmic content. The melodic variations later on are nice, and I’m usually not a huge fan of fade-outs, but I think this one works well here. Overall, this is a cute and well-structured piece. Sometimes, the reverb on the pads is a bit too much - I think that might be part of the reason why the harmonies clash a bit at times. Still, solid work all around. Keep at it, 50Steaks! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
7/10

50Steaks responds:

To be honest I couldn’t agree more. Back when I made this I was still putting extreme reverb on some instruments for some reason. An interesting point you said about the breakdown coming suddenly, it never occurred to me but yeah there’s no real indication that it would revert back to the intro. I think you hit the nail on the head with this, and I would rate it 3.5/5 as well.

[See You Never (Feat. Maderlin Weng)]

I really like the cutesy beat at the beginning and the bright mix. The sub-bass sits really well in the texture, and the trumpet solo at 1:48 really hits the spot. The multilingual lyrics are great, too. Maderlin has a really airy and crooning voice that fit the character of the song really well. I really like how the trumpet, vocal refrain, beat, and mallets all converge during the last 30-45 seconds or so, and the coda with the phone message was clever. The mastering sounds professional here, ACXLE, but I think my favorite part is the sound design. Keep up the great work! ^^

acxle responds:

thanks TL :)

[oof]

I like the beat, and the tempo automations were a creative idea. I think the mix sounds a little dry, and some reverb and other effects could help smooth over the dissonance and keep things interesting amid the minimalism. The sound design is really unique, although the vocal samples sound a little distorted and murky. The track is mastered really loud, but is in danger of clipping at a couple of points. The rhythmic content is pretty cool, especially during the last 45 seconds or so. I think the piece could've used a stronger sense of direction at times - it had a start/stop vibe in the structure, but little sense of overarching narrative or development. Either way, it's a cool beat with some clean production. I just think you could rein in the volume levels a tad and fill out the atmosphere a little more. Keep at it, Aoraz! ^^

Aoraz responds:

Thank you! I will keep this in mind for future projects. Even after 10 years I am still struggling with mastering my songs correctly haha

[Aether]

I like the energy and the synths. The chord progression is a little cliche, and the filtering on the airy pad at :12 is a little wonky. I might suggest smoothing out that pad with some more reverb. The melodies at :50 are cute, and the glissando at 1:05 makes for an effective transition into the chill outro. Overall, it's a neat piece. A bit short and rough around the edges in places. It might've flowed a bit smoother with some more crashes/mixing effects to channel the energy. The composition could also be fleshed out more. Still, you won me over with the cute sound design and danceability. Keep it up, BrwGD! ^^

Kiraichu responds:

Thanks a lot for your feedback, TL! You’re very helpful. :)

For some reason, I don’t know why GarageBand doesn’t smooth the pad out on its own. I noticed that too when I was making the song. I feel like I could’ve fixed the drum loop because of the inconsistency, specifically the end of it. There are three “eighth-notes” at the end of the drum loop, one for the third section, and two for the rest of it. For me, that seems inconsistent when looking back at this.

But again, thank you for your feedback!

[Another Life...]

I like the jangly guitars, and the vocal concept is really creative. The reverb is a little overdone, but I'm really enjoying the powerful vocals at 1:20 or so. The mix is cleaner this time for sure, but some aspects of the balance don't quite click for me. The bass and the hi-hats both seem a little loud, especially the hats. The piece has a pretty nice flow, but the lyrics feel a little stream-of-consciousness at times and there could be more variety in the instrumental tracks. The heavy distortion at 4:20 or so kinda comes out of nowhere, but at the same time helps keep things interesting later in the piece. The ambiance at the very end (almost sounds like a half-second loop of someone mumbling) is a bit experimental, but also help add some variety. Overall, really evocative piece, PPS. The mixing is strong overall, and the experimental atmosphere and sound design make for a pretty engrossing track. Keep at it! ^^

DaneDeLucchi responds:

It’s about a homeless man in a wheel chair who is begging on the streets. He believes in reincarnation and that in other life’s he was important people in history. He also believes that he is ready to die and be reincarnated again. The stream of consciousness lyrics came from an actual encounter with a homeless vet who was being racist to a Mexican security guard outside a 7-11. I was reporting an incident and embellished what actually happened. I super appreciate you taking the time to assess it and give thoughtful feedback.