TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Chasing Parallels]

I like the eerie chimes at the beginning, and the breathy vocals contribute to the ominous tone of the piece overall. I like the echo effects at around :35 too, but I feel like the vocals at :42 were a bit dry by comparison. The lyrics have a strong narrative inclination, and the composition itself is also full of variety. The motif of "parallel lines" is really clever, too. Occasionally, the big pitch jumps in the melodies are a bit jarring, notably at :20 ("yard"). The mix sounds really good to my ears, and the dense and jazzy texture later on in the piece is just engrossing. The glitchy solo at 2:51 is awesome, and the vocal layering at around 2:30 is great too. The piece comes together really well as a cohesive thematic whole, even while the composition itself is full of surprises. Brilliant piece, Kor-Rune. Please upload more in 2021! Also, if you ever put this on an album, please PM me - I'd love to snag a DL. ^^

Kor-Rune responds:

Thank you so much for the shout and feedback !! I will absolutely let you know, there's several tracks im putting together for such a thing :')

[Modus Operandi]

Congrats on having the last NG song of 2020. I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the spacey beat at :25. The piece is a little slow to progress, but the lead at :45 was showing some promise before the piece sinks back into minimalism at 1:15. I like the mysterious mood at 1:18 - not my favorite sample, but it fits the piece. The bass line in this middle section is a big plus - really keeps the piece grounded. The lead riff at 2:20 is probably the most memorable part of the piece for me, and you tie it together well at the end. The composition could've been a bit bolder here, but you've certainly done enough to earn a scout. Looking forward to hearing more synthwave beauties like this from you in the future. Happy New Year! ^^

XORVUX responds:

Your review puts my intentions into words very well, and your feedback is noted. I am heavily drawn to atmospheric soundscapes, so I'm relieved to hear that part turned out well. I'm still learning how to build structure and impact, but I eagerly continue to learn that skill. Frankly, I'm surprised (and honored) to be approved this quickly. So thank you very very much for scouting me! ...also a little nervous, since I hope my other tracks fair well against this first impression. Nevertheless, a first review like this is oh-so relieving. Glad to hear your kind words, glad to finally contribute to NG!

[Sentimentality]

I like the groovy percussion at the beginning and the quirky pads at :14. The sound design in this piece is awesome, and you nailed the sound design too. The melodies at :46 are nice, even if the refrain sounds a bit choppy overall with all the stop-start phrasing. The guitar at 1:19 was a fun surprise. It sounds a tad out-of-tune, but in a way that contributes to the quirky vibe of the track overall. Some of the chord progressions are a little cliche, but I like the variations on the refrain the second time around at 2:40. The blissful mood and instrumentation really have me sold on this one. Keep it up, Walpang! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

Walpang responds:

Woahh I finally got approval from TaintedLogic :0

[Our Last Day]

I like the crisp drums at the beginning and the gritty guitars shortly thereafter. The breathy vocals add some nice texture to the mix, but it’s a little hard to make out the lyrics. Upon reading them, though, I really like the dark content. The melodic riff at :32 is really catchy, but I think the refrain at :42 would’ve been a little more effective if the vocals had a little more substance in them. The intricate rhythmic content at 1:20 is nice, and the groovy bridge at 2:10 came just in time since I was itching for a break from the verse-chorus structure. The riff at 2:27 is super neat, and flows really well into the verse riff at 2:46. At some point, it might’ve been nice to hear some more structural variety that had some more pronounced changes in the energy level, dynamics, or atmosphere of the piece. Still, you nailed the instrumentation, rhythmic content, production, and mood with this one, and the modulation at 3:25 is a nice touch to hit the piece home. Keep it up, TSRBand! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

TSRBand responds:

I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for all the notes and the work you guys put into the comp :) It's been a lot of fun!

[Stargazer]

I like the smooth guitar riffs at the beginning. The transitions between the phrases could’ve been a bit more fluid, though - it seems like there’s an extended, awkward pause at :24 and then some overlapping recordings at :51 (or maybe just an early cutoff). The harmonic content gets pretty repetitive after a while, but I’m enjoying the subtle variations, like the chromatic line at 1:08 and the shorter note lengths at 2:08. The texture could’ve used some more fill at times. The occasional string swells were nice, but some drums or even a consistent drone would’ve helped fill out the soundscape a bit. I like the transition at 2:50, although at that point it might’ve been nice to have a more emphatic or variational final refrain to hit the piece home. Still, this is a really cute-but-minimal piece with a fun, organic sound design, smooth progression, and pleasing compositional details. A bit of a bolder approach to the composition would’ve been welcome, but I’m beginning to think the laid-back vibe here hews closer to your style. :) Keep at it, Thomastique! ^_^

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?)
1/1
Composite score
8.5/10

Thomastique responds:

Thank you! I appreciate the feedback 😁😁

[Amazona NGUAC 2020]

I like the atmospheric fade-in at the beginning and the energetic flair at :07. The echo-y synths and heavy filtering towards the end of phrases give the piece a bit of a wonky flow, and the harmonic content is rather minimal, but it’s still really catchy and the reverb helps fill out the texture. Some aspects of the sound design are pretty generic, notably the drums, and the piece is often rather slow to progress. I like the stripped-down approach you took to the section starting at 1:57 - I wasn’t expecting that, admittedly. There isn’t a lot of melodic content in the piece, and I think the atmospheric bit at 2:25 would’ve been a great place for that, although the bird sound effects were some nice substitutes. There’s a great sense of climax into 3:47, and the texture feels especially well-balanced and full thereafter. The piece is still missing some more memorable melodic content, and despite the smooth transitions and rich atmosphere I think you could’ve done a lot more with this piece compositionally. Still, the production quality is solid and I enjoyed the return to the more energetic, bass-heavy bit of earlier at 5:42. Overall, strong work! Keep at it, TerraNation! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

TerraNation responds:

Yes iknow what i have done wrong and right on this song and i will be fixed for final release of it, I normaly take mutch mutch more time to work on my tracks short limit time for contest is abit hard to make something very very solid.

But i let you know when i finish this with a final touch and it will be even better.

[Remembering the Fallen]

I like the emotional quality at the beginning. You’ve done a great job of playing up the somber mood in this piece, like with the descending line in the melody at :18. The entrance of the violin at :38 is absolutely haunting, and the somewhat predictable phrase pattern (i.e., every other measure has a significant number of moving notes) helps channel the emotion further. The percussion at 1:14 sounds a bit flat, but I’m liking the call-and-response action at 1:34 and the trumpet solo shortly thereafter. The piece comes together rather well by 2:20, and I think it was also a good choice to return to a more minimal piano line for the coda. Part of me would’ve liked the mix to be a bit fuller-sounding at times, or for the final climax to be a bit more of a point of arrival, but at the end of the day it’s hard to find fault with the solemn and languid tone of the piece. Probably your strongest work yet, Potato-stick! These are some truly moving melodies.

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.75/10

potato-stick responds:

Thank you for the incredible feedback and for taking the time to deeply listen to understand my artistic intentions! I agree that my percussion is a bit lacking. I am scoping out some percussion libraries to buy on Black Friday so I finally have more than the fairly limited options that Nucleus offers. I will make sure to take your advice and apply it towards future works :)

[Be Gay Do Crime]

I like the quirky synths at the beginning and the pensive atmosphere. The percussion at :15 isn’t quite as strong in the mix as I wanted it to be, and there’s a bit of dissonance in the texture at :45. I like the spacey bridge with the guitar melodies at 1:05 or so, but by 1:14 the mix sounds pretty distorted again, although the combination of the creative beats and the ominous atmosphere works well. I might’ve liked to see you introduce some novel harmonic content at some point, as the piece was lacking an overarching sense of direction, but I like the quirky string line at the end. Overall, the mix feels a bit strained here, and perhaps that warrants getting a little stricter with your use of reverb and filtering. That said, the sound design and mood are really evocative and neat. Keep at it, Mooke! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

zybor responds:

Thank you for your kind words :)

[The Concept of Time]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the dark brass at :15. The harmonic content is a little bare, but the texture is still rich. I might’ve liked to hear a little more of the vocals at :48 in the mix, just because their part seemed a bit more mobile than the strings and brass, but the gorgeous melody at 1:14 helps keep me engaged shortly thereafter. The middle section of the piece has a really nice sense of triumph and direction to it, and the string riff at 2:24 was a fun play on the more legato version of the same riff at :32. I might have asked for a little more melodic flair and harmonic depth in the more energetic sections of the piece, but that’s being nitpicky. The production quality, sound design, atmosphere, phrasing, and melodies are all wonderful here. Keep up the good work, Kevin! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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
9/10

KevinMueller responds:

Thanks for the review and the kind words! :)
And thank you very much for hosting the NGUAC! Your patience with some of the contestants was amazing and inspiring. You did a really great job!

[Alabaster]

I like the eerie ambient sound effects at the beginning, but the rhythm of their delivery felt a bit square, so as to render them cheesy. The creepy riser thing at :31 was a neat idea, but could’ve worked a tad better with some more atmosphere. I also had a little trouble squaring it with the blissful mood at :40. Still, I’m enjoying the thicker texture and quirky beats at :43. The instrumental hierarchy undergoes a lot of sudden changes during the energetic part of this piece, notably at 1:04, 1:11, and other places. The composition strikes me as a bit experimental, but I’m really loving the rhythmic content and sound design. I love the percussion at 1:59 - super danceable and fun, and it also sits really well in the mix. And that reminds me: the production quality is superb here, even if the pads at :58 didn’t quite pop like I wanted them to. There’s a lot of potential in this piece, and I highly encourage you to keep working on it after the competition. With a little more cohesion and a less choppy arrangement (and also much less of the experimental granulizer thing starting at 2:42), this track would be a total bop. It already has the engrossing instrumentation, neat rhythmic content, and just generally oozes creativity. Keep it up, ISMCataclism! Good luck with both school and your album. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.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?)
.25/1
Composite score
7.75/10

Zerisan responds:

Thank you so much!