TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Chilling Spot]

I like the energy at the beginning and the bouncy synth melodies at :07. The chord progression is a little cliche, but the rich, bass-heavy texture helps keep things interesting, and the strong melodic content continues in the post-chorus at :42. After a time, the piece might’ve needed a tad more variety in the harmonic framework and instrumental hierarchy, though. Otherwise, it risks bouncing around between a bunch of cool melodies without ever really leading anywhere as an overarching narrative. There were also times when I wanted the drums to be a little more prominent in the mix, and the ending could’ve been a little more creative than a fade-out. Still, I’m really enjoying the rich texture, sound design, and melodies here. Keep at it, Stouf7908! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

stouf7908 responds:

Thanks !!

[Butterfly (WIP)]

I like the bright tone at the beginning and the rich atmosphere. The chord progression is a bit cliche, but the overall flow of the piece is nice, and there’s a good sense of climax into :45. The percussion sounds a bit indistinct at :45, and the sidechaining is a bit heavy for my tastes. The quirky synth at 1:15 is cool, and the brass instrument in the background of the breakdown at 2:00 was a nice touch. I like how you varied the drop the second time around, even though the harmonic content itself could use some switching up at some point in the piece. I also would’ve liked to hear a proper outro to the piece. Still, great job overall with the sound design, atmosphere, energy, and mixing. My biggest concern here is probably how generic the arrangement, harmonic framework, and transitions are.

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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

Semicedevine responds:

Thanks for the detailed review! Yeah, it definitely is generic, but this whole thing started out as a semi-joke with what would happen if I tried making the most generically-composed song possible. The result was that since I was already familiar with the process, I could focus on other things I normally wasn't as familiar with like mixing and flow control! xD

[The Ride on the Pianofalls]

I like the bright tone at the beginning and the sound design. The piano sounds really rich and full, which is good, but also a bit inauthentic. Maybe it’s the way it’s filtered? I like the injection of energy at :34 and the melodic flourishes in the strings. There’s a great devious sort of mood at 1:03. You really sold the narrative quality of this one, and despite all the variety in the composition the progression is really smooth. The drum rolls at 2:23 are especially nice, and the slightly dissonant piano line at 2:58 was also a fun detail. I’m just going to list a bunch of other small things that I thought were really cool: the percussion and vocals at around 4:05, the emotional quality of the string mini-solo at 5:40, and the beautiful pacing and spaciousness of the piano solo at 5:55. If I had to complain about something, it might be that there could’ve been a bit more cohesion in the structure. Still, I know you poured your heart into this, and it shows. Absolutely inspiring work here, especially with the composition. Keep it up, ScottSoul! ^^

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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.75/10

ScottSoul responds:

Quite the review there, TaintedLogic! Perhaps you can help me understand what you mean by 'authenticity' in the piano, and 'cohesion' in the structure; it's too vague for me to comprehend your point of view (which I appreciate greatly)! :)

I wish I could thank you properly for the flowers you're throwing at me for all the details you're picking up on, but all I can really say is everything I compose is somewhat unconscious; namely, I'm not entirely responsible for what comes out onto my DAW. Most of the time, I'm taken aback myself by how extensive "my" work can be. The soul is a wild animal.

Thank you so much, TaintedLogic, for favoriting my track and reviewing it. It means the world to me.

[Shooting star]

I like the spacey mood and atmosphere, but the pulsing effect on the pads was a bit too heavy for my tastes. The airy synth at :15 is a nice touch, and there’s a good sense of climax into :46. The slow-paced drop was great harmonically, if a bit over-compressed. The beat at 1:48 is cool, and I like the more consistent flow of the second drop at 2:17. The melodic variations at 2:33 really help hit the piece home. There’s a lot of reverb in the texture throughout, though - I wonder if you could’ve gotten away with loosening up on the compressors a bit if you toned down the reverb. Still, this is a creative piece with some really neat sound design and atmospheric elements. My main concern is probably the generic arrangement, actually. Keep at it, Retrize! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9/10

retrize responds:

I will try my best, thank you very much ;)

[Approaching Battle]

I like the apprehensive mood at the beginning and the crisp percussion. The dark chord at :21 is a nice touch, and there’s a great sense of build-up into :34. The string melodies there are beautiful, and you’ve really sold the drama well with the phrasing and instrumentation. The brass solos during the middle section were also really nice, and you tie the piece together really well with the melodies at the end. If I had to complain about one thing, it might be that the mix is a little quiet. But overall, really strong work here, my friend. You’ve earned a scout and, pending the approval of the other judges, a spot in the next round of this competition. Keep it up! ^_^

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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.75/10

potato-stick responds:

Thanks for the clearly thought out review! The mix has been something that I haven't gotten too deep into, so maybe I'll focus more on that for the next submission. I'm glad to join in on this competition and this community :)

[Explode Cat]

I like the beat at the beginning and the ghostly synths at :05. The texture is a bit dry, though, and could use some more reverb or other mixing effects. The rhythmic content is pretty cool, but sometimes the instruments don’t blend super well together. The strings at :31 sounded a bit out-of-place, for example, and I would’ve liked to hear some more variety in the harmonic content later on. The outro was a bit cheesy, too. The production quality is strong, and I can hear all of the instruments clearly throughout. I think you could’ve put more effort into the compositional details, and the piece doesn’t really feel structurally complete. I think it would help if you had some more creative progression techniques, like filtering and automation, as opposed to just adding and subtracting instruments over time. Overall, the rhythmic content and mixing are my favorite elements of it. I hope you’ll keep working on this, because it has potential as a more fluid, full-length track. Keep at it, Noobster! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.5/10

maybenotriver responds:

I Agree with Everything you said, I feel like it was to empty and and I made it in one day. Thanks for the feedback ^-^

[LMMS Synthwave]

I like the grouchy bass at the beginning. The synth at :20 sounds a tad cheesy, and the kick at :38 is pretty heavy. Usually, I would advise against putting so much reverb on the kick - it can make the mix sound distorted without adding too much emphasis on the instrument. There was a good sense of build into 1:18, but the harmonic content there sounds a bit dissonant. The ominous breakdown at 2:35 was pretty nice, and the smooth pads at 2:55 help contribute to the atmosphere. The harmonic content quickly gets very repetitive during the second half of the piece, though, and it was nice to hear some more prominent melodic content at 4:29. I would even suggest moving that melody up an octave or so to make better use of the top end of the frequency spectrum and add some intensity towards the end. Overall, the composition of this piece is a little drawn-out and bland, but I enjoyed the production quality, drum beat, and progression. Keep at it, MykeMyr! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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
6.75/10

MykeMyr responds:

Thank you for your comment! I've never received something similar from someone, I really appreciate your judgement! :')