TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Flow]

I like the reverse pianos at the beginning and the gradual swell of the atmosphere into :14. The texture is quite rich, and the overall tone of the piece rather soothing and warm. There isn’t a strong sense of development for the first half or so, but the sound design and trance-like style help make up for that. I think there are some sudden entrances and shifts in the instrumental palette that detract from the flow of the piece, like at 1:34. Overall, the arrangement is pretty choppy here at times, and I would’ve liked to hear a more gradual climax into the more dramatic part at 2:03. The tempo change at 2:20 was a nice touch, though. I think the mix is a bit dry at times, especially towards the beginning, and could also use more bass to maximize the impact of the final climax. I like the dreamy outro, but I’m also not sure how to weave the narrative of the piece together between the sudden changes in mood here. In my estimation, the main problem with the piece is the somewhat disjointed structure. Everything else is truly a minor complaint, and you know I love your cinematic flair, sound design, phrasing and dynamics work, and melody-writing. Keep it up, CloakedSoup! ^^

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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

CloakedSoup responds:

Thanks! I actually wrote like half of it in a couple hours. lol I'm definitely going to come back to this and completely re-work it.

[Escaping Limbo]

I like the thunder and rain sound effects (or, perhaps a recording?) at the beginning. It really sets the scene, and the bright chords add a profoundness to the tone of the piece. The texture smooths out considerably by the 1-minute mark, with your characteristic flowy wave-like style. The piece feels conspicuously empty at around 1:25, which I thought was a somewhat odd choice for what isn’t a particularly climactic part of the piece otherwise. I love the feeling of floating at 2:04, which is contrasted with the heavy chords at 2:42. The piece really gives off the sense of capturing a journey. At 3:04, there’s another one of your somewhat unexpected modulations, but at least the equally odd harmonic shift at 3:16 maintains the jarring chord progression across that section. I like the sound of footsteps at 3:30 (I’m not sure they’re footsteps, really, but it seemed to fit the journey metaphor). There’s such beautiful phrasing at the section starting at 3:55. The pitter-patter rhythm and delicately articulated swells complement each other so well - haunting work there. I also like how the piece periodically resets itself throughout this middle section. You’ve set up a really intricate arrangement here, and it doesn’t always work for me (5:04 seemed like a pretty sudden stylistic change, for example), but you’ve mostly found some particularly effective ways of transitioning between the various sub-themes of the piece. The reverse piano action at 5:30 was another strong compositional detail that adds to the pensive mood of the piece. I think 6:15 really serves as the arrival point of the piece - it feels so cathartic and freeing. Admittedly, the crackles in the background there didn’t quite work for me, though. I don’t think they built on your previous use of sound effects very effectively, and I almost thought the first one was some sort of recording mistake. There’s another rather awesome transition at 6:52, and the little sound wave manipulation going on at 6:56 works well to draw the listener’s attention to the background just before the rain starts up again. You’ve really taken some risks in this piece between the reversing of the piano and the generous use of sound effects. The ending is a bit jarring for me - seems like the grand crescendo of background noise was more for dramatic effect than to serve a more contextually appropriate compositional purpose. Perhaps that’s a bit stringent, though. Overall, this piece is fantastic. I’m particularly impressed with your continued ability to make such a simplistic sound design so engaging and varied, even across different pieces. If I was getting even slightly bored with your piano compositions this summer (which I was not), these last couple of rounds would renew my interest in a heartbeat. Well done, Ale! ^_^

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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.25/10

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Wow, thank you for the in-depth review! I am glad you liked the sound effects. I did not record these myself, but they're all CC0, free to use sounds. I intentionally stayed away from any popular or often used ones. I tried to get effects with as few downloads as possible, but only if they had just as high quality/fit the piece as well as the popular ones. Thus, there are a few exceptions.

I wanted to make something really different for this round, for many reasons. I realise the risk in composing only solo piano pieces for a competition like this. Regardless of how good they are, they would feel a bit boring in the long run if they were all too similar. My laptop can't really handle too many instruments in Cubase at the moment, but it quite easily processes sound effects. I also wanted to tell a story and set an atmosphere with this composition. I felt it especially important to set the feel, as this track is partially dedicated to something Jordi was/to some extent still is going though.

I knew it was also a bold choice to say the least to compose something this long. It's a habit I have by now, as it has happened before. But certain pieces just require that kind of depth to portray what is intended, I think. I've been very happy to hear that people haven't found this piece too dragging despite its length and heaviness, though! I actually had 11 or 12 minutes of material at least, but I fought hard to cut it down to the most important elements of the story and progression.

I'm glad you like the footsteps, btw! As for the crackles, I have to agree with you there, to some extent. I had to keep it in for conceptual reasons, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find the kind of sound that I feel would've really fit there. I suppose I should've started a fire myself, and kept my microphone at an apt distance. Maybe next time :)

I'm glad you appreciated my risk-taking. For this NGADM, I've really tried to capture a balance between being creative and taking my pieces in all kinds of crazy directions, with reigning them in so that others can fully enjoy them too. Hopefully, it's working somewhat okay, at least...

"The ending is a bit jarring for me - seems like the grand crescendo of background noise was more for dramatic effect than to serve a more contextually appropriate compositional purpose."

=> This is one critique I have to disagree with, though. The very start of the piece is a loud thunder strike, followed by some rain. The very end is reversed rain, followed by a loud reversed thunder strike to null out all other sound. To me, this signifies a full, seemingly never-ending loop; limbo. So I would argue it is kept in mostly for compositional purpose, and perhaps you found the effect lacking?

Thank you again for always writing such extensive reviews. I can always tell that you've really listened to the songs, when you describe the parts that stood out to you in some way.

[We Are All Doomed]

I like the heavy bass and atmosphere at the beginning. The crisp hi-hats and quirky percussion at :15 were a nice touch, too. The heavy mid-range bass really helped inject some energy and drive into the piece, but I thought the kick at :40 sounded a bit too thin and contained. The creepy pitch-shifting on the organ riff at :57 was a great touch, and despite the relative minimalism and lack of harmonic variety, you nailed the mastering work, sound design, and rhythmic elements here. I really like melodies at 1:50 or so too. You begin to overuse the creepy pads a bit during the middle section, but the ongoing use of the mid-range basses helps keep things interesting until the re-intro at around 2:50. The drum fills at 3:20 were really creative too. There could've been a little more variety between the first and second drops, but honestly the drops are so good that I don't mind as much as I usually would. There are a couple of rough transitions between the more atmospheric and bass-heavy parts, but I'm glad you brought the atmospheric section back for the end. Strong work overall, Larrynachos! Fave'd and DL'd. ^_^

EDIT: just realized this is the 1,000th song I favorited on the site, LN, so you should feel special. :^)

larrynachos responds:

The 0:40 part should have had a crash with every kick, it feels empty to me too x.x

Your review is pretty much 100% how I feel about this track lol. Although I thought I might have been able to snag that last half star from you. Maybe on the next one!

Thanks for the review TL! Your feedback has played a big part in my growth :D

[A Halloween Tale [Short]]

Lovely as always, Vocif! I like the stringed instruments at the beginning and the flowing quality of the piece overall. The vocals at :26 sound like a children's choir, which enhances the haunting aspect of the track. I like the injection of energy at :56 too. The mood of the piece is just wonderful - whimsical, adventuresome, and at times cutesy (e.x., 1:45). The title is fitting in that you really told a story with the piece. I especially like when the more mature-sounding vocals come in at 2:40 - sounds like a major point of arrival. Nice use of theremin at 3:32 as well. As always, the sound design is one of the strongest elements of your work, and the mixing and composition are equally as compelling. There may be a couple of sudden transitions in here, but the sound design and mood keep everything rather tightly knit in here. I think my favorite part of the piece is 5:55, which feels like the most action-packed part of the story line. The circus-like mallet instrument at 6:15 was a great touch, too. One of my favorite elements of the composition here is how energetic and driven the texture is towards the end. Details like that really emphasize the story-like nature of the piece, while at the same time leaving the listener wanting more. The theremin during the outro was another stellar sound design choice, btw. You should team up with someone from the movie portal next time to make a corresponding animation! Until then, fantastic work here, VociferousMusic. Beautiful and well-varied piece all around.

VociferousMusic responds:

Thanks a lot for such a detailed feedback even though you are not judging this time! In case you didn't know, the stringed instrument at the intro and outro is the celtic harp. It's a bit more complicated at the circus-like melody later. There it is an ensemble of the piccolo, glockenspiel, xylophone and harpsichord, so definitely very hard to identify. Now we are back at the transitions, probably my currently biggest weakness, which always costed me .25 points during the contest. This time however I have to comment that the rather sudden transitions (for example at 6:40) were done like that by intention. I thought this is cinematic music and a Halloween track just as well. Imagine within the story-line something (bad, shocking) would be happening out of nowhere.
I think that making a real transition there kind of would ruin the moment of the surprise.

[Discovery {Dj-Abbic}]

I like the cute plucking riffs at the beginning. It has a cartoonish charm to it, and the bass-y elements at :28 facilitate the build-up into the drop really well. The section at 1:04 feels really cathartic, and I like how you contrasted the energy there with the mellow breakdown at 1:37. The orchestration there is nice, but I might've liked to hear you get a little more creative with some of the rhythmic and compositional details through the middle section of the piece. The arrangement of the piece is pretty generic, yet effective. The detuned synths at 3:10-ish and the more organic-sounding drums during the outro helped keep things engaging until the end. Solid work overall, DjAbbic! ^^

DjAbbic responds:

Thanks for dropping by, I actually agree with you about that middle section, it feels rather neglected in comparison with the rest. I didn't really pay a huge amount of attention to it and it really shows, so you're spot on there.

[Juliobee-Scorched Lemons!!!!!!!!]

I like the progression at the beginning, even if the synths are a bit cheesy. Sounds a bit like a flashy 80s disco demo. I like the harmonies at :12 too, but then the transition at :25 was a little sudden. There's also a bit of mic popping or stereo clicks going on in the background at :30-:40 or so, which might just be the sample. Either way, I think it's worth seeing if you can get rid of that with filtering or something. The harmonic content of the piece is good, but gets repetitive towards the end. I like the blissful mood and well-balanced texture, though. No complaints with the mixing either. I think the main things you need to fix now are your transitions and the lack of variety. Changing up the melodies later in the piece (or even the chord progressions if you're feeling fancy) would go a long way towards keeping things engaging towards the end, even if this isn't a particularly long piece. More creative transitions might involve more automation and filtering, but simple solutions like drum fills, sweeps, and crashes will work fine in a pretty cohesive VGM song like this. Still, it's a cute and catchy piece. I enjoyed it. Keep at it, Juliobee! ^^

juliobee responds:

Thanks for the review! I’ll see what I can do with your advice.

[Winterlude]

I really appreciate the clear effort you put into this submission, despite being a newly-solo fill-in. The atmosphere of this piece is just haunting. I love the bells/chimes, ghostly pads, and eastern-sounding melody instruments towards the beginning. The relaxed mood and gradual progression of the piece complement each other quite well, and the sound design is simply fantastic. I loved the moment of stillness in the middle (1:57), that offered a hint of a breakdown/bridge without fully devoting itself to a distinct section of the piece. I just thought that was a smart move in terms of pacing the rest of the piece, especially as things got more lively and melodic during the second half. The piece lives up to its title by around 2:30, which seems like it’s out of a whimsical animated feature trip to the South Pole. The gradual descension back into the warm flowiness of the intro is well-orchestrated as well. Overall, this is an amazing piece worthy of a top 4 spot and more. Congratulations on all your hard work throughout the competition this year, and I hope to see (and hear!) more from you next year. ^_^ Also, is there somewhere I can download this? This was made for my personal chill-out playlist. Thanks.

tailspun responds:

thanks for the review! 1f1n1ty and i were planning on releasing this on an EP & posting it on bandcamp for download, but that will inevitably take a long time. i can send you a wav or mp3 file because you've left so many helpful reviews, though! feel free to DM me on here or discord (if you use it, you can find me in the NGADM 2019 discord c:)

[The Temple of Kukulcan]

I like the tranquil mood at the beginning and the majestic flute melody. The piece has a great sense of atmosphere, and the tone is both warm and mysterious at the same time. I like how the texture opens up at :45 with the foreboding drums. There’s a sense of wonder that comes with the grand moment of suspense at :54, which then devolves into the frantic, ominous textures at :59. It’s as if that’s the moment the protagonist decided to steal the chalice from the temple and make a break for it as the walls cave in around him. By 1:28, you’ve done an effective job at heightening the tension behind the piece. The transition at 1:48 is pretty sudden, but it still fits the sense of drama here. I envision the protagonist nearing death, only to escape by 1:48. Only then does the larger evil become apparent. The part at 2:19 is extremely evocative, and provides a neat point of inflection for the piece imo. At 2:25, I begin to feel that you’ve built a strong element of cohesion into the instrumental hierarchy here, despite the fact that this piece seems designed for storytelling more so than structural coherence. I also appreciated how you brought that instrumental framework full-circle with the haunting flute solo at the end. Overall, this is really strong work again, CloakedSoup. Is there somewhere I can download this? :D

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?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.5/10

CloakedSoup responds:

Hey! Thanks for the awesome and detailed review! I had a bit more time to work on the mixing in this piece, so I'm glad it seemed to have paid off. Many of the comments you made in terms of the storytelling during each section reflected what I was actually thinking when I wrote it, so that's really cool to hear!

In terms of downloading it, I plan on releasing this as well as several other pieces from NGADM on an EP/album once I get knocked out and/or the competition ends. I want to re-work/mix some stuff on previous pieces before releasing everything together as a whole. This piece as well as the others will be available for individual download though.

Unfortunately, that may not be until sometime in November or December, because I'm actually working on another album for Atom Music Audio at the moment, so any big re-working will have to wait until I finish that!

Thanks for the fantastic review again! :D

[endK - Funkadunk]

I like the vinyl scratches at the beginning and the quirky pads at :02. The thin-sounding bass, brass, and organ synths combine to form a fun, jazzy texture that still doesn’t take itself too seriously. The rhythmic elements of the piece are really enjoyable, and I like the more laid-back bridge at 1:31. The strings there sound pretty fake, but they blend in with the cheesy, VGM tinge of the rest of the sound design. As fun as all the little melodic riffs and call-and-response format of the texture are, I would’ve liked to hear some more dynamic melodic content here. I don’t think you had much novel content in the last minute of the piece, which gives the composition a bit of a stagnant vibe towards the end. The ending itself also comes on pretty suddenly. Still, you nailed the sound design, rhythmic content, and mixing here. Keep at it, EndK! ^^

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

endKmusic responds:

Yeah, I think that both me and you see the pattern here. :D
And that iiiis - I'm not really god with the deadlines so I barelly changed any melodic content in the last minute.
This was also a thing in one or two other tracks during the contest.
Thanks TL - for this and all other review during the contest, I really appreciate your input.