TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[After Hours]

I like the refreshing piano riff at the beginning and the rhythmic guitar patterns at :16. The section at :30 has a fresh, funky vibe, although the pacing of the intro is a bit slow. Sometimes the delivery of the vocals seemed a bit clunky to me. For example, "it's time to go out" doesn't have the same swung rhythm that the previous two lines had. I also think the vocals are a little too quiet relative to the piano at 1:10. Otherwise, the production quality is really good, and I also like the sound design. The mood and instruments here are reminiscent of ABBA. Nice job with the filtering at the breakdown at 2:26. The piece comes together well towards the end with the additional vocal harmonies at 2:58. Overall, I think the vocals are what needs the most work here. They could use a tad more energy and precision, especially at parts like 3:28, where the blending between the multiple voices wasn't great. You might've needed some more reverb, or simply a re-recording there. I also think the vocal harmonies can come on a bit too strong in the mix relative to the lead vocals. Still, this piece has a nice sense of energy and danceability, and much like your last piece some great rhythmic content, instruments, and atmosphere. Keep at it, Time0ff! :)

Time0ff responds:

Thank you so much TaintedLogic!! As always your feedback is super helpful :D

Just fixed the volume, compression and EQ on all the vocals and piano, pls let us know if feel it sounds better ^^

Thanks again, u da best!!
T0

[DV - Fire to the Floor]

I like the dark, ominous texture and the gritty synths. There’s a nice sense of climax into :22, and the sound design sounds really edgy and refreshing. Despite the nice sense of atmosphere and fun rhythmic content, you never really followed through on this great sense of tension and anxiety in the texture with a dramatic climax or point of resolve. I think my main problem with the piece is that you need to flesh out the composition a lot more to give this piece a sense of ebb and flow. Right now, it sounds like an amazing chase scene that’s just getting started. The sudden ending is a testament to how there’s not a lot of structuring or contrast in the energy level of this piece. You left yourself a lot of space in the mix in the beginning for a fuller texture with more intensity, but you didn’t quite capitalize on it. Still, the atmosphere, sound design, and mixing in this piece are all very good, and that certainly counts for something. Keep at it, la-yinn! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.5/10

la-yinn responds:

Dude, it's awesome getting a review like this. To think you wrote one for every entry is mind boggling. You're the man, TL!

I've had this idea spinning around in my head to add lyrics/vocals to this track; a (lot) slower bridge part with a good bit of melancholy and then smash out an editted second drop to give it a lot more depth and that 'ebb and flow' you describe. But I never got even close to that. Hell, I'm pretty content I managed to get this produced as it is because there's a lot of technique I've had to learn over the last month or two that I wasn't comfortable with at all. Couple that with some automation failure when I exported to .mp3 a day before the NGADM deadline and, well, you get this loop. Hence the sudden ending. ;-)

[I'm trying]

I like the militaristic drums at :11, although the piano sample sounds a tad dry and the mix is very quiet. I think you could’ve used some more compression and other mixing effects to help fill in the texture here. At :45, I’m enjoying the melodic content, but the rhythm of the bass isn’t always synced well with that of the piano. The guitar instrument at 1:08 sounds nice and smooth, although there are some dissonances at the harmony at that point that don’t fit the blissful and relaxed vibe of the piece overall. The breakdown at 1:30 was nice for some structural variety, but I wanted you to find more creative ways of providing variety than just adding and subtracting instruments over time. Filtering, automation, and phrasing can all really help give a stronger sense of shape to your piece with more gradual transitions and additional dynamic contrast and textural fill. The piece really starts coming together at the 3-minute mark imo, with a really engaging and refreshing guitar riff that made this piece feel climactic and conclusive without letting go of its laid-back roots. Overall, this is a well-structured and cute piece with some pleasing melodic content and a tasteful atmosphere. I think there is room for more creativity with the production and a more incremental approach to the arrangement at times, but I like the way you tied it together at the end with the emotional appeal of that piano riff. Solid work overall, Kerathon! :)

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

kerathon responds:

Thank you for your awesome review! I'll work on all the aspects you listed for my next work :)

[Futuredread (Old Draft)]

I like the quirky sound design and atmosphere at the beginning, but I wish the piece had a more gradual intro that avoided throwing the listener into the middle of a dense, overwhelming texture like this. I like the somewhat abrupt pause at :35, but the continuation of the dissonant rhythmic textures with the sudden transition at :39 was a little much. I wanted to hear more harmonic depth and melodic content in this piece, as well as more shape in the composition beyond the hectic textures that characterized most of the piece. You clearly have a knack for constructing unique atmospheres and dense rhythmic frameworks, but you also haven’t shown off a sufficient diversity of compositional skills in this piece imo. There are sudden transitions (like 2:24), not a strong sense of direction or storytelling, and several dissonances, even though they fit the thematic content well. Still, I think the dark, industrial vibe of the piece is engrossing, and I applaud the clarity of the production given the extremely busy texture. This piece leaves more to be desired out of the arrangement and composition, but I certainly think you’ve nailed everything else. Keep at it, LD-W! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
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
8.75/10

LD-W responds:

I pretty much whacked this together in 2 evenings, so it seemed to of worked alright enough to at least get me through auditions haha. Should have significantly more time in brackets to get something better worked out.

[Flashback]

I like the drums at the beginning. The guitar riffs during the first 20 seconds or so sound pretty indistinct, and also don’t necessarily fit the rhythm of the beat very well. I like the more melodic content at :24, although the texture remains pretty thin. There’s also not a lot of structuring in this piece, and the mix is pretty quiet and thin. I like the gradual thickening of the texture over time, although the recordings sound pretty unpolished, and the melodies seem to meander without an overarching sense of direction. You’re clearly a talented guitarist with a good sense of melody and atmosphere, but the arrangement and production quality of the piece just needed more effort to satisfy my standards. Keep at it, JFloyd400! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
5.5/10

JFloyd400 responds:

Yes i agree completely. This was actually just a random saved demo of a pedal i got one day. (Flashback Delay) So i didn't really pre-plan anything and was just trying out the sounds of the pedal with some backing from my Sdrum and Jamman. And this was also before i had my mixer so quality at the time was very low and since i usually play with other pedals the volume and tone weren't the greatest. I appreciate the amount of thought you gave to your comment and will definitely try to improve in the future.

[whoomy whom who]

I like the airy percussion at the beginning and the synth riff at :04. The synth bass instrument itself sounds a bit generic, though, and the rhythm of the synths at :19 is a bit hard-to-follow. The piece is pretty slow to progress overall, and the texture is quite minimal for most of the track. Maybe some more reverb or other mixing effects on some of these instruments - especially the synth bass - would help fill in the texture. The pause at :55 was a bit awkward, especially since the atmosphere faded out completely before the next instrument came in. There’s a lot of dissonance in the texture at around 1:15, and I also think that there’s never really a strong sense of development and direction in this piece. The texture sounds rather experimental at times, and there’s also little sense of structuring into distinct sections. The mix is rather quiet, although I’m more concerned about the composition. I think you need to consolidate your harmonic ideas here and focus on making diatonic (i.e., tonal) sounds until you have a stronger grasp of how to use dissonance effectively. Try laying out a progression of a few chords before you start working in your DAW, and then making patterns that fit into that chord progression. That’ll give you a stronger framework for not only a tonal harmonic structure, but also a richer, fuller texture. Once you feel like you’ve written a piece this way, PM me and I’ll leave you another review. Sorry if this review seems a bit discouraging. There are a lot of good ideas here - it’s just you need a bit of help arranging them in a more meaningful way. Keep at it, nonfer! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
0/1
Composite score
3.5/10

nonfer responds:

glad you didn't care for it. pretty good prizes really should go to someone just starting out.

the drums were the worst part of it. i normally don't leave them like that.

thanks for listening and taking the time to offer your critique,
-nonfer

for others reading this, @taintedlogic was the judge from ngadm 2019 reviewing my submission to their contest.
here's his track "Zenith of the Second Sun" : https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/800677 (video game genre).

[A City Not Forsaken Part I]

I should really try to figure out how to do a username-blind judging process next time, because as soon as I saw that you were participating in this year’s NGADM I got rather excited. I like the atmosphere at the beginning, as well as the sound design. The choir is gorgeous, and the bass at :30 really helps fill out the atmosphere. The panning on the bass at 1:05 is a little too heavy imo, and also fades out a tad suddenly. I like the pensive piano line thereafter, and I like the climax into 1:40 and the subtle use of dissonance at 1:38. You’ve always been adept at combining orchestral and synthetic elements of the texture seamlessly, and this piece is no exception. The percussion gives the piece a distinct sense of drive towards the end, although I wish you had gotten a bit craftier with the ending. The fade-out seemed a tad underwhelming. Still, the sound design, atmosphere, production quality, and emotional appeal of this piece are all fantastic. Keep up the good work, Phonometrologist! ^_^

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?)
1/1
Composite score
9.5/10

Phonometrologist responds:

I appreciate your comments on this one. Two thoughts I want to respond to. When you mention how combining synthetic elements and orchestral together tend to work out seamlessly in these pieces, I'm starting to embrace that idea. At first, I started incorporating that dynamic in my writing to compensate the lack of orchestral arranging knowledge and lack of quality sounds in traditional instrumentation. I figured since orchestral samples tend to sound fake anyway when we try to manipulate the original idea to fit our own, I might as well add mechanical devices such as synths into the mix. I don't know if I ever would be satisfied with orchestral libraries as a stand alone merely because it's difficult to simulate the quality that live musicians bring to the music when they listen to each other and how they tend to treat each phrase in the music. Anyway, my main point was that it started out as happenstance that the idea works for me better than if I were to do without. And works like the Tron OST really has been influential for me in that regard as well.
Secondly, you're quite a stickler for endings, and I get it. I think naturally we all enjoy a satisfying conclusion when it comes to movies, books, and music. However, I'll defend my idea here as it is meant to leave the listener hanging. The theme is about something that looks forward to the future as it has not arrived. Moreover as a Christian, our work is never done and we are not to be satisfied with our current state. A fade-out may seem underwhelming as would a flower fading and grass withering, but there's a philosophy in endings that I enjoy where the lack of a bombastic or satisfying conclusion has a purpose. A story thats missing in epic poetry that represents most humankind and that is, as it appears when it happens to others, a disappointing death. As underwhelming one might seem to live at their end, it is their own to experience and say. Just as an ice sculpture will no doubt reach its slow melt, and as sad or underwhelming it is, it shouldn't take away the beauty it once was. This is why I tend to enjoy the realistic endings of a fad-out or soft ending. As disappointing it may be, the reality/truth of the matter doesn't change to our perceptions.

[Fall of Lichtenstein]

I like the dreamy atmosphere at the beginning and the grainy white noise at around :20. At :30, the bass is a little too loud and the rhythm is a little hard to follow. I like the filtering work with the hi-hats at :47, but the clap at :50 sounds pretty generic and the harmonies in the chords and bass clash a bit starting at :58. The phasing vocals at 1:10 sound pretty cool, although they contribute to the dissonance in the harmonies. I also think this piece needs some more structuring. It’s almost 2 full minutes between :30 and 2:15 where there’s almost no discernible change in the energy level of the track. I appreciated it when you took this track in another direction at 2:32 (and also provided some melodic content in the process). I also think the production quality of this piece is rather good overall. The dissonances in the harmonies become apparent again starting at around the 4-minute mark, and I also think the way you gradually turned up the wet reverb on the claps as a method of fading out the entire texture was a little overdone. I enjoyed the prominence of the strings in the texture by around 4:30, but then the riser/effects that come after were pretty unnecessary and bombastic. Overall, despite all my complaints with the compositional details and such, I’ve largely enjoyed the mixing and mastering, atmosphere, rhythmic content, and progression of this piece. I think it couldn’t hurt to consolidate some of your ideas here a little bit and aim for cohesion in your composition, but perhaps a bigger priority should be injecting some creative energy into your sound design choices. Still, the arrangement of the piece sounds pretty unique, but also works well to keep the piece coherent. Keep at it, ThePal! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.5/10

ThePal responds:

I thank you for such a well written and thought out review. I'll take what you've written into consideration for future pieces.

Hope you're having fun with the contest so far! :)

[The Wraith]

You have a good sense of rhythm, but the percussion at the beginning sounds pretty dry and unpolished. I’d suggest taking some treble off of that high-pitched perc, or maybe eliminating the entire first 28 seconds of the song entirely, as the mood at :28 sounds pretty different. The bass sample at :28 sounds a little generic, and the progression is very slow-paced. There was another jarring transition at 1:16. I like the call-and-response action you have going on between that creepy synth and the gritty bass there, but once again you fail to create a sense of development with those riffs before reverting back to the bass riff from :28 at 1:40 or so, after an awkward pause at that. The additional harmonies at 2:07 clash a bit with the existing bass riff, and overall the arrangement of this piece is rather choppy. I think you need to think more carefully about the harmonic framework of your piece before you start working in your DAW, and also aim for more fluidity in the composition. Despite the harsh-sounding effects and percussion, the mix is pretty quiet overall, and I’m not particularly impressed with the sound design either. That said, there are a lot of good harmonic ideas here; they just don’t feel like they’re all a part of the same story yet. The different sections of the piece aren’t very well-connected, and by the end of the piece there’s not a strong sense of conclusion or resolve. I know I’ve been tough on you in this review. I think many of my criticisms boil down to two key points: the disjointed feel of the composition and the discordant/empty feel of the harmonies. I enjoyed the slap bass riffs and drum beats, and I’d encourage you to keep working on this one. Keep at it, Thenoodge! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
4.5/10

Peepers responds:

Thank you for the review.
Amazing how you'll listen to your own music a bit differently after someone criticizes it.

[By Day, By Night (VIP)]

I like the arpeggios at the beginning and the nature sound effects. The dreamy atmosphere at :14 is great, and there’s a nice sense of climax into :41. I love the melodic content at :41, although I thought the bass was a tad too loud. The texture sounds a bit over-compressed at 1:40, but otherwise the slow pulsing vibe that section gave off is great. I also really liked the chill breakdown at 2:48. The jazzy piano at 3:06 came as a bit of a surprise, and I think you could’ve done a better job integrating it with the synths once they came back in at 3:30-ish. This is a tiny detail, but I wish the muted ambiance at 4:10 had more of a sense of shape as a lead in to the melody at 4:21, instead of the simple pick-up note. A simple volume or filtering automation would probably do the trick there. :) My biggest complaint is that the piece feels pretty drawn-out - in part because of some well-used dramatic phrasing and stuff, however. Still, I enjoyed the influx of energy at 4:46. The melodies could’ve used a tad more variation towards the end, but I enjoyed faster rhythmic pace of the harmonies at 5:10. The post-chorus at 5:38 is also a valuable addition to the composition. Overall, this is a really provocative piece between the sound design, melodies, production quality, and use of structural contrast. This track is living, breathing proof that simple melodies are often better, and the dreamy, atmospheric outro was a great way of concluding the piece, too. Keep up the great work, guys! ^_^

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

tailspun responds:

tysm for the review! this is super useful feedback :)