TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Piano in the Rain]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the atmosphere. The piano sample is of pretty good quality, and the progression comes together well by around :32. There might’ve been a tad too much reverb in the texture, and I thought the entrance of the drums at 1:04 was a little sudden. The piece is well-structured overall, but the fade-out ending struck me as a bit lazy. I also think you could use more contrast in the energy and volume levels in the texture in order to maximize the emotional appeal of the piece. Still, the composition is smooth and the bright and airy feel of the piece is rather enjoyable. Keep at it, shadow-ghost! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

shadow-ghost responds:

Thank you so much for the detailed review, TaintedLogic! I definitely think you make some good points, especially in regards to reverb (I tend to overuse it) and the song fade out. I'm glad you liked the piece overall! :)

[Peeter Angelo - Something 'Bout You]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the chill pads. The harmonic pace is a bit fast-paced at times, especially at :22 or so. Still, the vocals are refreshing (even if the lyrics are a little cliche) and the rest of the sound design is smooth. I think the drums could be a little louder here, but otherwise the production quality is solid. I especially like the slight glissandos in the vocal line and the fun, jazzy solo at the breakdown at 2:03. The composition is strong here overall, and the piece has a great feel-good vibe. The mixing effects at 2:53 are cool for some variety, and the chopped vocals later on help hit the piece home. I would’ve appreciated some more melodic variation during the refrain, but overall you keep things engaging with the energy and synths. Keep up the good work, Peeterangelo! ^_^

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

peeterangelo responds:

Wow, what an in-depth review! Up until recently I've composed instrumental songs almost exclusively so I don't have much experience with writing lyrics yet. I'm hoping I'll get better soon if I keep at it, though. Thank you very much for the kind words and suggestions.

[The Lost Legacy]

The percussion at the beginning is cool, and I like the mysterious synth patterns at :06. Nice job with the bass riff at :22 and the atmosphere. The drums sound a tad generic, and the texture doesn’t quite come together in a particularly rich way until the very end. Even then, there’s room for some stronger melodic content and additional structuring here. I’d love to see you flesh out the composition more here, as well as create some more gradual transitions and build-ups to maximize the emotional appeal of the piece. I also think the bass could be a bit louder during the final climactic section. That said, I enjoyed the strong production quality, sound design, and rhythmic content here. Keep at it, EdKempeper! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
8.25/10

EdKempeper responds:

Hi !
Wow, thank you very much !
I always appreciated the details of your reviews. I keep in mind all of your advices especially when I'm mixing my tracks (maybe the hardest part).
It's a very short piece, so you're right, I could have add some part.
And you often mentionned the transitions within your reviews, I'll try to work on it differently for my next tracks.
Thanks again ! ;)
Ed

[The Brink]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning and the string drone. The industrial sound effects are really nice, but I think there’s a bit too much reverb on the bass bomb at :29. It hijacks the mix a bit there. I think the mix could have a tad more clarity, and cutting some reverb and tightening up the equalizers are probably priorities for fixing it. There’s a great sense of climax into 1:29, but it doesn’t lead much of anywhere. The percussion throughout the piece is really nice, and gives it a sense of drive and energy that it would’ve otherwise have. I think you start to overuse the bass bombs after a while, and I also would’ve liked to hear more melodic content in this piece. This piece needs a cathartic section towards the end to really hit it home and absolve the tension that’s prevalent throughout the piece. Instead, the piece feels like it ends on a cliffhanger, which lacks a sense of resolve to a track that otherwise has a good sense of storytelling. Still, nice job with the drama, sound design, and atmosphere in this one. Keep at it, SuperTonic64! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

SuperTonic64 responds:

Hey TaintedLogic

I really appreciate this detailed review. I definitely agree that there is some more work to be done to improve this mix! Hopefully when I can get things more in order, I'll sit back down and give this one another look through, because I do think that there is some potential with it.

This review was fantastic and I honestly wish more folks spent the time and effort you did to outline the things that you liked and could be improved upon. I'll continue to do my best, and thank you for this review once again!!

Thanks,
- ST64

[A Hero Returns]

I like the bass groove at the beginning and the refreshing guitar riffs. The mix is nice and punchy, and the drums give the piece a nice sense of drive despite the relatively thin texture. The piece is a little slow to progress, but the melodic content at :57 is nice. The harmonic content gets a tad repetitive after a while, but I enjoyed the breakdown at 1:55. The drum fill leading into 2:38 was really nice, and the addition of the frantic synth patterns for the final refrain really helps hit the piece home. Overall, nice work with the production quality, sound design, mood, and progression. There could be a tad more depth to the harmonies here, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this track. Keep at it, LTGuitarist! ^_^

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?)
.5/1
Composite score
9/10

LTGuitarist responds:

Thanks for your feedback, glad the elements I was pushing came through. Gutted not to have made it into NGADM this year, but notes taken for future. Appreciate your time given the volume of applications!

[Quit Time]

I like the relaxed synth chords at the beginning and the airy beat at :30. The mood is really cute and dreamy, although the piece is a little slow to progress. I also think the progression is a bit formulaic, as the texture only seems to change every 4th bar, which gets pretty predictable after a while. You also could’ve gone for a little more contrast and shape with the composition here. The instrumental hierarchy is very similar throughout, and at some point I think you could’ve used an injection of energy or other structural variety to add some emotional appeal. You clearly have a good sense of rhythm, sound design, and harmony, but the arrangement of the track could’ve been more creative here. The sudden ending sounds a bit jarring given the chill mood of the track. The mixing is pretty good, too, although it might’ve been a bit cleaner with some stereo widening on the more atmospheric harmonies. The piece was also missing some lower frequencies throughout. Adding a nice sub-bass or something would’ve really helped fill out the texture and add a sense of drive to an otherwise sleepy and repetitive piece. Still, you had me sold on this one with the quirky instruments and pleasant harmonic content. Keep at it, masterakuma99! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7/10

masterakuma99 responds:

Thanks for the very detailed review!

[Tolerance]

I like the punchy synths at the beginning and the rhythmic content. The drums are very loud, perhaps to the point of being over-compressed, but I like how you vary the texture with the emotional piano solo at :32. The synths at 1:07 sound a tad over-saturated in the mix, clearly dominant of the claps at 1:23, and I also think the progression of the piece is a bit too slow-paced. The drop at 1:53 is nice, although it doesn’t feel like the harmonic content that came before it is part of the same story. The structure of the piece is a bit disjointed, and the spacey atmosphere, minimal texture, and vocal samples at 2:26 reinforce that idea. You begin to overuse the transitions with the sweeps after a while, and the reverb in the texture - especially on the vocal samples at the 3-minute mark - is pretty excessive. The mix is clearly distorted by the reverb at 3:24, in another example. The riffs here are catchy, and each isolated section of the piece sounds good, but the similarity of the drops is certainly a necessary element to give the piece a sense of cohesion. I’ve been enjoying the sound design, production quality, and rhythmic content of this piece, but the arrangement could use some more fluidity and the mix could be a bit more well-balanced here. Keep at it, Gamerthofr26! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

Olindel responds:

Yes! Thank you very much!

[pawles22 - The Fairy Glade]

I like the relaxing mood at the beginning. The high-pitched chords on the downbeats sound a bit too emphatic given the rest of the texture, and I also thought the sound design could be more polished. The kick at :32 doesn’t do much for me, and I definitely would’ve liked to hear a more prominent rhythm section in this piece given the repetitive harmonic content and slow-paced progression. My main complaint here is how underwhelming the composition is - the texture has very little variation throughout the entire piece, and instead cycles through the same generic chord progression for 4 minutes straight. I think your piece needed to sound much more dynamic than this, my friend. I wanted to hear you add and subtract instruments over time, change up the rhythmic and harmonic content, have different sections with more (or less) energy, and create some more melodic content. Instead, this piece is uber-repetitive and structurally simplistic. Otherwise, the piece isn’t bad. You clearly have a good sense of harmony and atmosphere. Still, it’s hard to assess a lot of my compositional categories here because you just didn’t do much of anything to create variety in your track over time. I hope you’ll keep working on this piece - it has a lot of potential. Keep at it, Pawles22! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
0/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
0/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
4.5/10

pawles22 responds:

I'll consider what you said. Thank you!

The song is technically 2 minutes long, it's just looped. I've already stopped adding these extra loops to my songs though.

I know that this track doesn't have variety, but I actually wanted to keep it simple (my other tracks are probably as simple as this, but here I especially like it). After all, it meant to be a chill, background music (I just couldn't see this variety in this song myself). Maybe it was a bad decision to on my side.

Thanks again!

[BreakdownMatrix - Submission-01 [Dance/Gamemusic]]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The dreamy arpeggios are great, and I like the frantic drums and bouncy synths at :14 a lot. The production quality is strong, and the piece has a good (yet rather fast-paced) sense of progression. There are a lot of transitory moments in the first minute, and I kept waiting for a more distinct climax before a stable emotional height. Perhaps 1:23 is that section, although I would’ve appreciated some more harmonic variety and dynamic melodic content to really sell the emotional impact. My favorite part is 2:10, which has a great, dark, eastern vibe that’s also very catchy and blends seamlessly into the section with the arps at 2:35. That said, the final iteration of the refrain melody at 3:07 was very rushed, to the extent that it doesn’t quite feel satisfying by the end. I think you need to pace your piece more carefully next time. It’s like you want the piece to progress from build-up to drop to post-chorus to bridge to build-up again in a very narrow timeframe, but that’s pretty jarring for the listener, especially on the first cycle. This could easily be a 5-minute track - don’t sacrifice coherence because you’re overly concerned about a piece being repetitive. That’s probably my main complaint of the piece, and I think it’s part of the reason why the composition doesn’t have the emotional impact that it could here. The rushed structuring leads to a point where it’s hard for the listener to pinpoint a distinct “arrival point” during the climactic sections of the piece. Still, this track has some strong mixing and mastering, sound design, atmosphere, and rhythmic work. Keep at it, Kyrowo! :)

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?)
.25/1
Composite score
8.5/10

Kyrowo responds:

Thank you very much!

and yeah - the whole structure is still kinda hard for me to realize due to my confused mind:D But I'm working on it! It's one major point I have to consider for the future that im already dealing with :D

Thank you for your kind review and rating! I'll try to improve everything you mentioned there :)