TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Uncharted Fog]

I like the spacey atmosphere at the beginning and the cute synth riffs. The bass at :23 is a little heavy, and I think the texture is missing some more legato elements (pads would be nice), but the melodies at :58 are really cute. I really like the somewhat melancholic feel of the piece at around 1:27 and the emotional quality of the synths there. At around the 2-minute mark, the harmonies trip over each other a bit, likely because of the delay effects. I think the part at 1:27 is rather minimalistic for such an extended section of the piece, and then the transition at 2:33 is a bit sudden. I think a lot of the last ⅔ or so of the piece is really languid and mellow, and might need a climactic section to give the piece a stronger sense of resolve. I really like the atmosphere and sound design here, and I think the mix is mostly well-balanced and clean, but the composition left a bit more to be desired here, especially in terms of harmonic depth and flow. Either way, I’d encourage you to keep working on this piece. It has a really nice emotional appeal in that it feels both cutesy and sad at the same time. Keep at it, Zechnition! :)

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
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
8.25/10

Zechnition responds:

Thank you for the detailed review! Very helpful suggestions! Hopefully I'l have some time to make a few changes.

[tempted by waves]

I like the cute riffs at the beginning. The instruments don’t sound very authentic, but I like the creative use of percussion and the warm, uplifting vibe. The transition at :32 is a bit sudden, and elements of the arrangement and rhythmic content seem a bit haphazard at times. I also think you could’ve done more to focus on the structuring here. It has a lot of distinct sections, but a very choppy arrangement and fast pace of progression. I’d suggest you try incorporating more gradual transitions that are driven by the harmonies. Also, don’t be afraid to add more repetition to keep your listener grounded. Right now, the piece doesn’t really sound structurally complete, but I still really like the mood, percussion, harmonies, and atmosphere. Keep at it, Wilidacious! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

trevor8 responds:

Thanks!

[The Incredible Adventure]

I like the crisp strings at the beginning and the sense of anticipation in the texture. The horn melodies at :24 are great, and the quality of the samples here is rather good. The production quality is also rather strong, and I like how the song resets itself a bit at 1:01. I think this piece doesn’t have a lot of structural cohesion in the traditional sense, but you also do an excellent job of creating enough repetition between the low brass stabs and the return to the string riff at the beginning (in one of its many iterations) throughout the piece. The intensity of the choir at 2:58 is wonderful, and I’m amazed at how well the mix holds up at some of these busier sections. The extended section of relative calm at 3:30 was also a good idea, and I love the violin arpeggios at 3:45. Occasionally, I think there was a transition that could’ve been a tad smoother, like at 4:11. That said, I remain impressed with how flowing this piece is for such a musically diverse achievement. I also liked the male choir at the 5-minute mark and how their part gradually morphs from a cultic chant to a triumphant bleat. You did a wonderful job of winding the piece down at the end, too. Overall, this piece is every bit as incredible as the adventure, and I’ll look forward to seeing what you come up with in the Final Round! Keep up the good work, VociferousMusic! ^_^

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

VociferousMusic responds:

Thanks very much for the time you have efforted to create such a detailed and invidual feedback to everyone! You did very well in letting me know about the positive points and what still needs a bit of improvement. To be honest, I don't exactly know what I will come up with for the finals, I just have a rough concept in mind and I'm curious myself whether I can take my plans into action.

[a goodbye to aurum]

I like the emotional quality of the piano at the beginning. It’s a little hard to discern where one phrase stops and the next phrase starts sometimes, and the piece is a little slow to progress. I thought the sound effect at 1:01 was a bit ominous, but then you immediately return to a tranquil vibe at 1:07. I was further thrown off by the rather danceable vibe at 1:22. The breakdown at 1:53 was nice, and I like the more gradual climax back into 2:37. That said, the intensity of the build-up doesn’t really fit with the more mellow vibe of the part at 2:37. Even at the climaxes, though, this piece still sounds pretty minimalistic, and I think you could’ve done more to channel the emotion during the middle section, starting with smoother transitions throughout. The pause at 3:30, while thematically relevant, was a bit awkward, and the piano at 3:45 doesn’t feel very well-integrated into the passage before it. I liked the emotional appeal of the last minute. You have a good sense of harmony and rhythm, but I think progression is something to focus on going forward. The choppy arrangement is hurting this piece more than anything else imo. The production quality is strong, although I thought the drums were a tad over-compressed. Still, nice job with the mood, sound design, atmosphere, and harmonic content here. Keep at it, TheMajician! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.25/10

TheMajician responds:

I did my best for the five or six days i had, while knowing no music theory lol. Thank you so much for the in depth review!

[Unyielding]

I like the intensity at the beginning. The chord progression is a bit cliche, but the mix is loud and sharp. I wanted to hear a little more melodic content in the piece, as the guitar riffs get a little repetitive after a while. I also think you needed a bit more structural variety in this piece to provide some contrast with the near-constant energy and drive this piece has. The section at 1:54 begins to accomplish that, but the transition into 1:54 is also pretty abrupt. I like how the texture comes together a little more by around 2:30, although the pacing here is a lot slower than before. Still, the piece never quite returns to the intensity level of the first couple of minutes, which leaves me feeling a little underwhelmed at the end. I also thought the fade-out here was a bit lazy of a choice of outro. Still, the production quality is top-notch here, and I’m enjoying the frantic guitar harmonies and atmosphere of the piece as well. Keep at it, MosesX50! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.25/10

MozesX50 responds:

Thank you, @TaintedLogic. I really appreciate your critiques. And thanks for the invite to the competition! I'll have to give it another shot next year, for sure!

[Massive Show - Commotion]

I like the cute, frantic piano riffs at the beginning. The mix is really quiet and a little indistinct here, though, and the little woodwind riff that comes in every two bars sounds a little atonal sometimes. The breakdown at :49 was a good idea, although the transition at 1:01 was very sudden. The loop is smooth, and overall there’s a nice sense of phrasing and structuring to the piece, despite its being very short. A lot of the instruments, especially the woodwinds and brass, don’t sound very authentic, and I also think the composition needs to be fleshed out more for you to maximize the emotional potential of this piece. Still, I think you should keep working on this - it has a lot of potential. Keep at it, massivemarioluigi700! :)

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

MassiveMarioLuigi700 responds:

thanks man, i also got more stuff coming up for the next round man!

[Adventure Awaits]

I like the mood and atmosphere at the beginning, but I think some of the harmonies sound a little indistinct in the mix, notably the percussion at :20 and the strings playing ⅛ notes at the beginning. The piece is a little slow to progress, and there also might be a bit too much reverb in the texture. I like the sense of climax into 1:01 and the syncopated string harmonies there. This piece really reminds me of Waterflame’s old style. I liked the prominent drums at the breakdown at 2:01, but they could really sound crisper in the mix with a little less reverb and more careful equalization. I also thought the lo-fi effects at 2:05 were a bit out-of-place here. The harmonic shift at 2:53 was a little sudden, but I enjoyed the uplifting vibe there and the structural contrast you offered with the more minimal bridge thereafter. There’s a bit of dissonance in the texture at 3:45, but part of that could just be the reverb. I like the second refrain at 4:15, but I think you could’ve varied the main melody a bit more. The emotional appeal of the outro was nice, and overall I really like the mood, rhythmic content, and atmosphere in this piece. Keep at it, Hyenaedon! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.5/10

Hyenaedon responds:

Wow! Thanks so much for the in-depth review. I'm definitely gonna be putting it into account when I fix this song up for a Youtube release. I think I really surprised myself with this piece, but it's still got a ways to go ;)

[FractureClutter - Polaris (Resurrection EP)]

I like the ominous mood and rich atmosphere at the beginning. The sound design, including the militaristic percussion, is especially nice here. I like the injection of intensity at :40, but the strings sound a bit thin in the mix. That likely helps the production quality to equalize out the lower tones like that, but it also makes the strings sound pretty inauthentic. The brass samples also sound pretty fake, and there may be a bit too much reverb in the texture. The production quality still holds up pretty well, though. I’m a little thrown off by all of the stop-start transitions and the jarring changes in instrumentation between the spacey electronic intro, orchestral section, and then the guitar riffs. I think you need to work on creating gradual transitions, although I like the smooth breakdown with the strings at 2:18 and the return of the rich atmosphere at 2:30. There’s some really strong melodic content in this piece, and the mixing is solid. The disjointed arrangement is probably my only major complaint. Keep at it, FractureClutter! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.5/10

FractureClutter responds:

Thank you for feedback! I really acknowledge all my blunders in this composition. I'll try to get better in the future by working more on compositional and mixing aspect. Hopefully I'll get some high quality orchestral stuff soon

[Crystalline Fields]

I like the ambiance at the beginning and the eerie texture. The strings sound a bit inauthentic, and there could’ve been a smoother transition into :42. The kick at :42 is a tad heavy, and the open hat at :57 is a tad cliche. I like the production quality and the well-balanced texture, and the sound design reminds me a lot of 2008 Newgrounds. :) The piece is a little slow to progress, and 2 minutes in I still haven’t heard much in the way of dynamic melodic content. The melody at 2:36 is very jumpy, and the melodies before it have pretty predictable rhythms. The melody at 3:28 is really pretty, but I thought the ghostly ambient effects were a little too loud relative to the strings. The grittier instrument at 3:47 is a nice touch, but I think by that point you start to overuse the transitions with the reverse crash. The piece comes together well by the end with the last melodic section, but I think the flow of the piece would complement the languid atmosphere a little more if there were more gradual transitions in this piece. Overall, nice work with the production quality, mood, atmosphere, and rhythmic content. The mixing here is especially good, in fact. Keep it up, EverReverb! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

AED4 responds:

Thank you for incredibly detailed review once again! I don't know how you manage to mass produce reviews of this quality :p You do raise many good points, especially about the transitions.

[Your Moment]

I like the spacey atmosphere at the beginning and the low strings at :09. The rhythm is a bit square, and there’s a bit too much reverb in the texture imo. Still, I like the haunting mood and the sense of wonder throughout this piece. The one-climax model is hard to pull off, but you do it well here. The production quality holds up well, and you do a great job of channeling the emotion into the climax at 1:38. The melody at 1:38 has a very regular and boring rhythm, though, and I think you could’ve captured the drama better with this piece if the melody was more dynamic, in terms of both pitch and rhythm. Still, nice job with the phrasing, progression, mood, and sound design here. Keep at it, Columbers! :)

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
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
8/10

Columbers responds:

Thanks for the review and helpful criticism! This track was definitely a bit rushed (a bad habit of mine) but I’m glad I entered the audio competitions again this year.