TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Am i in your mind?]

I like the energy and breathy vocals at the beginning. The drum samples are a little cliche, especially the open hat on the off-beats, and the vocals get a bit repetitive after a while. The piece is pretty slow to progress, and I appreciated the structural contrast you offered at the breakdown at 1:30. I liked your use of the reverse crash in the middle of the atmospheric phrase at 1:52. The pacing is a bit slow here, but there’s a good sense of climax into 2:21, and the heavy bass at 2:36 is a nice touch. There isn’t a lot of dynamic melodic content in this piece, and overall the sound design, arrangement, and chord progression of the piece are pretty generic. That said, I’m really enjoying the sharp production quality, automations, sound design, and rhythmic content here. Keep at it, SASKID! :)

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

SASKID responds:

Thanks for your kind words!

So mixing is good, but be more original is what I take away from the review here. Very happy you enjoyed the elements and small touches that people usually leave out or don't notice such as the subtle reverse crashes and elements coming together.

Thanks for your score, and thanks for judging!

[AlieN - Dream Island (House/8-bit/Glitch-Hop)]

The synth riff at the beginning is catchy, although the synths themselves sound a bit harsh in the mix. The background percussion at the beginning also is a bit grating. The harmonic content of the piece is very repetitive, and the mix sounds a bit strained at 1:01. My biggest problem with the piece is how bland the composition is. The entire piece is essentially variations on the same short, simple riff, with little harmonic depth to boot. You have a good sense of rhythm and progression, but I want you to spend more time adding complexity to the composition of your tracks - richer chords, fuller textures, more layers of harmony (chords, melodies, back-up melodies, rhythmic riffs, dynamic bass lines, etc.). It helps to lay out the chords you’re using first, and then build patterns that fit within the notes of those chords. Still, this piece isn’t bad. The composition is just a little underwhelming. It’s still a catchy and flowing piece with some good harmonic ideas. Keep at it, AlienNinjaGD! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
5.5/10

AlienNinjaGD responds:

Thanks for your review!
I agree with all the things you wrote here.
Thanks for the advices! I'm gonna follow them.

[Heaven]

I like the breathy atmosphere at the beginning and the pensive guitars at :05. The production is a bit bizarre here. The mixing effects on the vocals are pretty heavy, and the guitars are very reverberant. I really like the lyrics, although sometimes the vocals sound a little thin and strained in the higher register (i.e., 1:10), and I wish the drums were a bit louder during the refrain too. Sometimes the vocals cut off before you really articulate the syllable you’re singing, like at “hand” at 2:04. Without the lyrics in the author’s description, I would have no idea what you’re saying. Overall, the piece is well-structured, although at some point a breakdown or solo would’ve been nice to give the composition a little more shape. The piece also gets a little repetitive by the end, with not enough variety in the instrumental tracks, harmonic content, or structure.

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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?)
.25/1
Composite score
7/10

JoePimpz responds:

I appreciate you taking the time to really listen and review my work. My forte is songwriting, so I tend to mix strangely. As far as mastering goes, I don't know a ton about it so I use unorthodox methods, which is likely some of what you're hearing. The opening was actually me breathing in as much as I could and uttering "damnit" because I kept running out of air during my first few takes and I was actually bracing for the pass-through lol

[FM 14 - Sweet Guidance]

I like the upbeat mood and synths at the beginning. The chord progression is a little generic, but the melodic content at :23 is fun. I think the drums could’ve been a little stronger in the mix, and the snare sounds like it doesn’t have quite enough lower frequencies. Still, I like the energy and drive this piece has. There are a lot of great melodies in this track, but at some point I wanted to see you offer some structural contrast by dialing back the intensity a bit. An atmospheric breakdown or minimalist bridge would serve this piece well, giving the composition some shape and allowing you to reach a more emotional conclusion at the next climax. Instead, the different sections of this piece don’t seem quite distinct enough from each other after a while, and it also couldn’t hurt to consolidate some of your harmonic ideas, as there are a lot of different fast-paced riffs in this piece. It’s a little hard to stay grounded in the structure after a while. Still, I appreciate the return to familiar content towards the end, even if the fade-out ending came across as a little lazy and abbreviated. Still, the sound design and atmosphere of this piece are really cool. I especially like the instrument at 1:53 - it was probably originally meant to sound like brass, but it’s so inauthentic that it comes across as just another quirky synth, and it blends into the texture here wonderfully. Cool piece overall. My nit-picky compositional concerns probably constitute my main issue with the piece. Keep up the good work, Pheanir! :)

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

Pheanir responds:

Thank you for your feedback, this is the most in-depth review I've ever gotten.

Yeah, the things you said are true. I am mostly inspired by the Touhou project games and I have absolutely no knowledge about mixing or doing these things properly; I just "went for it". I could try to explain why I did things certain ways here, but that's probably redundant.

I always try to get better. Thank you a lot ~

[Idaku]

I like the dreamy atmosphere at the beginning and the synths. The bass at :15 really helps fill out the texture. There might be a tad too much reverb in the texture, but I think a bigger mixing problem is the excessive sidechaining, which impedes the flowy vibe of the pads. I’d also like to see more structural variety here over time. The instrumental hierarchy is the same throughout the entire piece. At some point, I’d suggest shaking it up - play around with the bass’s upper range more, or introduce a melodic synth on top of the pads. The clap that comes in later in the piece - around 2:05 - is also really quiet. Still, the quirky mood, atmosphere, and sound design in this piece are all really nice. Keep at it, BeeFef! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.75/10

BeeFef responds:

well i doubt i made it in with that kind of score but thanks for the feedback

edit: the clap being really filtered down and quiet is intentional. I wanted to make it mellow and lo-fi and fit the vibe of the song so I personally like it

as for structure, it may not be the most interesting but i think the way i did it makes it kind of a relax/study track

[Did you know?]

I like the guitar riffs and intensity. I think the drums could be mixed a tad better. They don’t come through as loud as I want, especially the crashes. I like the panning on the guitars. The piece has very little harmonic or structural variety, though. The underwhelming composition is probably my main complaint here. You just need more structuring to keep this piece engaging - not to mention chord progression changes, melodic content, phrasing, etc. It’s hard to accomplish all of that in a minute, and this piece is no exception. Still, it’s a pretty good start. I’d encourage you to keep working on this piece. I like the flow, sound design, and energy. Keep at it, HighBallers! :)

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
5.5/10

HighBallers responds:

Ha thanks man. This song was just a bunch of messing around. I got bigger better things coming!

[feelings]

I like the emotional piano line at the beginning and the crackly ambiance. The sound design is really smooth, and the texture is quite well-balanced. The lead guitar has some great melodic content throughout the piece, too. I think you could’ve done a bit more with the drums, as they sound pretty minimal throughout the piece. I also think the piece might’ve benefited from some more structural variety. The energy level here is almost constant throughout. At some point, I would’ve loved to hear an escalation of intensity or an even more dreamy, abstract texture - something to give the piece an overarching sense of shape. I also thought the ending came on a little suddenly. That said, the mood, sound design, production quality, and atmosphere definitely keep this piece afloat. Keep at it, ACXLE! :)

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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

acxle responds:

thanks so much for the detailed feedback!

[Body Snatchers]

I like the pads at the beginning, even if I’m pretty sure I recognize them from the FL Studio presets. The piece is really slow to progress, though. There’s no reason to walk the listener through the chord progression 4 times before adding any new harmonic content. The vocal samples and harsh percussion at around :40-:50 drastically changes the mood of the piece, and the atonality at :50 is a little much. There isn’t a lot of cohesion to the thematic elements of the piece, and I’d like to see you use some more gradual transitions and thicker textures. There are a lot of missing frequencies in the upper range of the spectrum in this piece, and little melodic content or harmonic depth. The structure gets pretty predictable after a while, and the harsh effects (like at 2:35) that are added onto the texture for variety later in the piece don’t do much to alleviate that problem. The production quality is strong, though, and the rhythmic elements of the piece are appealing. At the end of the day, I think you just need to spend a little time making the composition feel more dynamic and flowing. Keep at it, GrowlbittzOfficial! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
6.75/10

GrowlbittzOfficial responds:

I appreciate the feedback and accept it. But I just have one thing to say: That is NOT an FL Studio preset (I only use Live). That's actually a pad I made in Serum. Too bad it isn't very original, I suppose. Thanks for the feedback! (P.S: Its ironic that I have missing high-frequencies. Usually everyone complains my pieces are too harsh up there).

[X3ll3n - Crisis]

I like the pads at the beginning. The drums are a little generic, and I would’ve liked to hear a more distinct intro before you launch into a really energetic part of the song. There’s a good sense of climax into 1:15, but the melodies get repetitive and the structure of this piece isn’t very well fleshed-out. I would’ve liked to see you create more structural contrast here, likely via an atmospheric breakdown or bridge. The sound design and arrangement of the piece are also pretty cliche. Lastly, the clap at 1:45 has way too much reverb. Overall, I like the production quality, harmonic framework, atmosphere, and rhythmic components. Making some more original instrumentation choices and fleshing out the composition would really help out this piece, though. Keep at it, X3LL3N! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7/10

X3LL3N responds:

Thank you for the review ! :D
I was pretty proud of it at the time and I still kinda am to be honest.
I'm improving day after day hopefully :)

[SCRATCH2]

I like the beat at the beginning. The blending on the vocals isn’t always great. Don’t be afraid to use mixing effects like reverb, chorus effects, pitch correction, compression, etc. to enhance the vocal quality. You have a nice voice, but making several different layers of vocals work like this is tricky without a little more help from your DAW. I like the lyrics, but I think the instrumental tracks could use a little more variety and prominence at some point. I like the pitch-shifting work done at 1:21 and the melodic free-styling in the vocals later in the piece, but there still isn’t a lot of structural variety here. It almost feels like you stuck two verses together and called it a song. Fleshing out the composition a little more would really help out this piece. Still, solid work here with the production quality, harmonies, sound design, and atmosphere. Keep it up, Jadelion! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
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?)
1/1
Composite score
8.25/10

jadelion responds:

wow! thanks for the feedback! I thought i sucked man!