TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Far Away]

I like the dreamy, pensive vibe at the beginning and the smooth vocals. I like the lyrics, too. Did you write them yourself, or are the vocals sampled from somewhere? The production quality is smooth, even if there’s a bit too much reverb in the texture at times. I like the sense of climax into 1:10, but I think the piece never quite got to the cathartic melodic moment I was hoping for. The lead at 1:24 sounds very in-the-chords, and overall I think you missed an opportunity to maximize the emotional appeal of the piece with a soaring melodic section or emotional bridge. The closest you come to doing that is at 2:07, but it’s at a bit of a strange spot in the arrangement, towards the very end. At the very least, I would’ve created a more distinct outro here and fleshed out the composition just a tad more. This piece is short enough that you had some time to work with in terms of creating more emotional contrast in this piece. Still, the production is solid, the sound design is cool, and the atmosphere is really languid and pleasant. Keep at it, TenodiBoris! ^_^

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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

TenodiBoris responds:

Yes I did write the lyrics for the song, and also hiered singer and did the recordings, it was nice experience for me. Thanks for the review :)

[CRY.NN - Impale]

I like the gritty bass at the beginning, even if it sounded a tad dry and repetitive. The beat at :10 is nice, and I like the sense of climax into :21. The texture is still pretty minimal, though, and lacks fill in the mid and treble range. You have a good sense of rhythm and progression, but I think the composition in this piece is pretty bland overall. The production quality is good, but I wanted to hear more melodic content and harmonic depth. The dreamy bridge at 1:17 is nice, and I like how the piece maintains its ominous edge during that section. You do a good job with the phrasing and sense of direction through this section, especially with the volume automations and such. The pitch-bending and other mixing effects at 2:10 are cool, but I was a little disappointed with the anti-climax at 2:21. After that, there’s very little novel content in this piece. Overall, the production quality, sound design, and atmosphere are solid, but I really would’ve liked to see a more fleshed out composition and full texture here. Keep at it, CryNN! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6/10

CryNN responds:

Thanks!
I hope i will learn something from you, and i hope that i make my tracks better at some point!

[Cj'Pit - Light In The Darkness]

I like the emotional appeal of the piano at the beginning and the smooth guitar and minimal percussion at :13. There’s a really smooth and soulful vibe to this piece, as enhanced by the electric guitar melodies and strong sense of atmosphere. The mix is a little wide for my tastes, but overall the production quality is really strong too. You also have a good sense of rhythm, harmony, and progression. The fade-out ending is a bit lazy, but the flowiness of this piece is one of its strongest qualities. I would’ve liked to hear a little more structural variety, though, as after a certain point the energy level in this piece is a near-constant, which isn’t great for keeping me engaged. The melodic content might make up for that, but overall this piece would still be stronger with an emotional breakdown or climactic solo or something. That’s my main complaint here, though. This is really strong work overall. Keep at it, Pit80! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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
8.75/10

pit80 responds:

thanks for feedback.

[Felix Zophar - Friday Mornings]

I like the blissful, smooth, dreamy vibe at the beginning. The bright pads at :10 and synth arpeggios are valuable additions to the texture. The chopped vocals at :19 are cool, and the production quality is strong here. I like the thicker texture at :40, too, and the fade-in of the melodic content at :50. There’s a lot of room for climax with this piece, but the intro feels a bit dragged out until things finally fall into a cathartic melodic phrase at 1:19. The reverb at 1:19 might’ve been a tad too heavy, which is especially noticeable after the additional layer of harmony is added at 1:30. Still, there isn’t a ton of harmonic variety in this piece, which is probably my main complaint. After 5 minutes, the harmonic paradigm you have here feels very repetitive, and despite the well-crafted ebb and flow of the texture via the cycle of build-ups, drops, and re-intros, I wanted to see you shake up the chord progression at some point, or at least use a modulation or two. Overall, solid work with the melodic content, production, mood, and sound design. There’s room for a bit more variety and originality in the composition, but the piece comes together well by the end with the powerful synth guitar. The mix can feel a bit strained during the busier sections of this piece, though - be careful about that. Keep at it, Zophar! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

FelixZophar responds:

I wanted to make this song sound like a song that would be on chill nation or something like that. That explains the repetitiveness. I appreciate your review and will take some of it into note.

[Butterflies]

I like the cute vocals at the beginning, but the synths are a little cheesy, but I like the telephone sound effects at :35. The lyrics are well-written, if a tad generic at times. Some of the jittery rhythmic synths sound a little harsh in my ears, like around :32. I also think the texture is pretty thin throughout. Some more mid-range instruments, like pads or back-up melodies, would help fill out the mix a little more. The melodic content at :49 is nice, although I think the drums at the 1-minute mark are a little quiet, especially the hi-hats. You have a good sense of rhythm and progression, and I like the frantic, distorted rap part at 1:38. The sound design can sound a bit unpolished at times, but the atmospheric section at 2:04 was much stronger. There’s still a jittery atmospheric instrument in the background there that sounds a little too strong in my headphones...it’s almost like some nature FX or something. Crickets, maybe? The pause at 2:41 was a little awkward, but the reverb helps bridge the gap there, and the fade-in of the melodic synths at 3:03 is well done. The piece comes together pretty well at the end, although the percussion is a little overwhelming. Overall, there are a lot of good ideas here, and you clearly have a good sense of rhythm, harmony, and melody, but the mix needs a little more balance and polish, and the instrumentation can be harsh sometimes. Keep at it, Kawaisprite! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.25/10

KawaiSprite responds:

I don’t really care about the technical stuff as long as the music incited some kind of emotional reaction. If someone listens to my music and feels nothing then I have failed. Everything else comes second, even I’m aware of how reckless that sounds. But alas that’s how art works at least for me. I don’t over analyze or overthink, so if that is applied to the detriment of my art then so be it. There is my process

[Aterr - Rain Legion]

I like the refreshing guitar riffs at the beginning and the pensive vibe by around :24. The progression is a tad slow-paced, but the strings at :41 were a nice addition to the texture. That said, I thought it would’ve contributed to the atmosphere more if they were a little more legato, as opposed to cutting off before the next note came in. The production quality here is also solid, with a well-balanced texture and clean mix. The choir at 1:20 is nice, although it sounds a tad indistinct at times, perhaps because of an excess of reverb. One of my main problems with the piece is that the structure seems very flat. I think you needed some sort of bridge or breakdown at some point to give this piece more shape. Otherwise, most of the variation in the piece comes from the addition and subtraction of instruments over time, which is not very advanced. That said, there is some nice harmonic variety at 2:55, and I like the addition of the bell-like synth to the texture at 3:35. The solo at 4:12 is awesome - it sounds like there’s finally a sense of resolve and catharsis in the texture. Overall, solid work with the sound design, mixing and mastering, and melodic content. Things to work on include giving the composition a stronger sense of ebb and flow and maximizing the emotional appeal of the track. Keep at it, Aterr! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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
8.5/10

Aterr responds:

Thank you for such detailed analysis and constructive criticism!
And also, I am very happy, that you and other people (here on NG) enjoyed this overall.
I am making now a checklist for the song, and will spend some time in future to improve it, based on the criticism I received here. :3

[The failed to qualify for the NGUAC blues]

I like the smooth guitars and melodic content. It really does sound quite bluesy. It's not perfectly quantized all the time, but I love the harmonic progression and production quality. Drums are nice and crisp. The higher register later in the piece (at around 1:40) really hits the track home. Solid work here, man! :)

Soundslave responds:

Pretty happy with this response this was made today in a few hours,,bit of a joke around peice to be honest but im glad you like it!!

[Jump Start]

I like the synth arpeggios at the beginning and the sub-bass that comes in shortly thereafter. The piece has a bouncy energy to it that I really like, and the slight atonality in the sub-bass is made really pleasant when it resolves to the tonic at the same time as the arpeggios (for example, at :16). I think some of the drum samples didn’t work for me, especially the percussion sample at :31 that sounded like an oversaturated hi-hat. The progression doesn’t have a strong sense of direction until around :55, when that soaring lead synth comes in. I think the lead synth is a tad too present in the mix, though - it’s hard to make out the drums after the 1-minute mark, and it was a little disorienting when most of the rest of the texture fell away at 1:05. There are a lot of cool melodic riffs in this piece, like at 1:15, but not a lot of melodic content that’s truly dynamic. The square rhythms of most of these synth patterns don’t really do the piece justice. The arrangement begins sounding pasted-together and formulaic. The saxophone at 1:56 was a refreshing addition to the texture, and also offers a nice sense of structural relief in its moment of strong atmosphere. Overall, though, the piece was missing a strong sense of ebb and flow over time. A full-length bridge or breakdown with a thinner texture might’ve helped give the piece some more shape. That said, I liked the minor chord at 2:41 in a second half of the piece that had very little novel content otherwise. I think this piece has a cool sound design, atmosphere, and harmonic structure, and the somewhat sudden ending actually works well for me here. That said, my structural concerns, along with the general lack of shape in the composition, probably constitute my main gripes with the piece. Keep at it, Zunixx! :)

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
.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
7.75/10

Zunixx responds:

Thanks for the feedback, I always appreciate some good constructive criticism. I do agree with most points, specifically the drums, Ive been meaning to go back to the song to try something different. but otherwise thank you for the feedback!

[Fire - Type Beat]

I like the eastern-sounding instruments at the beginning and the chord progression. The beat at :25 is really catchy, but I think the harmonies at the beginning should’ve been a little louder relative to the sub-bass and some elements of the drum beat. Other than that, I have no complaints about the mixing or balance. The melodic content in the eastern instruments was nice, but the rhythm of that instrument sounds very square overall, and lacked the dynamism I usually associate with melodies. Overall, I would’ve liked to see you fill out the texture more, especially with some more frequencies in the treble range. This piece feels structurally incomplete, and quite frankly the composition is underwhelming. Ideally, there should be a little more ebb and flow in the texture. An emotional bridge or atmospheric breakdown would’ve really helped give some structural contrast to this piece. Otherwise, the composition remains pretty bland and forgettable. That said, I do like the instruments, mood, and atmosphere here. You also scored well for the production quality and rhythmic content of the beat. Still, you simply needed to flesh out the arrangement of the piece more in order to make this a top-tier track. Keep at it, Young-Kingler! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
5.5/10

Young-Kingler responds:

Thanks for feedback! I appreciate this a lot, I'll keep this in mind going forward.