TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Neon Void]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the instrumentation. The smooth pads, synth bass, and cheesy drum samples at :16 combine well. That said, the panning on the drums was a bit excessive imo. The piece is a little slow to progress, but the mastering quality is solid. The synth at :52 struck me as a tad cheesy, but it fits along well with the 80s vibe of the rest of the track. This piece is missing some prominent melodic content for the first half or so, but there’s still a nice, gradual sense of progression. I like the breakdown at 2:04, although at some point I would’ve liked to see you change up the chord progression and really aim for some structural contrast here. The synth lead that fades in at around 2:20 has a lot of melodic motion about it, but it’s still very in-the-chords and doesn’t provide the kind of catharsis I crave in the midst of all the escalating tension throughout most of the piece. This tension is even exacerbated by the lead synth as it gradually gets louder. The various elements of the piece come together well at 3:20, and, despite my typical branding of fade-out endings as lazy and overused, the abbreviated one here actually works quite well. The presence of the pads at the end in isolation feels like the only point of resolve this track is willing to provide, which in a way fits the way the tension in the piece never quite boils over. Overall, solid work! Despite my criticism, this piece has strong production, a really solemn moodiness, a pleasant atmosphere and texture, and a cool progression. Keep at it, RealGamja! ^_^

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?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.75/10

RealGamja responds:

Wow, this is a really detailed review, thanks for going into so much depth!

[Etched Bow]

I like the quirky percussion and funky guitars. The rhythmic content is really pleasing, and the piece has a great sense of flow and energy alike. Some of the prominent chord progressions in the piece are a tad repetitive or cliche, like at :31. I also would’ve liked to hear some more prominent melodic content that stood out from the rhythmic textures. I think you needed to include some variation on the main riffs later in the piece in order to keep me engaged, too. The plucked bass riff at 2:05 was a good idea for an outro, but I thought the fade-out came across as a bit lazy. That said, the production quality here is top-notch. There’s a good balance of frequencies here, with a loud mix and tasteful amount of reverb to boot. It would’ve been nice to introduce a more legato element to the texture at some point, though, as everything in the instrumental palette can sound relatively percussive throughout. Still, the sound design in this piece is really fun, the adventurous mood is great, and overall there’s a lot of creative energy in this piece. Keep at it, Petrol4brains! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
8.5/10

Petrol4brains responds:

Wow, thanks for the review! Really going to try working to improve my future songs based on your feedback for sure.

[Ecarsa (Part 2: The Redemption)]

I like the funky bass at the beginning, even if it’s a bit dry. I’d encourage you to be careful about putting so much reverb on the kick at :08. It can make your mix sound pretty muddy if the texture is thick enough. That said, I didn’t notice any huge problems with the mixing, besides it being a tad quiet. I think the texture is a little bottom-heavy at times, without a lot of mid and treble-range tones. The texture also consists of a lot of catchy, albeit repetitive, riffs that don’t have a lot of forward motion to them. Perhaps fittingly, there are a couple of jarring transitions here that you use to bridge the gap between sections, like at 1:32.

I like the frantic harmonies and the rhythmic content, but I wanted to see you give the piece some more shape - ebb and flow over time will help maximize the emotional appeal of your piece, which is especially important for keeping your audience engaged with such a long piece as this one. Nevertheless, I like the gradual build in intensity with the percussive instruments at 2:05. I think that’s a good start towards establishing the kind of dynamic composition I’m looking for. That said, the transition at 2:05 only really served to introduce what I thought was a pretty clunky snare sample at 2:18, instead of taking the harmonic material in a meaningful new direction.

I’m beginning to think that you should try consolidating some of your compositional ideas here. I think it’s helpful to envision a story while you’re making your piece. If your story is a movie, and I had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the movie, I might choose to go somewhere in this middle section of 1:32-4:13. I think there’s very little sense of direction for most of that section, especially in the harmony, and even during transitory moments to the sub-sections, there isn’t a sense of gradual build and flow but of sudden entrance and interruption. Try to think about the “going to the bathroom during a movie” analogy when you’re making your piece, and cut out repetitive or structurally flat content as necessary.

One thing I like about this middle section, though, is the creative drum beat at 3:43. It has a great sense of drive about it, and while 4:13 is another abrupt transition, I feel like the piece has come together more so at around the 4-minute mark than anywhere else. What’s still missing is some strong melodic content (I think the melodies in here now are a little too frantic and fleeting to satisfy my melodic craving) and smooth transitions.

I thought the two-part fade-out ending you had in here was a little bizarre. I momentarily appreciated the idea of a “return to the solo bassline” like you had in the beginning, but I think it would’ve worked better if you had cut off the bassline on the downbeat after the melodic instrument fade-out and ended the piece like that. It probably also would’ve sounded smoother if you had some more reverb or delay effects on the melodic instruments, so that the first fade-out feels more gradual atmosphere-wise than it is note-wise.

Overall, there are a lot of good ideas here. The melodic riffs are catchy, the production quality is solid, and the sound design, while a bit cheesy, fits the thematic content well enough. You just needed a bit more of a “flexible” feel to your composition and arrangement that wasn’t quite there, and some more mixing effects could really enhance the sound design and atmosphere of the piece. Keep at it, PanBat! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.25/10

PanBat responds:

thank you for this critique. very constructive and helpful, really helped open my eyes to what i could have done better

[Welcome To The Matrix]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning. Some of the synths sound a bit murky, like the low-mid pad at :05. I can’t tell if that’s just the sample quality or the mix is making it sound watery. There’s a good sense of atmosphere here overall, the drums are a bit dry and could probably use a little more reverb. The progression is pretty bizarre after a while, and the texture remains quite minimal for most of the piece. There are more cheesy synths at 1:01, and the snare at 1:12 sounds way too over-saturated in the mix. The progression here is pretty haphazard, and doesn’t feel like it has a very strong sense of direction. A lot of the individual riffs are catchy and neat, but I’m not getting a strong sense of storytelling or climax and resolve from this piece. It needs a little more harmonic depth, gradual structuring techniques, and tighter mixing. Next time, I think you should try considering the way your piece is arranged - both structurally and harmonically - before you start composing the notes. Try to create richer textures by thinking about several chords that sound good together in a progression, and then constructing riffs and patterns that connect the harmonies in those chords over time. Still, this piece certainly has its merits. I like the mood and atmosphere, as I mentioned before, and on their own, the synth patterns you have here sound good. Keep at it, Kyuki! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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
4/10

Kyuki responds:

Thank you for giving some detail on the scoring of the piece. This was actually my first piece (song) ever originally created. Thank you for your input!

[Yokai [Sunward Isles]]

I like the dramatic strings at the beginning and the foreboding church bells. The percussion here is great, and the mix is loud and clear. I love all the subtle swells of strings and the variety in the instrumentation. The eastern-sounding instruments during the second half are great, and the melodic content helps heighten the tension of the piece. There are only a few small things I dare complain about here: first, there’s never really either a resolve to the apprehensive mood of the piece, nor is there a great climax of tension towards the end. I think you could’ve really hit this piece home with a final, soaring melodic phrase or influx of intensity that wraps up the storyline of the piece. The ending also cuts off a bit suddenly, although that’s a tiny detail in the grand scheme of things. Lastly, the mix is a bit wide for my tastes, but perhaps that’s just the price one pays for such a sharp and clear production quality. The composition of the piece is also fantastic. There are a lot of good cinematic composers on Newgrounds, but I think you have the Underdogs group won in that genre. Keep up the great work, KrianMusic! ^_^

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?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.5/10

KrianMusic responds:

Thanks a ton! We've known eachother for some time but i deleted my old account, also sorry i COMPLETELY forgot about the entire competition happening.

Mainly it goes nowhere/final climax, because it's intended for in-game looping and heard repeatedly for like god knows how long

[Ricochet]

I like the sassy strings at the beginning. The mix is a bit too loud, though. It might help to lower some of the volume levels here. The murky bass at :16 is a nice addition to the texture, although the mix feels a bit bottom-heavy because of it. I’d recommend adding some high-pass filters or more careful equalization to make the texture sound cleaner and less distorted. The melodic content at :54 is great, though, and you clearly have a great sense of harmony and progression. Sometimes, it felt like the piece needed some sort of percussion to keep it moving along, or at least some reverb or something to make the string melodies sound a tad less dry. Overall, my main problem with the piece is definitely the production quality. Do you hear how muddy the texture sounds at busy places like :32? I think that’s largely because you have several instruments in here that are fighting for attention in the same frequency ranges, resulting in distortion of the audio output. You can fix that by using filters (often called “EQs” or “equalizers” in digital audio workstations) to remove overtones that are shared between different instruments. The range that’s really going to make your track sound muddy if it’s too crowded is any frequency lower than 200 Hertz or so. I’d strongly recommend removing those frequencies in every instrument except the bass here. You might even consider transposing the low string part up an octave to further separate that instrument from the muddy bass tones. After you clean up the distortion with an equalizer, there’ll be more room in your mix for cool effects like reverb and delay, but equalization is a good place to start. Otherwise, I really like the composition and sound design here. You’re clearly a talented composer. I think you just need to use a broader swath of production tools you have at your disposal in your DAW. Keep at it, Joe-Mega! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
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?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.75/10

Joe-Mega responds:

Dang, this is the most thorough and helpful criticism I've ever seen. Well it's fully noted. Mixing will be my next hill to climb. Thanks for the help man I really appreciate it.

[Metric]

I like the smooth guitars at the beginning and the dreamy atmosphere. The crisp drums are cool too, and when the bass comes in and the intensity increases at :26 the progression really comes together too. The melodic content here is really refreshing, and the descent into a more atmospheric vibe at 1:10 sounds like a daydream in the middle of a hectic workday (i.e., awesome). The breakdown at 1:46 is really pleasant, too, and the melodic content thereafter is so dynamic and cool. You really told a story with this one. Wow. If I had to complain about something, it might be that the plethora of melodic content and constant driving energy of this piece compromises its sense of cohesion and structural contrast a tad. Still, the progression is so smooth that none of those nit-picky structural complaints actually bother me that much. Amazing production quality, sound design, atmosphere, rhythmic and melodic content, and sense of shape and flow. This piece is awesome and you should feel awesome. Keep up the good work, Introverse! ^_^

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

Introverse responds:

Thank you for awesome feedback. It's awesome to have some recognition on my childhood's favorite site :D. I really appreciate it. Cheers, hope to see you at the next round.

[On The Prowl]

I like the bouncy synths at the beginning and the blissful vibe. The chord progression is a little simple, and the breaks at :31 are a tad cheesy. The progression of the piece as a whole is also a bit bizarre, with sudden transitions at :52, 1:14, and other places. The piece cycles through a number of riffs without having a strong overarching sense of direction, which worries me from a compositional standpoint. There are certainly some good ideas here, but they just seem stapled together without any broader sense of storytelling or build. The way the piece is arranged is haphazard, in other words. I also think you should’ve varied the harmonic progression a bit more. Despite the different iterations of the riffs, the chords get pretty repetitive after a while. There’s also not a lot of dynamic melodic content in here. That said, I thought one element of the piece that was particularly strong was the mixing. All the instruments sound clear, crisp, and loud throughout. The rhythmic content of the piece is also enjoyable - it’s catchy and danceable, and the instrumentation is pretty good too. The composition just needs a bit more ebb and flow, and the arrangement needs to be smoother - those are the core of my concerns here. Keep at it, Immitis! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.25/10

Immitis responds:

The most constructive criticism I've ever received, thanks!

[Industrial tournament]

I like the cute synths at the beginning and the warm chords, but I think the rhythm is a bit overly complicated. I had a hard time finding the beat until the drums came in at :17, and even then there was a bit too much going on rhythmically. By contrast, the texture is very thin, with only 2-3 instruments taking up most of the space in the mix for the entire piece. You have a number of cute riffs here, but the composition just doesn’t sound as fleshed out as it should be. You needed some stronger melodic content here, and also some structural variety. I’d encourage you to add some contrasting sections to this piece that go beyond 1:50 in terms of varying the instrumentation and harmonic structure. The overarching ABA structure was a good idea, but unfortunately the composition here just comes across as too simplistic to be effective as a stand-alone piece. I’d recommend looking into increasing the density of the harmonies by adding a melody on top of the existing chords, or a bass line, or something. There isn’t much to say about the mixing and mastering here - the mix is quiet, but not unclear or distorted.

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
4/10

GameDevWannabe responds:

Thank you for the reply. Very useful advice ! Gonna improve !
:D

[Sytrus Session 2.0]

Cool rhythmic elements of the kick at the beginning. The fade-in at the beginning isn’t the most creative way of starting a piece, but I like the frantic arpeggios at :19 and the sense of climax into :30. The mix is very wet, which sometimes affects the quality. For example, the clap from around :38 onwards sounds very indistinct. The melodic content is nice, even if the synths were a bit cheesy at times. You have a good sense of progression, flow, and harmony, though, and overall the compositional elements of the piece are quite strong. I like the harmonies that come in at 2:24 a lot, and despite all the different melodies and variations this piece maintains its cohesion quite well with a pretty rigid harmonic structure. One thing I think the composition is missing, however, is a proper breakdown. There’s a pretty strong sense of energy and urgency throughout, which gets a little tiresome after a while without some structural contrast. The modulations towards the end were fun, even though the melodic part at 2:43 already sounded like the major climax of the piece. Overall strong work! I think I wanted to hear more drums in the mix, a little more effort on some of the harmonic details, and maybe some more creative instrumentation. Otherwise, great job with the melodic content, atmosphere, rhythmic components, and structuring. Keep it up, Feandesign! ^_^

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
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.25/10

feandesign responds:

Thank you!! I'm really glad you enjoyed most of it. I usually don't make my tracks fade in out of nowhere, but that was kind of an exception since I used a synth preset that plays right after pressing a key (I'm wondering why didn't I think of using a pad instrument or at least making a simple automation thing instead haha!). You're definitely right about the indistinct clap. The reason is that I actually put a reverb on it and lowered some things in the EQ, so it would sound kinda like the clap sample from Kid2Will's Fire Aura, of which by the way I'm a real fan (and I bet you can even hear some similarities between these two). I used more cheesy sounding synths in there intentionally, to match the feel of NG Audio Portal's mid-late 2000s techno. I guess it would sound way better if I let myself have more VSTs than just Sytrus on this project. I surely agree that the song would be nicer with a deeper breakdown or something, I'd need to work on those in future projects. Absolute thanks for pointing it out! I also have just realized how tiring the drumline is, especially the kick sequence itself. I really should've improved it and maybe made it go faster at some point (I think that's what HJfod actually meant, not the beats per minute stuff because it's pretty rapid already). I believe that mixing/mastering is for now the worst part in most of my songs, especially these from 2018 - I still use headphones when composing new stuff and I know I shouldn't - maybe regular speakers with a subwoofer will do a better job, I'll need to try that. Thank you so much again, I was really pleased reading this review and hopefully I'll come up with something more awesome on NGUAC 2020 hehe :).