SkyeWint's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Alone]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- Really, the biggest point of critique I have is simply that this is... so repetitive. This is clearly begging for some lyrics and/or a melody at a minimum, and in my opinion should also have a secondary section with a short bridge to vary it up. The second section after the breakdown deserves some more variation as well, seeing as it is exactly the same as the first more climactic section. Quite frankly, even the breakdown is just a filtered version of the same instrumental/sfx loop you have going the entire track, only removing the drums temporarily as well. It's very nice to chill out to, but this loop will get boring in a matter of minutes without further variation.

- Quite frankly, there's not enough content here in this for me to really critique much of anything else. If anything, the guitar slides used as SFX in the pitched loop are... odd choices, and I think there are definitely better ones, but they aren't actively bad by any means. Rather, they just sound a tad odd due to their length and application almost as a type of 'percussion' without being very percussive.

Compliments to the Composer:

- Honestly? While there isn't that much here in this track, it's a very chill groove and I happily left it on while writing out your review. It's calm, the little bent guitar notes and other sound effects felt nicely placed and enhanced the music. I really just wish there was a bit more variation and some kind of 'hook' to make it more than a background loop, because otherwise it's lovely and even well-mixed.

Final score: 7

[Cali Crazed - Steam]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- Okay, I'm legitimately not sure if the headphones you're using to mix have really weak treble or what, but this track is actually physically painful for me to listen to. Please for goodness sake reign in your high treble frequencies. A spectrometer can help quite a bit to make sure you see where overly resonant frequencies are in your instruments. Too resonant and they are painful, especially in the more extremely high and low frequencies, as the human ear isn't tuned to really hear those frequencies well. In general, please remember - sounds that cause physical pain are generally not considered good in music intended for human beings.

- Secondly, the transitions are very rough, and the constant breat of the same kick drum and snare drums tends to reduce the music as it only increases the noise intensity that is painful in the other instruments. Sometimes you do vary the rhythm of the drums, and this actually is very nice when it happens, as the constant four-on-the-floor beat can also be very monotonous.

Compliments to the Composer:

- I think in this case I'd like to identify the section of this track which sounded the absolute best: 2:00 to 2:17. This actually has some interesting intensity when the drums amp up, and the dry synth right afterwards provides some really interesting reprieve.

Final score: 1

[Interstellar Distances]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- Please, god, give the poor PWM/square a break! It has nothing to do but constantly play 8th notes in the same patterns over and over. Using the same instrument constantly isn't explicitly bad, but raw waveforms are a little unique insofar as they can REALLY stick out. More to the point, it sticks out like a sore thumb and covers the little bell melody in the background, making the melody very difficult to hear. Additionally, with how constant it is, it can actually end up being very fatiguing to listen to since it doesn't have a break or even a variation in the rhythm. The perpetual intensity of the drums even in relatively calm sections also enhances this. Please give it some rest. Instead, it could be nice to focus on the chords and give a separate bridge with the chords, or isolate the bell synth and give it some harmonization on its own. It's also perfectly okay to just pause and let the music have a bit of space to breathe in quiet for a moment.

- Alrighty, that aside, your secondmost relevant issue is about transitions. More specifically, the extreme lack of them. The intro has a transition, and there are a few times where there are drum fills, but there are some ways to really enhance your transitions and make instruments feel far more expressed. Using more velocity variation, giving your instruments portamento and a delayed LFO to wiggle the fine pitch just a bit when a synth is held, using panning or changing chord progressions to temporarily increase tension before release - all of these will help express more in your melodies, and help your transitions. Remember, transitions in western-based music like this are about Tension and Release. This track does the Tension part very well, and builds into tense sections nicely, but it doesn't Release it. Instead, it frequently just cuts off the tension completely, making the transitions surprisingly jarring when the music becomes less intense.

Compliments to the Composer:

- You actually really have some nice organization and solid melodies in this track. Nothing sounds dissonant, and your drums are very solid and not too grating. For a chiptune-esque track especially, this does quite well in having a varied sound palette (though again, that pwm & square wave combo really takes up so much of the sound, making it harder to hear the other varied instruments). Space is cool indeed, my friend - I think maybe it might be worth looking at the FTL soundtrack. It's not quite as high intensity as your track, but has a large amount of chiptune elements and additional atmosphere/percussion techniques which you may find useful if you continue this style!

Final score: 6

[G a r b a g e d a Y]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- The harmonies at the start of this track are so lovely in the electric piano, but once the melodicish line comes in at 0:19, it started to become clear that this track is made almost entirely out of loops that... don't quite fit together. Especially later, you seem to be using multiple different types of harmony based on the same basic notes. I would highly reocmmend checking out some... classical voice leading, of all things. Essentially, what would be useful is sketching out your chord at the beginning, and writing your melodies based on chord tones. Try to make every major beat a note of your base chord, only using other notes as ornaments or passing tones on your way to another chord tone. That should clean up a lot of the difficulty with harmony this track has, and give you a good foundation for composing more melodies.

- Your method of simply slapping in new instruments on hypermeasures is perfectly functional, but a bit basic. You can anticipate instruments a bit better, or add some background effects to fill out your mix, changing the chord progression a bit to essentially prepare the audience to hear "oh, there's a new instrument about to come in" - or alternatively keeping many of your instruments present from the beginning, but used a bit sparingly to make sure they're known but not really considered an important instrument yet. Additionally, the linear fadeout for the second half of the track is an extremely common and amateurish way to end tracks - it works, but it doesn't provide any kind of "conclusion" for the listener. You can drop instruments out instead like how you brought them in, or simply have a conclusion or climax to the melodies before leaving only one or two (like the electric piano throughout the track!) to fade out instead of everything at once.

Compliments to the Composer:

- This track does really have a tasty vibe to it. I love the electric piano and percussion especially. The reverb can be a bit much at times, but it provides some nice extra atmosphere to envelop the rest of the sound and make everything blend together pretty well. I could see people going for a nice chill walk while listening to this. With a few tweaks, you'll get to nail that vibe even harder in the future!

Final score: 5.5

[Interrogation]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- Okay, this track really really needs to have its waveform EX P A N D E D. What I mean by that is that right now, it sounds very... 'crunched' into just the mids and compressed into a smaller db level than it really deserves. This type of sound works in the intro, but once you get into the more intense section, it barely feels like it opens up at all. Try exploring into higher and lower frequencies (though, careful with the intensity) and allowing your bass to reach into the subs a bit more especially. Limiting the track to -1.1dB would also be lovely. Do be careful with your reverb as you do this, since it can end up filling up your audio space a bit too much and cause mud.

- For a background in a video game, this track works quite well solely as background. It can, however, be more engaging - and also fit the framework of a contest more to boot, by giving it more of a B section with a new chord progression, and adding in some more clearly audible melodic themes throughout. Having more frequency space and loudness available to work with dynamics and expressive synths would help, but you can even do this right now with the instruments you have. You use so many of them for arpeggiation and small melodic fragments, but nothing that really clearly shows a hook. Try using that hook earlier in the music so that people can latch onto it and later go "oh hey, it's that melody again!" This type of feeling is exciting and tends to be very engaging for listeners.

Compliments to the Composer:

- Oh my god I love the framework and atmosphere and instruments you have here. Expanding the frequency space is partly because I want to hear all of their harmonics and sparkling spice and depth of bass. Your main pad is smooth and comfortable, providing a wonderful background for all the other instruments to sparkle over - like that wonderful bit of steady metallic percussion panned right throughout the track (I love this sound so much and want it in my library) and the triangle panned left at the start. Your variation in sound design with filtering is very nice, at the end I was wanting the music to continue because you had explored such a lovely bit of sonic space right there before it finished. (please continue this kind of stuff, damn)

Final score: 7.8

Bradley-Pittman responds:

Thanks for the extremely thoughtful review!! You’ve given me several great tips and ideas that I’ll keep in mind in the future : )

[Bottom Kek- Blitz]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- What this song could really really use is some variation in the central idea. It keeps the same rhythm and chord progression the *entire* way through the music, even during the breaks. It's good to have a central idea, but there absolutely need to be times in which it takes a break. You can absolutely add secondary melodies, variation in the chord progression, or variation in the rhythm completely in order to do this, but there's only so far that pure sound design variation will take it.

- Secondary issue would probably have to be the mixing, though it's so much more minor than the issue of being extremely repetitive. During the climax to the music in the second half, notice how much reverb you have washing to the sides. However, in the center of your soundstage, all of the instruments get really crunched together and don't feel like they have enough room to BREATHE. Try reducing some of the reverb and panning instruments. You have the whole stereo field to work with, after all (though check it with mono to make sure they mix decently well that way too). Spatialization is your friend and you don't have to abuse reverb or delay to widen your stereo field.

Compliments to the Composer:

- My god I love your username. ...right, music. Your sound design and instrument selection, mixing issues aside, is really on-point. I love the little bits of sound design variation and the drum fills when they come in, they add a really tasty amount of spice. You also cleary know the importance of having a breakdown, and how to organize builds and climaxes in your music, so I think you can absolutely fix up your weak points and make some really good music in this genre.

Final score: 7.2

BottomKek responds:

Thank you so much for your review! I've never really had any direct feedback when it comes to mixing before so this has been a really helpful review! I definitely think this is one of my most repetitive pieces but it's also one of my cleanest sounding ones overall. I'm gonna take this advice and run with it! Thanks again for the feedback

[Circuit Bored - Press 2 Now]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- So, the thing that struck me the most right away with this track are the dissonant chords. I tried listening several times, but they stick out SO much from the rest of the chords, and I can't find a reason they're so dissonant. I love spicy chords, but I think it's important to remember the common concept of tension and release. In music based on western tradition, the goal is to build tension up to points of release (typically V-I chord changes at the end of a hypermeasure). However, the second chord in your progression at first, as well as the sequence starting around 1:40 is just so intensely dissonant and there doesn't seem to be a compositional purpose for it. Everything else is much happier in tone. A couple ways you could use this is by making the dissonance more subtle at first and adding lyrics to the track in order to use that dissonance for a narrative purpose - or by simply using it to build tension at the climax before releasing it into the happier harmony again.

- Variation variation variation. Almost all of your guitar notes are straight rhythms, and your drums have very little variation as well, with a pretty intensely punchy kick (I like it, but ow my bruised ears) that could use a bit of a lighter and possibly more sparing touch. In this type of music, the atmosphere is really airy and floaty, so reducing the impact and frequency of the kick would really encourage that atmosphere, whereas use of it could be saved for moments that you want to particularly HIT. The chords also do drag on after awhile without having a melody for them to support, so either more variation in chords or a melody to hook onto would go a long way (even making the straight rhythm guitar notes totally fine, listen to this for comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtD6N9TDFAk (It's faster paced and has drum & bass drums, but also keeps the same kind of airy feeling - the drums are actually even less varied than yours yet they work just fine because of the melody and chord progression!)

Compliments to the Composer:

- Man, with all that said... I gave a lot of criticism, but when this hits the atmosphere, it really nails it. There are some lovely reversed sound effects, the "Press 2 now" sample pulls some good work, and the soft distorted guitar in the last section is really lovely. This music doesn't seem bored at all, it seems really chill! (ok, ok, bad joke...) You clearly have a good idea of how to make your music sound good - so many of your fundamentals hit home, you have an understanding of using ambient effects and space, and I look forward quite a bit to hearing more of your work.

Final score: 7.8

[Techno Voltaire Pt. 1]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- Alrighty! I have two issues perfectly primed for fixing up, and I think you'll do fine on them. First things first, some of your sections sound like they have good basic ideas but they're also REALLY rough. You have a wonderful sense of development and progression through this track, but think of things like transitions. At 1:01 for example, the bass just... comes in with no 'fanfare' at all (also 3:40 where everything dies out without really snapping back in properly). Even a reverse kick to lead into it would have been something to improve it. Otherwise, the chord progression is okay but generally a little odd for the dark tone you have through this piece, and there are MANY times where some extra drum and bass fills would have broken up the more monotonous sequences of steady repeating rhythms. One system I like to use is to organize four-measure hypermeasures into drum sequences of ABAC, where the first and third measures are the same, but there are small fills on B and C which are different. You can expand this into ABACABAD, or larger following the same kind of formula to add consistent variation.

- No getting around it... a lot of the harmonic instruments above the bass just kinda... flop. They're very flat and honestly generic by comparison to the entire rest of the track, causing a dissonance not unlike the chord progressions. Some of the plucks are okay, but in general with this dark tone, your instruments need more IMPACT. Here's a song which has a similar tone, though it's much faster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEbWiv6SMt4 Especially in the section focused more on the synth starting at 4:28 (and later at 5:13 with more of an arpeggio), it has IMPACT to the sound along with the bass underneath, and variation (as mentioned in the other point of criticism) to keep things engaging. This song is drum & bass, but this should show how much of a difference instrument tone can make.

Compliments to the Composer:

- Holy atmosphere, man. So I know I just got done bashing your synth design, but the BASS design and atmosphere like in the section starting around 0:30, as well as the build starting at 3:25... that stuff is *so* good, and I desperately want the track to be more focused on it. The clicks coming in around 4:45 as well as in the first section... also very excellent for building tension. I firmly believe if this track leaned harder into its atmosphere and dark bass focus, it would be extremely tasteful. Just do be careful with reverb in atmosphere though, it can fill things up a tad *too* much at times!

Final score: 7

BlighterProductions responds:

Hello SkyeWint. First of all, thank you very much for your review. I like people the most when they're direct, and outspoken. I read your multiple times to fully understand it, and I have a few things to remark if that's alright.

The first thing is that I tried expanding my musical area with this. Besides only a very small handful of tracks I made, it is mostly ambient that I make (you can find more melody and welcoming sounds in those tracks), and almost everything I did in this track was completely intentional.

Indeed, instead of a fanfare or a whirlwind movement into the next section at 1:00, I wanted to keep the energy back for just a little bit longer. I did that because people who have listened to a lot of music may predict there to be a full impact drop. I wanted to be more unpredictable with this track. In order not to sound too 'generic'.

The second thing is that I wanted that rougher sound. I just recently got into Aphex Twin's music (he does many different styles under the IDM genre), and I was so moved by both his ambient and acid works, that I began liking the rougher sound more. Let's say Aphex Twin grew on me as one of my favorite artists right now.

I like seeing different perspectives of people, and I love how you wrote the review in great detail, going over the overall composition and over some timestamps. Telling what could be improved and what I did well, and such.

I'm also very glad with the postive parts about this track. Your compliment about the atmosphere and basslines really motivates me. I know it would be a good idea to capitalize on that, but I just feel like I shouldn't. I feel like I need more variety in my stuff.

Anyways, thanks for the rating and comment. It's a pleasure being in the NGUAC again.

[Nostalgia T99]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- I think this track relies a bit way too much on delay and reverb to fill up its space. Delay and reverb is FANTASTIC, mind. I absolutely love the echoes and trails leading off of it. However, what this can do is reduce the impact of your percussion quite a bit, and bury a lot of details in the mix, particularly during climactic portions. The absolute flood of reverb/delay trails can also cause listening fatigue, reverb because of how "flat" the texture is and delay from all the repetition and syncopation it results in. I think these could both be toned down quite a bit, especially reverb in the climaxes and the delay at the very beginning causing some particularly odd syncopation.

- Quite frankly, the overuse of delay and reverb is the biggest issue by far. So, instead of pointing out another major thing, let's talk about how to take this track to the next level *instead* of by using such intense delay and reverb to fill up the space. Some of your instruments would do phenomenally with an auto-panner, like your arpeggios and main melody when it comes in. This would fill up the space and allow your delays to cross over each side when they are present. Additionally, adding some more higher frequency sound (aside from that ride cymbal that comes in around 20 seconds for the first time... it's not bad, but for me personally it outright causes headaches) and bits of "ear candy" like higher pitch harmonic lines and momentary percussion fills that make more use of reverb than the other instruments would absolutely make this SPARKLE in some really really tasteful ways.

Compliments to the Composer:

- This is remarkably unrepetitive and listenable, especially for how basic the chord progression is and how much of it is built out of arpeggiation. I love the reverb tails coming *out* of climactic sections even if they can get a little much inside of them (automation can let you reduce this kind of thing temporarily!), and the sense of space and steady rhythm in the track is very lovely. Really nice work, I hope to hear more of how you explore this style.

Final score: 7.5

[Confrontation]

Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- The very first thing I notice when listening to this music is how flat the piano sounds. In fact, a lot of this track would probably be described as 'flat'. I noticed you labelled it as "industrial", which indicates some of why, but it's good to know that industrial music has repetitive hooks that stick to straight rhythms. It isn't quite just sticking to a steady beat alone. While this track isn't explicitly industrial, you can hear how it repeatedly has 'clipped' sound and a repeated chord hitting on every offbeat. This keeps it from being completely flat while still maintaining that repetitive steady impact that industrial music has. Drums would also do your music a huge service in creating that steady pumping intensity.

- Outside of the industrial specification, I think your music would do very well to have more variation in chords. Right now, it sticks to roughly the same chords throughout and has no melody. While I'd rather have this over seemingly randomized notes like many amateur musicians do instead for complexity, I think you would be well-served by having a chord progression spanning four measures instead of two, with a secondary progression you can go into periodically to break it up. Once you have that established, trying to write an individual melody or focus on a specific rhythm for a theme the listener can latch onto would take your music and bring it to the next level.

Compliments to the Composer:

- Believe it or not, I actually really like the consistency in this track. You have some really neat tones in here like in the growly distorted bass, and some small variations that keep it from being *that* monotonous. Maintaining consistency while relaxing just a little bit will really bring things further, and I see some solid potential here that helps me enjoy it a lot. It's also notable that, while the composition can be fatiguing from its repetition, the mixing isn't overly loud and doesn't cause ear fatigue through noise density. Good work!

Final score: 4