Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Oceans Wide]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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Oh man, Trois. Your composition just makes me wish I could overlook the mixing issues but for the sake of the contest I unfortunately can't! I'll start with the good stuff; your melodies and harmonies are among the best in Round 1. You have an extremely sensible command over composition. One thing I really enjoyed about the composition would be how at 1:10 you modulated downwards to a lower key, and then at 2:22 you DIDN'T modulate, and this is actually very clever. Most people would save their modulation for the actual climax and modulate to a higher key for a more climactic effect, but instead you modulated the *foreshadowing* of the climax downwards, which is one thing I really appreciated about the composition. Your singing is pretty much on point, with the exception of vocal harmonies being out of time (etherealwinds makes a very good suggestion on that). No re-recording is necessary. Just play around with slicing up the audio files and automating volume!

The instrumentation is very nice. I mean, I hear some samples that you consistently use in lots of your tracks, like that xylophone (something which really makes me feel bad because my composition can't lift a finger on yours and I have all the sounds I can ever dream of), but I also hear some really nice use of instruments such as the staccato strings combined with the xylophone that gives a lovely sense of motion, or the creative usage of the jazz organ and synths which give this track a dream-like quality. Where this track flops, as I'm sure you know, is the production. For starters, it's too quiet. I also think there's too large of a dynamic range. A dynamic range is good thing to have but can be a double-edged sword, since even when I turned my volume up really high I struggled to hear the intro! Plus, even then I think the intro has lots of movement, and would sound better as a mezzo forte. Apart from that, the mix is too thin, the vocals sound a little tinny, the xylophone stands out unnaturally, the oboe (?) has artificial-sounding staccato and the last note would sound better faded out since your release tail sounds kind of iffy.

I know you know your mixing needs work and I wish you only the best to improve. If you need any kind of mixing advice, I am FAR from an expert but I could try and give some pointers. Mix aside, wonderful job with the track. Well-deserved win.

SCORE: 8.4/10

[Glitchy Grindy Stuff]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review

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Well, this is quite the submission! Right off the bat, any listener could tell he's in for a pretty unique ride, what with your unorthodox pattern played by that fat synth bass, which makes for a pretty interesting groove when you throw your percussion into the mix. This is experimental music in its true sense, but despite the obscure approach you took, there's some pretty fun stuff in this, such as the transition to introduce the drums five seconds in, the highly creative use of beatbox sounds in the beat, the gated section at 1:03 and 1:32's synth. It's all highly interesting and pretty fun to listen to.

Now at this point I'll pretty much echo what midimachine said. To me, experimentation is never an excuse for poor musicality, and unfortunately this is scattered with issues. The mix is pretty much ridiculously heavy on the low end which simply destroys a lot of the other elements you threw in such as the trippy high synth at 0:58. Some transitions such as 1:32 are pretty abrupt. There's a severe lack of remarkable content above the "glitchy grindy stuff". Lastly, that ending! I'm afraid it simply came off sounding lazy and uninventive to just fade everything out. I mean, sure, it's a very unorthodox and oddly fun track, but due to all these issues it simply loses the interest of its listeners and has little replay value.

Thanks for the fascinating submission though! Hope to see you next year.

SCORE: 7.3/10

[Into the War]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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If there's one thing that this track is, it's memorable. No other submission in this round has a vocal intro and outro like this, and none of them are a classical/dubstep hybrid like this is. Speaking of which, you did a good job in both sides of this track. The classical section has some surprisingly interesting melodic content (and an ending very typical of a classical-era piece), and the dubstep sections have an adequately aggressive bass and thumpy drums (the kick in particular is very well-mixed). You managed to mix the two genres together fairly seamlessly without making it sound forced, so good job with that! Something I'm particularly fond of is how you timed the hi-hat rhythm with the piano to incorporate the beat so smoothly. So I mean, the track IS promising and has quite a few redeeming factors...

...and then there's the fact that it's less than two minutes long. Hell, with the vocals taken away, this would barely reach a minute and a half. While I don't have anything against 2-minute tracks in particular, if you're going to make your track just two minutes long and give it only two distinctive (and intrinsically repetitive) sections, then you're going to have to expect your submission to fall short in terms of content. Other issues include the ultimately unsatisfying transition to the dubstep section, and the extremely artificial-sounding piano. I mean sure, I'm not expecting you to go all East/West on us, but I think it would've been worth EQing the piano to make it sound not so obnoxiously bright, and humanised it a little. Also, I concur with midimachine that the voice clipping is a real bummer. Clipping just screams unprofessional to me, and while your voice-acting was pretty good, you need to remove that clipping!

Even though it has promise, it's a little underdeveloped and scattered with issues here and there. Thanks for taking part!

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SCORE: 6.8/10

MrStr8face responds:

Thank you very much for the review and for taking the time to listen and give feed back! And as you and midimachine pointed out the faults, I completely agree with everything and know exactly what I need to work on for my tracks. Expect to see me in NGADM next year! Again, thank you so much and hope to see you again in next year's competition! :D

[Smorgardsbord]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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You're probably like the VGM representative of the NGADM haha. Like your audition, this has a distinct VGM-like charm even if the instruments you used aren't strictly chiptune sounds. The composition in this is actually pretty great! Again, as is the case in your audition, this has an upfront, foreground melody that's undeniably catchy and can easily get hooked into the listener's head. Cool aspects of your composition would be your little detached synth hits in the background that can be heard most clearly at 0:49, 1:04's use of a blue note, and your rock solid structure. Seriously, the structure here is great. You transition back to the section used at the intro absolutely seamlessly, and even end your track using the same synth pattern you utilised at the very beginning to start the track. Great stuff, right there!

The muddle-up for me, which explains most of my score deductions, definitely has to be the production value. For starters, the drums are ridiculously subdued, and for no reason at all, in my opinion. The kick is lacking in mids and lows, and the snare is almost not even there. On top of that, many of the synths sound considerably thin, and when you couple that with the disappointing lack of bass that this track has, and the thin drums, you've got a mix that neglects large portions of the frequency spectrum. Apart from the problems with the mix, there are a few other smaller issues; the transitions with cutoff filter automation like 1:11 and 2:25 are a little overwhelmingly ear-piercing I feel. There's also a slight repetition issue and I wish you played the synth pattern at the end a little longer and faded it out more gradually, but that's mostly a stylistic complaint.

All in all, despite some issues, this is a fun track. Decent work.

SCORE: 7.9/10

Mawnz responds:

Step, u da real MVP T_T
Production is what I feel like where I'm lacking the most so your feedback there is much needed <3
I think I'm going in the right direction, but I don't know what I'm doing half of the time mixing so yea.

Thank you, you deserve a medal.

[Infinite]

Oh man, this is some really fun stuff. You're one of the stronger electronic producers in this competition and I'm really glad you put your skills to the test with such a unique yet well-produced experiment. The swing tempo works extremely well, creating a memorable groove and giving this track a lot of character. The composition on top of that swing groove is also very obscure, but at the same time, oddly enticing! I think in terms of composition my main issue is that this gets pretty repetitive. You have a very interesting motif that appears at 0:39 for the first time, but that's all you ever play in the more interesting parts. In the less interesting parts where less is going on, you don't have much to keep the listener interested either (aside from maybe the [also repetitive] piano part at 1:57).

You don't leave much to desire in the production, I'll give you that! Everything is super clear and sounds fantastic, especially at high volumes. The sounds you've used are also top-notch. You use mostly heavy, thick, pad-like synths over light, airy synths, giving the track a somewhat menacing and dark kind of vibe. These contrast greatly with the light, high piano notes, a contrast which I adored. Having said that, perhaps making the piano a little more upfront in the mix would elevate it to a little more than just a vague background element. Your drum sounds are, of course, perfect. Punchy and snappy, precisely how I like them! I actually think you should try creating more complex hat rhythms at times, but otherwise you did a good job.

Very solid stuff. I had a few issues with some volume levels, and I think it did get somewhat repetitive/dull, but otherwise this is an extremely successful experiment!

SCORE: 9.3/10

AeronMusic responds:

Thanks Step for your indepth review! I always love to read any of your reviews, even on other tracks.
You're absolutely right about the repetitiveness. It was hard to make something new in this song that didn't change its theme.
I'm glad people liked the dark vibe. I love to hear and make this type of music.
And yeah, I'm a perfectionist when it comes to music production.
Anyways, I am really happy to hear you liked it!

[Acidulus 8]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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I am almost speechless. This is hands down my favourite electronic submission this round, and there was a lot of great electronic stuff this round. For starters, as is ALWAYS the case with your music, the production is godly. I absolutely love the clarity of everything, and the earcandy-filled sound palette you use. The drums are crisp and the textures you create with those synths are to die for. I've always been a HUGE fan of your production value and you continue setting the bar every damn time. I also loved the contrast between the VGM-infused first half and DnB-infused second half. It was a pleasure hearing the melody played first by that chiptune-esque lead synth with all that pitch automation you do on it and classic VGM-like arpeggios in the background, and then hearing it in all its glory later on in its more modernised counterpart.

Your melody is a ridiculous earworm by the way. You repeat the main motif quite a lot but have an appreciable amount of variety in the counter-melodies and continuations of your main melody so that didn't bother me much. It just did more to cement the melody in my head, and while I hate you for that since it won't be getting out any time soon, I can't deny it's ridiculously catchy! My only two complaints are the intro and the vocals. I like how you had a subtle foreshadowing of the vocals at the very beginning, but I felt like 7 seconds in, when you introduce the melody, you don't give it a suitable entrance. It just comes in out of nowhere, and while it wasn't too abrupt, I felt like it cheapened the melody a little over there. Additionally, the vocals were a nice idea, since it would've been cool to hear the melody played by what sounds like a large group of singers, but it came off sounding very offputting and artificial (as if you just recorded one note of yourself singing and then pitch-bent it for the rest of the notes).

I think you get the highest score of the round from me. I am a huge fan of this and I hope you continue to impress.

SCORE: 9.7/10

garlagan responds:

HOLY...
I don't even know what to type here. I'm astonished!
I had so many doubts about this track. But it seems keep working on it has paid off!
Ah, me hands be shakin. Best part of the NGADM right here, reading amazingly detailed reviews.. and not even knowing what to respond haha.
Really, your reviews are just too good Step.
You're right about the vocals, they kinda sound off in the track. I recorded myself like 40 times, doing eeee, oooo, uuu lol. It was fun! But I'm far from getting good at it YET :p.
By the way, the melody being an earworm is the greatest compliment I've ever received on a song. Can't thank you enough for that! And your favourite electronic submission !?!? This is just too much, heart attack incoming.

CHEERS STEP!

[Tropical Dream]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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I think I've mentioned this to you before, but the one thing that always pops up in my head when I think of your music is how you theme each one so effectively. It's like, you decide "right, I'm going to make a track to depict X theme", and then make a track that depicts that theme so well that anyone who hears it would instantly agree. This sounds EXACTLY like a tropical island, what with the classic island mallet, bright, warm instrumentation such as the acoustic guitar, beach sound effects, ethnic percussion, and a happy, laid-back mood to put icing on the cake. It works like clockwork, and I must commend you on having such a clear ability to make music fit a certain theme, as it's a skill that any game composer in their right mind would die to have!

You have some great production here. I love the snappiness of the percussion, the deep bass, the overall clarity, and the levelling. Some of the sounds you use are significantly blander than others (looking at you 1:03 brass and 2:55 strings), but that hardly takes away from the piece. The composition I'm in two minds about. On the one hand you have some REALLY addicting stuff such as 1:17's motif and pretty much all of your transitions (seriously, the transitions in this are just the BOMB), but on the other hand a lot of your primary motifs, such as the one that first appears at the start of the track, sound a little forced to me and not very memorable. Also, I feel like your track slightly overstays its welcome. I mean, it's pretty varied, but gets pretty monotonous after around 3 and a half minutes.

Anyway, this is one of my favourites from you. Wonderful work.

SCORE: 8.8/10

DuttonsaysHi responds:

Hey thanks for the in depth review! :D I really appreciate it.

I'm really glad you picked up on the theme I was going for :D. I mean I tried to make it as obvious as possible with the title and instrumentation and all. I actually usually decide a theme half way through my tracks once the ball gets rolling, but this time I though I'd use steel drums as a starting point to make something in the theme of summer/sunny things.

Haha yeah a lot of complaints I've had in the past have been because of my instrument quality. Since I use reason, things like East West symphonic orchestra and such are out of the question. I have to stick with good ol' sound fonts which aren't necessarily bad, it's just sometimes I make their authenticity a little too obvious.

About the song "over staying it's welcome"... yeah I have to agree, I thought the same too. I figured it was just because I grew tired of it after hearing it over and over. I thought it was just me rather than the song. >_<

I may not have made it to round 2 but I managed to try a theme I've always wanted to do so I'll call it a win. :D

Thanks again!

[Dawnglide]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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I'm glad you made it into the competition in the end, even if you only managed to make a track for the first round. You bring something very valuable to the table, and that's a great sense of composition. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing your arpeggios and harmonies in the intro, and the melodies played by that smooth square lead are solid and flow very naturally. You have a solid progression and every transition is smooth (loving the one at 3:18), largely due to the fact that you often prepare the introduction of a new instrument/element suitably by ramping it up a few beats before it actually comes in. That's the mark of a thoughtful compositional flow. The structure is solid, and the intro and outro are both suitable ways to transition out of and into silence respectively.

My issue is not in the composition of this track, which is for the most part good, but in its sound. While you have a suitably clear mix and balanced levelling, the track just sounds extremely bland. It has very little depth outside a somewhat resonant/shrill pad, piano, drums and a square lead. At the risk of sounding like an uneducated music listener, the track lacks... punch. All of the elements are pretty subdued and sound pretty dull, and without any complex composition to make up for that we're left with a pretty underwhelming submission, I'm afraid. On an unrelated note, 1:22's synth is pretty harsh, and not in a tasteful way! I would suggest a different sound.

Recap: solid melodies/harmonies, lots of potential, bland instrumentation. Good job overall, and thanks for taking part!

SCORE: 7.2/10

LunacyEcho responds:

Thanks a lot, Step! I can't imagine how time-consuming all this work must be.

=> melodies/transition/structure =>

Thanks a lot! Those are definitely things I've been working on and am trying to improve. I'm glad they worked! My melodies have normally been really basic and catchy in the past, and I've been trying to make them deeper with more emotion. My transitions and structure in the past have been crap, so planning out stuff ahead of time taught me a lot about music writing that I hadn't known before.

=> composition vs instrumentation =>

That's a problem I've been sort of noticing in my music lately. :( My ending mix tends to be really quiet, and while they sound nice on a high volume, they tend to seriously underwhelm at a lower one. Thanks for pointing it out.

I've probably said this way too much in my response, but thanks so much for the review! I really appreciate it.

[Lythalia]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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Wow! I remember you being one of my "definitely yes" auditioners when I was doing audition judging, and for a good reason! This is tremendously good. I love your production value for starters. It's SO clean and clear. Maybe the drums could've been mixed in a little better (cymbals were kind of tinny) but otherwise I'm a huge fan of your mixing and levelling. The composition is also pretty great! Nothing out of this world, but they're simple and likeable. 0:44 in particular is an earworm. On top of all that, you have masterful guitar playing, sweet harmonies and backing riffs, fitting percussion, and some nifty nods to electronic music, such as the brief, heavily filtered intro. You did a lot of things right in this track, as my high score shows.

But man, repetition! It isn't that bad of a problem, but I do think the amount of content doesn't merit five whole minutes of listening time. A lot of sections were simply copy-pasted more than once, ostensibly to give the illusion of a long track, but to me it simply came off as being repetitive. If you want five whole minutes of music, then I would suggest adding more distinct sections, and maybe even some dynamics such as clean guitar solos or whatever. Anything to break up the monotony would do 5 minutes justice easily. The ending, too, was highly disappointing. Fade-out endings rarely work, usually just sounding like a cop-out, and that is precisely what it sounds like over here. A more satisfying ending will really do this track wonders!

Anyway, complaints aside, I love this track. Keep up the awesome work.

SCORE: 9/10

JDawg00100 responds:

Thanks for the detailed review, I actually agree completely with it. I'm not a fan of the structure of this song, I also find the drawn out riff in the middle really annoying. I had a different song that I was hoping to finish before the judging started but I didn't have the time.

[Unshackling the Necromancer]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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This is one of the more professional-sounding orchestral submissions of the round. I love the quality of your sounds and your arrangement. It's the kind of track that, with a slightly less muddy mix, I would expect to hear in a film or game, and that's always a great sign. You've got a powerful arrangement of instruments that really shines in parts like 2:12 which sound menacing and dark, or 1:06 where you have these absolutely exceptional fast passages that truly give off a feeling of intensity and excitement. Of course, it helps that the samples you use are high-quality, but what I really must commend you on is how well you use them. The only quirk I have with your arrangement is that the guitar, while sounding fantastic, felt a bit out of place at the very end, since it just came out of the blue without any prior foreshadowing.

My main issue with this, apart from the mix being just a little muddy, is that the composition is lacking. It almost feels as if each section you wrote was only written with the mere intention of portraying the mood described in your author's comments. The composition is simply not memorable. I mean, sure, it's well-written, has a lot of sweet call-and-response sections and the voicing is pretty sweet, but outside of the well-portrayed moods there isn't much to commend. In a way, this like Veneox's submission - it tells a story through different moods. However, his actually has some sweet motifs, whereas to me, I regret to say that this sounds a lot more lifeless and lacking much-needed expression.

That's my opinion on it! You certainly have the talent to make a more expressive and compositionally sensible piece, so I hope you give that a shot for the next round!

SCORE: 8.2/10

Jay-Turner responds:

Thanks for your response Step.

I'm glad you enjoyed the quality of the sounds and the range I tried to express. I used a lute for this piece, I did use it earlier on in the piece at around 40 seconds subtly. I guess I wanted to added an element that wasn't typical to an orchestra - the same as I used tamourines in the introduction to embody the necromancer's chains.

I didn't intend for the piece to be catchy or memorable but rather to invoke emotion/feeling of what is going on, I imagined it would place emphasis if it was accompanied with visuals. I did use a motif though, first at 0:24 and then the outro lute plays it again.

Anyway I am following your advice and trying to create a more thematic piece for my second submssion. Thanks again for your thoughts, I appreciate it.