Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Despodency]

Hey! I'm here from the Review for Review thread.

This is actually a nice piece with some excellent ideas and execute that leaves room for improvement. Let me start by saying that I love the pacing of this track. It starts with a fairly low-key intro, introducing motifs that will later be repeated in the track, and then you introduce some busier, more rhythmic elements at 0:42 which kick-start the song really well.

I have to also add that your main melody is awesome. I don't find this to be sad at all. The melodies in this track have a way of sounding more hopeful than unhappy really, haha. You have a well-composed, memorable motif, plus some solid accompaniment and a nice flow to top it all off.

My primary issue is that this track is pretty bland. You literally only have strings (including a harp) and drums for a whole 4 minutes. The drums themselves are pretty dull and lacking any character/vibrancy whatsoever. The sustained strings sound a bit dull too, which is a big problem since they're used for practically the whole track. Also, I would've liked more changes in chord progression.

Solid track! Loving that melody - work on making this track more intricate and less bland. It has a lot of potential!

7/10
5/5

lemon42 responds:

Hello and first off, thanks for the review! Really appreciate it!

The main idea behind this track was to get something really simple that flowed well. I didn't want to load it with tons of instruments and everything, wanted it to sound pretty light on a whole.

I can however understand you feel it's bland, it repeats itself a bit, true, and isn't as exciting as it could be either. I could have gone the other path and made something more complex, but I left that out for another time. I'm not sure if you noticed either, but the chords also change a bit midway.

I'm glad you liked my song!
About the instruments, I actually have more but they're very subtle. I start off with sustained strings for chords (which I think I should have tweaked a bit now, but heh, not gonna change it now :P), a high violin for the lead, drums for rhythm, a harp as well as some fast violins (playing chords quickly) on the highs and on the lower ends a double bass with a lighter french horn to make it sound fuller.

Again, the purpose was to keep it simple and very easy on the listener. I didn't want to overwhelm or bring any specific emotions through this track but rather wanted to explore a very minimalist path. This is also why a lot of the instruments don't particularly stand out, but really do contribute to the track on a whole.

In any case I was looking for opinions for a while, glad someone finally came by and reviewed!
Just heard the track you posted by the way, will make sure to review it!

[Majora's Mask Swamp Theme]

Hey! Your request got skipped in the Review for Review thread so I thought I'd come save the day. You're probably tired of my reviews by now but YOU THOUGHT YOU'D GET RID OF ME THAT EASILY HUH?

This is obviously excellent stuff. I've never played Majora's Mask, which I'm disappointed about because everyone tells me it's an amazing game. The only Zelda game I've ever played was Twilight Princess which I loved, and I think I'll be getting Wind Waker: HD (upon the recommendation of like 5 people), which I'm also excited about.

But I digress. I went and heard the original and your take on it is just so impressively different. Hearing it with high-quality orchestration is already a big difference, but putting that aside, the original sounds like classic, ominous Zelda music, and this sounds a lot more beautiful and vivid.

Not dissing the original, but I always love hearing totally new and unique renditions of original video game themes, because it brings them in a new light and allows me to re-imagine what the place would've looked like if it reflected this music. For example, in the original I see a cursed, murky swamp, but in this I see a mystical, beautiful forest.

In terms of actual composition, I really can't fault you. My god, the chord change at 0:39 is freaking PERFECT. I also love how the 0:54 clarinet 'answers' the melody before it. The flow in general is just masterfully smooth and with excellent dynamics, transitions, and introductions of new instruments.

Speaking of the instruments, great sound and production as usual. I love how vibrant the strings sound, and the woodwinds sound excellent and blend in perfectly. You fill up your mix suitably, and it never sounds empty, even in the quieter sections.

Issues? It's too short, but that's an obvious one. Not that had you had much material to work on since the original isn't very long either. Its length is hardly an issue in any case, because I didn't think for a second that it was undeveloped or lacking in content. Ending could've been subtler and not as abrupt (but I love the chord you end on). Lastly, a more audible buildup/rise in intensity on 1:15's note would've made the pause that followed right after it have a better effect.

Those are just the nittiest of picks though. Excellent, excellent reorchestration, or should I say, reimagining, of an already-impressive theme. Keep it up.

10/10
5/5

headphoamz responds:

Oh wow Step! Thanks for reviewing even when you didn't have to do so. I'm really happy you enjoyed it, Majora's Mask is my favorite Zelda game ever and I wanted to pay an orchestral tribute, as I loved its soundtrack. Definitely get Wind Waker HD, I personally can't wait until it comes out! ^_^

[GM - I Surrender(NGADM13)]

This is an NGADM Round 4 review.

--

Aw man! I expected a lot more than this from you, considering each track of yours is improving over the last. It's a shame time restraints can be so restricting. So yes, what you've got here doesn't quite match up to the high bar you've raised for yourself, but it's still a solid piece of work with good ideas and a fair amount of potential. As you'd expect, I'm loving the mix between electronic, orchestral (strings) and metal!

This tempo is a lot slower than what I'm used to from you, but it works. This sounds exactly like something I'd hear in some arcade space game during a menu or level/character selection of sorts. It has a good way of setting expectations for something bigger, making it a pretty sweet song introduction. The production is great as always. Amazing guitar sound, crisp drums (which your opponent didn't have), and a highly well-balanced mix.

While your production value is great, I feel like no space was given to the arp synth thing at 1:21. It seemed to fit more at the beginning, and was covered up entirely in that section. You have an AWESOME riff at 1:00 but it's far too repetitive and doesn't go anywhere before leading to the premature and unsatisfying outro.

Apart from that, there's the obvious fact that this is pretty short, lacking in content, and a lot of the time there doesn't seem to be any kind of proper melody going on. Consequently, this sounds more like background fluff than a track one would listen to on its own. Because of this slow and directionless pace, this track falls short of being interesting.

You've got some impressive ideas here, like the mix between orchestral strings, techno synths and your trademark electric guitar, akin to what you did in New World. Sad to see you go out of the contest, but you had a very, very good run! Good luck with your future projects.

Score: 8.1/10

[Psychodynamo]

This is an NGADM Round 4 review.

--

I find myself agreeing with johnfn a lot in this round. Like him, while I don't think this is as good as your Round 3 track, which I found bit more thoughtful and full of awesome atmospheres, this is still brilliant stuff, definitely on a more intense note than your Round 3 track. Plus, you've got vocals this time, and they're more well-executed than they were in your Round 2 track, so greta job!

Plus, it really doesn't sound ADHD at all. You've got just the right amount of the unpredictable and the unexpected, while still tying everything together with much more solid transitions and sections where you repeat motifs that you introduced earlier in the track. Also, I love how the track winds down so well at 3:23. Damn, that part was awesome.

I actually think that your mixing needs a bit of work, as you seem to be aware. The drums sound pretty drab and lacking the crisp sound I was hoping for. The chiptune noise sound was a cool idea but yeah, it overloads the mix with too many high frequencies. The worst part is that you use it in sections where there are already a lot of cymbals, making the high frequency a battle between white noise and cymbals.

There's a bit of clutter present in the busy sections that contain your vocals. In those sections the mix sounds a bit strained. This not only makes all the different instruments hard to follow but it's also hard to understand the lyrics, which causes the track to sound pretty messy (*cough* 2:57 *cough*)

Aside from the mix and the drums, this is another dynamic, exciting and brilliantly composed track. Amazing work.

Score: 9.3/10

[She Was Picking Flowers]

This is an NGADM Round 4 review.

--

If I heard this without knowing it was yours, I would've still guessed it was, but despite that, this feels like an entirely new style for you (at least from what I've heard in your portfolio). You've got this really interesting blend between orchestral instruments and electronic instruments which is in the same light as InvisibleObserver's submission. The instruments work together surprisingly well.

Apart from that cool little thing, you've got a lot of the stuff in here that I love about most of your tracks. Clarity, a brilliant blend of instruments and harmonies, memorable/unique style, and a lot of character in each instrument that you use. I also loved the section in the ending. What a beautiful and suitable way to end the track. It sounds sweet, but with a slight melancholy tinge with your use of minor chords.

Unfortunately, while I may be the one of the only ones in the judging panel who may think this, I find this track to be not as melodically impressive as your previous tracks, so in that light I concur with johnfn. Only after around 2 minutes did I start to truly enjoy the melodies of this piece (especially the amazing melody work in the outro).

Before then, the melody seemed quite flat and directionless. You sometimes have a habit of doing this, I think. Your tracks would have some brilliant melodies in most of the sections, but in some sections the melodies just wander around aimlessly, and over half of this track had unsatisfactory melodic material (at least compared to the high standard of quality you set upon yourself). The bassline is awesome though.

I don't think this is your best work. I actually personally think this is my least favourite from you. That doesn't mean it's not an excellent track!

Score: 9/10

steampianist responds:

Thank you for the review

It seems im getting mix reviews for this :) sort of predicted this actually.
But I had to pace my ideas and I used some for my vocaloid and steampunk ep.

So yeah ahehehe

[Everything is Broken]

This is an NGADM Round 4 review.

--

I, for one, think this NGADM submission of yours is the least developed/fleshed out, but has the most impressive sound design and ideas from all the NGADM tracks you've made. Examples of ideas I enjoyed would be the combination between electronic and orchestral elements, the little soundscape in the intro, the way the drums evolved, the unexpected but sweet change at 1:56, and your low-key but surprisingly satisfying ending.

Nothing to complain about when it comes down to the sounds you used, the production, etc. This track doesn't have the muddy low end you have a habit of incorporating, and it still offers the excellent palette of sounds you have a habit of incorporating. The drums especially are fantastic. I'm hearing a lot of clarity, sharpness, variety in the drum sounds you used and also that neat 808 tom at 0:53. The glitching is fairly standard but pretty enjoyable!

I pretty much agree entirely with johnfn. This sounds like it lacks development, mainly in the foreground. Unlike in your previous track, over here the glitching and impressive sound design aren't enough to drive the song forward in a memorable fashion, making this sound noticeably directionless (until 1:56 where it veers off into a different direction momentarily).

Also, the string sounds you used sound a bit dull, which is the total opposite of how you used the strings in your Round 1 track, where they were a lot more vibrant and enveloping. This might just be because of the sample you're using, but it also has to do with the fact that the melody you play on the strings doesn't really go anywhere. They seem to be used for what might have been intended to be a motif that unifies the track together, but ended up sounding a bit banal and redundant.

I think this is an improvement from your last track, and while so far I've always found your Round 1 track to be my favourite, you've got some golden ideas here and the usual sublime sound design to top it all off. Solid job!

Score: 8.5/10

[Ascension]

This is an NGADM Round 4 review.

--

This feels a lot like your style. I think for Round 1, maybe Round 2, and Round 3, you were diverging across various styles, and now you've hit home again. You're good at loads of styles, but this seems like your niche to me. Beautiful composition in both the piano and the vocals. I love your chords. They make me curious - have you ever formally learnt jazz or at least classical theory?

One of my absolute favourite things about this track would be what you've got going at 1:44. What a beautiful momentary instrumental section that not only breaks up the monotony of having you singing in a ballad manner all the time, but has a way of communicating just as well as the lyrics do. Not even going to bother giving my analysis of your singing voice by the way. You know very well I think it's omgfkhdsuafghsg.

I was saying in the judge Skype chat earlier... how is it possible to find anything not to like in this track? While etherealwinds had some issues that were pretty apparent (to me, at least), this track doesn't actually have anything that I can call "bad" (well, apart from the occasional clipping in the track).

The only thing I can do at this point is compare it to etherealwinds's track. Like I said, I think your track doesn't have levelling issues or whatever - everything is tastefully done and highly indicative that you know what you're doing. However, I feel that compared to etherealwinds you played it a bit more safe. His track had more focus on using instruments to build an atmosphere, plus it was more original.

Because of that dilemma between your track having less issues than etherealwinds's, but his track being more original and thoughtful in terms of atmosphere, I think I'll have to give you both the same score. Brilliant work.

Score: 9.6/10

headphoamz responds:

As always, thanks for a detailed and descriptive review, Step! :)

[Mystic's Shore]

This is an NGADM Round 4 review.

--

Whether you've achieved an authentic Chinese atmosphere or not in this track is something I wouldn't be able to say myself. I don't listen to Chinese music (not because I don't like it - I've just never had the opportunity to listen to actual Chinese music). Whatever the case, what I can say is that the atmosphere in this blew my face off. Wonderful work with the soundscape-building, and the melodies are just touching and beautiful (with cadences that are pretty characteristic to your style haha).

The way the instruments worked together at the beginning and how they started picking up at 1:10 is just masterful. And let me get this straight - you've been composing with a DAW for a few months? I don't know where I read that or if it's even true, but if it is, you're probably god. Oh and amazing singing, voice made of the finest honey, blahblahblah.

The most apparent issue is that unfortunately your voice is too upfront once again! You give a lot of attention to your instruments, ambience and all that, and the vocal layers that differ both harmonically and rhythmically drive the song forward perfectly, but the balance is a little wack, making this not as enveloping as it should have been, and occasionally a bit empty. The electronic ambience at the beginning is a bit loud, just like the vocals.

Also, the drums feel unfortunately a bit underpowered. For a song like this, a more definable beat during the busier sections (something like ProudAardvark's excellent percussive work in this track - http://goo.gl/GgjQlq) would have been more impressive. As long as you don't milk it and end up messing up the subtle atmosphere, drums like those would have been such a great addition (although maybe not fitting well with the "authentic Chinese music" premise).

This is incredibly well-made. By far my favourite of yours, despite the levelling issues and the underpowered percussion. Truly brilliant work.

Score: 9.6/10

etherealwinds responds:

Thank you for the review! Yeah it took a few listens for me to realise that I'd probably mixed my vocals in a little loudly. My ears go strange after I've heard a song and my voice so many times over and over again haha! I got FL Studio 9 as my first DAW a little earlier this year and it took some getting used to. In fact, I'm not even sure how to create drum loops such as the ones you've linked. I still have so much to learn, although I remember years and years ago I had an FL Studio trial my dad used to mess around on and making drum loops was the only thing I did on it. That was back when it was called Fruity Loops though haha! Long time ago.

So glad you liked it and really, thank you! :)

[footsteps]

This is an NGADM Round 4 review.

--

Oh my god, the melodies here are so good it's insane. I can't get over how good they are. I think that this track has some of the most beautiful piano melodies from the whole NGADM (rivalled by maybe people like ChronoNomad, SoundChris and headphoamz). Memorable, strong accompaniment in both broken and... unbroken... chords (also that descending bassline again!), and the flow is gorgeous.

What's more, you have some very masterful compositional touches, such as the dissonance around the 3 minute mark, the usual grace notes (which might have been a tad overused at times) and how you hold back the final note for such a long time, rounding off the ending nicely. The mood change at the end works very well, as does the 4:28 transition. And NO REVERSE CYMBALS. HIGH-FIVE! By the way, amazing piano sound. That can't be a soundfont - what did you use?

I'm a bit torn about the first half of the track. It feels a bit like it's dying to be more rubato, and yet it's got a pretty rigid, almost quantized tempo. For the most part, you still keep it sounding realistic, mostly due to how damn good that piano sample is (and your dynamics), and you still keep it expressive, mostly due to how damn good that melody is! Still, some more prominent rubato touches would have given the song a bit more of an edge, I feel.

More importantly, this seems to lack the intricacy of some of your other tracks. Switching to an entirely emotional and expressive style might have taken away from the intricacy and thoughtfulness I've come to expect from you. While this was hardly a problem in the first 3 minutes of the track, which are more sad and reflective, it becomes a problem once the song becomes more uplifting. The wind sound got monotonous, and the texture felt a bit bland.

While I don't think it matches up to your Round 2 track, I loved this. Generally, if a track gives you goosebumps the first time you hear it, it means the track is really damn good, and that was the case with me. So enjoy my really damn good score and great work trying a style that you're not as experienced in and doing so well!

Score: 9.2/10

johnfn responds:

Step it seems like I can always count on you. Your reviews are always so rewarding to read because we practically agree on every point. Like when I was writing the melody for this song I was like "dang... this is the best melody I've ever written. I hope someone realizes that." Boom Step comes in to save the day. I really believe melody is the most important part of the song, so I'm glad that it worked out.

Or the thing about rubato. Honestly I didn't even know what the word rubato meant until you said it, but while I was writing the piece I was like "I wish I could speed up and slow down the tempo somehow." And I would have done it, except I had no clue how to do it! Now that I can google for rubato though, I won't leave it out again.

> NO REVERSE CYMBALS

Just for you <3

> which might have been a tad overused at times

THIS IS THE ONLY THING I DISAGREE WITH. YOU CANT OVERUSE GRACE NOTES. GRACE NOTES ON EVERY NOTE. GRACE NOTES ON GRACE NOTES. GRACENOTECEPTION.

> That can't be a soundfont - what did you use?

It's the Alicia's Keys VST, and I agree, it really is fabulous. The tone of the piano was actually partially the inspiration of the piece. It's a very snowy, wintery thing, I feel.

> it becomes a problem once the song becomes more uplifting

This is an interesting point, I've never really thought about it this way. I'm not very good with writing intricate orchestral currently, but I can always improve :)

> While I don't think it matches up to your Round 2 track

I actually agree. I chose this style because I felt like the judges have a bias towards orchestral. :D Actually, while I would love for that to be true, it's not. I tried to write an intricate electronic songs but wasn't feeling it at all. I was feeling like the intricacy itself was the problem, so I decided to write a song that I would strip bare of everything aside from melody.

Finally can I thank you for taking the time out of your college schedule to write these miniature novels? They are insanely helpful, and I realize that finding that time is not an easy thing to do.