LunacyEcho's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[These Days]

These melodies are awesome! :D

I've always loved melodies that jump around a lot, and this one has some very, very beautiful ones. The first synth that came in had a really smooth sound (and when paired with the second synth, sounded amazing as well), and that chromatic exit made me laugh. :P

Your second synth sounded nice, but I think it might fit your style better if it was a bit smoother. I wish I could offer a better suggestion, but I'm not entirely sure what the terminology is and don't want to screw you over. :P Less pulse-y, I guess?

You should do more electronic stuff! You've got melodic composition down pat, so once you improve your instrumentation a bit (drums, synths, etc), your music could become even more awesome than it already is.

Great song!

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks! :D

I like melodies that jump around too :p
I once again wasn't even intending on making anything this weekend, but a sudden thought struck me. I was thinking of the kind of music that is popular in the clubs these days, with all the drops and catchy leads and such, and figured I'd probably be able to make something as good or better if I really wanted to (not with this song, but in general o.O). I mean... Four simple chords and a melody + some production? = Simple :p

Thus, I used one of the most common chord progressions ever XD
I think electronic music is a great thing for me to practice as well, as it'd increase my skills in the three fields of composing I need to improve the most; percussion, instrumentation, and mixing :D
Melodies and chords I think I have a pretty good grip on...

The thing about that chromatic exit for that lead though, is that it's not actually chromatic :p It's just so fast that it kinda sounds like it is :3
It's cust a simple descending C chord with an added D (Cadd9, basically).

You might be right about that second synth. I just used the first, best preset I found in the alchemy player VSTi :) (This whole track consists of presets from that VST plugin...)

Thanks for the review :'D!

[True Silence]

Was expecting silence. Heard ten minutes of piano music. Very disappoint.

Without reading the description, I'd expect this to be you playing someone else's song, since the production is distinctly yours, but the composition is much more dynamic and uses generally different tropes, especially that cool part at 3:14.

Trying new things is good, and it sounds great! Good job.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Yeah. Silence for 10 minutes would probably have been a better choice for this one. I didn't at all imagine the utter silence that exists in space at places sound doesn't travel. Nope.

Every now and then I try to do something different from my usual style :p
Still, there's a lot of 'me' in this song, at least to the extent that I can notice it myself :3

I like the idea behind the part at 3:14, but it could be so much better imo. Improvising is hard, man :/

"Trying new things is good..."

=> You ought to know, considering it's you who makes music in all the different genres XD

"...and it sounds great! Good job."

=> Thanks dude ;)

[Wanderlust]

and in come the zero-bombers!

make the first part more melodic, bro. too many pads ruin the nice-sounding synths

what no drums? nub.

adieuwinter responds:

it's aight, I'm used to it by now.

no drums ever again!

[T-Logic - Clairvoyance]

Oh, man. I REALLY like the sound work here. The pads at the beginning, deep and full, but with higher-pitched ones that really fit with the ambience. Those percussion effects (that cymbal-scraping - is it from a Jam Pack?). The drums, exotic enough to interest but subtle enough not to get in the way. The way that the low strings and organ just mesh. That bassy pluck that gradually fades in around 2:30. I'm enjoying this. :D

While your sound work is excellent, I think the composition here is a bit repetitive. Of course, ambient music typically is, but perhaps the bells that came in at 1:41 didn't have to go on for that long. Also, I felt that some of your synths had a bit too much resonance. Still, for the most part, I think you definitely hit many of the right spots in deciding when to introduce/take away instruments. Your melodies are also very well suited for making creepy and spooky atmospheres. :)

You're so lucky that you have a music tech class! Wish we had one. Anyways, loved your sounds and the mood. Great job! Don't overwork yourself!

TaintedLogic responds:

Ah! I never responded to this. I'm sorry, LunacyEcho. I actually was responding to it, but I was interrupted and never pressed "respond." :( Anyway, thank you very much for the review! I'm really glad you liked all the ambiance - I worked really hard on it, as you can imagine. I'm not really sure what a Jam Pack is, but all those percussion sounds are pretty much presets. I believe I used the "Dance Kit," oddly enough. I'm glad you noticed that subtle bassy pluck. I also agree about the repetition - that's something I think I didn't manage quite as well as in "Abandoned Church," which had a better sense of direction IMO. The comment about having too much resonance is interesting, as I've also been critiqued for not using enough reverb in the past. I'll consider that more carefully next time. Thank you so much again for the well-thought-out review, LE! I'll gladly exercise the right to overwork myself, thanks. ;)

[Explorers]

if you were a superhero you would be the great disconcerto

nice fx, dude (wtf 1:43) chordal synth portamentos ftw

gotta love 1:24 (which is also 2:45), but low mids/basses seem kinda muddy

[Synaesthesia]

screw you i was going to use that as the title for my final song

that drum machine cowbell though

also midi trumpets

USE A MORE SOLID SNARE FOR MAXIMUM DRUMS

adieuwinter responds:

can't touch my song names bae

and more midi trumpets are always good.

;)

[The One Without a Name]

Ah, the old "let's just play arpeggios on the left hand". You've had your talent for composing for a long time, no?

I guess I can see how it sounds like a medley of weird ideas. But they're weird ideas played in the same tempo, style, and instrument. So it still flows. Of course, when I say tempo, I mean general tempo. Your playing has gotten a lot steadier since then. :) BUT HOW STEADY CAN IT GET?

Yikes. Army camp sounds horrible. Do you at least get marshmallows? :( Good luck, dude. At least you'll have stories to tell your grandchildren, maybe?

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hey! The left hand is actually quite different in this piece as opposed to most of my songs XD
Well, I don't know if I ever DIDN'T have the talent, to some extent at least. Of course it has developed, but I had an easier start than most, having listened to so much differing music during so much of my life :p

Flow is a word that could be applied to many of my piano compositions, I think. Good flow is very easy to achieve with solo piano songs. Sometimes there's almost too much of it though :D

I don't think my playing will ever be that steady... It's not really... My style ;)

It is horrible -_-
I have a 10 nights long camp ahead of me very soon, which I'm really looking forward to! To the end of it, that is...
You get marshmallows if you bring them yourself, which is actually not a bad idea o.O
We do get sausages every now and then though.

Thanks man! Yeah, I'll get to tell them they ought to choose civil service instead, though it takes much longer :)

[Little Oasis]

Dude. This is great. Your Action Crusaders Theme showed that you were improving and definitely had tons of promise, and this is just proof that you’re only getting better and better. :D

Your production is amazing. Like Action Crusaders, this song has a bit more reverb than I think is really necessary (mostly in the main pluck synth and maybe the drums), and I think the bass could use some EQ’ing in the climactic part starting at 0:27. But other than that, I have very few criticisms about your production. :) Good job!

Compositionally, the song is still pretty strong. Your instrumentation did a great job in creating a relaxing, upbeat tune. The high-pitched plucks in the intro really set up a nice mood, and the flute that fades in at 0:13 is fits the vibe of the song well. In the climactic part, I especially love the strings you used. Sure, all of the orchestral instruments you used sounded somewhat fake, but they were still good enough to portray a very nice, upbeat tune.

I really enjoyed your drumwork on this track as well. You enter with the electronic hi-hats, but then put in organic rim-hits and an acoustic and very entertaining drum fill. Didn’t expect that! Your song’s structure was also good. If you were trying to go for a full-out song, then I’d probably pick on the fact that it’s basically one giant buildup and the way the initial plucks play throughout the entire song (that amount of repetition is a no-no), but this is a simple little ditty meant for a minute of relaxation and uplifting-ness. It just works.

You’re definitely improving by a lot! The production here was absolutely excellent. The composition is just begging to be extended into a full song, but what you have now is very nice. Great work, and I look forward to your future work!

kinggrinyov5 responds:

Your reviews / Feedback never ceases to amaze me, thank you Lunacy :P

[Through the Walls]

Some six-minute trance/house/dance music? Pretty damn impressive for something written in two hours.

I don’t know whether I can say that this genre should be repetitive, because I have no idea what genre it is. Your music is generally very original-sounding, combining tropes from tons of different electronic genres. And that’s awesome!

I enjoyed the intro. Sure, the eight bars of drum beat at the beginning was boring as hell, but when the effects started coming in, it became really enjoyable. The beat was incredibly repetitive until a minute it, but the different synth effects you added in made it very listenable.

At 1:01, there was just a synthesizer. Personally, I feel that there are very few justifiable reasons for only having one instrument playing in the middle of a song (i.e. not the intro or outro). In my opinion, the melody wasn’t very interesting. Some more background instruments would have really been nice.

I wasn’t really that impressed with the song until 1:44, when I realized you were doing one of your amazing buildups. The way it progressed was amazing. It wasn’t even a buildup anymore, it was a transition that you didn’t know you were going through until it was too late to escape. And that effect at 2:27 just fit in so well. Sure, it was anticlimactic and the snares started straying from the tempo around 2:23, but I’m always amazed by your buildups whenever you write songs like this.

The beat that starts playing after the first buildup is pretty generic, actually. Definitely could’ve used some more effects and instruments. Also, the copy+paste at 3:30 makes the song a lot more repetitive than it needs to be. There’s definitely a lot you could’ve added there. Even if you were just playing the thing a second time, you could’ve added more instruments, more effects, a slightly different structure… anything, really.

So, your production was absolutely top-notch. I’m sure you know that already. I thoroughly enjoyed your buildups, and your instrumentation was recognizably yours, which is a good thing. Your composition felt lazy, but I still enjoyed your song as a whole. Good job!

Sequenced responds:

Yeah I didn't want to overly complicate this track . Simple trance music is fkn awesome sometimes.

If you look up trance music on YouTube ull get a better understanding of this genre.

[i can see you now]

Good to see you're not dead!

It's great to hear you try new things. The synths you're using sound different than usual! And your drums. There's definitely a lot more variation in them, and they're helping you drive the song a lot better. I've always liked tambourines. :P

1:00 - Over here, the filtered cymbals enter. They're a nice addition, but it felt like the hat that plays on the offbeats could be lowered in its velocity, so as to sound less mechanical. You're already doing a great job on that with your pianos! Try doing it for drums too.

1:14 - Over here, the filtered drum beat enters, but the cymbals that were playing for the last fourteen seconds disappear. Personally, I’ve always felt that a drum beat should grow until there’s sufficient musical variation for it to warrant a change. You brought the cymbals back into the beat at 1:28, but the beat felt a bit disconnected to me because of the missing cymbals at 1:14. Not sure if all people feel that way, though. I’ve always been a bit OCD about drums and tempo and stuff.

1:26 - I’ve never heard a fill consisting of just four rides before. :D

1:40 - It feels like your filter transitions (along with drum glitches, portamentos, etc.) have always been a signature part of your style. This one sounds nice as usual, but maybe you could’ve added a louder crash towards the end? Since the gong-like cymbal you used has a more gradual crash effect than most crashes, the sudden un-filtering was a bit jarring.

1:43 - The drum beat that plays here is basically the main beat of the song, and I like it a lot. The tambourine was a nice touch. One thing I think you could’ve done with it is played a few bars without the tambourine, then added it in later. It’s a pretty subtle touch, but it really helps the progression of a song in a way that most casual listeners won’t notice like they would a section or instrument change. At least, that’s what I’ve found.

2:12 - I know you know that transitions are really important, and I know you know the importance of making sure things flow. A small fill to end the section or at least a kick drum on beat 1 of the silent part would help the listener transition a lot better than just a cymbal roll.

2:38 - Great drum fill! There’s a pretty simple musical trope that I’m sure you know about, but you can always build up to some eighths/sixteenths in the fill.

3:12 - Love the drum fadeout. It fades gradually enough to be really smooth, but quickly enough to progress the song without much stagnation. The final drum hit is, I think, your best use of the crash in this song. As the drums were fading out, though, the piano sounded really prominent and I got slightly confused. :D

Remember, I’m not a musical expert by any means, but this is how I felt when listening to your drums, and I hope my feedback was helpful. Great work, and can’t wait to hear more!

(btw, you’ve got a 25-second period of silence at the end of your song)