LunacyEcho's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[a million miles]

Sorry for not reviewing more of your songs recently! Exams are over now, though, so I've got tons more free time.

This song sounds really different from you, probably because the base wasn't actually done by you. :P I'll try refraining from commenting too much on that and concentrate more on the distinctly johnfn synthesizers, solos, and arps.

I think the two styles complement each other very well. Your additions provide a nice ambience and some more melodic padding for the overall sounds. It also makes it feel much more energetic.

Were the random effects also done by you? Because I can really imagine you coming up with the ideas of the filters all over the place. They sound good, although I think the transitions into and away from them could be smoother.

Did I mention that the synths in this song sound quintessentially johnfn? In fact, they're so johnfn that I'm pretty glad you played them along with a song that wasn't really your style, because this stuff in one of your normal songs would probably be a bit too normal. As usual, the solos were very original, though.

Do you know what I want to hear? A song with you singing in it. :D Good job for this one! I'll keep checking out Mint Pixel and will hope you two collab more.

[Raining Tears (WIP)]

I'm glad I could be an inspiration! This is a really beautiful piece. It's very clear that you have tons of talent for both improv AND composition. Wow.

You're right in your description; the chord progression here is very you. It sounds very simliar to stuff you've used in the past (although that doesn't mean it's bad!).

I think adding strings would definitely be a good idea later in the song. Also, the way it's shaping up now, this is a nice loop, but it seems like the final product is leaning towards a full song or a non-loop, which would be your first non-loop in what, ten years?

Even though you don't have good drum samples or aren't good at drums, you should still practice on adding them! I think some low toms with tons of reverb would work great in this piece, for instance. Experiment! Try new things!

I definitely can't wait to hear the final piece.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Why hello :'D!
You can easily be an inspiration :3
I'm glad to see you think I have talent, you definitely have too!

The chord progression is almost as me as it can get in this one XD I occasionally make songs you'd never recognice were mine, but that is rare o.O
I still try to vary my style a bit every now and then, to learn new things.

Strings are a certainty. I think I won't loop the final product, unless it works well. There is so much of a climax though that looping it won't work too well :p

You've clearly noticed I've done many loops lately. When I get drafted into the army, and start submitting more of my older stuff (only one month now D:) you'll get tons of non-loopey (loopy?) stuff ;)
I just like loops at the moment, but that will pass eventually. I wasn't actually going to loop this at first, but it was too easy to just make it into one in the end (It took like 20 extra seconds).

Maybe I should practice drums. In that case, I'd definitely go for toms :p
I will try adding them at the end, and if it doesn't work, it doesn't.

It's too bad to see you can't wait to hear the final piece, as it will probably take a while :D
We're making progress on the collab again though, and I have two other projects I'm working on as well, so we'll see. I should make that game too now... 10 days left... It WILL be small, but I think I finally got an idea. Now, to learn Construct 2...

Thanks for the review!

[Sunlit Thunderscapes]

Hey! You're not dead! And this is definitely a step up from yesterday's creative and well-designed, yet somewhat unmelodic track.

Is it weird if the synths in the intro really remind me of 'Fireflies' by Owl City? Because they do. And I guess that's a good thing!

You're right, this is a really chill song. It's got some really nice ambient instruments and melodies, and a very groovy synth that comes in at 1:23. Somehow, I think that could've been less intrusive, since I don't really think it fits with the rest of the vibe of the piece very much.

It's a shame you won't be making much music for a while. The stuff you do is so good! Good luck in your life.

[Vappu]

This sounds really awesome. It's extremely unique compared to what you normally do, and it worked really well. :D

It's great that you're able to expand your stylings into something more fast-paced and happy! Lots of the work you do is really emotional, so this is a happy change (literally).

I think your instruments all work really well. If it was me, I probably would've added an accordion. ALSO, DRUMS. DRUMS WOULD BE PERFECT IN THIS SONG. You may suck at them, but you won't get better without practice!

Great work! Can't wait for more!

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Yay, thanks for the very fast review! (You should sleep, what are you doing awake? ;)

I'm glad you like the piece :D
I decided it was too weird not to finish :p

It's probably good that I'm trying out different genres... This is not my first happy-ish song though, but I definitely think it's the funniest XD

Good thing you like the instruments, I am somewhat happy with them too. I too would've added an accordion, but I forgot o.O Damn it >:(
Oh well, another piece I'm currently working on at the moment will have (has) an accordion in it at least :)

Noooooo!!!! The DRUUUMSSS D:
I probably should've tried harder to add some to the piece... I might just follow your advice later on and edit the piece, if I ever feel up to the task. I really should practice my drum-stuff...

Thanks again for the review! :'3

[Dysmorphiac]

Is it just me, or does "cut cut cut cut cut cut cut me up" sound a lot like "cart- cart- cart- cart- cart- cart- cartwheel"?

These lyrics are amazing. They're extremely spooky, but it deals with a serious mental illness that afflicts many. If I could say one thing about them, it's that sometimes in the song, the emphasis is on a syllable that doesn't really sound right. Creative license, I guess. :)

That knife sound at the end was a perfect ending to an amazing song. Good job!

steampianist responds:

hahaha i hear it

[Unimaailma]

VIRTUAL COOKIES WERE MY THING! COPYRIGHTEDDDD

This is definitely one of your best loops ever. The only reason I can tell it loops at all is the slightly louder 'gear-clanking' noise that plays at the beginning of every loop. Very nice.

I think the reason it's hard to tell a loop is because it's so ambient, people get too distracted by the calm to notice the loop. :) I dunno. It's also cool how you can take organic instruments, add tons of effects, and make them sound like different organic instruments. Vio-flute ftw!

Wow, I've listened to this thing 18 times in iTunes already and I can still hardly tell when it loops. If you get any better at making catchy loops, you might get a job as a game music designer! :D

Great job!

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I'M SO SORRY D: YOU GET A VIRTUAL GARLIC AS AN APOLOGY!

Whoah, you've got good ears! The noise is indeed intentionally (it sounded weird otherwise) louder at the start of every loop :)

Yeah, I think you're right. When listening to music, the brain actually starts working in a different way :3
When listening to relaxing music like this, you actually go into a trancelike state, which can shift your focus entirely :D
Hahha, I'm sure everyone with the right VSTs or DAWs can filter and add other effects, if only one tries XD
Now... If only I could turn the crappiest of sounds into high-quality instruments...

I'm happy with this loop too :D
I've found that the loop should be at least 15-16 seconds long to be difficult to notice (unless you're only holding a neverending note or something... I did make a loop that's only 8 seconds long too), but the longer the better. One day, I shall make a one hour long loop so that NO ONE will be able to tell when the track starts anew XD
(18 times is a pretty specific amount o.O)

Thanks a million! :')

[-Thumper-]

It's great that you're turning back to your old styles! Personally, I'd have enjoyed it if you continued your path of experimentation with new styles or went back to crunchy techno stuff. This sounds great!

I think it drags on a bit, though. The intro could definitely have been a bit shorter, and there was lots of repetition in the song. For the first half, it also sounded a bit empty. After about ~2:30ish, more synths came in and made it sound a lot more awesome. I think the second half is pretty much perfect. :D

The fact that you used gibberish voices probably shows more skill than just sampling a phrase, since you were able to pick apart the sounds of syllables from a bunch of different speech tracks, analyze them, and mash the ones that fit best into a single track. :) Good work on this one! (Although it was a bit long :P )

Waterflame responds:

Thank you! Yeah I agree, I also think most of the intro could be removed to be honest.
I will continue both doing my old styles and my new experiments!
And thank you! I really appreciate that you liked the vocals. I have worked a lot with cutting up vocals and i find that It is not really important to me that it sounds like a logical sentence. If it means sacrificing the flow of the song. Its better to use it as a instrument.

[DM & TD6 - Shadows]

Yay! More Door song! Also, TD6 is such an awesome nickname. It's both letters and a number!

I actually really like this song (well, apart from that one bit at 1:40-1:44). The intro sounds really good. I don't really think the instruments were EQ'd badly. Apart from a slight issue with the density of the tracks (not enough), they sounded great. Also, that drum beat is one of the best hi-hat/white noise patterns I've ever heard. Most drum beats just have really straightforwards 8ths, but this was a great change.

When the piano re-enters at 1:48, I think you definitely could've made the bassline different. The piano melody is really good; sadly, the bass on my headphones is really loud and I don't think the chord progression really worked. Once it gets to 2:28, the song gets all awesome again. I think the use of semitones really contributed to the eerie feeling, but towards the last ten seconds-ish, I think you began overusing them. :P I loved the way you ended it, though.

Since the song is called "Shadows", I wouldn't have minded a bit more reverb and maybe some pads. I think a bit more density would be a great idea, but this song is pretty awesome as it is. I don't think you need to change the melodies, just change the bass, since a few of the chords are a bit off.

Great job! Hoping to hear more from you (although maybe not, because of the dreaded May exams and you being in junior year and all that)!

TaintedLogic responds:

Hi LunacyEcho! Great to hear from you! Interesting that you don't like the part from 1:40-1:44, whereas that seemed to be one of LSD's favorite parts. I get what you mean about the lack of density; I suppose I tried to fill the space with reverb too much. The intro was all DM's, as well as the cool-sounding hi-hats. ;) I agree about the cliché basslines and weird chord progressions; I suppose we were going for that weird mood, y'know? I'm glad you liked the melodies, though. We'll continue to work on balance/mixing. I agree with your comments on the semitones. That was actually completely my idea, but I understand all of them at once can be a bit overwhelming. I understand your advice about the reverb and pads, too. At one point, I really screwed up the harmonies because of a misunderstanding, and I guess we didn't fix them completely. :/ Thanks so much for the review, LunacyEcho! Yeah, SAT IIs in June, then final exams two weeks later. DX Hope you have it easier over there, though. ;)

[groove machine]

:O A month starting with a song where you designed your own sounds? Must be bagpipes month!

There's nothing I can say about the melodies. They're groovy, catchy, and original as usual. I think the instrumentation probably could have been a bit denser (m0ar bass!), but the overall effect was very nice.

The sounds you designed were really excellent. They sounded somewhat similar to your older ones, but different enough so that I could tell what you were doing and could enjoy them. I especially liked the really twangy one at 1:15 and 2:13. The way that the different synths would come in and do their awesome melodies is a johnfn trope that your followers have come to know and love. :)

The reason I'm taking off half a star is tempo. I love your drum work, man. But this time, there were just so many gaps, double hits, jumps, etc. that I just had to take half a star off. I know you can do better than that! :/

Your endings are also getting better. I could tell one was coming this time. :D Great work as usual! Can't wait for more original sounds to come!

johnfn responds:

Bagpipes month lolz. I wanted to troll you guys on April 1 and do bagpipes month as an April Fools joke but I ran out of time. :(

> m0ar bass

True fax, I actually did have most bass, but I was getting fatigued listening to such a bass heavy song so much so I turned it out. I think that that decision makes it a slightly worse song if you only listen once, but it also makes it easier to relisten to the song more than once.

> durmz

IT'S NOT DRUM MONTH THAT MEANS I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT HHAHAHAH AHA HA! But yeah I was uncertain about these too. I feel drums are actually my worst aspect - well, except maybe instrument choice. Actually I showed it to my friend who's into breakcore and he totally loved it so idk, it could be a taste thing.

> I could tell one was coming this time. :D

hahahahha

Anyway thanks for the review :D

[Action Crusaders Theme - Draft]

Hi, kinggrinyov5! This song sounds great. Good job!

After listening to the full song, the thing that impacted me most upon reflection would definitely be that transition in the middle of the song to the latter half. It was very well done, and the second half sounded amazing, although the first half could use some work.

I think the instruments you used fit the song well, but they could've been implemented better. For example, that main synth that plays at 0:06 comes in too loudly. It sounds like it's been mixed really well, but it's a bit too loud. Your drum sounds also seem a bit dampened, although if you don't have good VSTs, that's not really your fault. I don't really have THAT good drums either. :/ The hits that come in at 0:18 sound perfect, and the piano that plays during the exciting part could've been louder, but it was mixed pretty well.

For the opening half, I think your arrangement and transitions might need a bit of work. For example, when you switch from the chordal synth to the main synth at 0:06, the chordal synth disappears, leaving a gap in the register that it was playing at. It makes the listener feel startled, as though they're missing something. In transitions, you want to make sure that the listener can go from section to section without feeling much of an unintentional gap in sounds, so for places like 0:06, you could probably keep the chordal synth going while playing the melodic synth on top of it. Just a tip for transitions in the future.

Another thing I'd like to say about transitions is about your drums. Whenever the synths change, the drum pattern changes too, and this makes the listener feel even more like they've just missed something. You'll want to keep something constant when you're transitioning, so the listener isn't startled, they just think "oh, a new section" and are able to listen to it without disturbance to their experience.

For the second half, I'm blown away. I'll be honest: The first part wasn't as good as it could've been. However, I was really impressed when you went into the second half, since it began sounding so adventurous and theme-song-esque. All the instruments came together and were done perfectly. I guess all I can say about this is that I wish the whole song was of that kind of quality. :D

I was surprised that this was a loop as well. I don't know many theme songs that are loops, but I guess when you finally play it in your game, it'll just play for a while and end with a hit. I don't think the loop is very clean, mainly because all the amazing sounds playing in the second part become absent when it hits the looping point. When it does this, it creates a HUGE gap because most of the instruments are now gone and the listener is left going "what the hell just happened?"

What you could do to fix the looping problem is to start off with some sort of big, reverb-y noise, like a crash cymbal or a loud, low drum hit. They're useful for when you're making transitions to extremely different parts of a song, since the listener doesn't notice the gap immediately, they're slowly led into it by the overpowering sound of the hit. If you listen to some good loops, you'll notice that a lot of them have a loud hit as the first thing you hear, for that reason. When making a song, you always have to think about how the listener would react to parts of it, and the looping point is one of the most difficult parts to master. Lots of people have trouble with it, so don't worry, you're not the only one. :)

I think I said this already, but this sounds a lot like a theme song. I think that's what you were going for, which is great. When writing a song, you should normally have an idea about where it's going to go or the general feeling it's going to have, and if you can evoke that feeling or style in the listener, then you've done your job. In this song, I can really hear the action-adventure theme song style, because of the fast pace, upbeat but deeper-than-normal synths, the heavy beats, and more. People associate different characteristics of songs with different feelings, and if you can pinpoint what those characteristics are and write them into your music, then you'll often be able to succeed in what you're trying to evoke. I think you did a really good job in making a theme-song style song here, and I really enjoyed it.

Good luck with your game! Keep making music! It's great to be multitalented. This was a really fun song to listen to. Great work!

kinggrinyov5 responds:

wow, this is quite possibly the greatest review i have ever gotten. thanks for all the tips, i will definitely try and incorporate these changes! thanks again for listening!