LunacyEcho's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[UNHOLY CACE]

Omg if this is what it takes to motivate you to write awesome awesome music I should have more birthdays :D:D

THANK YOU!!

johnfn responds:

BIRTHDAYS ALL YEAR!

[ZSPOOKI ZOMBIE HOUSE PARTY]

i too enjoy consuming parties

johnfn responds:

SIGNS YOU MAY BE A ZSPOOKI ZOMBIE INCLUDE

[The Prodigal]

Did NOT see this coming! It's like the rapid bluegrass banjo meets the Wild West drums in the first half, and then at 2:08 (which I agree with LSD is the best part) it transitions into something foot-tappingly awesome with beautiful harmonies, too! The four of you have excellent voices. You should really sing more often! If you get into finals you better do some barbershop quartet stuff :P

Two things, though - why no downloads? And that very last bit in the banjo ending seems a little... off. Then again, I don't know much about how banjos are played. :P *plays random chords*

bassfiddlejones responds:

haha, yes! That's what we were going for. I'm happy you liked the track man, we do have plans to sing more often. So, no downloads because I think we might end up eventually using this track for another project under a different name, so we haven't decided how we're going to approach the downloads issue yet. And the banjo was doing what it's supposed, not sure what sounded off. Thanks for following us through this competition man, it's always good to get your reviews. I'll have to hop over and repay the favor once I've got a little more time!

[Fever Dream]

I can't believe it's gotten to the point where LucidShadowDreamer uploads an improvisation, I see that it's 13 minutes long, and I think 'huh, that's kinda short'.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I know, right?
The other one is a bit longer though. But still not sure if I'm going to upload it yet :p
(To be fair, I did have a high fever though, which is also probably why the ending comes so suddenly).

[T-Logic - The Ritual]

You truly are the master of Garageband ambience and atmosphere! :D You should be writing ambient background music for a game. Seriously.

That intro sets things off really ominously! Songs like this are really good at showing atonality at its best, since the atonality is an integral part to the atmosphere of the piece! I love the way the pads mesh together to - WHOA! Drums?! Where did those come from? And then the track takes a completely different direction from what I expected, into an atonal groove over a spooky background! I honestly thought this would be another one of your masterful ambiences, but it grew into huge, energetic climax of intense synths! Niiiice. :)

Compositionally, I think this song is awesome. Sure, the intro dragged on a bit compared to the high-intensity levels of the second half of the song, but I am loving that ending. All the different layers, the suspenseful melodies, it all just works and turns into what I think is my favorite buildup ever from you! :D Can I also mention that I love it when you write melodic transitions? Because I love it when you do that. I think you had a great one in Terrified, and the transition from 2:34-2:38 is just so cool.

If I were to nitpick a bit of stuff, I'd say that your sound design on synthesizers was amazing. However, your sound design on some of your more ethnic instruments wasn't as amazing - the plucky instrument introduced at 2:04 (mandolin...?) that also plays during the latter parts of the song plays a bit too fast and a bit too uniform, so instead of adding to the ambience, it sort of distracts the listener and becomes a little jarring. Same with the monotony of the instrument that comes in at 2:19 (bagpipes...?). It's just a little too shrill to justify it in that section. However, I will admit that I like all of the effects that the different instruments added to the ending, since it was just this giant clutterfunk of amazing sounds that were dissonant but somehow blended so well with each other!

Great job! Amazing buildup, synths, and props for not being as atonal or ambient as the intro led me to believe XD Keep it up! :)

TaintedLogic responds:

Thanks again for the reviews! Actually, this wasn't made in Garageband. I believe I mentioned in the description that this is going to be my last FL track for a while. In fact, I might break that rule soon...maybe even today! :O

Anyway, thanks for your compliments regarding the atmosphere and pads.

"WHOA! Drums?!" --> exactly the sort of reaction I wanted! XD

I'm glad you liked the composition. I agree about the slow-paced intro. Also "favorite build-up ever..." --> that means a lot to me! Thanks! :D I was also really happy with the melodic transitions myself, so I'm glad you found them suitable as well. ;)

"If I were to nitpick a bit of stuff, I'd say that your sound design on synthesizers was amazing" --> Haha, am I reading this right? Because you say you're going to nitpick some stuff, and then give me this otherwise unambiguous compliment. XD Thanks, though.

I see what you mean about the "mandolin" (it's actually just the bass transposed several octaves up) and the "bagpipes" (actually an Indian reed). I suppose I was trying to be at least a little jarring, but maybe I should've faded them in.

"giant clutterfunk of amazing sounds that were dissonant but somehow blended so well with each other" --> that's a great way of describing it! Thanks!

Again, I'm really happy with all this positive feedback, LunacyEcho! Reviews like these really give me a self-confidence boost. When I go to the gym later this afternoon, for once I'm not going to worry that people are judging me! :D

[T-Logic - Solitude]

Ooh, a calm, melancholy jazz song. How tonal! :D

First impressions - nice chords! I can't believe I'm saying this, but love the brass! It may be Garageband MIDI, but the way you use it really accentuates the mood of the piece. The drums I also really enjoy. So much panning and detail! That's an auto-A in my book :P Sax solos are another one of my weaknesses... you cater to me so well, even though you weren't trying to! (I think.)

So this is a song filled with an extremely relaxing ambience and masterfully crafted atmosphere, topped off with a few smooth sax solos! Nice. For you, the piece is quite tonal! I only heard it slip into a bit of atonality around the solos, especially in places around 2:00. Arrangement-wise, it progresses a little slowly, especially around 2:10-2:30, but overall, it feels like it's meant more to be background music anyways. I mean, you're so good at ambient, even your jazz is ambient! :D

Your production is top-notch, as usual. I feel like your music tech class has to consist entirely of you guys learning how to mix in Garageband 24/7, because this is so beyond any of the capabilities I thought Garageband had. Crystal-clear!

Nitpicks - although this is quite ambient, I would've preferred some more melodies. Maybe just a melodic motif, if you don't want to cram the ambient music with those dreaded tones! Currently, the most melodic material you have is the solos, and I just feel like the piece could use a bit more. :P

Great piece overall! Calm, relaxing, and a VERY fitting title. :D

TaintedLogic responds:

Thanks so much for the review, LE!

"How tonal" --> lol

Thanks for your compliments on the chords and brass (although honestly I'm surprised that ANYONE complimented me on the brass). I worked hard on the drums, so I'm glad you liked them, and the panning was simply a rash attempt to counteract the limited effect of Garageband's horrible parametric EQ. :D As for the sax solos, that was something I fixed just before I uploaded this. Originally, I also had flutes and horns in there, but I decided that the pace of that section didn't fit the rest of the piece so I gave all of the solos to the sax. Good to know it paid off! ^^

Thanks for praising the atmosphere and production. I really tried to create a soothing atmosphere here. I agree with the slow progression and, yes, I'd like to believe this qualifies as "ambient jazz." ^^

"More melodies" --> yeah, I agree. I made this back when I wasn't really good at crafting melodies (heck, I'm still not that good at it, haha).

Anyway, thanks very much for all these reviews, LE! It really makes my day! ^_^

[T-Logic - Terrified]

Wooooo I REALLY need to catch up on TL reviews. :D HERE WE GO!

The song may be quite simplistic in parts, but has a TON of charm and some great singing and lyrics! :D Compositionally, it's quite good! Sound quality is... eh... Garageband-y (that familiar bass :P ), but I'm always impressed with the way you can make the most of the limits of Garageband! You've got tons of different instruments and details, and I love all the layering going on in the background during the refrain!

There were also so many awesomely interesting tidbits in your composition. That sudden pause in bass and drums at 0:25, the sustained guitar and organ blasts that slowly lead into an explosive chorus, the guitar solo with slightly sped up tempo at 1:42 (and the transition leading up to it! - the transition out of it is VERY smooth too), all the different instruments that pop in and out of the song as if they were added just for a few specific purposes (lookin' at you, clavicle and electric piano)... and that's just the tip of the iceberg for what I enjoyed XD

Production-wise, you've pretty much nailed the instruments. How do you even master this good in Garageband? From my experience, it's near impossible to get a mix this clean! I always end up adding too much reverb or having instruments that just clash no matter what I do. But your mixing is just so crystal-clear! Well, for the instruments at least - which leads me into the vocal aspect of the song!

I am SO glad you chose to do a song with singing. You've got a ton of talent and a ton of potential! You can definitely carry a tune well, and with a little refining, you could easily grow into a GREAT vocalist! I'm not that qualified to judge your singing, but it did appear to me that you might have benefitted from a higher register of vocals, since it got a liiiittle pitchy in the deeper notes of the song. Also during the chorus, you sound reluctant to sing with the full power of your voice! You're probably recording in a room of a house or something, but if you're ever alone, really unleash that TL beast! :P

Your lyrics are also great. Words-wise, I love all the symbolism you put into the piece XD Rhythm-wise, I feel there are a few places that you could improve the flow of the song. For example, in the lines where you rhyme "flashlight/bright", the flow is slightly disrupted by the fact that you don't end the two rhyming lines with a similar rhythm. When rhyming lines together, it's normally best to finish the rhymes in a similar rhythm, but that doesn't mean you can't end on a different rhythm. You could be adding lots of cool musical elements - perhaps an abrupt transition? Symbolism? Matching a melodic interlude? The possibilities are endless!

TL;DR: great song! Loved it! KEEP SINGING, DUDE! :D

TaintedLogic responds:

Aww, thanks so much, LunacyEcho! I really appreciate the detailed feedback on this one. I totally agree with you on the simplicity point. In fact, I think I purposely tried to make this a little simpler after a couple of failed, overly-convoluted projects. I'm gracious for your compliments on the singing, lyrics, composition, and charm (seriously though, I'm not the sort of guy to be charming...ever.........).

"Making the most of the limits" --> Yeah, I really appreciate that comment! That's exactly what I try to do. ;D

I'm glad you noticed all those details, and I'm EXTREMELY impressed that you discerned all of the slight tempo changes in the piece.

I personally don't think the mixing is THAT good. It might also help that I have one of the most recent versions of Garageband (maybe you weren't using Garageband 10 when you used to use Garageband?). Still, thank you for your praise. :)

I agree with what you said about the singing except for one thing: yes, my voice cracked on the low notes a bit, but I think that was more of an articulation mistake. I should NOT create a higher register for my vocals. The whole reason why the chorus sounds so weak is that it was out of my vocal range, and I failed to take that into consideration when composing the song. I was actually recording in the studio at my high school, but also keep in mind that this was almost 2 years ago by now and my voice has developed since then. Still, I'm really glad you think my voice has potential! That's great news. ^^

Thanks also for your compliments on the lyrics. I understand what you mean about the rhyming pattern. I think I kinda wrote the lyrics before making them fit with the music, which was pretty stupid in retrospect. Still, I really appreciate the thorough review, my friend! Hopefully, this weekend I'll have some time to catch up on LE reviews. ;)

[Ambiotica]

Some nice additions! They really improve upon the mood of the piece in a way MIDI just can't do. :D This would make brilliant background music for pretty much any game with an element of spookiness, mystery, or general suspense. And I love that it's in 11/4! I hate that there's very few rhythmic aspects so it's hard to appreciate the interesting time signature, but I also love that it's hidden so well that it sounds completely natural. :D

Nitpick: the bells get a little repetitive after a bit, and (as you already mentioned) the loop is great but a little under your usual standard. But you made this in very little time during what I can only assume is a super busy part of your life, so great work! Good luck in the contest! :D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks! :D
Good to hear that this brings some elements to the track that the MIDI didn't :3
I tried to go in a pretty general stereotypical creepiness direction with this. A little bit of everything that can be unsettling, in terms of sound design and effects.
Yeah, I didn't realize it was 11/4 before opening the track in Cubase either. In a way, I think that's part of the beauty of it. You can hear it on the flute, if you try to, as well as some other of the rhythmic elements. Keep in mind that this track is only 8 measures long, and it will be easier to hear!!!

I agree about the bells. I just wanted to stay as true to the original as possible, which is why I kept them as they were. You can hear the fact that the track is 11/4 by listening to each fourth bell hit too ;)

And yes, the loop is indeed not perfect. And sadly, I am indeed super busy atm :(
I have no idea how I'll have time to do everything that I have planned, hahha :D

[Unsung Hero]

More amazingness! Not only is it guitar-driven orchestral, it's got multiple time signatures! You certainly know how to keep people like me interested in your songs. :D

You've got another great melodic motif here! Personally, my favorite way that it was played was definitely the guitar at 2:11. And that switchup to 5/4 at 1:11 was great! Thought it would've been cool to hear a variation of your main melody adapted to 5/4 during that section. But a killer solo during it is amazing too. XD

Nitpicks: transitions in and out of the 5/4 section! The transition leading into it at 1:02 featured some sick shredding, but it still felt a little drawn out. Also, imo the transition out of it around 2:10 could've used a somewhat bigger buildup. Ending was a little sudden, too, since the strings and drums ended on that non-final note. :P

But this is another brilliant track overall. Excellent work and good luck! :D

bassfiddlejones responds:

Another epic review, thanks man! I also enjoyed the 5/4 part, and you know what, we actually had originally planned on playing an adapted version of the melody in the 5/4 section, but it was taking extraordinarily long to get it to sound proper, so in the interest of time we abandoned the idea. Totally with you though, it would have been neat.

I agree, some transitions could have been smoother; we ended up changing time and key signatures at the same time and it the transitions ended up draining a lot of our time (which is a precious resource for a couple of dads!) Also with you on the ending, might smooth it out a bit after the judging (though if you listen closely, the strings actually end on the tonic). Thanks a ton for the feedback man, it's well placed and we'll use it to get more awesome next round!