Spadezer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Quartz Isles]

I think there’s a few things you have going for you, but it’s a tad rough around the edges. I especially like what you have going on at the end

Generally feels like it has a pretty long intro. I don’t know if that was your intention but it’s not until you have your harp that comes in at 1:33 that I feel like the intro has ended. Not quite half of your song, but that’s already a minute out of a 4 minute work that felt like it was a lead up. Other things I notice with your composition, the title says it’s a march but it doesn’t feel like what I would have normally considered a march. It feels a lot more ambient than what I would expect. I think melodically (outside of the arpeggiation that you introduce at the 1:33) it’s all very slow. I guess it could be something that was intended to be suspenseful, but I didn’t get the sense of a melody as compared to chords changing at certain intervals. If I were doing this, I’d probably go in a few different directions depending on what your intention was. If it was supposed to be more structured I would have had some melodic theme to latch on to and developed that more. If it was a more ambient approach I would probably take out the bass drum and cymbal and have a lot more focus on dynamics and sound shaping. Making things have more tonal characteristics.

As I touched on dynamics a little, I think with how you have the song now you’re missing some important humanization in your more organic/acoustic instruments. Since it’s in a slower style you want things to sway or swell more to give more movement to each note. I can hear some of it with some strings at 1:42, but the harp is playing constant volumes which isn’t realistic, and the flute especially at 2:11 could have benefited from some dynamic changes in each note and some vibrato. Other than that though the balancing is okay for the most part I think. You might have too many mid frequency instruments happening but either changing up how you’re layering your parts or paying close attention to your EQ would help that.

I don’t think this is bad. I know I’ve pointed out probably more of what I don’t like compared to what I do like, but I wouldn’t call this a bad attempt. Maybe unrefined, but this is only your first year of making music (at the time I’m writing this) so I know you’ll be making more progress as you go.

GlaceonDash responds:

Humanization was one of the things I thought about doing, but then decided not to out of sheer laziness. I can agree that this is a bit rough around the edges. Otherwise, thanks for the review!

[Perception]

Official NGUAC 2021 KO round review for Above Average Joes

First thing that catches my attention is how clean the mix is and the brass swells. From me you took the cake in the production scores just because I’m happy that you kept it as clean as you did throughout the whole song. Not sure how much effort you needed to put into the mixing, and it’s probably somewhat to do with your composition being a tad minimalistic, but it helps make it very clear what is playing and what is supposed to be heard. To me this sounds like it could be pitched to a playlist or something with very minimal touches depending on where you’d go. Like the 2:28 section you have a bunch of stuff technically happening, but seldom do you have your basses and your chords going at the same time. Again, everything you put in is very easy to hear and is not harsh to the ears at all. Maybe you could have had your basses take up a little more space, but I think at this point it’s personal preference.

What I didn’t like as much is that the composition, while minimalistic, felt either empty in spots or maybe a tad uninspired or generic. Again I think this song is polished to the point that you could get playlist attention and this works well as a house song for sure. To contrast it though it really doesn’t have a lot of compositionally interesting elements happening. The biggest things of note that I really like is as I’ve already alluded to, your brass swells in the 0:31 section are a really cool touch, and the basses I like just because I’m a melodic dubstep junky in the 2:28 section. You’ve got a clear and catchy drop/chorus section, but it’s not really a good earworm which is what this song could benefit greatly from so that it sticks around with people even when they’re not listening to it. The section at 1:40 I would have probably gone a different direction by reiterating or reprising what you’ve done in 0:31. You’ve kinda already done something like that in the 1:56 area, but it would have been something cool if you did more intricate and idea inspiring work leading up to a second drop per say. You could have leaned more on the organic and plucky feel that set off the track in a really positive note in the first place.

I liked what you did, and I think this is pretty good work. I think it’s a good song that would be good to share as is, but the compositional elements leave something to be desired for it to be a great song I feel. I want to reiterate how much I like how clean the mix is because I can’t get enough of that lol.

[For You]

Official NGADM 2021 (and NGUAC) review upon request

As I start my listen, before getting to the main part of the song, when the vocal comes in at 0:48 I can tell it's over compressed. With the way the vocal comes in, it feels like my ears are getting closed off similar to what happens when you yawn. At this point there's only 3 things happening I know the compressor shouldn't be working hard and ducking other sounds down just to make way for the vocal sample, and the waveforms I can see aren't even maxing out the player here. It's causing other big issues in spots like the impact at 1:28 and with the break at 3:20. Because the impact is heavy on the sub frequencies lower than what I can hear, the whole mix has to quiet down just because you're peaking the compressor. The 3:20 area sounds like it should be a nice break from the main energy from the main content, but with how loud and present the chords are my ears still feel like they're getting hit with a lot of sound. Before you do any mastering or compressing if your song is peaking past 0dB or even -3dB your mix does not have enough room to breath. Your song will sound a lot more organic and have a much cleaner sound when you start mastering it at that point and will make it more interesting I think. Really this is the biggest issues I have with the song as a whole. With the way it is now it might sound good on a phone speaker, but with my headphones I feel like the song is trying to play with big room air in a room the size of a closet. This issue took your score down a bit for me since I think this is an oversight that dampens the sound of the track to a large degree.

Moving past that though the song has a lot of good work in it. It sounds really professional and progresses and develops in a way that's expected. It has a pretty decent groove and I definitely don't mind it playing in the background. You have professional sounding samples and chop it up in pleasing ways, and you have nice fills with drums too (which I'm assuming are splice samples). For the most part I like your composition. I appreciate that your builds are not cliché by taking every sample and increasing it in pitch and quantity, you leave good room for your vocals to take up, and when the main groove hits it has a good flow and groove. Unfortunately I have two nitpicks. After the first build the main drop feels a little mediocre. It could be because your build is too intense for the main drop, but also the writing for the main section isn't all too interesting. The chords and the bass I think I have issue with. Referencing songs like Control by Matrix and Futurebound, Droptek by Ruptuer, and Out there by CloudNone, each main section of a groove doesn't seem to have the chords the most forefront. If they do they aren't a static and repeating quarter note. The other nitpick I have is that the overall energy and themes used for the song are a bit similar. In a way it stems from a similar issue from the first nitpick, but the song also feels a tad generic which is why I say it progresses and develops as expected. I'm not saying it necessarily makes a bad song, but with critical listening it come across as less interesting and not unique. It's the art of balancing on the thread of is it predictable in a way that the listener can make sense of what's coming up and also bringing something surprising and unexpected. Telling a good joke runs on a similar principle (first time I've made a comedy comparison). You build up the listener's expectations and then you add a fun and interesting twist.

Overall a solid good song with a crowded mix. If the overcompressed issue wasn't there I'd probably listen to it on my playlists

ProjectSoary responds:

Thanks for the detailed review! I think I stacked like 3-4 different compressors, dynamic EQ on the vox + SS Fresh Air and a de-esser. I'm sure most of that shredded those vox. Wish I had this review a day before the end of round one. But, I'll definitely make sure I pay attention to these details/issues in my future mixes. Thanks again for listening and reviewing!

[Halcyon Nights (Tsukuyomi Mix)]

This is an official NGADM 2021 audition review per request

For the most part I liked what I listened to. This song has a lot of stuff going for it that I enjoyed, but there was only a couple things that I felt held it back a little. The production quality is pretty nice actually. It wasn't messy or dirty really, but there were maybe some spots like 2:30 that could have done a little better maybe. For the most part you have really good sounds and synths that you picked so I felt like the sound design was pretty good, but it felt like I was getting trolled with like the old school Powerpoint wind chime effect and 2:14 with what sounds like a stock clap sample. The kick you used I think is too much sub and not enough attack, so I think you could have used a punchier kick.

Similar thing for the writing, for the most part I liked what I was hearing but the structure I think is where this song lacked in. It felt like there were sections that overstayed their welcome in my opinion. The song as a whole felt like it progressed really slowly, but what content you do have I really like. 1:27-2:12 is one of my favorite sections actually. The song, while varied in its themes, felt largely connected like it is in the same spot. I'm not sure if it's the kick sample that I'm not a big fan of, but section where it's just a straight repeated kick I think is a tad boring and you probably could change it up to better reflect what the main theme is doing in the song.

All in all I like what I heard, but could use a few improvements. Nothing major but still improvements nonetheless. Like I stated, it felt like there were sections that overstayed their welcome, but it had a good progression overall. The writing was really interesting. The mixing was decent but I wouldn't say it's the cleanest, and little things like the kick and the guitar I would want to pay more attention to. Overall a pretty solid track

[Wolf Village Sonata]

This is an official NGADM 2021 review upon request

I was a bit critical I can tell with your piece, since there was a few things that I found that I didn't like.

First thing I noticed is that the VSTs sound cheap, and this is what I knocked you down for the most. Now this doesn't mean I'm not going to give you a good score without you buying the most expensive VST out there, but there's stuff you can do to make your instruments to sound either 1) more human and better overall like good humanization or 2) go the opposite and make their fakeness part of the appeal (see Donkey Kong Country 2 OST). For the more realistic side, this video should explain what I'm talking about better

https://youtu.be/7lzJ6aIs_kE

I probably could have scored a little better on the compositional and writing side, since you have some pretty recent writing going on closer to the end especially, but it took a while to get to the parts I liked, which is why I scored you lower on the structure side. I do like that you put some effort into developing your song a bit, but it went a tad long, and generally had parts that I think extended their stay a tad too long. However, this could also be some of the humanization issue coming back again. Like at 3:23 I really don't like the staccato cellos and violas. They sounded really flat and somewhat lethargic. A side question, for the rhythm that you have going on at the beginning, are the plucked strings supposed to have an inconsistent rhythm? I believe it's intentional, but you have the Celesta playing a normal rhythm at the same time and makes it sounds sloppy

The production side I was probably a little more harsh than I should be which I apologize, but it doesn't sound very clean. It's really muddy in the low-mid frequencies were a lot of the strings are at, and comes across with frequencies kinda harsh. Not too much to say on that though. With some EQing, and a tad more mixing that would be fine

While I probably didn't enjoy it as much, and I feel like by this point I've only had negative things to say sorry, but as I listen to it over a few more times the writing is definitely thoughtful. I think you had the unfortunate position of being one of the first ones I listened to and I was trying not to give everyone 7s and 8s. The writing is very unique, and fresh. It has a bit of a darker feel to it but aside from what I think are timing issues and some slight structure issues, it was really flowing.

So if I could sum it up to a few details, humanization is the biggest issue, and would solve a lot of the feel that I don't like. This has the potential to being a really fun journey to embark on, but it's a little off putting to my ears to the point I had a hard time settling in. You are on the right track, and even if you don't change the what you've written and just work on what would contribute to the production quality of the piece, this would shape up to be a nicer final draft I think and one you could be proud to show off to other people as well.

TebyTheCat responds:

What a great review, thanks!
That video you linked was really good, even though I don't use reaper it was very informative and I understood stuff about humanization I didn't know much about before

The polyrhythm I did in the beggining was based off a rhythmic cell of Maracatu I found while searching some rhythms online

[Outer Space Sweets]

Official NGADM 2021 review per request

Since this is made in a famitracker there's not a ton to say about the sound design and the production since there is not a lot of room to play around without leaving the retro chip sound genres. Itg goes without saying but this will be more so looking at the compositional layout and song structure. And since you've linked a pic for inspiration some of that interpretation of the art will be considered as well.

The general feeling I get is happy and nostalgic call to a moment which I'd say is an accurate feel for what could be going through the character near the shop, and with the wobbly and poppy sounds you have I get the sense that the character has eaten something like pop rocks and is enjoying the sensations while waiting either for someone or something. As a whole, I notice that the energy of the song is managed mostly by the amount of notes that take up a space. With stuff like famitrackers, I'm not sure if they can handle and synth having volume dynamic but I wonder how much could be managed or changed with the sounds you're using to get the sense of volume dynamics instead of reducing the amounts of instruments you use. I mention all of this because while you have interesting wobbly synths that I don't mind, there are other sounds that feel flat to me. Yes the sounds are primitive in nature, but you have the bass that when listening to that on it's own is not really that interesting, which I think is my biggest issue (sorry I develop thoughts while I'm writing so I might be rambling lol). The same bassline continues from start to finish. I would love to see the bass try to support the story of the song more instead of really being the ground work of the chord structure. On the flip side I'd also like to see other elements help the bassline or chord progression all in the thinking of 1) bringing things together to help promote the idea of what you're working with 2) more parts that are interesting on their own that also echo the main idea of a section further creates an interesting song. I think you also missed supporting what the chord progression is with everything else bass too. I'm not saying chords are always needed to be they're own separate idea, but I get more of the sense that you have either bass or you have counter melodies. Counter melodies can be a very powerful tool too, but to me sounds more disconnected as the song continues. An extreme example of what I mean is at 1:30, and also a case where song energy just translate to amount of frantic notes lol.

Which while speaking of 1:30, I kinda lose what the main melody/idea/motif is supposed to be. I had to listen to it again to make sure I'm listening to things correctly because you have the first introduced idea right from the start in the lead which I assume is the main melody you want to convey (it's also the slower one which generally leads to a more memorable melody idea that one could theoretically sing along with). Then immediately in 0:07 you have a fun counter melody which honestly I feel like gets repeated more than what the main tune of the song is probably supposed to be. Now this might be some of my own personal bias here, but I think what makes good song development is discovering what is the central theme of your song? It could be a rhythm, it could be a series of notes, it could be sounds you used, or what have you. If you like something, use it, and then, more importantly, expand on it. Play around with it. Experiment. Like in this song I'd take the melody you have in the first 5 seconds and start asking any question I can think of. What if I flip the notes, what if I reverse them, what if I make them faster or slower, what if I make the chord progression those notes, what if I layer it on top of itself in different time intervals, how can I can I make the percussion echo the notes? All sorts of ideas that if you play around with you'll likely end up finding fun ways to progress your song. Not all songs are narrative songs, especially like house, trance, ambient stuff, but I use the word story because when you're developing a theme the same elements I feel are involved. And that's where creating music is so rewarding. You get to be the one that takes an idea and discovers all the fun ways (and likely enjoyable ideas) to fruition, and you get to be the one that leads everyone else on that path too. You get to go on this journey of a creative process and at the end of it all can generate stuff like thoughts, ideas, and emotions, and wrap it all up as entertainment that goes further than what just words can accomplish.

I've probably touched on topics you already know (as I glance and see you've already made more songs than me) but repetition can't hurt right? Honestly if I were supposed to give a short review I really only have two issues with this song and it would be summed up song feels disconnected from itself and the bass feels lonely doing it's own thing lol. Again I like the sounds you used that helped give the song its cheerful atmoshpere and I especially like the percussion too. There was a good sense of progression and I can see where there was effort into energy management. All in all it is rightfully a fun song but just feels like it looses it's way a little bit.

Composition - 7
Production - 8
Sound Design - 9
Structure - 8
Uniqueness - 9

Zechnition responds:

Wow, I love this, thanks! I tend to have difficulty finding reasons when making melodic and structural decisions, so your take on design gives me much more to think about in these situations, as well as a few more tools for self analysis.

As for how many songs I've made, take a look at one of the first few and you'll see how naïve I was back then -- I learned about quantization about half a year after I started posting and it absolutely blew my mind :P

[Origin]

NGADM 2021 review upon request:

The intro has a very solid opening. I like the orchestral and house/dance blend and I think you have a very good feel for what you wanted to come across. Leading to the build felt well progressed and nothing too crazy stands out. Pretty pleased with what I got to hear from you. As I went through the first listen, I noticed a couple of things that definitely hold back the song's potential. The first thing I noticed was the balance of the mix especially at the drop. It's not clean, and I mean in the sense that the overall mix sounds a little crowded. The balance is well done because I don't hear things in the foreground that should be in the background, and vice versa, but there isn't room for the background elements because it seems like it's all squished to the front. Which is also interesting because it's not like you're quite reaching loudness war waveforms either in the waveforms I can see. I even questioned how loud my headphones were because it seemed like it should be louder than what it is. My guess is you're using a compressor on the main mix, but either you didn't leave much headroom before using the compressor, or you boosted the gain up after balancing but also into the compressor as well. Even then though you didn't fill up the volume either, you let it peak just shy of where it could have gone (not to say it's necessarily to push the loudness, just surprised you didn't).

The other thing I noticed in the first listen is that by the second half of the song it felt a smidge stagnant. I think the reason why is that what I heard the most is the lead and the chords for the most part, and the energy felt more of the same especially closer to the end. While the lead is a good sound, and I like that you have melodic motif happening, but I think it's only used by the lead in the chorus's and the chords you use are only doing the same chord progression during the whole thing. What I think could help achieve a bit more potential is possibly changing up a few of the chords especially in the second chorus. You could have achieved that maybe by changing which octave the notes from the chords to have a different feel to the chords (I was going to say make them sound bigger but these already feel big and warm), but also changing up the chord progression really helps differentiate the drops/chorus's from the other sections.

Unfortunately as a critic it's much easier to pick on what I think is wrong than what I think is right with the song lol. While it was easy to nitpick those two bigger issues, the song is well made as a whole. Aside from the first issue I mentioned I probably wouldn't have distinguished it as being different that even what's rotating in my main Spotify playlist. This very much fits in the house genre in the way I would think of it, but just a tad bit cookie cutter too at the drops lol. Overall, definitely something I'd be proud to have made as well, and even seeing the number of listens you already have, something that you could show other people and they would enjoy as well.

Composition - 9
Production - 7.5
Sound Design - 8
Structure - 7
Uniqueness - 9

Benji-G responds:

Hey there! Thanks for the feedback! I completely agree with literally everything you said now that it got mentioned, and a lot of these things are things I never noticed until now.
One thing you mentioned is that it sounds squished af, and yeah, it's because of my poor mastering. I was thinking about remastering the track before the deadline because of *HRMM preset HRMM, but I sort of forgot about it and now I regret it very much. I still hope it holds for NGADM though.
Again, thanks for the feedback! I appreciate it! :]

[Operation Fleshhunter]

Too hell-bent to be made from a human ;)
I didn't know I needed guitars with your style but it fits so well

LD-W responds:

I've found working with guitars (in both a lib sense, or plugging one straight into interface and just doing basic riff work) naturally much easier from a compositional sense, although it's more of a challenge design-wise to get a *really good* tone out of it and does require some pretty hefty, usually expensive processing chains to really get it how I want it to. Mostly because I grew up on a metal background and that's something I've been familiar with far longer than my interests in Industrial and Cinematic-type genres. A project like this is pretty easy for me in a more Gordon-ish DOOM sense (without trying to have it sounding like a copycat either), as alot of the effort is in design and mix before anything else!

It's not big news at the moment, but I am working on a Black Metal solo-project over the next year or so (something I've always wanted to do, and I'm now in the confident position to pull it off). I'll reveal more about it soon ;)

[AIM 2021 - R~ "Space Rush"]

This reminds me of the music that got me to Newgrounds in the first place, like some ParagonX9 quality dance music. Also trance is one of my favorite pairings with racing games (see ExtremeG, Distance, NFS 3 hot pursuit).