introstalge's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[redemption]

Cute little ditty here. The melodies evolve so well and work together nicely. Really chilled track, the flow is perfect. Drums are a tad underwhelming, the programming is great but the processing leaves them sounding flat to my taste. Would have liked to hear some more ear candy to keep things interesting though the mellow breaks, it sounds like you've made a start but I think it can be developed much further (granted the time, 3 days for a 7 minute song is damn impressive ;D)

johnfn responds:

Ear candy is overrated ;-) It's all about THE MELODIES MAN

[There]

Totally feeling a Madeon vibe in this one. Your lead synths are so delicious and catchy, as always. You make really good, creative use of reverb and everything ties together so nicely. Definitely one of your best!

garlagan responds:

Oh man, Madeon is one of my biggest inspirations. Listening to his music makes me want to make music and quit making music both at the same time.
Glad you liked the track. Thanks man!

[ghosts]

Mix doesn't sound all that bad to me. For a rushed job it's actually quick good. Really nice composition, I love all of the different melodies in this track, especially the from 2:48. It would sound so sick as a guitar solo! The transitions are mostly quite smooth but could be ironed out a little (the transition at 1:38 is particularly abrupt). That dubstep section at the end kicks ass btw!

johnfn responds:

I kinda thought about making that into a guitar solo! I think I even tried but then I was like "crap out of time"... haha. Also lol dubstep I never intended to make dubstep. I dunno if it even is dubstep heh.

[Adel's Theme (Menu)]

Super emotive, loved every second of it! If this is just a starter, I am really looking forward to the full version.

I think the repetition of the melody works well. It's not overbearing, and it sticks in my mind. I'd imagine this would make a nice platform to work off of for composing the other pieces for the visual novel.

Mix is actually super clean and dynamic! Really enjoyed the instrumentation. Your selection of sounds work very well together and you've placed them nicely. Just a small gripe with the way the percussion is introduced at 1:12. Bringing them in with a closed low pass feels a bit strange, especially because they are panned and quite bassy. I would have liked to hear a bit more mids and less bass. Obviously it's a stylistic choice, and I'm slightly un-attuned to the nuances of cinematic music; but, this is literally the only thing which didn't resonate with me.

Fantastic work! How many more themes are there to make?

Step responds:

Heyyy! Nice of you to drop by for a review.

"Super emotive, loved every second of it! If this is just a starter, I am really looking forward to the full version."

I'm actually really psyched about making the full version. I have tonnes of ideas and will make it a lot more fleshed out than it is now (plus it'll be made from scratch and sound pretty different to this, only borrowing the melodic ideas in this). Hopefully it'll turn out well!

"I think the repetition of the melody works well. It's not overbearing, and it sticks in my mind. I'd imagine this would make a nice platform to work off of for composing the other pieces for the visual novel."

Yep, that's the idea. REALLY happy you don't think it's repetitive. I think it is kind of repetitive but I think that for the purposes of a visual novel menu the repetition works.

"Mix is actually super clean and dynamic! Really enjoyed the instrumentation. Your selection of sounds work very well together and you've placed them nicely."

Woo thanks!

"Just a small gripe with the way the percussion is introduced at 1:12. Bringing them in with a closed low pass feels a bit strange, especially because they are panned and quite bassy. I would have liked to hear a bit more mids and less bass. Obviously it's a stylistic choice, and I'm slightly un-attuned to the nuances of cinematic music; but, this is literally the only thing which didn't resonate with me."

You're not the first to complain about that percussion. I think I'll revisit it and follow your advice.

"Fantastic work! How many more themes are there to make?"

Loads haha. At least 15.

Thanks for the super encouraging review and invaluable feedback. Glad you liked it!

[Deflect]

0:27 I fell in love! Really great work, love the chords and melody synth. Nice progression and variation throughout. The stereo image is great. This is my favourite track of the NGADM so far!

Seriously great!

garlagan responds:

thanks introstalge!

[Time to Fly - NGADM]

The melodies are excellent! Bright, super happy and somehow familiar. Nice mid section to break up the energy. The kicks works very well with the low-passed instruments. Overall great work on the drums, composition and oddly the structure. Kind of unorthodox, but you've pulled it off well and it's easy to follow. Only aspect of the production I can pick at is the mixing. You've got a good balance going already, but the track does sound a little boomy and muddy. Sounds like a build up of freqs from 100 to about 500 Hz. I've recently found that cutting ~250Hz on everything but drums helps give things a little space and stops a lot of the clogging which tends to sound muddy.

I'm probably just being harsh as I'm most interested in mixing and try to be critical to benefit myself and others.

Anyway, really nice work on this one. I absolutely love it! Good luck for this round!

Spadezer responds:

Thanks. I highly appreciate the detailed reviews (especially when you get nit-picky since I feel like I don't do it enough to myself).
I've been trying to understand how to tweak the multiband compressor that I'm using. I can't tell if I'm trying to make it do too much magic and I'm not focusing enough on adjusting the individuals or not. I like using it because it helps keep a lot of stuff really clean but I can tell that the low end does get muddled some times when it's loud. Although I thank you for your advice and I'd be willing to bet that's what the problem is. Although I love hearing the base in my earbuds a bit.

There will be an edited version coming soon.
-Spadzer-

[Two]

Really nice work here Sequenced. The melodies are excellent and you've used your effects well to create lots energy. This track is going to be tough competition in term of composition, though I think it sounds slightly squashed and distorted. Maybe reducing the gain on your master limiter/compressor/saturator by a few dB could help it sound less abrasive.

Really enjoyed this one, good work!

Sequenced responds:

the mix sound find on my flat line monitors. you sure you're not listening to any boosted headphones or such ?

also, newgrounds player isn't the best in the market. every song on NG will always feel compressed

[Almost Home]

I don't think there's much more you can do to improve this. The development into the first "chorus" (lack of a better word), is as smooth as I've ever heard. Nice additions in the second "chorus" to add an even more interesting flavour. You've carried the theme well throughout the track and kept it interesting. Great job!

Such a beautiful track, would definitely give some of the big composer names on NG a run for their money.

RetromanOMG responds:

Woah, that's a crazy compliment, thanks! But I really do have tons of ideas I couldn't implement for this song before the deadline, so I'm definitely going to put out a more complete version of this song in the coming weeks. I'm glad you liked listening to it!

[Meditation]

Wow, this is so serene. The pads are especially nice, what did you use to synthesise them? Good work using the vocals, I'm guessing they romplers, maybe? They fit the track very well. Reminds me of Module Module's stuff, one of my fave ambient makers. Nice job!

larrynachos responds:

Ah, everything is from the Medieval Legends library.

There are only two instruments: The pad/soundscape, and the harp.

[Swan Lullaby]

This track is so pretty! Nice effects used throughout. This is such a nice and relaxing piece. Giving me memories of playing Runescape years ago lol

Nice job and best of luck in the NGADM :P

Chemiqals responds:

Thanks! Good luck to you as well! ^_^