Buoy's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-*}CaSH{*- Etude]

This kind of fusiony jazz is just such a clever and overall good genre. And 5/4 is such a fun time signature both to make and to listen to - keeps it simple yet engaging and maybe a bit challenging to listen to (but it can be difficult to make it not sound too much like the Mission impossible theme). You really managed to pull that off with this song. Some of these instruments, like the layered flute and trumpet, sound very Pat Matheny-inspired (I say that just because I know of hardly any other artists in that business) both in tone and melody. It's actually mixed pretty well, which makes the midi instruments sound not that bad really. I actually really enjoyed the general sound of it during the brief moments of 6/8 at 0:18 and 0:58 - it really strongly reminds me of the original Mario Kart of all things (and it's not just the midi sounds, that era of games had some real cool harmonies like what you have here).

The song is about as saturated with interesting elements as a 70 second long song can be. I love listening to it again and again to focus on this or that melody as much as I love playing it and letting the harmonies and collaborating melodies wash over me.

But yeah get your real deal instruments back and you won't have to rely on your competitor having real life interfere for round 3 too :)

7.7/10

[Child of the Trough NGADM]

So I gave your track a straight ten this time around too. The track isn't actually as perfect as that implies (I think we can agree that it is inferior to your round 1 piece in most ways) but the problem is that if I were to score your track first and use it as the standard for the other scores, the other scores would seem unreasonably low :c So this is a reasonable solution, I think. Since I downloaded and listened to the version that was up on the deadline, I won't comment on the vocals and the new guitar parts.

In its current shape, this is an excellent guitar-centric instrumental with an extraordinary amount of fresh ideas that are executed brilliantly. There is usually one instrument or musical idea that's being brought to the spotlight as the rest of the instrumentation provides rhythmic and harmonic support, and this theme going on throughout the song is what I think is gluing this song together even when no one part gets repeated ever. A notable exception is the very jazz fusion part starting at 2:36 where the instruments collaborate and play together in a way that's very clever. Almost every part has something unique and amazing that I could point out but I don't want this review to get too long.

You've hit a good balance with the production and mixing. There is good variation in intensity yet I never really have to reach for my volume control. It's nice and loud yet without any noticeable compromise in sound quality. There aren't that many individual instruments, so the mix is kept clean and glass clear, but the instruments fill the stereo and frequency spectra beautifully, and they all have intriguing detail and overall sound gorgeous.

I'm thoroughly impressed by the quantity and quality of the ideas you produce in two weeks. You have a combination of massive instrumental skill, creative ingenuity and a musical maturity which, combined with enough effort to produce a relatively fleshed out song that extends past 7 minutes, will not go wrong. For you to do well in the future rounds it's mostly a matter of getting full tracks together in time for the deadline, and of course to keep impressing us with your skill and talent.

10.0/10

Kor-Rune responds:

WOW, thanks for the ten Buoy! I really don't think this track deserves it though!

I'm not happy with this track much at all, I'm surprised about the feedback! I thought it was very scatter-brained and the non-repeating themes would be my downfall. I never thought of the inconsistency as a recurring theme itself!

I tried to compensate for less repeated themes with lyrics, but it doesn't work the same way. :c I wanted the deadline instrumental track judged anyway because rushed vocal takes SUUUUCK. I need to not write seven minute songs in two weeks, it just works against me.

dude I'm doing minimal post-EQ, a lot of my instruments are mixed going in, I just fuck with the levels and cut off some bass on things. My drum machine does most of the work. I figure if you have a string section and good sounding drums, everything else hardly matters LOL. Addictive Drums is a -killer- drum machine.

Anyway, thank you for your review AND your generous score for my failure! <:

[Mass Extinction]

One of the more upbeat and fleshed out songs in this round, the combination of orchestral and jungly elements is a classic and it works great here. I love the flowing harmonies of those sustained strings and how you gradually built up thicker and thicker chords then supplemented them with percussion that also increases in intensity. It's a pretty good intro overall, but it could definitely be expanded upon with some soundscapes and other sorts of ear candy.

The period of low intensity and high tension after 1:32 is pretty great, but that also creates the expectation of a really kickass main part, and when you do that trick THRICE (2:19 and 3:06 as well) without launching into a real takeoff, the whole song ends up getting a bit long. It kicks off nicely enough with the airplane-ish rising synths, slidey bassline and amen break, but after three minutes it's just a bit too little too late so to speak. That part also ends a bit early without having been developed very much.

Sound-wise... pretty good! Good deep drums, slightly above average sounding orchestral elements and decent synths, with really solid production and mostly great mixing. Each part flows effortlessly into the next, making for a really easy and enjoyable listen. Keep up that work man.

8 points for sounds and instrumentation.
7 points for composition and melody/harmony.
8 points for theme/originality/other things that might impress

Overall impression: 8.0

[Floating Through Reality]

You've definitely got some of the freshest and chilliest sounds in this round, and I can really enjoy that. Percussion sounds brilliant and detailed, the chord-pad-synth-thing is really sweet, the reverb is just glorious, the mix is open and airy throughout, it's got a really neat atmosphere, the kick gives it a bassy pulse to round off the mix - if you were to tone down that sine-ish main melody synth a bit, I could listen to this for ages... in the background.

Listening to it analytically gives me no joy at all, because not only is it very repetitive and low on content, the sequencing/programming is a bit banal too. Beyond the chord-pad-synth-thing and the lead melody, you've kinda just placed percussion sounds in sensible places but you're not doing anything impressive rhythmically or melodically or anything. The tune ends before anything really interesting happens, but at least the ending with the flanged pad sounds good.

8 points for sounds and instrumentation.
4 points for composition and melody/harmony.
6 points for theme/originality/other things that might impress.

Overall impression: 6.5

[Zebra Tangerine {7x}]

Ah, a bit of authentic guitar... that's a really refreshing thing to hear in this round. There are some super-minor timing mistakes in the intro that only serve to give it a certain charm. It wouldn't hurt to tune the guitar or adjust your playing to stay in tune though, because both the clean guitar and the distorted rhythm guitar that's introduced later sound less than optimal. Excessive reverb on lead guitar is usually not a good thing, but here it works to give it a good ethereal feel. Its melody is very smooth, and follows the chords nicely enough. Love the faded, modest pads too, they give it a really nice ethereal sound.

Halfway through the track, the distorted rhythm guitars are introduced, and well... they don't flow very well. The whole track sounds a bit tame during every third quarter note actually. It would sound better if you kept the low B on every offbeat like you occasionally did, all the time. They have a nice and wide stereo image though, I'll give you that.

You also have decent, detailed acoustic drums with a kick that still kicks it, but the snare is pretty weak and quiet, and it sounds like the there's either just a bit much reverb, or the mixing is just muddy. Strong staccato strings work very well with metal, and to some extent that's true here too but the arrangement is quite empty without any other orchestral elements or even something like sustained strings.

Lastly, most of the ideas didn't evolve very much throughout the song. The outro is the intro and the middle part is really just an 8-bar loop with some minor variation that adds a bit of an intensity curve, but it's not enough to give it the epic feel that you were obviously going for.

7 points for sounds and instrumentation.
7 points for composition and melody/harmony.
8 points for theme/originality/other things that might impress.

Overall impression: 7.5

[Dayum (NGADM)]

The bitcrushed, delayed synth that starts off the tune and permeates it throughout is pretty cool on its own, and with some reverb that could make for a really nice and lush intro. Unfortunately that is the only melodic sound I could find at all interesting or even pleasant. Every synth has the same bright, biting harsh high end, which leads to the rather unusual case of a song with a perfectly clear low end, but a muddy and overcrowded high end. It also makes it difficult, if not downright masochistic to listen to at higher volumes. The drums have both meat and punch, but sound fantastically ordinary.

Similarly with the song structure. Most of the song is a sameish collection of short wobbling synth melodies same driven by the dubstep-influenced beats. During the last half, almost nothing happens that hasn't already happened during the first half. Thankfully you had the sense to place a calm, well balanced part at 2:25 to break it up a little.

Finally, you get some points for the occasional clever programming, panning and polyphonic riffs. They do show off some DAW-handling skill, but are far from enough to raise the score by very much.

5 points for sounds and instrumentation.
5 points for composition and melody/harmony.
5 points for theme/originality/other things that might impress.

Overall impression: 5.0

[What's Ahead (NGADM 1)]

First off, neat beginning. Dramatic, with effective pauses. That church bell really makes it clear to the listener what this track is all about. Makes the track easily recognizable too.

The composition is the nicest aspect of this song IMO - the chord progression in the main part of the song is beautiful, the melodies really work well, and you have leading tones and variations where that's appropriate. The dissonance at 0:28 is kinda horrible, but it resolves beautifully. Still, I'm convinced there would be a nicer chord that could achieve the same effect but it does fit into the dramatic, somewhat precarious mood that I'm sure you were going for.

I quite enjoyed the organ, and the flutes and strings that emulate it later on give it a really great symphonic feeling. They're a bit low though - if you had really emphasized the flutes and strings during the 1:05 part you could really have showed off that symphonic aspect of your composition. Sadly, like most of the cool stuff in this songs, they get buried beneath a cloud of heavily reverbed strings and deep percussion. The percussion actually adds little more to the song than mud. That's probably the main problem of this song - it's very muddy. Some panning and EQ cutting would be very effective in order to let each instrument shine through, and careful mixing and dynamics work would make it more powerful.

8 points for sounds and instrumentation.
8 points for composition and melody/harmony.
8 points for theme/originality/other things that might impress.

Overall impression: 8.0

(it should probably be a bit lower now that I think of it - I didn't dwell too much on your score since you didn't have an opponent. It won't be that easy for the next round!;)

CheckeredZebra responds:

Heehee, forgot to respond to a couple of these reviews.
Thank you, I do appreciate the time you spent on this review, especially considering you had to go through 30 or so other songs as well.
I agree on the volume of the strings and flute; they were underplayed now that you mention it, and could have added a lot more. Kind of saddens me because that's something I actually knew how to do at the time.

The percussion was continually done throughout the song, because it was a theme I had introduced earlier that I didn't want to just drop off the face of the planet. Would've been a bit odd, ey? =P However, I once again agree. Wonder if I could've made the percussion sounds more sharp while still giving off that deep rumble I was going for. Ohwell, learning experience.

[Pixelated Rainbow]

Aww hell yes. THAT'S what I was missing - a chiptune medley! This is a really nice and straightforward tune that's easy to enjoy and grabs your attention from the first listen.

You really have an ear for good melody - there's a ton of good melodies throughout with lots of variation and cool tricks in them - occasional arpeggios, triplets, harmonized melodies, tasteful vibrato and pitch bending, a couple of fugal melodies. It's really fun to listen to. The bassline is pretty simple, almost banal, but it accompanies the melodies very well. So do the bell-like and trancy synths that occasionally accompany it - those synths definitely not within the chiptune realm, but they are still retro enough that I wouldn't have a problem with this being a theme song in something like a SNES racing game or whatever. Same goes for the strings, but I always think they're a bit tacky. The drums are neat with plenty of fills and suitable intensity, but do sound somewhat muffled with the lead synth taking the entire spotlight at all times.

The song gets pretty exhausting to listen to. This is for two reasons: the song keeps going at the same pace with the same relatively thick mix, fast drums etc. And the ever-present chiptune leads are right in that shrill mid-high frequency range, a bit higher than where a human voice is. So it wouldn't hurt at all to change pace once or twice in the song by adding a less intense part of cutting out the lead synths for a while. For something like a battle or race theme in a game though, yeah this is pretty spot on.

8 points for sounds and instrumentation.
8 points for composition and melody/harmony.
8 points for theme/originality/other things that might impress.

Overall impression: 8.0