Onefin's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Market Day (KindLing A0S1)]

I was told there were many reviews here that mentioned me

Well now that I'm here I might as well sit for your ride. And oh boy what a ride it was.

There are so many great things happening just off the beginning. The first minute is extremely beautiful melodically, and the drums are really, really nice. You have pretty good command of reverb and dynamics which is fabulous. The section at 1:15 sort of needed more going into it, but that slight disappointment is very quickly replaced by the drive of the kick drum.

And holy crap, you're changing tempo. Caught me off guard but I love it (mostly cuz I do it myself :P). Really nice modulation at 1:57 too. 2:06 has some sweet sweet bitcrusher going on

The tempo is going back up again. The guitar is back, the fabulous rhythm section returns, is that a flute? Man don't stop feeding me your amazing

Biggest couple of complaints would have to be: 1) I had trouble grasping onto one single melody over the course of the track. Don't know if that's just me or if there's just not enough emphasis in the track. 2) The climaxes tend to lack the impact they need to really sell themselves. This is something I struggle with too so it's okay.

Overall, though, this is a really solid entry. Amazingly perfect drum design, really good mixing and atmosphere, fantastic melodies and composition. Now let me go listen to the rest of your discography to see if I should smash that follow button. Good luck!

Miyolophone responds:

Damn, thanks for dropping by, man! I'm thrilled that you liked it so much, since I did have you in mind while I was making it (which apparently every single person picked up on?? I thought I was a bit more subtle than that lol). Good luck to you as well (despite your writer's block)!

[In the Mist]

Might as well drop an R4R since I'm in the contest too.

+ I like this chord at 0:38
+ Drums at 1:45 are really really cool
+ Sounds are designed decently for their purpose
+ Dynamics and transitions are generally well executed

- First minute is literally the same synth the entire way with not much else
- Kick at drop (2:16) is a bit underwhelming
- There is no reason for you to wait so long to introduce the hihat at 3:00
- After 3:16 the rest of the song is mostly stuff we've already heard before
- Some of the stuff in the drops aren't tuned exactly right
- Generally lacks a strong melody

Very few entries this year, huh? We all have a better shot at making it.

Voltus responds:

but that sweet sweet distortion on the lovely synth at the start... well I guess I'm too in love with details sometimes, yeah it's a frickin long intro... And an underwhelming kick... never had that before.

[All the Shades Between]

Hey have you listened to my crud? There's nothing wrong with entirely different ideas stuck together :P at least if you're me

There are soooo many good ideas here man. And you say you pulled this off after a power outage? Niiice. This could have been a really good entry into the ngchips compo about colors - this track is just full of them.

Because of all that it doesn't really ever get boring. It's really nice because I can go from section to section liking this bit and then liking the next bit instead after a little while. There's always something new to like. I like that.

Although the piece is ambient and slow evolving, there are times when the track seems a bit too sluggish. This section at 2:04 was the best at dodging the slowness, and 3:07 was the worst at dodging the slowness. And I get that it's supposed to be all atmospheric and pad-y and slow evolving and all that junk, but certain sections just seem a bit too slow at what they're trying to accomplish.

Overall though the atmosphere is accomplished really, really well. Sounds intermingle really nicely, especially with the proficiency of the mix, and transitions help bring your ideas together. Despite the power outage, you've pulled off an entry worthy of the NGADM! Good luck :D

[The City Sleeps]

You do know trap is a genre that Newgrounds offers, right? I mean the system is dinky but it at least has trap

You have good command in drum design. Every hit pops right out the mix just as it should, giving your track a lot of power and headbangableness(?). The sounds also compliment your drums very well.

I'll be honest, I was not expected 2:52. Nice surprise :) You've done a really nice amount of variation in the sound without losing the overall connection, which is great. Your transitions really help smooth all of that out.

One thing I was hoping to hear was a bit more dynamic variation. At this point pretty much every section is loud. Part of that is that you never switch the drums out where appropriate - if you make the drums softer where the song should be softer, you'd easily achieve a good level of dynamic variation, especially since those down sections have pretty overpowering drums at the moment.

Overall though pretty good work! Good luck in the compo. :)

[Slowing Down]

DUDE.

SO BLOWN AWAY RIGHT NOW.

Where do I even start with you, garlagan? How do I even begin to comment on your literal genius

Once again you nail the melodies. Once again your drops are extremely crisp. Once again you pull off a bunch of small musical tidbits which fill your track with interest. Once again you catch me off guard with an unexpected sonic shift (2:07). Once again you create such a highly contrasted, highly detailed soundscape that I can't do anything but stand amazed. Seriously.

I don't even know what to begin to criticize. It's just all... so tight. So clean.

I rarely give tracks full five stars but this one has to take the cake for me.

garlagan responds:

aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh thank you so much 1f1n1!

[Shadow Steps]

Holy moly. I can't say that after They Taught Us To Dream I didn't expect something like this, but dang. That's tight.

Dude I don't even know where to start writing this review. I could talk about how your rhythmic style makes the climaxes very satisfying and intriguing to listen to. I could talk about how your drums work a very nice balance between being loud enough to keep the drive and being soft enough to not be distracting. I could talk about how your sound design always keeps things fresh the whole time as to never leave me bored.

I could also talk about how your command in transitions helps keep the drive going throughout the track for a seamless sonic experience that never lets up on the tension. I could also talk about how you effectively created a contrast between the melodic flowing sections and the rhythmic breakbeat drops which helps distinguish them.

But I could also talk about how each of the sections sounds a bit more or less of the same thing sound design wise, which leads to the dulling of the effect. I could also talk about how the mix doesn't quite have the amount of highs I would have liked. I could also talk about how I was looking for some contrast to the mood at some point in this track but never got something without the tension. But all that is nitpicking, really. This is some top notch work.

Of course, your competitor Lethalix pulled out some of his best, too. Good luck! I'm interested in the results for this one.

DEM0NW0LF responds:

That's a lot of kind words

Thanks :)

[Deadshot Desperado]

Hey ConnorGrail I was like sort of excited about you vs Koraii until he pulled out ; ^ ;

But man this sounds amazing anyway! You do lots of really small musical tidbits which keep this track extremely interesting to listen to. Every instant there's something new to hear, and before long you shift to another idea in a really interesting and cohesive way.

Overall composition is really well done! Melodies are pretty top notch stuff here (dat solo at 0:48) and you pull off a key change exceptionally well too (1:03). Sounds generally work incredibly well for the parts you gave them as well.

If I had to criticize anything I'd say the vocals at 1:10 come in rather suddenly, probably because of their volume? or frequencies? I'm not sure.

In all this has got to be one of the more interesting entries I've heard thus far. And you say your new opponent has to top this in 4 days?

ConnorGrail responds:

Thanks! What can I say, these all over the place tracks are my ultimate anti-boredom vaccine. Well to me at least. Glad you enjoyed

[Ravenholt]

Hey, Lethalix. Dropping by to give you a review, full NGADM style.

Let's just get the obvious stuff out of the way - the production is extremely good in this track. I would have expected no less from you, anyway. Everything sounds incredibly clear - it's mixing prowess I can only dream to achieve someday. I especially like the drum design you pulled off here. It is drumstep, isn't it?

You mixed things up sufficiently well to not stay repetitive, which is good. Your two drops are very similar but different enough to definitely not be the same. The middle section has some noticeable distinctions from the sections around it, which is nice. One big thing which struck me as improvable in this aspect was how the chord progression stays the same the entire time with no variation. After the first minute this progression has already worn out, but you keep pushing it. I would have liked to hear other sections with different chord progressions to really sell the non-repetitive effort.

Your sense of flow and transition is pretty good. Because you used sections very similar to each other throughout, I imagine it wasn't too difficult to make something cohesive (I mean, in comparison to my stuff, which goes literally everywhere). You did transitions well and never broke that flow. The intense sections feel satisfying to reach and stay that way throughout.

A couple other minor criticisms: The piano sounded really robotic for the brief time I heard it, and the toms aren't very impressively designed, either. Also the outro kinda cuts, which is a pretty big no-no.

Overall, I can tell this is a pretty polished track! The mixing leaves nothing to be desired, and sound design is generally top notch! Just work on introducing more melodic ideas beyond what you establish from the beginning. Good luck against Demon-Wolf!

KamillasRainbow responds:

First off, thanks for the review!

Gotta be honest, i never even once thought of having multiple chord pregressions in one track. Thanks for reminding me that is a possibility. I agree with the part about the toms and piano but i don't think i can do much about that. The ending was supposed be different but i must have done something that changed it. Didn't even notice but i'm glad you did. Thanks again!

[-Starfight-]

Hey! You're against Ceevro, huh? If you really want a chance at beating him, I'd strongly recommend spreading work on this track over many days. You still have a couple to revise and polish, so I'll give you a couple pointers to start with:

Your clap/snare sounds are generally pretty buried. Those are always difficult to pull through, so I'd spend some good time working on the mix there.

The outro is kind of abrupt. The track sort of just ends, and poof, there goes the sound. You also have a pretty long silence tail, which could be cut.

You do have lots of good things going for you here. I will second the Waterflame vibes at 2:03. You manage to keep energy going through the track really well, even as you change keys. I don't know, I guess personally I'm a lot more used to key changes so I don't see any of them to be a problem.

The sound design is generally pretty good. They support the melodies and progressions pretty well. Your melodies are also sufficiently groovy and awesome.

Good luck against Ceevro!

[NGADM '17 - "Aurelius"]

Hey Jimmypig

You present some solid ideas in this track. The vocal chops are the main focus here, and they're very well polished from a sound design perspective. You introduce dubstep wubs but keep everything relatively on the chill side. You have a really nice use of backing instruments including piano, guitar, and a pluck thing.

Your drum design sounds good too. The snare pops right out of the mix, which is always a tough spot for me in my tracks. The drums also coordinate really well with the melodies underneath it.

Possibly my biggest gripe with the track is that despite bringing up solid ideas, it never brings up more. The track gets awfully stale after about 1 and a half minutes of listening, and my ears want something new to hear. Perhaps a vibrato square lead, some interesting glittery arps, a key or time change, etc. At the moment, though, each moment of the track sounds much the same.

Also your outro is literally a string note :P

Jimmypig responds:

I only have today! busy all weekend :p But I agree totally with all of your points, and I've tried to add a bit more 'flavour' to the track, so if you wanna check it out it'll be on the forum in a minute.

Thanks for the review! :)