Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Spirited Winds - NGADM'22 FINAL ROUND]

eliasalija, Spirited Winds - NGADM'22 FINAL ROUND

1]Technicality 2]Production 3]Composition 4]Emotion 5]BonusPoints
10,9,8,10,9 x 2 = [92/100]

Lovely song eliasalija, very well done. Inspired and heartfelt tones! The six of you final round contestants will probably all see a perfect score out of "emotion." I'm going to take one point off from production for what I felt like were noticeably absent bass tones. I'm an EDM slut, we tend to focus on those bass tones too much. I told everratic I'd fight an EDM bias, given the genre that you two have mastered: things sound great. Have you ever considered padding orchestral bass tones with some suby synth compression or another bass patch? IMO, Newgrounds artists are their best when they are toying with new sounds and progressive genre splicing. Coming into the final round I would have loved to hear some synth play from the classical peeps... it's where I'm taking that bonus point from. I'm aware of your strengths and weaknesses, sticking to your strengths is a fair strategy but I love hearing risky ideas. I think Zechnition consistently demonstrates risk with his style.

Thank you for that insightful commentary, I think everyone is feeling a little tired and worn at this point, but you are finally free!

I've told a few contestants that I consider "three minutes" the bare minimum for a deathmatch track. You were right there, some orchestral tune ups, a few seconds of silence, or the conductor tapping on a music stand would have net you another point! Sequenced came out swinging with 8 minutes of track (that I judged a little hard for being too much) but it's kind of a curtesy concept that I wanted to see tracks between three to five minutes out of respect to the other contestants. If everyone wrote 8 minute bangers I'd actually hate it, sometimes a song can be too long in my opinion especially when a bracket has 64 contestants but for the final round I'd have wanted a slightly longer opus.

I can't take off points for technicality or emotion, you wrote beautifully. I hope I've described the minor grievances well enough, it can be hard to justify scores but I hope this doesn't deflate you at all. I loved the song and you've all performed wonderfully. Cheers eliasalija!

Santi-Montali responds:

Heyyy thanks for the review! I get what you mean, I couldn't experiment much outside of the orchestral landscape because -life- haha. Anyway, thanks for your work!

[The Witch at the Prom]

Everratic, The Witch At The Prom

1]Technicality 2]Production 3]Composition 4]Emotion 5]BonusPoints
10,8,8,10,7 x 2 = [86/100]

Getting right into the critiques because I'll compliment your strengths along the way....

I felt like bass tones could have been pushed some more but the mix was well done for the genre. I want to fight my EDM bias, we tend to over load the spectrum but I couldn't help but think that you could have done even more with every section. I've been telling people lately "you need to mix a few bricks to know your limits." Not that over compression is a great thing but there was a lot of space in that wave shape to boost tones. This is a hard critique to focus on because you apparently used a lot of instrument patches, but my lizard brain only picked up on a handful of sounds at any given moment. Multiple listens allowed me to focus on the atmospheric elements more, but they could have been pushed harder especially during the rests. The dubstep artists manage to max out their orchestral sections so you might be at a slight disadvantage when you only stick to one genre, tone, or energy...

My next critique will focus on longevity, half of the final contestants went extra-long and the other half seemingly extra-short. You wrote a very inspired and ever changing two minutes; it's practically a slap in the face to that 8 minutes of prog house Sequenced wrote. Less is sometimes more. I'm a strong believer in the philosophy that a song is however long as it needs to be, two minutes for any other project is perfectly fine but three minutes is the bare minimum I put on tracks written for the Death Match. There is always room for some ambient tune up, orchestral whispers, or even a cough to liven up the atmosphere. I could have imagined a female chior patch sounding nice in this. Heck, the story you mentioned focused on gender bendy fuckery, GIVE US SOME CHIOR PATCHES, MAKE THE MALE CHIOR FIGHT THE FEMALE CHIOR FOR DOMINANCE. WOKE-AGENDA SHIT: MAKE SURE THE FEMALE CHIOR WINS, NO ONE WILL SEE IT COMING. CHEF SMOOCH.

Sorry, the previous outburst had nothing to do with your scores. It's just a conceptual idea, if you're going to incorporate inspiration like that then feel free to let me know what exact sounds translated to the story in your own words. You provided a lot of data in that description and I'm sure by now you know how much I appreciate that. There are a lot of great ideas in this track but I felt aware of your strengths now and maybe I want to hear you try some new techniques or genres? Again, that doesn't really affect any of my scores it's just a foot note (edit: I lied, another point came out of bonus points to help offset bracket scores. I went back and felt that your track trailed everyone else's this round.) Newgrounds artists have always been at their strongest when progressively mixing genres and styles. You wrote some wonderful romantic orchestral, you could have tossed in a glittering synth patch to keep all the silly dubstep judges happy. I'd have accepted a preset patch, I'm not picky D:

In the end I took two points off production, for what I felt like was a blindness to the overall spectrum and in respect to the other contenders (final round, I can't ignore that eliasalija also went orchestral but managed a noticeably bigger sound). The two of you had a lot in common coming into the end here. Your digital tools could have boosted instruments and sections to match his energy. I did notice you managed some very sensitive panning, loved it. I'll come down just as hard on eliasalija for the longevity of his track, that's where I'm taking off two points. You two are very strong composers, please forgive the two points from composition. I noticed the commentary about how busy you've been so I'm sorry, but I don't feel like I can be a little more generous given the nature of the competition. I'm the easiest judge to draw tens out of but I'm sticking to the idea that deathmatch songs should be three to five minutes long in respect to the other contenders. The three points subtracted from "bonus points" is my way of describing your track in the overall line up for this round, the other contenders felt much stronger, imo.

Hope my input is all well and good, you and many others deserved to make it to the finals so congratulations Everratic! I hope the hectic nature of your life will resume to a regular pace and the stress eases. Cheers and word up to that winners bracket bonus!

[Kawai Sprite - Blammed (St4bility Remix)]

You kids these days, this song is so hard it's giving my arthritis arthritis. There are probably a few frequencies in this that my ears can't pick up on anymore but I'm gonna bop my head all the same. This track is hard xD

[skullDome]

FIRST, YES! I DID IT. I'M OFFICIALLY THE FIRST PERSON TO COMMENT... ALL YOU OTHER FIRSTS CAN STOP PRETENDING, IT IS I, THE FIRST COMMENT. I AM FIRST, ALL YOU OTHER FIRSTS ARE JUST HATERS, GET IN LINE BEHIND A LONG LINE OF OTHER FIRSTS. FIRSTY WANNA BE FIRST POSERS. I AM FIRST.

[junebug [TRANS PRIDE DUB WAR]]

Effing awesome sounds. I especially loved that dnb-breakbeat section towards the end. Lots of grime. I find it funny that there are enough dub trans producers in one place to get a decent soundcloud compilation. I hide in my little space, would have contributed if I knew something like that was going down but it's impossible to be everywhere at once. SCREW GENDER- I JUST WANT TO BE AN OMNIPOTENT MULTI DIMENSIONAL ORGANISM THAT VIBES WITH EVERY GRAVITATIONAL PULSE, DON'T JUDGE ME.

That dubstep section had room for a little more character if you added some more pads and atmosphere. I have a dulcimer bias, would have topped on some middle eastern sounding dulcimer licks. Would have also liked some reverbed vocal chops but I notice a lot of young producers are afraid of sampling stuff and why shouldn't they be? Copyright infringement laws are scary D:

I think the mix down could be a little more powerful but finding that space can be difficult, even on a good day. Loved the leads so much but they are the most powerful aspect in the mix. Maybe the sub could be amped just a tad more? I think there's a lot of room for additional panning data, things are kind of mono sounding, everything sounds like it hits from the middle. So much diversity in that lead synth, you can probably create some really fascinating dynamic switch ups by automating the pan data on it. Panning is something so many producers overlook but doing it right can create powerful illusions of space and depth. I love it when pads, leads, and sfx move around the field. Music often emulates nature, bring life to those synths by giving them organic and constantly changing locations :3

I don't want to tell you how to do things girl, you got a great sound going. I just have this bug to critique peers to try to get the best sound out of them, blame the art major. I'm just as critical on my own work and often fall short of my own expectations so I'm sorry if this review comes off the wrong way. I've been listening to a few of your other tracks while writing this review, lament (feat. Lunanescence) has a great mix down. It manages to hit those spaces, textures, and tones I'm talking about when I say something like "there's more room" but it also looks a little squished. Compression creates that illusion that sounds are louder by removing some dynamic information but it's noticeably more powerful... could just be the sub bass?

WHY DO I WRITE LONG REVIEWS? NOBODY ASKED FOR THIS REVIEW, THANK YOU FOR WRITING A GREAT SONG, YOU ARE A SHINING STAR. YOU SHINE BRIGHT, LIKE A DIAMOND. A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH, YOU SHINE, SHINNINGLY, SHINEFULL. THANK YOU.

patchstep responds:

thank you so much for the in-depth and overall extremely positive comments!!!! loved reading this

[Magic Hand]

Mix down is great, sfx is inspired! Loved those drum fills and reverse sounds. This definitely has some super creative energy lacking from a lot of contemporary DNB tracks that are mixed and written for DJ spaces. There was something off about the mix getting to me but I figured it out at 1:11, that sub bass has an atonal rumble to it.

Kind of sounds like two oscillators with one slightly pitch bent a semi tone to create that dissonant resonance. It might be cleaner if the bass tones were on pitch but then you also lose something raw from the earlier segments. Maybe you could automate that bass tone to dip in and out of harmony a little? The off harmony oscillator is a good technique for building bigger reese tones but the synth I'm talking about sounds more like a sub bass. Maybe some extra distortion hitting mids or highs would give it some cleaner reese tones while maintaining that dark sound you got here? A filter can always give you the bass tones back if the crunch gets over powering but it's all on you. The track is great.

(Looking through other reviews, FRNTHSTIXX is picking up on it too. Might just be our headphones but I'm only bringing it up to highlight that he isn't crazy, he just needs to clarify technique a little.)

[Inktober #30 - Don't Give Up Now!]

Hey sorry I didn't get around to dropping a comment earlier but I've been stupid busy. Wish I made the song a little longer for you, I never thought anyone was gonna rap on it. You just kept coming up with the rhymes. I lost it when you started off like "hell yeah I'm not giving up," fucking laughed my ass off. I'm glad someone understood the core message XD

A lot of hiphop I grew up with was super moody and negative. It's a nice change of pace to start a track with a huge happy grin, cheers CyberDevil :D

Cyberdevil responds:

Heya, no worries, I'm used to spontaneous and/or sporadic interactions here. :P Length-wise this was perfect really. Gives the impression there's just no limit to my capabilities when I keep going off beat too IMO, feels like it worked well with the 'don't give up' theme. Though I might've initially chosen it since it was shorter actually - instrumental inspiration exceeded expectation.

Thank you. :) The original track's such a happy vibe too - mutually moodboosting!

[Bullet Train (WIP) [NGADM Round 4]]

Solaraloe, Bullet Train
1]Technicality 2]Production 3]Composition 4]Emotion 5]BonusPoints
9,7,8,9,9

I liked this song but I want to get right into what I think is the most noticeable issue and it's going to be mix nitpicks. That drum kit (or just the kick and snare drums) could have been side chained a little more forwards, the synths fought for dominance. Drums drive all EDM genres, harder styles in particular benefit from putting the kick & snare forwards. Everything is still very powerful but that lends itself more to the fact that the drum samples are good, not that they are mixed perfectly. Given how the drum kit was mixed it sounds like certain tones are missing from the snare, mid to highs. While the mids and bass tones are important, those high textures can really give a snare drum character. I always loved how much creative texture artists like Koan Sound puts into snares.

Those 32nd note hi-hat rhythms are a little distracting, less is more. 32nd/64th notes can make great risers, especially snares drums when you use the element sparingly. You can pitch bend 32nd note drums, play with the volume automations and make entire drum rolls out of one snare sample. I'm sure you've come across the term "riser" in production? Risers are just elements that raise the action of the song to meet the energy of a drop. Usually, they're synthesizers or samples but a 32nd note snare roll starting pitched low then high via automations is an EDM staple which crescendos the action splendidly.

Compared to everyone else in the bracket, I think this was the shortest track I had to judge this time around. Short is never a bad thing, sometimes you can say everything you need to say in a minute long track but I think it's only fair I subtract a point given there were others that put an equal amount of work into 8 minute tracks. Three minutes is my bare minimum for these kinds of contests, normally I don't take points off for it but losers bracket was a shark tank this time around. I felt there were other artists that did exceptionally well this round so I might be coming down a little harder on you but know that it comes from a place of passion and respect. This song was a great hustle Solar, the energy was top notch and fun!

I'm going to pick on you for that initial square lead motif, it sounded incredibly old school. There was some really cool synth modulation along the way but the motif chords were just a wee bit corny. I suppose EDM lends itself to be pretty corny sometimes, I'M LOOKING AT YOU EXCISION. HE THINKS HE'S SO COOL BECAUSE EVERY DUBSTEP SONG HE'S EVER WRITTEN STARTS OUT WITH SOME MOODY MONOLOUGE ABOUT SOCIETY COMING TO AN END OR ALIENS INVADING FROM OUTER SPACE. PFFFF, LAME. I don't have any advice on how to avoid making something that others might find corny, it's part of our trade. To some people, EDM in it's entirety is fake music played by computers. There is no such thing as making everyone happy. You do what makes YOU happy because the rest of the track had some really special high energy synth work, absolutely stunning. I really love those rhythmic synth leads.

You know what, those introductory motif synths I found corny might have sounded better if they weren't fighting with that huge dubstep drum kit for attention which leads into my next critique...

You could have displayed some more diversity from your drum samples. A smaller drum kit or softer intro drum samples could have benefit those particular synths a little bit. I like to split my drums into layers. With three bass drum and three snare drum samples to build the main kit I can often fake a smaller kit for things like introductions and break downs using only one or two kick/snare samples. I'm not sure if you're layering your drum samples or if you're just using good samples but with three snare drums layered and mixed for the chorus, the weaker snare samples can contribute to other sections of the track. I'm sorry if I'm not saying it in a way that makes sense but many EDM producers over-look drum sample diversity. Switching up the kit as the song continues is a great way to transition energy from one section to another. Changing up the drums adds a very organic element missing from many genres. Even live drummers can diversify their sounds by playing on the rims, side-sticking, or changing cymbals to create new dynamics on the fly!

Sorry for handing you a massive critique but it's only meant to motivate you a little bit more! I grew up on Newgrounds listening to tracks just like this. When I called that square lead "oldschool" the statement comes from a nostalgic place. Though I've never used Fruity Loops, I know staple FL patches when I hear them. Many pros in the scene right now started with these kinds of tracks. Pros like Space Laces, Emperor, Fox Stevenson, and Solider Boy all went through Newgrounds at one point or another. You could be the next big thing Solaraloe.

I hope this review helps and comes across alright. Have a good day Solar and cheers!

Solaraloe responds:

Thanks for the review! This sort of extensive feedback and critique is exactly what I'm looking for to help myself improve as a producer, so it's very appreciated.

[Allegory Peak - WIP]

Zechnition, Allegory Peak
1]Technicality 2]Production 3]Composition 4]Emotion 5]BonusPoints
10,9,9,10,10

My first take is about the length, I sometimes shun people for writing extra minutes which test my attention span. Your track on the other hand is only slightly on the short side but I'm not going to take off any points over it. You kept the music very interesting throughout the track and that to me is more important than an eight-minute build up. I've become a little biased for your tonal stylings and melodic presentations. I'm going to recycle a crit I levied heavily during the Art Inspired Music contest and say that if you're using vivid imagery such as "climbing a mountain" think about the kinds of sounds you may hear on that journey and incorporate those as recordings or samples.

I live on a mountain, the peace and quiet is nice but we get wind often gusting through the valley. Wind took a tree down the otherday, I watched it fall. I've installed a windchime to take advantage of the gusts. Animal sounds are a thing on the mountain, from elk to coyotes. Song-birds are a classical element in music and were first introduced back in the 14th century. Evoking birds with melodic elements is great, some of your melodies reminded me of song birds but a literal bird sample can add depth and "wetness" to a dry mix down. Questionable samples are less encouraged in the Deathmatch but given how cinematic your style is you should research some new techniques and ideas to buffer your music with live, unpredictable organic sounds.

Decent portable field recorders start at $100. With some additional research or cash you could nab a really good tool that let's you grab samples from your environment. I stood on my porch in Georgia recording birds once with a field recorder. After 15 years of production, I've accumulated some meaty sample folders interwoven with stuff nabbed both in real life and from the internet. Bird noises are just bird noises, I doubt it would create much of an issue if you just sampled birds from somewhere on the internet but you could have reached out and asked LD-W to verify. Live, unpredictable, organic sounds would have pushed my composition score to a 10. Alternatively, there's always a chance another judge would have removed points for "unoriginality." Compared to many of the other judges I give really forgiving scores. I considered taking an extra point off production for what sounds like a dry mix but you have certain unique stylings that I love; I still notice the sound of keys being pushed from time to time. Either it's a good patch or a good recording but either way it's very nice.

The synths were inspired but might have benefit from filtering off some of that crunchy scratch while boosting more powerful bass tones? I'm having a hard time nailing my criticism, sorry Z. I feel like I'm still giving you a great score, cherish it but consider rounding out your style with some of what I've mentioned. Your unique style has allowed you to quickly become a favorite of mine. Great material Zech, perfect in its own right :3

Zechnition responds:

thanks for the lengthy words!

I have some binaural bird samples I got off freesound.org that are CC0 (anyone can use them commercially) and super cool. l like your suggestion that the texture could be more natural & imperfect, I definitely see a bit too much shiny chrome perfectness at times, and I will indeed be stealing the bird foley suggestion. And as they say nowadays, imperfection is the new perfection!

[The Great Autumn Social]

Spadezer, The Great Autum Social
1]Technicality 2]Production 3]Composition 4]Emotion 5]BonusPoints
10,10,7,9,10

How did the number one seed end up in losers bracket? YOU HAVE SHAMED YOUR FAMILY NUMBER ONE SON. DISHONOR IS YOURS.

Production is crisp, synths and drums are well done. Gotta love the furry dubstep convention vibes but maybe less would have been more? It wasn't the introduction that I'm talking about, the happy forest creature sounds were a great mislead. I'm thinking the sections at 1:13 and 3:13 didn't need bloody woodland creatures crying continuously, one good grime scream rising into the action would have sufficed. You gotta know when you've put too much dirt on a track. Those little animals are distracting from all that lovely synthesis and music.

The breakdown midway through the track also distracts from the musicality. I appreciate the story you're going for with aliens and stuff but you didn't need to reintroduce that "Retarded Animal Babies" motif in it's entirety. Maybe something sadder or somber as a mid song breakdown would have made more thematic sense? It's as if the aliens arrived, fucked everything up at the first drop, then the woodland creatures forgot about the alien bloodbath and tried enjoying themselves again. IT'S A MASSIVE CONTINUETY ERROR. You took a big reduction to your composition score because the journey back to happy woodland festival music felt a little random, unnecessary, and copy/paste. You shocked all the woodland creatures out of their peaceful fun times with that first drop, then they go back into happy times before screaming again for the remainder of the song? They must be very shortsighted forest sprites, or they suffered brain damage in the initial attack. Maybe I could pretend the screams in the second half were from pleasure?

I'm focusing really hard on the woodland creatures because it's obvious that you wanted us to laugh and enjoy that element (yo, I did) but less is sometimes more. You write some perfect dubstep but by perpetually introducing a comedic effect I got the feeling that perhaps you weren't feeling this project 100%. Sometimes comedic elements are introduced when producers are feeling a little lazy or uninspired. I put a goat in a song once because I didn't know what to do, just thought it was funny. You're better than that Spade. You're a beautiful golden unicorn but today you have shamed your family, YOU HAVE SHAMED US ALL. WE FEEL YOUR SHAME BECASUSE IT SLITHERS OVER US LIKE AN ANACONDA OF GUILT AND REMORSE. DON'T LET US DOWN AGAIN SPADE, JUST DON'T DO IT, JEEZ >:c

Spadezer responds:

How did the number one seed end up in losers bracket?
1) eliasalija.
2) this contest took the exact weeks that I had the least amount of time on this year. I was rushing ideas to my screen like a mad man. I'm lucky I made it this far

I guess the second woodland creature party was unclear. It wasn't intended to be the same group but a different group having a similar party, but yeah musically it didn't differentiate to make enough of a difference. It's a shame the section the length of the sections don't reflect how much work was put into them, particularly the dubstep part. Or maybe they did have short term memory loss just for our entertainment. But yeah, this one was more story driven compared to music driven so that's likely the artistic direction to have more screaming compared to artistically symbolic screaming. Could work in my favor, or could knock me out. We'll see what happens. Maybe it's proven that I can bleed in a sense, lol