Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Snow Girl's Adventure [AIM]]

Czyscy, Snow Girl's Adventure
Composition/Structure:10 Production:5 Emotion/Atmosphere:9 Art Relevance:7

Give me a second to clarify my scores, I went low on production. It sounded like this could have been written in Sibelius, a program known more for notation than production. The melodies and rhythms are wonderfully inspired but the instruments all have a mechanical/digital MIDI sound that's not always easy to fix. Could have been the mostly static dynamics, the relatively low-fi unchanging drum samples, no discernable panning... I switched to my headphones and the sound got even more flat. The production is the easiest thing to nitpick but I regret saying it because the composition from a notation point of view is phenomenal. 2:32 reminded me of the kind of prog stuff my friends and I wrote in highschool, it's a very exciting section.

We can't all afford top tier plug-ins, I've never bought anything other than core software but for your own sake and style I'd recommend looking into better instrument plug-ins so you don't have to compensate with better production techniques. Some people vehemently bemoan loudness but you're over limiting and the track sounds flat. Comparing what you've written to some pros I gave Rush, Tom Sawyer a quick listen to compare the drums. Maybe you're listening to a lot of 1970s rock but drums have gotten so much more important in the mix in the last 50 years. Would love to hear this song with some phatter drum samples and more dynamic range. When I don't feel like going back into MIDI and reworking velocity values I just automate a volume lane and quickly draw up some peaks and valleys, it's an ok technique that saves some time and headache.

2:55 is supposed to come across as dramatic but those little drums are like mosquito bites. I'd have automated in some momentary drum reverb for color. I'm not a fan of washing out drums with reverb but introducing it sparingly can help add depth, space. I have a lot of work in front of me right now, I've gotta keep moving but I've been impressed enough by your work in the past to know that you have a lot of talent. You're writing some great material but I feel like you're starting to box yourself in. Everyone hits plateaus and I think you're on one right now. Focus on fidelity, sample quality, and loudness for one solid year. You'll come out the other side sounding like David Maxim Micic <3

(EDIT: 420, nice.)

Czyszy responds:

I can't argue with this review except for this bit:

"Maybe you're listening to a lot of 1970s rock but drums have gotten so much more important in the mix in the last 50 years. Would love to hear this song with some phatter drum samples and more dynamic range. "

I'm obsessed with the boxy late 70s style drum sound/vibe for a long long time so that's a 100% creative decision. A bit eccentric? Marmite even? Sure. But I'd have note that I'm fully aware of it and doing it on purpose.

[AIM - Catching Coelacanths]

Catching Coelacanths, SoulSecure
Composition/Structure:9 Production:7 Emotion/Atmosphere:9 Art Relevance:10

I was getting burnt out from writing reviews but I just wanted to say that I took points from production because nothing was particularly impressive or revolutionary about the mix elements but it still managed a "less-is-more" perspective. I couldn't stop smiling, it's a very feel-good song. The lyrics are sung kind of lazy but it works incredibly well with the vibe you created. This song has the magic of being 100% relevant to the art, performing to the spirit of the competition beautifully. I wanted to dislike the drum kit, I'm owning up to my bass music bias though. The minimal back track really helped the vocals shine. From a composition perspective I have to admit I was craving all sorts of percussion. The snaps were nice but I'm always hearing space for chimes, tambs, guerro, drum fills, drum rolls, swells, crescendos, decrescendos. I'm very demanding like that. It's not easy to nab a high score with something so minimal but I think you deserve every point you earned, maybe more. Good work SoulSecure!

Edit: I love Cake.

SoulSecure responds:

My mixing and production skills are pretty basic as far as I know, so any advice on that front is welcome.

I was still recovering from destroying my vocal chords when I sang this song, I only more recently regained my full range. Regardless, the vocal style here is influence by jazz singing, crooners, and actually John McCrea of CAKE is another influence here.

I don't think I'd add a ton of percussion to this but dude I can totally hear the guiro in here, like I think that needs to happen at least! Maybe not cymbal crescendos but a jawbone into the instrumental section? I held back a lot to keep it minimal and was concerned about doing too much but outside of that I might add to this...

Thanks!

[AIM - Apocalyptic]

Apocalyptic, MU53
Composition/Structure:9 Production:6 Emotion/Atmosphere:10 Art Relevance:6

Hell yeah, fun melodies and ideas! Had a lot of respect for what you had to say about your work, people forget judges are their peers and we love to know what's up sometimes. Providing data shows a technical knowledge that signals authenticity to the community. I'm always saddened when people have nothing to say about their creations.

I feel compelled to disagree with your statement "this is my first go at something like this." At 16 years old every new song must feel like it's something totally novel but I'm going through your catalogue hearing dance kits, dance rhythms, familiar EDM genres, triplets, clap snares... your building a music language as you go but you're still in the forest of youth. The more you learn about music the more it all ties together. In music there is constant evolution, there's always another instrument to learn, another genre to try out, another rhythm to arrange; eventually the very idea of music means something completely different than when you started. It's an honor to get to hear promising new talent, your arrangement is fun and exciting. The track reminds me of a lot of the stuff that my friends made here a long time ago.

The orchestral elements are well woven, the industrial noises were inspired. The mix kept getting me down but I'm looking at your age and looking at the mix like "it makes sense." With a perfect mix a lot of the weirdest ideas will get a hall pass. That kick drum is the focus in this mix, would have loved to hear some dynamics from it. Creating a difference in velocity between the notes on the pulse and the ghost notes, velocity diversity on your drums can really help out a groove. I've been playing the drums for 20 years, dynamics is one of the few ways a percussion instrument can be emotive. A 32nd note drum crescendo or a decrescendo is a drummers way of saying "I have feelings." The kit samples are good but I want to introduce you to some drum modeling techniques...

I love hearing goofy new snare sounds, contemporary EDM producers will make the strangest tones work. Pitching the snare sample all the way up usually gets a snappy trap/nuero sound. I layer snares and play with their levels/pitch/resonance until they mesh together. I'll usually have three or four snares working together in any song. Eventually I merge all the snare signals to EQ and compress, then the new sound gets sent to a digital mixer (my DAW is Reason). I do the same with my kick drums, two or three work together to make a new sound. From the sequencer you can layer the sounds or use the samples individually to create fake dynamics. (You can also layer synths to get cool new tones.)

Learning how to master automation lanes lets you make interesting changes to everything as the song evolves. Panning data, pitch, volume, BPM, envelopes, almost anything you can automate you should try at least once. Opening up the release on an instrument with an automation lane sustains the sound in a way reverb just can't.

I haven't touched on why relevance got a short score but it may have been because there were visual cues leading to obvious foley choices, why not sample some nuclear bomb stuff? It's literally a cliche beyond a cliche, every one has sampled those old timey duck-and-cover videos but I wouldn't have cared. Gotta be careful nabbing samples but at your age and your situation I don't expect you to buy thousands of stock sounds. I nab video game sound folders from google searches and pitch bend them to feel better about myself and my naughty sampling habit. I'd have dropped some bomb sound samples, tanks rolling around, swords clanging, guys stabbing each other, babies crying, dogs barking... the word I used earlier was "foley," you can build a soundscape with these ideas and transport the listener into the image.

Since the artist used classic paint techniques I'd have orchestrated the fuck out of some sections and tied the ideas together claiming it to be some kind of 19th century romanticism. In truth I just like hearing orchestral sounds in my EDM genres. That intro could have had an entire section of bass drum swells, cymbal swells, French horn brams, chimes, gongs, timpani, waterphones... the art invited so many excuses to use classical techniques but you might not have those ideas available to you yet, AGE STRIKES AGAIN! FOILED BY THE THINGS WE HAVE YET TO EXPERIENCE.

I wish I could sit here all day and share ideas with you because your age is interesting. I do hope you spend some time checking out the other contestants! The winners always have some pretty inspiring stuff, I'm in love with this years batch of virtuosos. Good luck MU53!

MU53 responds:

Holy long review. Sorry it took me so long to respond to this, but better late than never. I'll respond paragraph by paragraph.

By first go, I think I meant genre-wise. But yeah. After going back through all of my older uploads, I see what you mean by me making a common "language" of sorts that I've sort of penned. A unique style if you will. In terms of genre-wise, the Industrial part was new for me, but I think I did alright. I will definitely improve this, and even fully overhaul it.

Yeah looking back at this now, my mixing was pretty horrendous. But credit to me, I wove in the industrial/electronic and orchestral elements in really well. I can probably do better in my remake, but it's a solid start. Also at the time, my inexperienced self had no idea about the nitty-gritty of mixing, like sidechain. I only knew soundgoodizer LOL. But seeing your input on this, maybe it's worth practicing. Definitely will take that into account.

Oh boy. It's just clicking for me how bad I done goofed by not including any sort of nuclear stuff. In my defense, I did NOT know how to sample stuff at all (still don't, but I'd like to think I have gotten a bit better). Since I'll be remaking this, I'll definitely go full on in the sampling department.

You bet I'm going to orchestrate the fuck out of the intro on my redo of this piece. I will also make it a bit faster in terms of pacing. Also, might be more melancholic.

I checked out some other entries, and I might take notes from those and implement it into my piece in someway.

Thanks for the feedback, and thanks for having me this year. Looking forward to the next!

[AIM - Darkness]

Darkness, satanicpotatoe
Composition/Structure:7 Production:5 Emotion/Atmosphere:10 Art Relevance:8

Reminds me of an old Iron Maiden tribute album I used to bop. Big growl, guitar has a nice heavy sound, drums are alright. They're not very dynamic but they hit every blast beat in the book of 4/4. Kind of would have liked to hear that vocal growl go to different textures, you're hitting me with one static throat bass the entire time. Mix felt kind of flat too, I think there's some serious tonal deficiency and it might be the drums? I don't know if you could get more mid range from the guitar but maybe a second guitar would help? I mean, you start to go there with that solo but then it disappears almost as soon as it's introduced. It was also too loud for the two seconds it was there but I think that guitar tone would have worked nicely with the rhythm guitar you had, just got to find the space in the mix for them both.

I have no right to tell people "pick better art" but there is so much stuff on Newgrounds that it feels like a cop out that you choose some basic black and red textures. It came across like the art was chosen to suit a style you like making but then I looked at your catalogue and I don't believe that anymore. Would love to hear you producing more work, you have some very diverse sounds! This song comes completely out of left field in that context. When I look at the art again I'm left disappointed because it comes across like you were more inspired by the title of the art than the art itself. "It's subjective" is not a good enough argument, there is so much visual work that can convey conceptual ideas to the judges in a fair way. Expecting us all to have an art background is weird but I'm one of the few judges that verifiably has a BFA degree. If I wanted to I could say some things about the art you choose but it probably wouldn't be kind. I will have a much easier time saying nice things about the song because I genuinely liked it.

I gotta keep moving, lot of songs to review but this was a good one! Hope you have a fantastic day Mr. Potato!

Edit: production score was a little lower than you probably deserved but I didn't go back over every song to fix stuff up. It took so much time to judge this competition. I've gotten really detached from my computer so I'll apologize where I think it's due but at most I'd have only given you another one or two points. Hope this doesn't feel like an attempt to hurt your feelings, just pointing out what was probably the easiest quadrant to take points from. You wrote some killer melodies and rhythms but the production fidelity was missing power in a genre that's all about power. Sorry satanicpotatoe but I do hope you find all the fidelity techniques you need to hit the next plateau! Cheers.

satanicpotatoe responds:

Thanks Quarl!

I remember that Iron Maiden's tribute album with songs from Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, etc. That was a good one!

As for the art, I know it's a pretty crude piece of work, but when I was looking for inspiration I liked the vibe it gave off and immediately got ideas.

You got me, production in this genre isn't my greatest strength and for my own band we deal with a recording studio for our albums because mixing this genre requires a lot of skill and every element that isn't optimal shows up immediately.

Thanks for the review!
Cheers!

[Dream of Forever ★]

Dream of Forever, Lucasberry
Composition/Structure:7 Production:7 Emotion/Atmosphere:7 Art Relevance:7

That intro brought a nice smile to my face. Cute melodies, nice structure, warm sound. Mix didn't pound as hard as it could have though. I like a retro sound as much as the next person but there really is a gold space where you can have a perfect mix down and a nice retro sound at the same time. I heard you panning, I liked the locations for a lot of the tones. It's a fun song but it does kind of move along at one energy level and that's where a professional mix down and fidelity techniques could really push your sound to a higher tier. I go kind of crazy for people when they drum model, building new drum sounds from layering and modulating the drum samples until you get fresh new sounds. It's not just a dubstep thing, producers of every genre can benefit from layering, pitch bending, compressing, and EQing their drums.

On that note, I went into your library to see if you have a diverse sound and damn, like so many other artists you really spread yourself across a plethora of genres, ideas, and techniques. Massive respect Lucasberry. I wish this song went as hard as some of your other stuff but it's much easier for me to assume that you wrote this in the spirit of the contest given that variety.

Edit: Before posting this review I realized how short it was without adressing much. To drive a point across, better fidelity could have positively influenced production and emotion/atmosphere scores. Sometimes one element can tie itself to multiple fields. The track lacks a lot of power that could have been boosted with professional mix techniques. I didn't spend a lot of time talking about fidelity units but you have a great sound and some fidelity tutorials could help you eek out more power and emotion. I might have gotten a little lazy when I was judging this one: 7,7,7,7 seems like such an average score posted from a place of indifference but I don't regret it. You wrote something great and I hope you're proud of it but it could have been better. Wish you well Lucasberry and have a good one.

[AIM - VIOLETSYSTEMx64]

VIOLETSYSTEMx64, AnxietySewer
Composition/Structure:8 Production:9 Emotion/Atmosphere:9 Art Relevance:6

Tough to judge, you've given me no catalogue to look into. I've developed a habit of listening to the other competitor's catalouges to try and weed out people that are just sticking to their polished genres without demonstrating any actual inspiration. The arguement that could always be made is "it's subjective." I'm so glad I majored in art though because it really isnt, there is always a conceptual way to tie a song to a visual work. Really wish I could hear some more of your work because your technique is polished but how do I know you didn't just pick a random work that kind of vibes with your music style?

I said this to another competitor that dropped awesome DNB: sounds fucking amazing. It's a really good mix, hits too hard in a few spots though and gets muddy. Samples are great, sometimes they're a little too random, that sporadic ending in particular might have benefit if you moved it to the beginning? The sliced up girl noises sort of ties the song to the art but I wish there was more than just a vauge connection to the girl. You're leaving it up to me to assume that the bold energy in your song conforms to the bold energy of the art but I could just as easily look at violet 4.0 and imagine house or electro. It's a very colorful piece of art, why did you choose dnb in particular? Is it just a genre you need to make? Don't be afraid to share your feelings or ideas, everyone here is your peer and we'll respect what you have to say about your work. It was very fun to listen to, one of my favorites but I'm only half convinced that it was written in the spirit of the contest. Thank you so much and please have a wonderful day!

[AIM - Yeah, something like that.]

Yeah, something like that; Aalasteir
Composition/Structure:5 Production:4 Emotion/Atmosphere:5 Art Relevance:10

I won't lie, I had trouble listening to the song. There was a very creative, almost fluxist spirit to it. The work of art you choose was incredibly technical so I might have been anticipating something a little more technical? The lyrics very heavily allude to some of the elements from the drawing so I have to give you some massive relevance points.

Having spent a few days coming back to this song and not entirely certain what to say about it I finally gave your catalogue a check just for context into your style and habits. Question, do you run full speed at a different genre every day? I heard some incredible stuff in your catalogue. This song in comparison seems very lack luster, monotone, and droning. I think you managed to evoke the image while simultaneously doing it in a very unflattering way.

I wanted to take off a lot of emotion/atmosphere points for only hitting me with one droning energy the entire time but you used your voice which I have a lot of respect for. Voice is an instrument so many people overlook. Other's don't trust their voices enough to tune it up in the first place. This song kind of sounds like a tune up in that respect, not pro but moving in the right direction. I'm too wuss to consider using my own voice and I love singing, respect Aalasteir.

Production scored low, drums and pads were so retro it hurt. We skipped synthwave and went full Gregorian chant. This song definitely conforms to the spirit of the contest but I'm craving more from your skills. Listening to your other songs was the right move, you have incredible talent. I think you went a little too experimental with this one but thank you so much for genuinely going at the spirit of the contest. Have a nice one and goodluck Aalasteir <3

Aalasteir responds:

When I don’t have a workday, I sometimes create a lot of music—up to 7 songs. Speed is the primary focus of my workflow. I don’t make music every day, and I try do different genres. This particular song was different because I aimed to capture the sound of new wave songs, which I’ve listened to a lot and really enjoy.

I like Joy Division’s “Disorder” and The Cure; my favorite song is “Disintegration.”

The unusual side effect sounds were created using the Roli Seaboard Rise 2.

Thank you Quarl, I am grateful for your thoughtful review. I really appreciate you sharing your expectations, as well as your positivity and respect. Your great attention to detail is evident.

[AIM - Failure of a Fanatic]

Kalviter, Failure of a Fanatic
Composition/Structure:9 Production:7 Emotion/Atmosphere:9 Art Relevance:6

You picked a hard image to convey, there's not a lot of low hanging fruit in the visual to "Foley" around. At the time I judged this you had wrote "lyrics pending," and I kind of needed that visual information to understand what you're saying. I can only pick out phrases here and there. I'm not particularly good at mixing hip hop with vocals, I overcomplicate the back track which muddies the vocals and I think you're suffering from that same problem more than a little. Having the lyrics typed up would of helped me understand but if the lyrics don't obviously reference the art that might have actually hurt your cause?

The vocal pad sounded kind of fem and demonic, I'll count that towards the relevance score. At this point your score is looking pretty good compared to some of the other entries but I'll try to come back to this and rejudge if you post the lyrics (edit: you didn't). I'll probably hold onto this copy of my review until the day we release results so you won't know my thought process until later but I wish there was a more obvious connection to the art. Written lyrics might have helped or they might have revealed even less of a connection but I love the effort you put into your sound. I'm dead afraid of my own voice and never use it musically other than around the house when I'm harmonizing with music I'm jamming to. Just wish I could make out the vocals better but I loved the demonic vocal processing. Not a lot more to say about it, wish I could. I spend a lot of time on these reviews and the more I have to say the more I listen to a song. I've spent an hour or so on most my reviews, give me more to write about and I'll get to enjoy your music longer!

Thank you and good luck Kalviter :)

[AIM - Punk Frog]

Morpherence, Punk Frog
Composition/Structure:8 Production:4 Emotion/Atmosphere:8 Art Relevance:9

My review needed an introduction so I added this sentence, for structure.

Lol, I'm glad you snuck some frog noises in so I can't take too many points from relevance. In fact, I'll only steal one point for not addressing the water/wind features in the art. The artist wrote "did you know it can rain frogs during tornadoes?" I'm going to lose my mind one of these years when someone whips out rainstick samples. The instrument was literally made to emulate rain noises and no one ever uses it. I'm such a depressed person because I just want one composer to take my rainstick request seriously. Ignoring my weird rainstick fetish, there are plenty of ways to convey rain or tornado wind noises that I can only wish you went in that direction a little more. At least the choice of genre conveyed chaos well and good, possibly too much chaos though. Even storms have a calm "eye." There was a short breakdown @ 3:12 before going right back into the chaos but the energy didn't dip too much.

From a song writing perspective the track really starts to drone after a while, just wish there was a little more dynamic range through-out the track. Also wish there was some pro panning, the stereo data got very static. Not sure if you're familiar with your program's fidelity units and how to maximize their potential. If I wasn't in such a rush today I'd go on and on about the benefits of panning and how to make the most out of your compressors/limiters/EQ units. It's especially unfortunate because the category I can most easily take points from is production, a lot of the instruments are very one dimensional and lack pro fidelity. You can make things sound a little more alive if you play with the note velocities but if you don't want to individually do that for each note you can kind of fake dynamics with automation lanes on the volume knobs. I don't hear a lot of copy/paste in the melodies so I'd just do the automation/volume trick instead of getting too crazy with each individual note's velocity data. Save time, automate the dynamics :p

Gotta keep going but I'm really happy you participated in the spirit of the competition honestly, so many people enter the competition and I can't discern any connection to the art and their music. Wish you said just a little bit more about how the work inspired you but since the effort was obvious via frog samples I don't need it. Gotta realize that the people that judge these competitions are your peers, we love to know more about your creative process and every bit of data only helps. Writing about your work can be therapeutic and lead to fun interactions with your peers. Don't be afraid to have a voice!

The melodies and rhythms were inspired, the drums in particular had a very punk rock vibe. Had some fun listening to this, just got to aspire to a higher plateau in regards to mix and fidelity. Good luck Morpherence!

[AIM 24 - BROWHOTFAREYOU]

BROWHOTFAREYOU, adamisiah
Composition/Structure:7 Production:10 Emotion/Atmosphere:5 Art Relevance:1

This really hurt to judge because I can't tie this dance-floor-killing roller back to the art and I fucking love dnb. Grew up on DieselBoy, Evol Intent, Pendulum, and Squarepusher. In that realm the song is great but what does that have to do with the show Smiling Friends? Did you think to reference the original melody of the theme song? Did you think to sample a character from the show to literally tie the sound to it? Have you ever watched the show? I spent a few minutes watching Smiling Friends and the theme song just to try to understand the connection and there literally is none. You grabbed a random image to try to vibe with a somewhat obscure EDM genre. Pick fan art for GTA III or Sonic next time and I'll more readily believe the connection.

I went through your catalogue, you have talent for making bass music but I'd recommend studying past AIM winners. Every year this contest gets music that perfectly encapsulates the art it's paired with. This contest is a Foley artist's wet dream. Pick some art that actually conveys certain kinds of sounds like running water, animals, or scenery such as a bustling metropolis or a rain forest. I call that kind of sample "low hanging fruit" and so many artists seem to avoid thinking about it. You can always make chiptune and pair it with pixel art. Instruments I could reasonably tie back to a comedic kids cartoon are clown horns, slide whistles, mouth harps, and kazoos; none of which you seem to have considered. The only real musical aspect of the art is the parental advisory warning. I was alive when the explicit content policy was introduced and as an adult I laugh at the fact that the warning label only helped artists sell records to kids that wanted to hear the explicit shit. Certainly, it's one of the best examples of the Streisand Effect for it's time.

On that note, what does dnb have to do with explicit content? Most of the genre is electronic, very rarely you get an MC. Had you have snuck in one good "fuck" sample at the beginning or end, I'd have considered it relevant. I just double checked the rules, we allow profanity. From the rule list: Your entry may contain explicit content suitable for up to the M content rating, i.e. E, T and M. No A-rated entries are allowed. WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT? Give me the explicit content I was promised >:V

You have talent for writing good EDM, rolled through your catalogue real quick. I'm averaging about an hour or so per review which is another reason I'm bothered by this song. I'd love to sit her for an hour or so listening to this but I have to move on to judge other tracks. You took one of my favorite genres and turned it into a small waste of my time and this is why I'm giving you a relatively low score. Try tossing your work at a label, it's still a great song.

Good luck adamisiah. Sick tune, 10/10 roller. Inspired though? Beats me.