Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[API madness Reboot 2022]

API, Arnold Geier? He stopped posting music here at about the same time I started circa 2007. Last time I heard one of his tracks was on the Lifted music podcast over a decade ago? He was too good for Newgrounds :p

[Hysterical Notions]

Honestly, a thin mix down like this creates a great "tired out" vibe. We're all feeling stretched right now with this Jamuary song a day nonsense. I feel like this mix down is hella relative. I love that bubbly pad sound. Bongos just slapping away. If you looped this for ten minutes instead of ending after one, I wouldn't care or say anything against it. I'm so worn out right now, this track basically sounds like how I feel. Stretched, chewed up, wrung out, but still funking away. Slapping those bongos, chin up high.

Casper responds:

Was considering sleeping but im not giving up, just 339 more daysss jk i would literally physically diee

[WIDE EYES]

Big percussion, instruments all sound great. Melodies are all very gorgeous. Phat trap bass. Loved all the elements working together. There's so little time in a day to perfect everything but I'd have slipped some reverb on that crash cymbal at 00:42 and 01:25 just so that the envelope sounds a little more natural. I also toss an automation lane on cymbal volume knobs to give them more controlled, gentle cut offs. It's honestly probably something only a drummer would nit pick, I'm sorry xD

Though to be fair, I'd have wanted something similar from that final note. I don't think I can end a song without automating a slight increase to an instruments reverb for a small texture fade out. You kids ending your tracks on sudden silence is way too edgy for me D:

[Jamuary 2022 (Day24) - Don't Look Back]

I'm surprised any of us are still posting stuff everyday. Great tune by the way. I'd have changed one note just to say "I finished this today" but there's literally no reason to do something like that. I love how chill this is. I have so much trouble keeping things simple but I have a lot of respect for music that just is. This doesn't need to be anything more, the melodies are lovely. So modest and pure c':

metalblinga responds:

Thanks! I appreciate it :)

[PowerPutt Legend!! - Steelworks]

Sounds mad authentic, love those melodies. Nothing feels needless. This is killing it for me. Love those sfx doing their own thing like a furious soloist in the background. I have no idea how chiptune songs are supposed to end, would it have been a smart idea to emulate the noise of a screen getting turned off? You can take this idea and roll with it, I'd love to hear that ;3

[On The Case]

Authentic vibes, first computer I remember was a 95. I feel like old computer games get glossed over a tad by sexier retro Nintendo/Sega gems. I remember playing computer games in the 90s that had no right to be called games because they weren't fun at all but we played them because we got a floppy disk at some random flea market and it said "games" on it AND WE LOVED IT.

You remember Encarta Mind Maze? Renaissance style trivia maze, each room had a question? That shit was my jam.

Edit: forgot to mention how much I love this track <3

tripledigit responds:

I'm glad you like it! I put a ton of work into it.

I used to play the games that came in cereal boxes. Disney did that for a while. I had a skating game from An Extremely Goofy Movie, a first person exploration game for Atlantis, and a game for Dinosaur that was a collection of mini games/activities.

[Words That Don't Come Out - Catlike Magic]

Love it, melodies are all ripping good. Hella funky jam Blue. This track makes me miss my Sega Genesis for some odd reason :p

[Soulless]

Sad vibes today, don't diss your own music! Everyone has their own funk that grows and matures. Self promotion can be a depressingly existential sadness but you can't let it get to you. Who is this rapper by the way?

Unrelated but do you listen to DreamEater at all? I don't think he raps but his lo-fi tunes are tip top. He's one of my favorite Newgrounds producers :3

Casper responds:

Listened to a few of his tracks, outside of my own music i don't really listen to lofi though. I just updated the description to include the link, its natjamesworld which is a guy I found on looperman. I don't think I'll ever get my sounds clean enough or unique enough or whatever enough for them to be standalone tracks that people can just listen to, it'll always be about improving it and getting feedback but I shouldn't care, it's only gonna drive me more insane