Geoplex's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Journey Home]

This is an NGADM 2015 review.

So because I'm really late with my review (sorry), I was trying to remember the reasons I scored this piece so highly.. then the guitar happened. Like, this was already rock-solid sounding before you brought that in, but guys. Seriously impressive stuff. The only critcisms I could possibly mention would be about subtle mixing nitpicks, and possibly the cliche nature of the ending.

So right out the gates, lovely uplifting bright piano. Great strings, though I suppose I would appreciate them coming up a little - same with the percussion that comes in shortly after. You've got this hit at 00:32 that has a lot of low frequency content, which made me anticipate more sub in this section than there was. Still, pretty minor; and the spectrum is just gorgeous at the chorus. That guitar sits almost perfectly - could be a little brighter perhaps :P but just about perfect. Any change would be subjective honestly.

Lovely acoustic guitar, too - again, nice and bright, but not overpowering in highs against the strings. The transition to the second chorus right after the solo guitar bit really really gets me, oh god. It's so good.

Anyway, as mentioned I feel the ending is a bit cliche? I feel that it could even be an homage to something I can't quite recall, because it sounds like I've heard it before. Either way, it sounds great, especially with all the subtle brass and choirs. Damn.

Great work all round, easily one of the most well rounded submissions. I'm really struggling to find flaws in it.

bassfiddlejones responds:

Thank you kindly Geoplex! No worries about the lateness, you guys have an insane workload with reviews. We really worked hard on this piece - it's the first time we've written together in a few years, so it's good to be back at it! Josh actually did a remastered version that I'll be uploading before long, new plug-ins/punchier sound, some small mixing changes. As far as the ending, we had originally planned on ending with a huge sounding section with new melodies, but ended up going with a reprise of the main melody already present to give that sense of "home". I appreciate the feedback, and we'll definitely keep it in mind for upcoming stuff. So glad you enjoyed the piece.

[Who Killed The World?]

This is an NGADM 2015 review.

I remember being damn impressed at your intro during judging. It's just so massive and well mixed. Coming from listening to some two steps from hell recently, I can really say that there isn't much better than well mixed orchestral percussion. It's a thing of beauty i tell ya.

This particular aspect of mixing gets a bit muddy when you introduce your rock percussion though, in my opinion. The snare and kick are so thin and lacking in impact compared to the previous orchestral percussion that it quite detracts from the furious and intense nature of the song. Most of the issue is that the kick and snare are too quiet. At the very least, they're nice and bright, so they're still audible. Just not very strong.

The composition and arrangement of the song is pretty great. You're using some simple stuff in most of it but they're tricks that work extremely well. The decision to include guitar is excellent for the kind of mood/theme you're going for. Not sure about the leaving synth pluck around 1:05 alone, though - it sounds good, but I think you'd have done well to lower the filter envelope on it, it's just a bit resonancey for the rest of the song... but honestly that's my opinion :P there's nothing inherently offensive about it.

Anyway, this one is an epic - it's awesome. I think there are some minor mixing issues that weaken the song in the second half, but it doesn't detract from it too much. Good stuff.

LunyAlex responds:

> 4 year late reply:

Thank you for your detailed review. I read it at the time and noted the critique and appreciated the nice words.

Sorry I never responded, but life got in the way at the time.

Now I'm trying to catch up, hah.

[Serenity (Prince Fisher)]

This is an NGADM 2015 review.

So, I have to give you props for having this song almost entirely recorded. I think there were only one or two people that did this in all entries for round 1, so nice stuff! This song is pretty enjoyable for its psychedelic nature and it's a pretty interesting piece. Most of what let you down was related to structure and production.

Most of the issue with the structure can be written off as stylistic decision, so I won't drone on too much about that. It's more that some parts catch me off guard a little, like that bass guitar at 1:50. I find it a little chaotic, especially with the crashes in the background being quite constant. Anyway, other than that and probably a few other small moments, it was generally quite sound.

When it comes to production, you've got one major issue - your song is really quiet. I can't download it and put it in my spectrum analyzer so I don't know exactly *how* quiet it is, but it sounds like it's about -18RMS to -22RMS. I suppose this isn't a massive issue, and it does mean you have a lot of dynamic range to work with resulting in a nice spacious mix, but you really could bring it up a lot with literally no detriment to the sound. Anyway, the other problem is that your balance is pretty off - the percussion is extremely quiet at points, especially compared to the bongos, which are inexplicably much louder than the actual drums most of the time. I'd suggest comparing your pre-mix to a reference track that sounds like the mix you eventually want to end up with, so you can use it to help you find what levels are appropriate for each instrument. Again, a possibly unorthodox intentional decision, but I need to be fairly objective to write a helpful response :P

Anyway, apart from some production issues this song was generally enjoyable and a pretty nice listen!

frootza responds:

Thanks Geo, but also SMD! <3 <3

Hoping for less boring songs to be written by the world, one day at a time.

[[NGADM] Undertow]

This is an NGADM 2015 review.

In the judging stage, I recall not being sure what to make of this one. On an initial listen, I was like wha? Then it hit me that this kind of awesome and unique, despite some questionable stylistic choices that may be a little odd in a consistency sense. I'm gonna go over what I like largely in this review because I really do like a lot of this song.

Nice piano in the beginning, GREAT low frequency noise. I dont know why but I just really enjoyed that. TaintedLogin didn't like your breaks in the intro, but I actually kind of do - I think the concept is solid, but you need something to fill in the space. That pluck bass is good stuff, man. It quickly reinforces the idea that this track is largely electronic and it does it well. So now I obviously have to talk about your pitch bending synth thing. Initially, I wasn't sure it fit, but after a few listens i actually love it. It's weird, really, because it took me a while to enjoy it; but now I really do and I understand why you used it.

It might get a little repetitive after the 2 minute mark, but honestly it's not stylistically inappropriate for it to do so. It's not prog house but it's still house. I'm not sure about the strings at 2:33 stylistically. They're pretty cool but if you wanted to use them I think you should have made more of the motif, used them more, you know? Otherwise they're this one little rogue inconsistency that kind of pops out of nowhere :P that said, the way you transition back into the synth is great! Fantastic stuff.

Speaking of stylistic inconsistencies, I don't think I liked the rock style drum transitions... if that's an appropriate way to describe them (there's one at 2:45-2:46). I think the strings were enough with the stylistic inconsistencies. I think the ending was a bit lazy, too.

Production was solid, though. Clear, strong, fairly loud, good bass. Strong kick with good low end, claps and hats were excellent and crisp... in fact now that I'm focusing on them, I'm really appreciating how well they sit in the mix. Nice job.

Anyway, despite a few negative comments, this song is sick. It's unique and interesting and well produced. Great work.

[NGADM round 1 [WIP]]

This is an NGADM 2015 review.

Okay, so! I make and love drum and bass, so I was happy to see some dnb this round :)

I felt that your intro was really nice. Good chords, nice piano, nice pads, good buildup! Highpassing the kick, good riser, everything. Might have done with some master highpass though because man, the buildup is a good 2db (RMS) louder than your drop :(
I feel that this song had a lot of potential, but the length and production don't live up to that potential. The intro and buildup really had a lot going for them, but your drop doesn't deliver. I'll try and deconstruct why so that I can give you a worthwhile/helpful review.

So there are a bunch of elements that help to make an impact when you go to your drop. I mean, there are more than I can list, but I'll try to cover the relevant ones -

You want to make sure your drop is slightly louder than your buildup
If your drop isn't louder than your buildup, you want a gap or some kind of transitional element to bring in some silence or break before the drop
Your drop should have stronger bass than your buildup (try highpassing the end of your buildup)
Your drop should have more happening than your buildup, unless you're doing a more minimal genre like bounce, big room or even dubstep. This rule of thumb largely applies to transients, if it seems a big vague otherwise.

So I think the issues are that you have no transitional elements, the drop is quieter than the buildup, and it has less bass. Your buildup maxes out around -10RMS, but your drop hits about -12. Unfortunately this is pretty quiet, and it's something of a mastering issue. Another trick you can abuse is turning down your buildup gradually (automate that master fader) by about 1-2db, then add it back suddenly at the drop. Helps the impact.

Covering the bass, your buildup ends with a lowpass. What this ends up doing is cutting down on the highs, and, probably due to the Q on the filter, increasing your mids/lows; so you have more bass than highs. When the drop hits, these switch around - you have a lot more highs and less bass; and the drop sounds "thin." Again, highpassing your buildup and giving your chorus more of a prominent sub (sidechain it with the bass) would go a long way toward helping these issues.

I'd also like to cover the mixing of the percussion if i can, as it's another source of thinness in the chorus. You should use a spectrum analyzer to find the main low frequency of your snare drum and boost it, because right now it's mostly mid-high freqencies and it could sound so good with some punch. The kick is definitely a lot better than the snare, but it could do with more mid-highs.

In regards to mastering, your song is overall pretty quiet, and I think too saturated by high frequencies (during the chorus).

Anyway, I'll try and get to some more positive aspects. Your composition is fairly sound, it's simple but it's quite effective. This could be a really awesome track in my opinion. Your main melody in the first part of the chorus could be a bit less chaotic, but it works well! I also really like the long portamento lead in the second half. On that note, the alternate percussion in the second half of the chorus is great as well. I can see it working to great effect were this song more complete.

When it comes to lack of inspiration, we've all been there, man. I'm there right now, haha. This was a good track, and I think it has a lot of potential (I think you have a lot, actually.) Keep at it, hopefully you get something out of this review.

DjAbbic responds:

I don't really have much to say in defense of your criticisms, they're pretty spot on. The track itself isn't of a very good standard (regrettably) because I never finished the composing side of it, so I never got around to mixing it properly. The percussion definitely needs some volume adjustments, and a drop that is softer than the buildup is just laughable.

I really appreciate your feedback, even though I didn't address all of it, I do recognise all the issues that you have pointed out and I'm really grateful for the time you took to pick them out to me. Keep doing what you do, it's a great help (to those who choose to accept it) :). Thanks!

[noodles]

This is an NGADM 2015 review.

Nice intro. Nice reverb on the snare, pretty good sound design and diversity. Liking the pads. I find it moderately weird that you're using like, a trap kick though? Noise riser is definitely too generic at 00:54 - you might wanna shave some of that high end off, or chorus or bitcrush it or something. It's just too raw.

The chorus is quite disappointing initially, and left me a bit confused, but I have to say it really picks up. I really enjoy it thematically and your production is quite solid, with crisp percussion. That snare has a nice solid low end and punch. Good instrumentation, though I don't think it really suited your distorted saw bass - despite this, the combination sounded pretty good.

To cover some negative points - because of the dynamic and drawn out nature of the song, it feels quite empty, even in choruses. You make up for it with a lot of reverb and to be honest the slow, ambient nature of the song kind of suits it, but it stagnates as a result of this. To me it sounds very much like a soundtrack, something that would be well suited to sitting in the background behind other content without being too distracting. It's still engaging outside of this, especially at moments like 2:52, which caught my attention. This part is also a lot more engaging melodically, and I like your delay bass pluck thing.

Overall, good track. Quite unique instrumentation and sound design, good production. Probably a bit drawn out, though.

[In Gods Mournful Design]

This is an NGADM 2015 review.

Sick intro. The reversals and minimal beginning are perfect and drew me in. Love it.

I have to give this song props from a sound design perspective. Like many other entries, you've got a lot of small, subtle SFX in there that keeps the listener interested. Actually, your SFX usage reminds me of Damage Vault: Outbreak.

Really like the blend of industrial/orchestral percussion with modern sound design and modulated bass. It's a theme I've always enjoyed, actually, and seems to be pretty popular these days. I think the saw melody around 1:20 to be a little thin and the sound itself pretty unappealing, but other than that there were no major instrumentation complaints of note.

I feel that the song is probably a little chaotic. This is something I noticed around 2 minutes in, but all throughout it has this issue; save perhaps for the intro. The chorus around 0:50 is largely free from it, but once you bring in the melody around 1:08 things start to get somewhat less coherent. It's not that you don't have consistency, I think it's more that your elements are not appropriately balanced. You've got multiple things happening at once in the higher end of the spectrum melodically a lot of the time, and it's also that your percussion is simply unrelenting. As mentioned by TaintedLogic, you've got this consistent industrial beat that doesn't let up for most of the song. The transients are so close together and so similar in frequency content that they kind of muddy a lot of what they touch, spectrally. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, and it's an easy way to set yourself up for a difficult task in my opinion. I think you made good of it, though. To add to that, the song probably would have benefited from some change in pace or tone, as it was quite intense for most of its runtime. I consider this largely a stylistic decision though.

Really liking the reverberant pluck around 2:25. It provided a nice tonal change that I enjoyed. It's also keyed me into appreciating the diversity of sound that you're using - you have a lot of unique instruments and elements and I find it quite engaging.

Overall this is a good piece, with some positive and some negative. I think it was a bit too chaotic for its own good, but I also get the impression that you were going for chaos thematically, so in some ways I don't feel I can judge it for that. It's solid work!

[Waves From The East [NGADM]]

This is an NGADM 2015 review.

The strings in the intro are nice, but what really impressed me was how you transitioned into the breakbeat percussion! That major chord leading into the gradually increasing tempo of the percussion kind of blew me away - the way everything came together when you introduced the beat and then the piano chords. It resonated with me pretty strongly - it's so god damn cinematic and powerful; especially with the riser and pad chords on top of it all!

I think the only thing that disappointed me after that was your use of the supersaw in the chorus. I don't think it's an appropriate sound for what you started with, and how we got to this point in the song. It's just too harsh imo. That said, the rest of the chorus is fantastic. The choir/pad is great. Your percussion is strong, pretty good kick (could use more high end and impact, though) and the snare is pretty good; perhaps a little middling though. Maybe bring out that low main frequency a bit and give it some gloss; maybe even some noise with a short attack/release layered on top.

Great breakdown. The portamento pad/string (something) around 2:45 really got me! The modulated bass in the intro and how different this part is from the rest of the song works quite well - it's a great buildup. I might have appreciated some highpass work or something to flavor it up, as the chorus hits with very little impact imo; but it's still good stuff. As said before, I feel that the supersaw lets you down. You could probably remove it entirely and you might end up with a better song, but I'm unsure. I say this not to your detriment to be honest though because it's more that the rest of the elements are so well put together/constructed.

Chorus at 4:39 mixes things up once again! This is a much better use of the saw, where you've got longer notes, and I think it works better here by a lot. It's just less screamy and tense, and fits the song thematically a little better.

Despite the fact that I had a few negative things to say, I believe this is one of the best entries of the round, probably top 5. When it came down to your entry and skyewint's entry, I found it impossible to choose between the two of you. This song is fantastic.

[~SW~ Data Transfer]

This is an NGADM 2015 review.

I recall having a difficult time judging this song during the judging period - I couldn't decide if it was just good, or god damn amazing; largely because this song is so alien to me. Settled somewhere nearer to amazing, eventually. This song is deserving of a much longer review than I'm able to give in the time available to me, so sorry in advance for that.

Your production is quite dynamic for the genre, and not all that loud - I would have appreciated more impact at each drop/chorus. But damn dude, your production just shines with all the space you've given the song. Percussion is extremely clean! Everything sits together very nicely. Drums might be a little harsh in the intro, and might have benefited from some automated lowpass or highpass.

I really like your noise in the intro, the soft way the song progresses, and your instrumentation. Your sound design is excellent; you've got so many subtleties and small bits of sfx here and there that add a lot of flavor, and I love it - especially the reverse notes in the middle section/breakdown.

I perhaps would have appreciated a stronger snare with some more impact, but it may not have been appropriate. I found your bass design to be quite soft/mellow, which was quite appropriate for the rest of your instrumentation. This song has a very soft/icey/cold feel about it to me.

This song shines in its restraint and space, with tiny complexities and lovely sound design. It's great work.

SkyeWint responds:

Hey there, geoplex!

I totally agree with your criticisms - I could have made the drops louder. In fact, that's one of the things that I'd say are my biggest problems - climaxes in music. I tend to produce in a flat way, so that there are no sudden jumps causing people to need to adjust their headphones. I should definitely work on easing people into a climax better though.

I do try to keep everything clean with a lot of subtleties, more like a "pick-your-own-music" type of thing - people can focus on whatever aspect they want to analyze and delve into without much trouble hearing it. I also want to keep any dubsteppy parts clean, since that always bothered me about most dubstep (mud everywhere).

In any case, thanks for the awesome review! Looking forward to seeing your reactions at my round 2 piece if you end up reviewing it. :P

[Escape]

This is an NGADM 2015 review.

So I like the bells in your intro, though I feel that when the melody that comes in around 00:26, they could do with some more reverb or some delay as they're a bit dry. Otherwise they're nice. Nice riser and subdrop, as well.

I like the drop, especially the saws! The blippy square arps are great as well. I feel that the kick is pretty good for impact purposes, but to be honest it's a bit dull and could do with a lot more punch/top end. A lot of that is to do with sample choice in my opinion. It does its job well, though. Speaking of sample choice, I think the clap is a bit generic - it also gets very lost in the mix during the choruses, largely because of the prevalence of the hats and saws. Adding some top end to it might benefit it - I also think it'd make it sound nicer, personally.

I like the melody you're using in the chorus, but I found it to be a bit repetitive by 2 minutes in. Not sure about the switch-up at 2:30, especially when the double-kicks come in at the buildup to the next chorus. If you high-passed the kick significantly it probably would have been fine, but otherwise it creates a lot of chaos. The second chorus is basically the same as the first, and so the issues of repetition remain. As said though, you've got a pretty good melody. I really like the bandpassed saw you use in the outro, by the way.

Pretty good piece - good production, pretty good sound design/instrumentation. Possibly a bit repetitive but I enjoyed it.