Animith's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Deep in the <3 of Us (instr)]

Review Request Club

Bass, definitely a highlight of the piece. The volume and depth of it is really kickass, and kind of fills the need for texture all by itself, so when the guitar comes in, even though it's quite thready in sound, it's got a nice deep bass to lean into, and so while the instruments themselves are few in number, it doesn't feel empty, so by the end of the first minute you've got a really kind of dark, moody atmospheric feel to the track, which is kind of awesome.

The way the transitions aren't all that uniform is also really cool, because the instrumentation of the piece kind of makes it work; any thicker a texture and it probably would have seemed just messy, but here you've just got a nice element of surprise and anticipation because you can't quiiite tell when things are going to change up a little more. A really nice part is where the drums start getting heavier at 1:40, and for about 3 seconds you have a pretty defined rhythmic aspect before everything goes back up in the air a little. I love how the drums pull everything in a little more together in the parts where the toms come into play a bit more. Seriously, this is some really nice work, I'd be surprised if this didn't end up in a flash at some point.

In all...I can't really fault this. You've got a great atmosphere, a pretty haphazard structure which fits that atmosphere perfectly, and a nice set of sounds to pull the whole thing off. I love the way you've got the click sound filling in for the percussion in the lighter sections, as well as the static throughout. It's a great track, just nicely roughened around the edges. Really good work.

-Review Request Club

MarkArandjus responds:

Hey thanks for your review, I'm glad it's getting good feedback. The song was actually nearly lost when my computer crashed, luckly I showed it to a friend so he could mail it back to me when I got my new hard drive.

Thanks again!
-Mark

[Hinted]

Review Request Club

I'm torn. I kind of like the lo fi nature of it. It makes the track seem a little rougher around the edges and more toned down in nature; gives you this idea of a guy on his porch or something playing a busted-up guitar to no-one in particular. To the point where I think given the right flash the quality of it could actually be quite atmospheric.

That being said, I still think it could use a few improvements just to take it a little further from "lo fi" into "cool sounding lo fi". Some of the plucked notes sounded a little odd, especially the bassy one at 0:10 and a few more besides. In general, it could also do with being a little louder, though I suppose the light background noise would pick up a whole lot more if you simply amplified it. If you can, find a program that has a decent noise reduction, just so you can bring the track up to a more listenable dynamic throughout, because while it's toned down, it's also turned down, which is a little odd.

Really liked the repeated notes of the ending...in general, I thought it was a nice track. Definitely had some quality issues, but has a lot of character and atmosphere for it. Could use a few tweaks, but...what can I say, to each their own. This was pretty neat.

-Review Request Club

[Omnibu copae (piano)]

Review Request Club

Ahhh, gotta love piano. One of those instruments with such an insane amount of versatility, so it's always nice to hear it played, never mind played well. Really is a shame that it's quite short, but then again I guess you can't have too much of a good thing. And despite the brevity, you do have a lot of feeling and emotion crammed into that little space, so the shortness of the time isn't of detriment to you in that respect.

Really interesting name, as well. Have no idea what it means, but its ambiguity kind of fits with the song; it's not overtly happy or sad, just that kind of peaceful relaxing emotion you sometimes get with piano that just puts you at ease with the world, despite not being very emotive one way or the other.

It's got a really nice flowing feel throughout, and the progressions you make through the different chords are nice; I think the left hand could have been more complex at times than a single note, but at points the single bass note is more than enough to carry the slightly more complex right hand, and it's somehow better to have it feeling slightly absent than over-burdened with notes, as that would have taken away the silences this has, which work to great effect in making pauses and breaking up the melody a little more so it just doesn't seem like a random stream of notes throughout. Really nice work overall; definitely look to extending this if you have the time spare at some point.

-Review Request Club

Calamaistr responds:

The name means omnibus coping, or coping with all creation/existance/life.
Its a cute little piece isnt it. :)

Thanks again, i really like your reviews. :)

[Our Nova Pt. 1]

Review Request Club

Really liked the start, though I'd turned my headphones up a little too loud and almost took my head off with it xD. But anyway. I like how you bring the different sounds in, especially how there's so many melodic aspects to the main tune.
When the drum does come in at 0:40, I think it could do with being a little more brought out of the atmosphere, because I could barely hear it over everything else. However, they have a nice beat to them and it compliments the rest of the synths well. Damn, this is a very happy track.

That being said...by the second minute it started dragging, for me. What was playing had no fault to it in itself, you had some really nice sounds and there's a great texture along with the pretty stellar melodies...but everything is pretty much set up by 0:40, and stays that way for a pretty extended length of time. And so when you do start changing things up a little more for the next few sections, it starts feeling repetitive a lot quicker than it should. The thing, especially with tracks of this length, is that you don't want any sections to overstay their welcome, because the subsequent sections will start to feel drag-y even if their lengths are fine. None of the ideas you have in this are bad, it's just that they're a little too spread out to be fully appreciated.

As some other people have said, you could probably use a little more variety in general. Either having a few more sets of drum beats to change up the feel a little, more automations on the melody lines to keep it sounding fresh and interesting, mixing the faster heavy sections that you do have with some slower, ambient sections (I really liked the opening synth you had, wouldn't have minded that coming back into prominence later on), or even just some generally more quiet sections. Dynamics definitely could do with a second look because the levels did get kinda piercing in places. In general though, you've got a really nice track here. Was a little too long to get the full marks, but definitely has pretty much everything it needs to be a solid track. Keep it up.

-Review Request Club

DJ-Chilvan responds:

Thanks for the review! Yea, length has always been my problem, and it's something I'm working on. Also, loudness is my problem too. I'm trying day by day to practice and improve on those aspects. Thanks for the review, because it definitely contributes to my future knowledge of audio.
I have a new song out, it's called Golden Paradise. I need some nice suggestions there as well.
Thanks!

[O rly? -GST Mix-]

Review Request Club

The very beginning sounds quite odd; it sounds like the final two thirds of a reverbed sound, in that you don't hear the attack of it, but still hear the trail-off. Not trying to make a big deal of it, but is was a little odd. Anyway, onto the track.

Rest of the first 30 seconds go without complaint. It's obvious it's a track that's going to slowley build up, and starting with 'crowd' noises before the more melodic synths came in was pretty cool. I can't tell what exactly comes in at :28 but it did seem to have a little too much treble on it given that most of the other synths were in the mid-low range. However, by 0:45ish you start hearing the automations bringing the pitch down, which is both a nice touch and a rememdy for this as the sound sinks more into the texture.

Definitely have to compliment you on your use of sounds and automations for the first minute; given that the only melodic thing there was a single pulsing note, you did keep the beat feeling fresh and interesting throughout the first minute, which is pretty cool. I also notice the high-ish sound just keeps diving further until it becomes a really bassy beat, which again is both unique and interesting to hear, because you wonder just how low it'll go, and so the simple melody doesn't even figure into the mind as a point of complaint.

When the new beat/melody is established at 1:20, I'd say the drums could do with maybe being a little further out of the texture, because you can hear they're quite heavy, but don't quite get to feel it as much as you do the bass synths. Maybe even making the drums a little bassier would've helped this (Though in saying that, maybe I'm saying the totally wrong thing xD not exactly an avid listener of techno, here :P)

And again, while you have got a relatively simple melody, you keep changing up the sounds that are supporting it, and so instead of the track dragging, you keep it sounding new and interesting, which is definitely something to be commended for a song this length and for melodies as simple as two-note and three-note sequences. Even though the main idea stays pretty much unchanged for the last three minutes, it still sounds unique and interesting. So this is perhaps the first pretty lengthy techno track I've pretty much enjoyed reviewing a lot, so kudos for that. xD

You've definitely got the talent needed to carry a simple melody for a long time, but I'd say you could even extend that further; change the beat up a little more, maybe even have a break in the middle and go somewhere a little more ambient, or even a little heavier. But that's just clutching straws; this track is really well put together, I'm not sure there's anything from this that I'd really say you needed to change. Which makes a change!

I'll probably stop rambling here. But basically...yeah. Cool track, cool sounds, major kudos for keeping a simple melody sounding interesting...keep it up, definitely.

-Review Request Club

Dj-GST responds:

The beginning sound is a very low crash (though it may not sound like one), with a very high amount of reverb to it, the original kinda started that way so this one does too.

Lol, I love my slow buildup :) That "high treble" sound is the kick, with a modified filter to make it sound like a pumped rimshot, then it transitions into it's full self.

Bassier drums? Not a bad idea...

Yeah, I figured that since the melodies aren't complex at all, that a few background transitions would make the song less repetitive.

I'm happy that you liked this so much man, I'll be sure to have more out soon :)

[Clayface - Zanarkand]

Review Request Club

One thing I'd say that stuck out while I was typing this the first time around is that this doesn't loop very well, for a loop. There was a bit of silence at the end which made the loop-back feel more abrupt. If you took that silence/fadeout out completely, the beat would probably hold up a lot better than it does now.

That being said, the levels of this were really nice. You had a good beat and texture with the different synths, even some lightly modulations in places; the break in the middle was cool, I think if the track itself was longer I'd've said the break could have done with being a little more played out, but given the brevity of the track it probably works better for being the short break it is.

In all, it's pretty short, if you have the time I'd definitely say look into making this a longer track, let it go more places before it has to loop back. Generally though, you have yourself a nice little track, here. Keep it up.

-Review Request Club

[Big Red - Never Going Hom]

Review Request Club

Lyrics are insane. One thing I'd say is think about putting them in the author comments just so people have a chance to read them through. Your diction's pretty good, even with the faster passages, but even then some people might have a hard time understanding. But generally, they sounded really good and you pulled them off smoothly. The breaks into the sung vocals were a nice touch, though I think you sounded stronger the second time than the first; the first sounded a little wobbly and kinda nervous, but the second sounded pretty ace. The high note at 3:05 felt a little out-of tune, but not very much so. Nice work on the freestyled lyrics as well xD. I've heard people just run out of lyrics and stop trying, but you incorporated it into the song well, so it didn't seem that bad, so kudos for that.

The beat behind was pretty simple, I think you could have changed it up between the spoken and sung sections, but that's not that big of a deal. It was pretty downplayed, so it had a lot of emotion in it and allowed the words to take precedence over the track. In general, this was just really nicely done. Work on that final verse and I think you'd be golden. Keep it up.

-Review Request Club

[[SxHx] N'thisisex]

Review Request Club

Really like the bass in this; it's really in your face and gives the whole track a nice foundation to build on, so even though it's really the only synth for about 40 seconds, it doesn't feel sparse. The slightly-glitched drums also really help add to the industrial feel of it.

Robot voice was definitely funny xD. I thought the "sex sex sex" part was a little overdone, but it wasn't that bad. And was just about to say you kinda needed the robot voice to come back in again to tie the start and end together, and then it did so, which is cool. One thing you could have done is maybe manipulated the robot voice a little so it could have had a part in the middle section as well; not as a lead part, but just as a sort of ambient electronic presence.

On that note, while you had a pretty nice depth throughout, you probably could have gotten away with adding a few more synths in just for effect; maybe a few more glitches or just electronic sounds to emphasise that feel a little more. Generally though, this is a nicely polished track. Good luck on the album! (:

-Review Request Club

[I Hate Jologs People]

Review Request Club

Ahaha, nice take on the classical genre here :P
Ah who knows, things never end up quite how you envisage them. That's not to say this isn't good, by any means. I can kinda see where Shellac is coming from with the clipping...at some points in the bass it does sound distorted-in-the-bad way. It's not over-the-top, but it is quite distracting from the song. Though my headphones are a little worse for wear, so perhaps it's just them dying on me xD

You've got quite a simple set of melodies and harmonies going, but they work well together and that makes them seem pretty polished in sound. Definitely like some of the drum work and the stuttered synth.

In general in terms of improvement I'd say this could use more breaks like the one at 3:13. What you're playing is good, but it gets a little repetitive after a while (Then again, I'm not really a hip hop fan, so it could just be me), and that break helps keep the track feel varied and fresh. That being said, there was quite a nice slow evolution between start to finish that was nice and subtle. For once I think this is a song that could do with a little LESS bass, and maybe more in the mid-hi frequencies, but all in all it's a pretty cool hip hop track for a classical song. :P

-Review Request Club

Sawdust responds:

Thanks man. Thanks so much for the review!

I'll keep my terrible mixing in mind next time I write a song.

[War Lament]

Review Request Club

Feels quite dramatic at the start; the bassier drums felt quite soft at the start, but that's not very detrimental. Though in general, I think this could have used more bass. Even just a simple, sustained low note on the double bass or something, just to give it some real depth. Because you've got a nice soundscape here, but everything's kind of in the middle frequencies and quite distant, so a solid bassline (or even some deeper drums, like the ones at the start and the ones that come in at 1:54) would really help give it more grounding.

You portray the emotion quite well, but I think the melody line could have been brought out more of the texture, perhaps emphasising the feeling of solitary you already sort of get from the flute, and more than tht, give the listener something to focus on. You could definitely also think of having a second lead instrument play a harmony behind the flute, just to thicken out that lead texture a little more.

In general, this is very nicely written. Quite slow moving; I think you could have played more with the dynamics or keys just to keep it as dramatic as it starts, but I think you hit the emotions quite well, so nicely done.

-Review Request Club

popraz responds:

Thank you ! I am trying to gather all the suggestions I've received and use them to make a new song (a really long one too), so thank you very much for the detailed review, it helps a lot.