Animith's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AF - Magic (Demo)]

Review Request Club

Like the introduction, the amount of filters you put on that piano meant that even for a 4-second music loop, after 30 seconds it still didn't feel repetitive, which is quite a feat in itself. The reverb off it also gave a nice sense of magical atmosphere, which was a good touch. The entrance of the bass and drums is also really nice and subtle, so you have that tiny thickening of texture without wrecking the pretty ambient mood you've set up. So much so that even when the drum beat starts coming into its own, you've still got quite a relaxing vibe going on throughout. It's pretty impressive how you keep the same melody throughout and yet don't really make it sound repetitive. I think as a point of improvement, despite it not sounding repetitive, you could think about maybe moving onto another melody, simply so you don't have to continue to use filters and automations on the main tune just to keep it varied. A second melody would probably be a much easier path.

That being said, this was a nice upbeat 100 second listen. Pretty simple, but not repetitive for it. Has a good atmosphere, the entrances of the instruments work well...in all, was a pretty cool listen. Keep it up.

-Review Request Club

aliaspharow responds:

Thanks allot for the review

[Man in the Planet]

Review Request Club

As you were so nice to outline the sections, I'll review each section as it comes.

0:01 - 0:38 Intro (to set the mood)

The parts either side of 0:24 seem unrelated to eachother. To the point where I'd say you could've started the track at 0:24 and been no worse off. What you had at the beginning was nice and added some ambience to it, but it just didn't really fit with what came after the pause, to be frank. But what did come after it lead into the next section nicely.

0:39 - 1:20 Main theme

Very nice beginning; quite down-toed, but you still get this very subtle sense of build. The use of the more static-y synth playing by the guitar was nicely done, though I think the guitar itself could have been a little sharper, just to bring it out of the texture more, because as it is there's quite a fuzzy nature to this section given the static and the distortion.

1:21 - 2:03 Melody comes in, full instrumentation of theme

Like the new lead synth, there's a nice sound to it and the melody it's playing is simple, but strong. The drum beat is also nicely done, has some interesting sounds in it as well which is always nice to hear. The section in general is perhaps missing a really bassy synth (Or just bassier drums?) to give it more of a frequency range.

2:04 - 2:45 repeat of theme

By this point I was expecting something to come in as an addition, just to keep the variety up a little more. And here especially I start noticing the muddiness of the guitar again because it feels like it's being turned up or the melody's being turned down more. This section could have used an extra synth just as a point of difference from this one and the last, to justify the repetition. Even a nice harmony line below the melody synth would've probably done it.

2:46 - 2:55 Short break

Definitely could have done more with this break, it felt kind of half-hearted, like you just needed anything to break up the second repetition of the theme and the third. Nothing much happens in it, and so it feels somewhat superfluous.

2:56 - 3:38 repeat of theme

Same as before; needs something to change it up a little more; this is the third time of hearing what seems like the exact same thing, and that's not really all that necessary. You could have taken 1-2 repetitions out and probably been not much worse off

3:39 - 3:43 Short break

This length of break works for the little that goes on in it; the shortness of it means that there's no real need to cram it full of things, so the break works better here.

3:44 - 5:07 A little 8-bit(ish) sonata

This section was nice...but felt unnecessary when it came to the track, like you'd thought of it, realised it used the same kind of chord progressions, and stuck it in the middle of the track because you needed it to move somewhere else. I commend you for moving out of the main theme, but here I think it's a step too far and it loses the cohesion.

5:08 - 5:15 Intro teaser

Felt a little random; the transitions in and out of this little section were quite awkward, though I sort of see where you were coming from. And I'm running out of characters, so I'll be more summarisey now.

To be frank, I skipped through the final sections as I saw it was the 4th and 5th repeats of the main theme. I think definitely, _definitely_ this could do with fewer repetitions, because it makes the song drag to no end. A song this length needs a way to justify itself, especially as you had to lower the bitrate so much to fit it in. You could have easily stopped at 3:44, and had the 8 bit section be a new track, and then you wouldn't have had to worry about bitrate or repetitiveness that much. There's a lot of good ideas in here, but I think in a more condensed version those ideas would have been a lot more powerful, instead of the slight over-use they have here. You had a cool main theme, the ideas were there...just don't repeat it 5 times next time and all will be weii. And I'm out of characters, so I'll just say keep it up.

-Review Request Club

Cornilious responds:

Yes, repeats and variation. Will fix later.

I don't know about the 8-bitish section. I like it and a lot of other people like it too. But hey, to each his own.

Thanks for the thorough review!

[Kaleidocinema]

Review Request Club

I get the idea that you just kept writing until its done, but at least for NG you have to take the size limit into account; it's better to have two higher-quality tracks that were meant to be one than to have one lower-quality track for the sake of keeping everything together, sometimes. That being said, onto the track:

The opening synth was interesting, had quite an unconventional melody to it, but I think it wasn't supported enough by other synths; it needed a bass line or a warm pad behind it just so it wasn't playing by "itself" for the first 40 seconds with just the drum underneath. The drums as well...didn't really work in my mind, it felt like they lacked a sharpness or any kind of attack to them, so it was just some form of wishy-washy percussion in the background, instead of the kind of backing you'd expect in a DnB song.

The change of melody at 0:40 and how it developed further at 1:00 was nicely done, but the lead synth wasn't quite loud enough; it needed that extra volume to bring it out more in the texture. That and I keep hearing these incidental synths which are again, too quiet to really be heard completely. I think in general a second look at the mixing wouldn't go amiss.

The section at 1:40 was a nice change because you started getting more depth with some pad-like synths, but again I think the levels were a little low, and by 2:10 you almost completely lose me because everything changes into this kind of whole jumble of different things, and into what sounds like something entirely new by 2:30. To the point where I'd say you could have split it at 2:10-2:30 and make two songs.

The new section is quite frantic, but it works for it, because you've got a depth with some bassier synths and the drum beat is a little more conventional...if very fast. There seems to be an odd silence at 3:22 and 3:42, for about a second? Might just've been the computer slowing down, but it seemed quite awkward. I think I'd agree with the previous reviews and say you need a slower section in this just to even out the drums and keep the pace a little less crazy; 8 minutes of fast pace, especially 8 minutes of fast percussion, can get quite tiresome.

And at 4:45 again it seems to go into an entirely new song again for at least 50 seconds before reverting back to the previous section...ish. I think if you'd said "I put three tracks together to see if they'd work", I wouldn't have called you a liar.

The section at 5:20-6:40 seemed quite lost in itself...like there wasn't as much choerency as there could have been between everything. In a sense I think the drums could have done with being less frantic then, because the synths themselves are quite laid back and creepy, so it would have worked well as a slower section. The ending minutes seem quite drawn out in themselves, I think you could have halved the ending and not down yourself much detriment.

Annnd i'm running out of characters. So...in general, I think you could split this song up into smaller chunks. That'd let you increase the bitrate, and maybe polish off each section a little more. You've got a LOT of variety in this, to the point where I think there's too much; there needs to be something that links everything together in some way, and it seems like in parts it moves onto completely different areas. There's some good ideas, I think they just need to be condensed into a smaller timeframe so you have a chance to pick out the best ones and make a really solid, shorter track. You've got some nice elements of frantic and creepy, so just find a way to bring them together in a shorter time and you're fine. Sorry for the ramblesome review.

-Review Request Club

shizeet responds:

Thanks for the comprehensive review. Again, I didn't write this specifically for NG, as mentioned in my description, else I'd probably would've kept the length lower. Also, the quality of the track really isn't so much degraded by the lower bitrate (most of the samples weren't very high quality to begin with) as much as it is by mixing, which I didn't spend a lot of time on.

The opening melody was more of a bassline/chorus riff rather than a full theme, though the instrument was kind of lacking in bass. Agree with the drums though, didn't really spend enough time processing/mixing them to pierce through enough the often thick mix.

The next part the melody really wasn't played on a "lead" synth (that instrument ended up being used as more as a pad throughout), but due to the somewhat limited instrument availability, I felt that it could work there as a contrast since it was a relatively less busy section.

2:10 was meant as a climax/breakdown of sorts, not sure why you didn't get that. The section right after is actually just a quick redux of the 1:40 section but with different instrumentation. Actually, there really isn't a lot of completely new sections throughout, mostly just older ones reimagined. I'll post a full section breakdown at the end of this response.

Drums might be too fast here, but I wouldn't count the parts before and after as fast paced - felt it was of a more moderate pace to me :/. Those silences were intentional, but weren't executed very well. Think I needed to leave some stuff still playing for it to sound more convincing.

4:45 was certainly the part that truly be could called a "new song", since I did recycle the ideas from another piece I started on but abandoned. I did make this part somewhat more busy on purpose since there really wasn't much melody to digest most of the time. Probably could've made it work well with better mixing though.

The ending, though, I actually felt had it more or less spot on. It was really meant as a huge release of sorts since this section has been building up and down for the last 4 or so minutes - making it too short wouldn't serve it justice in my opinion.

But anyways, thanks again for the review. I didn't feel it ramblesome at all and it really did help me better understand your perception of the piece section by section - and also gives me a lot more to respond to ;).

Structure (roughly):

A - B - A - C - Transition/Climax - C' - C'' - A' - (A' + B) - D - D - B' - D - B'' - D - B''' (with modified melody from C") - D - B'''' - D - End
*B', B'', and B'''' sections use a modified version of the A section bassline/motif

[Fulfillment Part 1]

Review Request Club

Damn, I love people who aren't afraid to use odd time signatures. You had me sold with this track within about the first 3 seconds with that alone. The piano could possibly have had a little less reverb on it and the drums definitely could have done with more (just to give them more of a bassy feel to it)...but in general you started this track off brilliantly; even though you used the same idea for the first 47 seconds, it didn't sound repetitive because you kept adding new things in, giving it a great sense of build for that new piano part at 0:47.

By 1:00 or so it sounded like there was _something_ underneath the piano that my ears couldn't quite pick up. Maybe it was me imagining it, or maybe the mix needed to bring whatever that was (If it's there at all xD) a little further into the mix. The next section with the bass/drums/what sounds like sax was nicely done, although I think the sax line could have been a little more fluid and followed the main theme a little less; even if it was just some kind of scale above it, just to give it a little more life, or just have what came in at 2:17 come in a little earlier, because that does sound cool. The bass also could do with being a little bassier, just to balance out the frequencies more, because you've got the mid-hi covered well, but the lower frequencies are lacking somewhat.

At 2:37 or so you lose me a little because the harmonies change pretty quickly, it sounds like its wanting to go into another section instead of ending. The last 40 seconds or so for that felt a little repetitive as it ended up not going somewhere new as you'd almost expect. However, it's not of much detriment to the track.

In general, this is really nicely done. You need to take a second look at the mix and the bassline, and perhaps vary the solo a little more, but for your second stab at FL this shows really huge promise, so definitely keep it up, whatever you do.

-Review Request Club

WizMystery responds:

Sorry for the late reply, AP tests had me busy for a while.

I realized how muffled the piano sounds compared to the settings I use now. I like to add on for steady growth because I'm an "Octavarium Person," where I want to eventually use that skill to write long, flowing pieces.

There's the bass underneath, it barely crescendos so that the piano is the main focus. The sax is actually a modulated Electrik Guitar in Kontakt that gives it a sort of synth sound, I was sort of experimenting with tone because this is only my second piece that uses FL studio. I'm actually using this as my composition for AP music and intent to cut down the repitition and attach the second part. I kept the bass standard, because it started sounding muffled when I turned up the bass frequency.

Like I said the last 40 seconds are supposed to lead up to something, it was split up because I didn't know what the filesize limit was (now I do) and thought it might go overboard.

Thank you for your review :D

[Kina Grannis-Valentine (Cover)]

Review Request Club

Bearing in mind this is a cover, I'm going to focus on the actual playing and execution of the track, because that's the real test of making something your own, is if you manage to play it and make it your own. Having listened to the original, I can see you've easily and comfortably made it your own here.

There's a nice technique with your playing that instantly makes it seem very emotional and personal; something you'd not get with a simple MIDI piano track. There is a very beautifully subtle string part in the background from what I can hear, which is really nice (They're two things which always go so well together), but I think it's almost too deep in the background to be truly appreciated, as you only start to hear it at certain points. I think making more use of the stereo in the piano would be a nice remedy to this, just so everything's a little more spread out in the channels.

My only criticism would perhaps be that it was often in a quite loud dynamic, and I think you could have perhaps played with the volume a little more than you did, even though as it is you have a really romantic feel for most of the end of the piece, which is really nice. As well as that, given the broadness of the piano you could have used a few more octaves than you did just to really use the range a bit more, because everything sort of sat in the middle frequencies. As sixflab said, you could even get away with adding more complex instrumental lines to give it even more of an emotional feel. But as it is, this is a really nice track, well played and put together. Definitely wouldn't mind seeing a few more of these kind of requests in the RRC.

-Review Request Club

Jabicho responds:

Hi there Animith! thanks so much for your review it's greatly appreciated! yeah I'll work on adding new instruments to future pieces, and recording in stereo so the notes can drive the music while listening, some pieces I heard with stereo sound are beautiful so I'll get the cables for it =)

Thanks again for commenting, it means a lot!

[Calm_Sky [Box-Killa]]

Review Request Club

Right away, you've got a really nice depth running through the track, which already evokes the kind of ideas the title would give you, of this kind of expansive peaceful atmosphere.
The way the drum beat comes out through the texture is also nicely done, though the way it changes up at 0:17, giving more prominence to the kind of glitchy sound would work, were it not for the fact that the glitch sound cuts through the texture an awful lot. If it had been a little quieter I think it would have worked a lot better.

In the same way, the entrance of the piano (or possibly guitar? 0:35ish) is nice, but again a little too strong for what came before it, it's again the kind of cutting sound that can deal with being a little deeper in the texture and yet still have the prominence that you want from it.

The transition at 0:58 is very nice, I thought, there was a nice cohesion between all of the synths and it worked well as a climax; the transition back into the calmer texture was also very well done, and the last 40 seconds, while generally not going anywhere, didn't feel repetitive as you had all these quiet incidental synths coming in and out which really helped to keep the synths feeling varied, despite the fact the bass synth remained unchanged throughout, which is a feat in itself. Nice work, overall.

-Review Request Club

Box-Killa responds:

yeah I think I could do an aweful lot more with this song. Should have introduced a piano or something to have more of a melody too. :P

[Too Awesome For Your Phone!]

Review Request Club

Really didn't understand the first 6 seconds; you had a really nice heavy riff going on after that, but before it it just seemed quite messy and just an excuse to use a phone sound, I really think that start needs a second look.
That besides, I liked the first heavy section, there was some nice guitar and drum work there...I think in parts the drum fills could have been a little more animated, but that's not that big a deal, especially for a ringtone (Consider making this into a fuller song at some point, this'd be an interesting track to hear without the ringtone restrictions, so to speak).

The second section at 0:30 was a nice transition that worked well, though the drums were definitely too quiet and the phone sound felt really out of place. Nice solo work, though.
The transition back into the heavier section worked a little less well when it just went down to the light drum beat, but that was only for a second or so. The addition of the strings (I think?) in the final section was nice, if a little unexpected. The phone sound coming in again was perhaps a little unnecessary; I think the phone sounds in general were more of a distraction that anything, though that could just be me.

-Review Request Club

SantaBro responds:

Hm, well I thought I'd begin it like that, kind of as a warning to the phone's owner that if you don't take it now, prepare to be shot in the face with a riff. Kinda. :) It's a ringtone after all so I think the cliche ringing tone fits.

Thanks for the feedback, I'll take all of into account if I eventually do a full-blown version of it. Cheers!

[Etude #5 - Moonlight]

Review Request Club

Very nicely done, very quickly downloaded. I think is the first NG track in a long time that I could listen to for a good long while.
There's some really cool melodies in here and it's the kind of thing that could easily fit as a sort of atmophere-creating music in the background of some scenery or even a flash game; it's got that simple listenablility to it, so even though it's generally exploring the same area throughout, it doesn't get boring to listen to.

That being said, I think some of the notes got a little lost in the playing, especially the lower notes of the slightly faster sections, such as 0:21-23ish. The little break at 0:26 was nice, though I think a touch overdone. Though that's just pedanticism more than anything. I'd say if you were ever going to make this longer you could try and try a different melody on top of the one you already have, or maybe even go into another key to add even more of a colour to it. But as it is, it's a really nice piece to listen along to, and just generally very well done. Would love to see what'd happen if this was a little longer.

-Review Request Club

Darkmaster603 responds:

First, id like to thank you for reviewing this piece. I do need to redo this piece, I'm trying to get a cd out and I'm working on extending all my songs and writing more complicated ones, see my romance suite for an example. I agree it needs more to it, I actually didn't think it would do so well because of the simplicity of it. Ill take your criticism in consideration for the moonlight suite that's coming soon.

Thanks for the review and kind words

[[S] Greg]

Review Request Club

The lyrics are...well. I think you probably could have found more witty things to say to describe 'Greg', but I guess that's besides the point. It's childish as hell, but I'm guessing you know that.
There's some kind of noise in the first few seconds that doesn't seem to belong anywhere before the song, it kind of sounds like you thought about looping the song, then decided against it, last-minute.
The singing's sometimes off-time with the guitars, probably due to the fact you tried to cram a lot of words into a short space of time, and in general I think the voice had a little too much reverb on it, to the point where I can't tell whether the guitars had enough or not because the vocal reverb kinda dominated.
What the guitars are playing are alright, though I think you could have done something more with the lead than just copy the vocal melody.
In all, lyrics aside, it's an okay song. Just work on the vocal timing a little more, and make sure everything's in tune with eachother next time.

-Review Request Club

Screch responds:

Thanks :D

[dubstep wip]

Review Request Club

Aha, this definitely is a WIP xD I'd've been worried if you'd make a 0:17 second track and said it was a whole song =P

Anyway. When I first played it I heard some kind of click right at the start? It sounded like the reverb off the snare drum or something...maybe it's just my headphones, but if it is there, it's a little odd? Especially as it leads into a few seconds of silence.

The lead synth has a really cool sound to it, you've definitely got the 'wobbles' down. A pointer definitely would be how to develop the melody from there on in; whether you're going to keep the melody the same and add more synths in to thicken the texture, or go into a new theme. This works well as an introduction, but I do think that for the next bit something needs to change up just to give that sense of build.

Although this is a WIP, etc., I'd say that for a drum and bass song this is lacking a fair bit of both? I mean, the lead synth has a pretty bassy sound, but wouldn't be harmed by a really nice and low bass line to thicken it out a bit. In the same way, the snare sounds nice and has a cool echo to it...but it's pretty high in the trebles and is the only drum to feature in this part. Either making the snare more bassy, or adding a tom/kick drum into the mix I think would help here.

But for 17 seconds, it's gotta lot of promise, so keep it up.

-Review Request Club

SessileNomad responds:

no yeah, there is a little click, its just the way the track rendered, if this weree a full song, i would care

i actuallly think im going to bring in new ambient tthemes when i come back to this one

thanks for the review man