Animith's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[BOUNC3 BirfdaySong!]

Review Request Club

When I read the title I was really worried this would be a weird house version of the "happy birthday!" tune...was very pleasantly surprised to find I was worrying over nothing.

You start up really upbeat and continue so throughout...I think the lead synth was perhaps a little too distorted, but what it was playing was some really nice melodies, and it was nice to see two distinct melodies already by the first minute...when they both played over eachother around the 1:00 mark, I was a little dubious, I think that could have been done by two synth sounds instead of the one because it felt a little clustered. The same thing around the 1:30 mark where you've got the lead synth doing that high repeated chord over and over, I think that would have been suited to a less prominent synth as it grated a little on the ears after a while.

There's a great level of melodic diversity, but I think the harmony and bass line could have done with changing a little more than it did; it was a steady bass, but the fact it didn't move while the melody lines often did was a little odd. In general though, this was a really nice track; very well put together.

-Review Request Club

[[SxHx] Mrng.Aftr (NGcut)]

Review Request Club

I didn't know what the difference was between French house and Chicago house before listening to this...and after having listened to it, was really none the wiser. Maybe it's just me, but both "styles" sounded exactly the same, to the point where I couldn't really tell where the transition took place. If there is a difference between French and Chicagoan house, I think it could have standed to be exaggerated a lot more than it was here, so even n00bs to House music would have some idea of what was going on.

The synths you have are all nicely chosen and nicely implemented, there's a definite high production value in terms of sound quality. What they're playing is also nice; there's some good melodies and automations, but as the piece gets longer these things definitely et more repetitive; maybe it's because I missed the transitions of styles, but the entire thing kind of felt like it started somewhere...and didn't move from that place at all. There was some definite scope to go on more of a journey with this track, and I think it was something of a missed opportunity to do something more, because what you have at the moment is good...just needs a little extra to keep the variety up to that same high level as the production of this is.

-Review Request Club

shesmackshard responds:

As for chicago house, its darker. French is more ambient and happy-esque. The transition is hard to spot for noobs because I didnt change instrumentation. But the bridge is written in chicago.

As for your second part - thats what house IS. reptititve dancing material.

[_Balance_]

Review Request Club

I like the lightness of this track; there's a really upbeat nature to it, despite its generally slow pace. I think you went a little excessive with the cymbals in the first section because they sort of overpowered everything else; maybe just having a few different cymbal sounds playing some of the notes would remedy this.

I was unsure about the middle section in general, because there was less of a defined beat so things felt a little more like they were left up in the air and to their own devices, which kind of half-works, but could have used another instrument or a more defined beat just to keep it grounded as it went into a more ambient section.

The piano at the end was surprising, but nicely done, and ended the track well. I could kinda of see this in a flash as some lighthearted end-game music; the kind of thing that works well in the background, but is animated enough so that you could still listen to it actively and be entertained by it.

-Review Request Club

Birdinator99 responds:

Glad you feel that way; the middle section was intended to be a little "unstable", so to speak, as to represent a half-sane mind (see description), but you still make a valid point, so thanks for the feedback!

[Future Janitor Battle]

Review Request Club

Ahaha, the author comments made me lol xD Nice image to start with, and now one I can't get out of my head.

I liked the initial idea, there's a really niceandheavy bass with a simple drum beat, and a really unique sounding synth on top of that...but I notice that it's not changed much by the 1:00 minute, and the first distinct change is 1:20, and that's only really because one of two synths is taken out for a twenty-second period, before being put back in again. So yeah...repetitiveness is a definite vice of this. You kind of had one idea and ran with it for near on three minutes, where you really needed anything in between that time just to make it a little more varied and interesting. This has a solid foundation, but it definitely has a lot of scope to have things built up on it.

-Review Request Club

[Capital katlean (remix)]

Review Request Club

I like the piano intro, especially when you start harmonising with the melody or just add little countermelodies to it; if you hadn't done so I'd say it had gotten repetitive by the first minute. As it is...I think two minutes of piano based on that small idea was a tad excessive, though those harmonies and embellishments did save the first half of the track, because it does give it a really nice, if notably slow, sense of build.

The really light/fast piano movement at 2:16 was really very nice, if a little quiet; wouldn't have minded hearing more of that earlier in the piece. And the change to the different instruments, while a little surprising, was very welcome and very effective; definite echoes of France, as Haggard said. Really nice choice of instruments and they do work well...again, wouldn't have minded this section having come in a little earlier than they did, because it didn't have as much time as the piano did to evolve and develop. If the first half of this was a little shorter and the second a little longer, it probably would be a little bit of an improvement, but as it is, this is a really nice light track to listen to.

-Review Request Club

Calamaistr responds:

hmm dont know what to say ive said most i wanted to say in response to the other reviews below but i dont want to neglect showing a little gratitute for your time to review this..

Yea... the light/fast(er) piano part around 2.15 was a bit of new meets old, the whole drag from beginning to that point is pretty much the very original tune (though the instrumentation is different, the original was built with lowfi strings, imagine that) and when it ends before going into more folklike instrumentation i at that time felt like it would be nice to make something 'filled' whereas the music before it was made with short tones.

And thanks again, ill post some new 3 tracks pretty soon! :)

[Dragon Flight - BK]

Review Request Club

...Generally, I don't know what to think about this piece, either. But in a vaguely good way. Like Haggard said, it was a little tricky to just settle into the piece, just because there was so much going on and so much changing. You definitely got the unique part of this down, so kudos for that.

I liked the use of synths, although sometimes they overpowered the piano a little. I liked the transition between 4/4 and 3/4, though to me it felt more like 4/4 to 6/8, or crotchets in 4/4 to triplet quavers still in 4/4, though that could have just been how I was listening to the piece.

The transitions in general were nicely done, and you've got a nice set of melodies. The amount of transitions mean that this doesn't get repetitive, which is always a nice thing to hear in the NG portal. At points I think the string sounds could have been a little more present, but then again I do like the bits where the string is quieter and you can appreciate the piano more.

The piano, ahhh...I get the file limit is annoying, but I'd say you really need to find a way to upload this without the piano having that buzz, because it is really distracting, especially at the end where there's nothing else beneath it to mask the sound. That's the one major irk of this track for me is that buzz, so if you could find any way to get this uploaded without that without going over the file size, it'd be awesome.

-Review Request Club

[<MWA> Electric]

Review Request Club

I love how the drum beat isn't completely regular at the start; it really compliments the synth and makes the opening of the track feel a lot more relaxed and gives it a unique touch that you wouldn't have gotten just from a strict/regular beat.
The synths themselves are nicely chosen (kudos for making them yourself, nice job) and each have really nice transitions...the one at 1:20-1:27, however, I'm dubious about. It did mess with the light/relaxed atmosphere somewhat, but afterwards when it got back into the beat again it was pretty much forgotten.

By 2:30 I think you could have used a change in melody, because by that point it did feel very repetitive. You did do well in that you kept adding in a few new synths every so often to break up the times between the older synths, but I think you needed a little more by the end of this just to keep it varied, such as voice samples, a solo section, maybe a transition into a few different chords...just something to stop it feeling repetitive. For the first two minutes though, you definitely sold me on this track.

-Review Request Club

mjattie responds:

yea, you're actually sooo right! Really thanks for the review! I shall work no repetitiveness in my next song, for sure!

[[dj-Jo] Piano Excursion]

Review Request Club

Really nice start. The reverb's pretty prominent, but not overdone, and because of it there's a really nice depth and atmosphere right from the very start. While the drum beat is pretty heavy and active in the first minute, you've managed to level it so it doesn't cut through the other synths.

The piano melody is nicely done, and though the piano itself does get drowned out by the synth (The sound of which I'm in two minds about, because it's not the smoothest sound in the world), it does work well for it, because it means the piano can be a more incidental instrument, which given that this is a techno track, it probably should be.

...yeah, definitely by 2:42 I'm dubious about the choice of the lead synth. I'm not even totally sure why, the sound of it just gets a little grating after a while, though that could just be me. I love the way there's the main kind of chorus theme, but that you intersperse it with the different melodies and instruments inbetween times, which is great, because you've got the familiarity of the chorus, but not the feeling of repetitiveness you would have gotten from just repeating the chorus for 4 minutes. Really love the more toned-down ending; it was unexpected, but does work really well and was a nice surprise. Pretty great track, in all.

-Review Request Club

[Moonbow (Mans0n)]

Review Request Club

I really like the use of vocals here. Sometimes with dance/DnB tracks the use of voice clips can feel really forced, but here it mixes really well with the track, and the little echoes it has are really atmospheric.

1:49, I thought the absence of synths was a little offputting, but that's forgotten about when a new synth comes in and starts the buildup. With the first section, the synths were really light and almost incidental, but with this new section they take on a far more prominent role and you really can appreciate the work you've done on the automation and levels. What you did with the percussion choice at the start of the track was pretty unique, but when the more usual kit comes in the levels on it are nice and it doesn't cut through the synths at all, which is nice.

You'd think the vocals would get repetitive, given it repeats, but what you do with the synths for some reason stops this happening, which is something I can't quite understand, but applaud you for accomplishing. In general, it was a little quiet at the start and maybe a little too loud at the more climax-y parts such as around the 3rd minute, but in general the production level of this was nice and high, and it's a job well done, overall.

-Review Request Club

Mans0n responds:

thanks for the kind words with yet another great review!

thanks bro

["Frozen Clockwork" -GST Mix-]

Review Request Club

I was writing about how I really liked the opening; how the pace was fast right from the beginning and how there was a nicely urgent nature to the track in general...and then it sounded like the track was stuck, because it kept repeating the same thing. SO I scrolled up and found it was fine...but seriously, 0:19-0:23 or so, and onwards from that does sound like the track's skipping. There needs to be something more melodic happening there. When the next synth comes in at 0:45, this is solved, but there's an entire 20 seconds where you just have that one note, and that's a real threat of repetititiveness.

When the new synth does come in though, there's a good minute without complaint. There's some really nice automations and synth use in general. When everything cut out at 1:40, I was a little dubious, but when everything came back in again it really worked well and kind of brought in this new section. However, I think each section in general is a little too long...each one lasts just a little longer than it should, in my head, so that feeling of repetition sets in before it moves on to the next section.

I'm with the previous comments in that the second half is markedly better than the first; to the point where the first half does the second a discredit. If I wasn't reviewing for the RRC and had just heard the first half, I may not have stayed on to hear the rest, which is a shame because it does end up somewhere vaguely epic. I especially like 4:19 and onwards where the drum beat is a lot less fast and a lot more heavy; maybe a bit lacking in bass just to give it that extra oomph, but it was a really nice way to end the piece.

The first half does no justice to the second. I think if you shortened part one and got into part two a little quicker, this track would be a lot better. But as for the second half, I have no complaints, it was a really nice suprise to have that come in and push the track up a few levels.

-Review Request Club

Dj-GST responds:

That "one note" happens to be the bassline, but I can see how that gets repetitive.

Yeah, in the first half, when I was making it, I was feeling kinda iffy about the song itself, so I took a days break and did the second half, and all of a sudden I was feeling alot more creative.

I'm glad you liked the ending, that melody didn't suit a fast tempo, so I slowed shit down, and it worked out very well!

I'm happy you liked this track man, the 8 is highly appreciated :)