JoshuaHughes's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[I Miss When I Was An Astronaut]

Strange tune here with what sounds like a spoonful of pretty much everything, but I would've pegged it as really chill trap with video game elements. Not that genres matter THAT much, but there is a bit an identity crisis going on here. Some of it blends very well and some of it throws me off a little. I think the strangest thing I hear is that DnB loop you used during the drop, which sounds a little off-putting to say the most and not mixed all that well to say the least.

I can't knock it too hard because everything sounds great in pieces, if that makes any sense. I especially liked those detuned chords you used in the drop. The stabs in the track also sounded very good. Nothing wrong with the drums that I would call you out on. Actually, I think they add to the video game atmosphere with their simple design. It's an interesting piece, dude.

[Insomnia (Redux)]

Shorty but goody! If you were going for screaming with clarity, you've really got it man. Didn't have to look at the lyrics and I got most of it right. I hope some big names here catch wind of your work, because it is crazy heavy.

[In Your Saliva]

I like it! I was a bit suspicious with the intro, but you definitely brought the beat. The detuned pad was pretty cool and immediately gave the piece a surreal feeling. It's almost like those old 70's horror movies with the sort of rough quality that actually help support the atmosphere. There's a lot of simple sounds I hear that kind of conflict with the tone a little bit in an interesting way, like that bell instrument in the beginning and the LFO you used right before that drum hit came in.

But then you bring in what sounds like a randomized computer-like sound that begins to bring an amount of complexity to the mix, followed by the beat which has a distorted kick pounding to an otherwise clean sound around it. I really like that sound at 1:33. It seems to solidify the track as a robotic-themed instrumental from then on.

The piano was a bit of a miss for me. It seemed to have brought an adrupt change in the rhythm of the track while not giving any indication beforehand. I think it may have worked better if it was a little quieter and didn't have so much sustain behind it, but that's only a maybe from me. Also, the track gets a liiittle bit muddy when it's playing. Maybe it could have used a little more EQ work? I don't think it's being drowned out so much as that it just sounds like a few conflicting frequencies are going on.

This is a really neat DnB track. I actually didn't have any complaints with the drums themselves, and I can get pretty meticulous with them, even when someone else made them! There are a few things that could use some ironing out, but I think this is overall a really good track that the audio portal would surely benefit from.

MutualCore responds:

Thank you! It's not exactly newgrounds but someone already picked the track up for their youtube video. I've been producing for 7-8 years but it's been 6 months since I've finished anything and I'm using borrowed hardware so I'm out of practice... but thank you so much! It always means a lot when people take the time to leave a thoughtful drawn out review. Bless your heart. Thor be praised.

[Perception]

The startup with the detuned synths was a nice way of kicking out a good techno beat, and the liveliness of the bass afterwards really got the atmosphere settled in, The track seems to fall off the wagon a bit at 1:06 with only the hit of the chords playing. I kind of knew what you were trying to do, but I would have attempted to add some more subtleties along with it to keep the piece from breaking down (in a bad way).

I thought the transition with the arp filtering up was a nice way of getting back on the saddle, and I could hear the shape of the chords starting to become more bright, which was also a nice addition. However, it's around the 2:20 area where conflicts in frequencies are starting to make themselves known in the mix. The chord synth and the arp seem to be battling for a number one position, making the buildup sound pretty messy.

I also begin to notice around this point the weakness of the snare. It just sounds like it could use some of that low end "thump" to really assert its presence in the center. I'm sure a little reverb wouldn't hurt either. I think the hats could also benefit from some verb to make the high ends sound a little wider.

I think it's a nice techno beat with a few faults that are really bringing it down from being an awesome techno beat. I'll follow to see if you throw out any more material.

TeraVex responds:

Okay cool to here!
I'll be sure to fix this up because your opinion matters greatly!

[Collective House Party]

Okay, I gotta say that when this track first started, the high frequencies were a little rough through the headphones, but not so much the monitors. It really woke me up, to say the least. I really like the groovy filtered chords you have going on. You get some rolling hats and you'll pretty much have a modern disco track up until the bass.

Speaking of which, I'm pretty torn on the sound of the bass. I think you could have opened up some of the middle frequencies on it and maybe drop the volume just a tad, as it's quite loud compared to every other instrument. The chipsound that comes in after the bass is a pretty good addition to the overall grooviness, and I started to really get a feel for this track around that point. Now, when 2:05 rolls up, I'm floored with the immediate change of direction it took, and it really does start to sound like a hard toe-tapping track before cutting back into the chords. And this is where I'm torn on the bass because it sounds so much more appropiate in 2:05 than in the previous part of the track.

It's a great track. If you call this shit, I can't wait to be blown away by your non-shitty ones.

[Nuclear Winter]

A little late for Christmas, yeah? I joke. Yep, that's the melody from Carol. I think you did a nice job with the bellwork. They're very clear and shine outside of the dark brass and percussion underneath it. I thought the pizzicato was also a nice addition to the melody. What happened to the cymbal at the end, though? Was there an exporting problem or am I hopefully going to get an extended mix out of this?

Ryuno074 responds:

Oh, it's meant to loop. I take a lot of jobs from an independent game company and the boys wanted to do a quick seasonal game.

http://thoughtvandal.com/index/?page_id=119

You can check it out here.

[We're still young]

I do enjoy some bells, and the subtle panning effect from the keys was very cool. Very relaxing on the headphones lol. As for the pluck, I can't say I enjoyed it all that much. Felt like it needed some more prominent reverb to help keep it from sounding a little too bland. And just doesn't sound like it mixes well with all the other instruments behind it. Very neat idea you have going on here. I hope you're not done with this, because even though I'm guilty of doing the same thing, I would try to break the two minute barrier. Do as I say, not as I do!

[[Knox]A New Picture]

Yeah, Pearl Jam. It's doesn't always have to be power chords. Anywho, it's a pretty good riff. Are you trying to do a sort of quiet-loud-quiet sort of grunge or what? I'd like to hear some more gain from the axe and some heavy cymbal banging out of this.

Knoxius responds:

The answer to your question about 'quiet-loud' is that I'm shitty at guitar. xD

I'll turn the gain up and see where it takes me! Thanks for the review.

[Treasure]

This is an interesting DnB track in the sense that it doesn't really jump out as DnB with the sole exception of the common beat when the drums kick in. It sounds like a pretty unorthodox approach. The hats in particular are interesting in that they sound like they belong more in a hip hop track than DnB. Or perhaps I'm just used to hearing more sharper hats in DnB pieces.

I did like the filtered drums in the intro and thought were actually very well done in context. The keys playing over them seem to spike really hard in certain frequencies, which I think adds a little unnecessary harshness to the start of the mix, but it doesn't detract too much from the build. The white noise you filtered before the drop, however, was pretty harsh since it sounded like it was trying to blare over the entire frequency spectrum. I would have low shelfed it up to a certain point to keep it from sounding too much like an old TV with no signal.

The drop was pretty solid itself. Like I said, the hats seemed to feel a little weird to me, but I don't really have any qualms with the kick or snare. It's around this point where I really start to listen to the piano, pads, and synths going on behind the drums and wonder what kind of tone it's trying to bring out. It's almost a little sad, but with a drum beat blasting over it, I start to think maybe "grim" would be a more appropriate word. And then I look at the title and am unsure again. I feel like I'm getting mixed signals here. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

All in all, I would say it's a very unconventional take on DnB, with a strange lineup of synth progressions and a solid, although slightly uninspired drum beat to top it. It ain't half bad, though, so maybe I can expect some more stuff in the future?

[Cat Step]

Could cat noises possibly be the bacon of music????

lantaren responds:

Time to go make some baconstep? ;)