JoshuaHughes's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Cold Wet Rag]

I don't want you to feel like we're here to shit on your work. Most tracks that I am unsure of get multiple listens, which is the case with this one, because I've got to be a little blunt while not coming off as an asshole. And for the record, it doesn't sound completely unbearable.

What Gravey said is for the most part correct. It's a very haphazard and chaotic track that is very unpredictable compared to most conventional pieces. I saw that you mentioned that it's somewhat based on Igor's Piano Rag piece. Let me first say that Igor's style isn't my cup of tea, but I can appreciate his talent and will acknowledge that his music sounds great to a lot of people.

The main reason why Piano Rag works and yours isn't is because his pieces are all composed on one instrument: the piano. It's considered to be one of the most versatile instruments ever, and the score is usually played on that instrument only. What you have is two synths and a sampled drum set. Think of it as three people playing three different variations of Piano Rag at the same time. It probably wouldn't sound the greatest to the audience.

Another thing that I need to mention is velocity, velocity, velocity. I would have probably picked up on the freelance style if there was some sort of depth to the track. The synths seem to be playing at a constant volume. There aren't any soft keys to give the piece any brief moment of quieter play. It's all very much bang bang bang. You know what I'm saying?

But if you like it, then ignore everything I've said and keep doing your thing. At the end of the day, it's your work. Have a good one.

cheezz responds:

Don't feel bad, I'm honored to have your feedback, your criticism was constructive and has given me some stuff to think about. Thanks man.

[Yellow Spots [Q-Works]]

This is one powerful track, you guys. I'm very partial to rolling hats, and this piece provided. Kind of weird how that's like a trap thing now. Bells are kind of weird, but kind of great at the same time. You have like a hard, confrontational tone to the drums and bass, and then the bells provide this sort of surrealistic level to whole thing, which I don't think would have worked if it wasn't such a catchy melody.

Can I also say awesome job with the mastering? DnB front-and-center. Everything else at the sides. So good on headphones.

Celorux responds:

Thanks a lot! :)

[Deep Hardware]

Haha. Feeling the Bandicoot in this one. It's been awhile, but I always liked it when you broke open a box and you'd get a new mask thing. The sound that plays is just awesome.

But I guess you want a review, huh? It's great. You definitely had the percussion going on, but my favorite noise out of the entire track would have to be the twisting sound I hear frequently throughout. I think it's really a quick wood scrape or something. Hope you know what I'm talking about and I don't come off sounding like a complete idiot.

One instrument that I think didn't really gel with the track were the bells. They sound a little strange in context with all the other instruments, even though it's based on a weirdo soundtrack like Crash Bandicoot. Maybe if they were just a little shorter? I think it might've worked. Great job on everything else though, dude. If you hadn't said that the piece was inspired by CB, I probably wouldn't have related them. Since you did bring it up, however, it's totally believable.

[RustedWasteland+MetalSoldier]

Before even looking at the title, the first word that came to my head when I heard the first track was "wasteland." I've heard the desolate theme brought to electronic tracks before, but not to the effect where the mood of the track is more prominent than the dubstep-style of sound this one is alluding to. I can easily imagine this playing over a game like Fallout or some similar setting where struggling for survival is the only thing on anyone's mind.

The growls really bring out the ominous tone of living in a such a hazardous and hostile environment. It's like they periodically make themselves known in the track to remind you that you're in a cruel world that won't think twice about your needs, much less your life. The riser is also a great transition into the second track that warns of the more aggressive attitude that is to come.

Perhaps my most favorite moment in these two pieces is the bitcrusher that slowly dominates the piece before releasing the drop. Degradation like that has never been more appropriate in an atmospheric double-track like this. The drop itself reminded me of something akin to Bassnectectar's electronica beats. They may not resemble each other much, but the feeling is the same.

I can't really tell you how much I love this. It's such a juicy pair of tracks that I had to listen to them again to really appreciate them and make sure I didn't miss anything the first time. I'll be sure to favorite this and follow you in case you throw out any more material as good as these two.

Stapless responds:

Cheers, Such a nice read :) now i feel the pressure of doing something to top this one. haha

[Impulse]

Wow, everything sounds clear! If anything, your level of improvement is astonishing to say the least. No crazy peaks and clean EQing. Have you looked into stereo/panning yet? PM me the link to your Soundcloud when you're done with this. I'm curious as to what the drums will sound like.

Lethal-Input responds:

Thanks man! I haven't tried anything with panning yet because I've literally only been using one earphone... (Yes I know I need to get new earphones asap lol). The drums will make or break this song, and as far as putting music together, drums are what I feel like I struggle the most with. I'll be sure to send you the link when I post it to Soundcloud

[New Eminence (part I)]

Haha. At first I was wondering why this was listed as New Wave. Then 1:08 came in and I was like "Ohhhhhhh." This is an incredibly groovy track. That vibrato on the synth is killer! Not to mention the sax jammin out like crazy. One thing I do have to point out though is the sampled drums. I think a little reverb would have brought out a little more life to them. But that's just me. I just don't like dry drums. So when are you going to play for Duran Duran? ;)

[Dark High]

Midi files like this always bring me back to those early 90s point-and-click games. They certainly had a mysterious charm about them. Unless that's your thing, maybe you should look into higher level audio workstations like Ableton, FL Studio, Sonar X1, etc. They're totally worth the money. And if you're really strapped for cash, there are some really good free vsts floating around on the web that can add to your sound.

But like I said, if that's your thing, then it sounds very nice for what it is. However, midi can't really take you very far in terms of creativity. Cheers!

[Obstructed Dreamscape]

I've always imagined that if a dream were to have a soundtrack behind it, it would be eerily quiet and simple like this. I also imagine slow 2step drum solos, too. I don't know. It's not easy to review something like this. I could say you should make it longer than a minute and a half and throw in some more experimental shit in, like old-time samples, distorted rumbling, or exotic percussion (stuff I would have done if this were mine), but this is just a filler track, right? For a day's work, it's solid.

SoulSecure responds:

Funny enough, I was going to make this longer than it is, but I thought it would loop nicely if I ended it there, which it does, but when I export the song from my DAW it doesn't loop as well as it did. That's why I made it short, so it could be looped.

Coincidently, I was also going to add some Chinese cymbals and tabla in there, lol.

[Territorial Pissings]

This song always reminds me of how much Cobain loved The Pixies. And there's something to be said where you can put some power behind the vocals without hiding behind distortion and still make it sound good. I love it. Save up for a Shure or something, dude!

Stereocrisis responds:

Thank you Josh. These are the kind of reviews that remind me why I like playing in the first place. I'm an entertainer. I like people to have a good time listening to music. Some times people just think it's angry, dark, depressing, gloomy music. That's not my whole deal at all. I like people to get up and dance and be glad they're are alive, and have fun. I'm happy to have made at this a small part of your day enjoyable. Please, don't flatter me. I didn't write this song, nor am I getting into making music for the wrong reasons. Some people just want to get their name out there. I could careless about attaining some kind of status. Just how I feel. Thank you for listening.

[Skirmish (Collab)]

This is a nice collab jam from both of you guys. The notation is always fluid and active, the "backing track" was hard, and I never thought between any of you guys' pieces that they sounded out of place or incongruent. I didn't really care for the lead at 02:17. It just sounded like a cheap and uninspired lead that could have benefited from having more voices behind it or something. However, my favorite part was actually the soft lead following it. The build and fall was just so sweet and epic, I had to listen to it twice.

The only other thing I didn't really like was the reverb hit at 04:57. I think it would have been better if the tail was lowpassed a little bit to keep it from sounding like a muddy mess when it hits. All in all, though, I really like the enthusiasm and flow of this track that you two have put together. I look forward to hearing more work both collaborate and independent from you guys!