JoshuaHughes's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[pitbulljones- Sunday Morning]

A very atmospheric track indeed. It made me think of intros to old 80's and 90's movies, like Escape from L.A. The song starts off good enough, with a cool filter effect at the lead. Or maybe it's the pitch? Anyways, there's one big thing and one little thing I think you could have changed to make the piece better.

The big thing is the dryness of the drums. It kind of works, but mostly doesn't. The most beneficial effect that I believe could have been added was a filter to enhance the chillness of the track. The small thing is just how the piece ends by just dropping every instrument. Not everybody like this, but I think for this piece, fading out some of the instruments and then dropping what's left would transition better.

Overall, a great ambient track with some very atmospheric pads and FX to illustrate the feeling. And considering none of this is analogue, I can only wonder how great your future works will sound when you get some proper mics and instruments!

pitbulljones responds:

Thank you very the review. I always aim to create a good atmosphere in my tracks. Create imagery, that sort of stuff so thanks for the comparisions. I agree the main lead in synth could be tamed a tad, if I go back to do this I may drop the level slightly. I was comtemplating something more 'electronic' and lo fi for the my drums but settled on a nice verbed kit, different tastes there :)

I do post guitar tracks on here as well as stuff by my band called ilovelamp, though i rarely do any synth work with them. I should look into buying some gear, but having high qaulity software helps a lot.

Thanks for the review, it's really appreciated.

Pitbulljones

[Callipygian]

Mesmerizing. Dissonance. There you go.

Those who haven't been blessed with a callipygous body will have to work for one. I would recommend an exercise routine consisting of squats, lunges, and leg presses.

[Only The Beginning]

Okay, so I think the piano is wonderfully done. Those detuned keys really set a melancholic mood for the track. I can imagine a vocal talent easily splicing the first 45 seconds and making a solid hip hop piece.

Speaking of splicing, I would think the biggest issue that this track faces is that it sounds like 3 pieces crammed into one, and like it's been said, :45 really doesn't help its case. The lead and bass is just too big to just pop up like that, for me at least.

That being said, I think the bpm change was actually handled very well. I believe pulling one off correctly is a very difficult thing to do, especially when you're doing a lot of genre-hopping. And once again, it falls into a slow, melancholic mood with the bass providing a sort of foreboding tone before it kicks out. I would be very interested to hear any further development in this one! Just make sure the piece is grounded and sounds like a track and not a medley.

Back-From-Purgatory responds:

I admit, I'm not entirely happy with the section at 0:45... and should I continue working on this, that's probably the first thing I'll change, on top of extending the piece instead of letting it end abruptly as it does now.

Transitions I am awful at... Tempo changes, I like to believe I can do pretty well, so I'm glad you agree on that.

Thanks for the review.

[Be$pin - Floating Hotel]

So I think the only real thing that is working against you on this is the first 25 seconds with the instruments and sample filtering in and almost deceiving the listener into believing that it's something that it's not.

After the first 25 seconds, the drop feels somewhat disappointing on one hand. On the other, it's a very groovy drop. Usually, the explanation to this sort of conflict is simply the way it's produced. I know telling you to just try mixing it differently isn't very helpful feedback, but this one has really stumped me. Telling you to do one specific thing or another just wouldn't be sincere.

Actually, one thing that I can put my finger on is the hi hats. I think you could have tightened the tails just the slightest bit to keep the hits from sounding like they're on top of each other.

I don't mean to sound too critical of this track, because I do genuinely like it, but there's just something about that drop that tells me that it's not all the way there yet,

midimachine responds:

i feel like the problem with the drop is that the first buildup is just too empty
maybe the kick isn't loud enough too, still haven't had a listen on a proper system yet so can't really tell for myself
thanks for the review!

[Area 51]

This is very reminiscent of Dave Mustaine's work. It's almost uncanny. Glad to hear some more quality metal on the portal. You can never have too much. METAL UP YOUR ASS.

Schleif responds:

awesome! thanks for the kind words man, i'm glad you like it!

[Working Title]

Yeah, hearing the Daft Punk and Justice inspiration in this. Okay, here's the rundown. First 45 seconds were really great, but after that Gross Breat mix, the whole track seemed to take a really empty turn. I can imagine this working perfectly if it were just given a little more oomph. I would look into plate reverb, exciters, and stereo effects to really widen the track and give that big roomy grit that it desperately needs.

lazy-dave responds:

I'll definitely try those out and see what I can do. Thanks for the review! Much appreciated!

[War Sounds]

Some people will claim that this kind of stuff is garbage. Some will claim that they completely understand this kind of music. In my opinion, they are both wrong. Nowadays. noise bands will just blast shit and make everything as distorted and loud as possible. Nothing wrong with that, but that's not what noise music is entirely about.

When I listened to this, it reminded me of acts like Throbbing Gristle and Wolf Eyes, both incredibly good bands from different generations who actually influenced a lot of popular artists that aren't noise band-related. Go figure.

floppypawss responds:

Hey man, thanks for the review. I'm so glad that there are ppl on newgrounds that are into this kind of music. BTW i love Throbbing Gristle!

[Former Motive]

Nice simple drop at :58. You're getting better, man. Look into layering and compression techniques. You'll get that fuller sound and will even out some volume levels that peak a little too high.

Lethal-Input responds:

I will definitely look into these things you're talking about. Thanks for the info/tips/feedback!

[Idea 12-27-2014]

Definitely feeling the prog in this. Like :33 instantly made me think of something Yes would have made. However, maybe it's just me but this sounds more like a collection of small ideas instead of one big piece. I know progressive music can go all over the place, but there is still usually something that grounds it and keeps it from becoming a technical mess. Perhaps it's the carnival sounds I'm hearing from the MIDI.

Still loving the melodies, though, Scouting you and all that.

N-Szewski responds:

Thanks for listening! Glad you enjoyed it. Yeah, it definitely is pretty directionless though, so maybe I'll try tying things together better if I want to put more work into this.

[Metronome]

Nice use of vibrato to keep things funky. :) And those growls in the intro really lend to the power of the kick. The only major problem I hear is the weakness of the snare. The reverb on it is really good, but it still seems to fall flat to me. Other than that, keep on rocking, man. I'm lovin this.