cyan11's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Makestuff's Theme Song]

A moment of silence…. Then the piano, the melody sounds a bit haphazard, possible timing issues, but then again it sounds nice at the same time, from the heart. This is a very melancholic piece which is right up my alley. And this is played better than I could ever do. Unless this is intentional syncopation? I cannot tell. This is enjoyable, I just think the lead piano lacks a recognizable structure, also it ends very abruptly. Overall though I like the mood and the tone. 4.5/5

[Fidelity]

Trying this review on my iPad. I really like the intro with the sharp strings. I like the evolution and how it explodes with the riser. Nice tight beat to it and the melodic progression is enjoyable. Then another riser and the song continues. I’m really digging it so far. If I was to give any room for improvement I would say maybe could change up the lead instrument after the second rise, maybe up it an octave or add effects or even change the lead instrument. But that said, top notch production! Kudos, -G

DJ-Cassell responds:

Thank you for this great review! That is also a great tip that I will keep in mind. I should keep things interesting by changing things up with effects or any other alterations. I can't wait to listen to more of your tunes! :D

[Pearl Jam Cover]

I bumped this review ahead of some of the others because Pearl Jam is one of my favorite bands and this is one of my favorite songs by them. Def sounds like a basement 4-track recording. Guitar is nice, Your voice sounds good, but Eddie's a tough act to follow. You did well within your range though. I'd say overall a good cover. It does sound like a lofi recording though, and there's hiss and artifact. Still better than anything I could pull off haha. I think the vocals and guitar are pretty much on point, just the recording/mixing/mastering could be improved. For example, your voice sounds a bit muffled so I don't know if it's a mic issue or an EQ issue. I feel with more clarity this can be a decent cover track. You do have a good singing voice though, if I needed a singer I would be happy to have you as my vocalist (my singing voice sucks lol). Everything seems on key and no errors. The guitar playing closely matches the original, but McCready's also a tough act to follow. I'm gonna give it 4.5/5 because the only issues I really see are in the recording.

[À cause de l'ombre ~ version définitive]

I love the retro synths in the intro. The melody is pretty. I don't know French but your voice is beautiful. I can feel the deep emotion in your voice as well as the instrumentals. Great use of effects as well. If I had to criticize I'd say the synths at 3:21 should be a tad louder. Yes they are that low earlier in the song but I feel like the song should progress somehow here. Maybe a pad or light percussion to vary it up a bit. Don't get me wrong, the song is still beautiful, I just think a little more variation on the instrumentals would benefit the track and help bring it to an apex. This goes for the last section as well. You're voice is incredible it should be matched with some kickass buildup instrumentals. I think it can be somewhat subtle, the minimalism of this piece is a big part of the beauty of it. I think you can still revisit this. Hell, I've revisited some tracks 4-5 times. I know this track is very special to you and I think it's great, but when I hear it I hear it can be even greater. Still a 5/5 though.

[classic disco]

Hey pretty good funk! I like the groove and the sound of the instruments. Could use a little more reverb on the bass. Definitely reminds me of something from the 70's. I think for the parts where the bass is alone you should add something in the background like an organ or something because those parts sound pretty sparse. also the transitions are a little abrupt. Try easing them in/out with some effects like reverb and delay. For example, at 2:34 the piano drops off very quickly and it doesn't sound natural. You can also try letting the note ring out longer to help with this. Overall enjoyable just needs a little TLC. 4/5

ThatsalongnamE responds:

:D! 4/5!?!?! Thx! I’ll work on it how I can lol. Not si sure how reverb works on bandlab.

[Waltz Of The Moon]

Definitely a Waltz. Very dreamy, I love the piano melody against the waltz. I also like the ambient textures that come in. Around :55 it gets a little weird for me, it's a warmer tone but it's not as beautiful as the beginning part. Then at 1:05 there's a strange synth that I think does not match the motif of the first minute of the song. This was a short one. Final Thoughts: Focus on the parts with the waltz and the piano. Instead of what happens at :55, I can see this exploding into full orchestra or at least strings. I like the first 55 seconds, not too crazy about what happens after that. This is definitely lofi, and I'll not ding you for that, the composition is actually quite good. But I feel this went off in the wrong direction. I would almost always say 1:21 is too short for a song unless it's an intro/outro. So I would take the first 55 seconds and expand on that further with another 55 seconds. You can try maybe changing the instruments in the second half (I recommend string quartet or something like that) Or you can even go with synths and add some percussion. There are so many choices really. Even if you go with the changes you made, make it longer and change that last synth, it just doesn't sound right to me. 3/5 because this needs some work. If you make another version ask for another review after you post the revision (if you'd like). I'd say you're onto something with that first minute. Just needs more work.

Zelit responds:

Thanks a lot man! If you'd like to see some completed singles, check out my Spotify profile. Definitely loved this roast! :)

[Bloody Nights]

I noticed this is a cover, so I'm not familiar with the original. The intro's not bad, when the vocals come in I can't really make out what they're saying. But they sound like sampled recordings. And it sounds like the same thing said over and over. I'm 4 minutes in and this is getting really repetitive. Honestly if a song is going to be over 9 minutes long there should be some variation in it. I feel like you could've shortened it to a few minutes. I listened to the whole thing and you know, many of my pieces have repetition but at least some variations throughout, adding/changing instruments, changing the beat up, adding a completely different section would help this out a lot. As it stands now it is very repetitive and I don't know if it would hold anyone's attention for 9 minutes and 41 seconds. Sorry but I think you should re-work this one. Keep the main sections then change it up some way(s). Then you can go back to the main section but add something to it. I had to wait 9 minutes 19 seconds for any kind of change, and that's way too long. Revisit this piece and I'll review it again, just put it up in my review thread when it's ready. For now I'll give it 3/5 because I do like it but the length is not justified.

Timezer responds:

there is some benefits of repetitively and begin long song, could used in games for boss fights stuff like.

[Unraveled]

The intro melody is melancholic, right up my alley. At 00:41 there's a strange chord change, maybe meant to add some dissonance? It's repeated as we get further into the song. The song becomes kind of haunted, reminds me of how I composed when I made my ghosts album. I like the presentation and the transition to the second act of the song. Rhythm gets faster around 3:06, adding to the intensity of the piece. More dissonance, creating an air of uneasiness. Then back to the haunted motif. I'm digging this track. I think the piano outro could use some reverb, definitely. The ending is a kick/high combo, but I think a cymbal might be more appropriate.

Final Thoughts: Overall I like the style and mood. There's also good variation throughout. Production seems to be good, no major issues. I like the choice of synths, but maybe could use more effects like reverb (especially the piano). 5/5 for composition.

[Melancholy Hill- Broken Sword]

From one fellow warrior to another, you know I read your words and I'm like man, this person really is serious and gets deep into their craft. I haven't even listened to a note yet, but your description made me think to myself, I'm prepared for a real treat. Plus I love metal so there's that.

Here goes the listen. Had to lower the volume just a tad but sounds good. I miss playing guitar. There are chords behind the veil of harsher chords. Then water dripping, then a bass chugging. You are telling me a story here. I'll say maybe some mix issues here but I'm enjoying the compsition. I hear a hissing sound, not sure if that's artifact or not. I like the sweet-sounding leads, then dissonant leads on top of that. Then it sounds like I'm descending into hell. I really like the rhythm and the drums but like I said most of the issues here seem to be production issues like EQ, compression and mix. But you still record guitar better than I can so.. I feel like there's a counter-rhythm in the background but it's difficult to hear it. Then, a metal riff, the low end on the bass is a little too prominent, muddying the mix. You're a really good guitarist, you should consider re-mixing this track. The drums explode, this sounds like a basement tape of some really cool metal band. I hear a melody in the distance, but again it's hard to discern. It sounds real nice though then the leads kick in, awesome! The ending, it is melancholic and minimal. Then a weird soundbyte--why????

Final thoughts: The masterful guitar playing and beautiful composition are often waylaid by the issues of the mix. Often one guitar takes over the whole track and the other instruments get lost in translation. I do also hear a hissing throughout which I identified as noise, probably recording artifact. I believe if you clean up the mix this will sound incredible. I'd offer to help, I'm not a mixing engineer but I have tools and would be willing to give it a shot. But that's up to you if you'd be willing to give me your stems and since you don't know me I'd assume that's a no. But if you know someone who can, please get this remixed, you're doing yourself a disservice not to. I'm going to give a 5/5 because I value heart, composition and musicianship over top-notch production. I DO think there's definite room for improvement though, just get it mixed and mastered dammit! :)

By the way, I'll be checking out your other works. You've piqued my interest.

Cheers,

-G

BBaNK responds:

You are right, mastering is not my strentgth right now, but thank you, thank you!

[Flying March]

Obvious video game vibes here, nice. It does give the feel of a march. I like the overall composition. Though I am noticing some odd instances when the volume just drops out completely as if it were noise-gated or a vst or rendering glitch. At 00:47 is one of them. 01:34 is the second one. Maybe revisit the project to fix those instances. This is so retro though I love it. It's a very happy piece, puts me in a good mood. I like the different sections you composed, though come to think of it I can only identify two unique sections which seem to be repeated. Don't get me wrong, I think this fits very well for NES-style games but I don't know if that was your intention for the piece. I believe VGM like this is meant to be looped so not a big problem for me. Actually this is kind of hypnotizing. I'd definitely change the genre from experimental to video game. Final Thoughts: Fix the two sound glitches, consider varying the sections each time you introduce the main sequences (this can be done by adding another instrument layer or altering the melody a little bit each time), as far as production goes, I'd say maybe a little reverb thrown on would help the lead instrument. It's kind of minimalistic (the instrumentation) so no comments on the mix, I can hear each instrument very clearly. I'm gonna say 3.5 but with those fixes it can easily be a 4.5-5 for me.