LucidShadowDreamer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Born Again]

Wow :O

This rocks!
And it does so a lot. I wonder where my socks disappeared ´o.O`?

larrynachos responds:

You have no idea how great your reviews always make me feel, man. Thanks.

[Chiptune For Newgrounds]

Hey, this sounds really cool! It's brilliant in its simplicity.
Added to my favorites :)

[Scenic Ride]

Oop, almost forgot to review this one! Well, it's not that I feel I have to, just that I want to :'D

I do like this track! I'm glad to hear something new from you again. It's not one of my favorites from you, but it's still quite a piece. The intro is brilliant! The choir/song in the background throughout, is amazing. I like the bass too, and the melodies are nice in general. From a compositional standpoint, the energy level is more or less perfect, and fits the arrangement well.

I think that boring as it is, my main complaint (though very subjective!) is just that I'm not a huge fan of the main melody instrument that enters at 0:27. It sounds oddly soft without being 'sweet' (it may occupy lower frequenzies than I'd prefer, for the lead in this mix), and when it harmonizes (aka. more than one melody line), it somehow ends up sounding a bit false, even though it really isn't; not sure how to explain it.
Of course, this is more liquid DnB, so it doesn't have to "punch" in the same way as you'd expect from many types of electronic tracks, but somehow I still feel like there could be some more dynamicity in the overall balance. But I'm terrible at mixing myself, so don't expect for me to come with any great solutions! This doesn't apply to the intro NOR the breakdowns though, as I feel they really hit the right spot in every way, so I'm guessing it's the many intruments layered on top of each other that could either be mixed a bit differently, or bring something out more drastically at some point. THAT SAID everything is very clear, which is impressive in its own right :)

Lol, I don't think my review is actually going to be of any help at all, but there it is. Great track, and please do keep it up! <3

Noisysundae responds:

It's fine if you decide not to write. I did that for R4R thread, and each detailed review there took me half an hour at least. :P

That weird feeling about the lead synth, I'm pretty sure you means something like 1:19. I admit that I can't find a suitable set of notes for that part. It can be the progression itself, though. (because I didn't do such a strange chord progression so often) The synth also had its treble cut off a bit, someone might find it ear-bleeding if I leave it be.

Thanks for expressing your perspective about this sundae. I guess every musician overlooked some mistakes due to listening to them too many times. That's inevitable unless you're doing an improv. :V

[Snowblind]

I went back to listen to the old version too, and I actually find both to be really nice! The mix in this one is way more clear though. Can I just say how lovely the chords and melodies are here in this piece?
My absolute favorite part is the key change at 3:49 (I love me them key changes :D, especially when they're well pulled off).

The piano sounds wonderful. What piano did you use? The melodies you wrote for it are so nice! :3
The arrangement is really sweet too. This is the kind of piece I could just allow to loop in the background forever, and fall asleep to it.

The percussion is just enough to complement the other aspects of the piece. I'd say that all the elements fit perfectly together, which means the arrangement is well thought out. I'm glad you decided to revamp your old composition, even though it was already so good!

The piece even has rhythmic variation, with sections such as the one that starts at 2:19 and 4:19. And somehow, you managed to make the constant bassy, panning arps in the background not feel too repetitive, thanks to everything else that's going on.

All is well here, to say the least! I'm glad to hear something new from you again <3
Seems like people are starting to work on their projects and whatnot a bit more now that it's summer again.

Keep it up, and thank you for sharing!

ChronoNomad responds:

Well, if it isn't one of my all-time favourite reviewers! Thank you once again for another wonderful review, it truly is my pleasure to receive them. So you listened to the original version, as well? That's pleasantly unexpected, and I'm really happy to hear that you enjoy them both for what each one brings to the table, but yes--this one is definitely the clearer of the two. Of course you may speak of how lovely you find the chords and melodies to be! I know that I really like how this remake turned out, but hearing about what other people think about the music always has so much impact. What's really interesting is that I can't really remember hearing a key change quite like the one that I did hear, but oh my goodness...it sounds so nice~! And I guess I'm not alone in thinking that. ^___^

Ah yes, the piano! This may surprise you a bit, but it's good old PianoOne! That has somehow become my go-to piano VST, although the sound has been modified a good deal with the following plugins: Convolver, Soundgoodizer, Stereo Enhancer, Delay Bank, and just a touch of an appropriately cool (literally) Hardcore setting called "Ice Cold Bouncy." I'm so glad that you like the melodies and overall arrangement so much! The piano section owns a fair amount of real estate, so it has to shine like a new penny.

Just like the piano, the percussion plays a very important role in the piece as a whole, so the choices for hats, kick, etc. all needed to be appropriate and work well with that Winter-esque theme. The percussion really comes out of the mix in this one when compared to the original, and that was one of my main goals, to keep things working together cohesively without making anything sound muddied. Fortunately, it seems as though my mixing talents have continued to improve over the years, and I pray that they continue to do so.

Yeah, as opposed to the previous incarnation, I wanted this one to have a bit more variation in the rhythmic beat, and it's really nice to break things up a bit from time to time. As for the bass arp that carries on throughout the entire song, I had to make sure that it didn't overpower the other instruments, but it had to "be there" in the background the whole way at the same time. It was a delicate balance, but ultimately seems to have worked out nicely!

I've actually been working on this on and off for a while now, between other projects and living life and whatnot, so it feels really good finally getting this out there. Suffice to say, I am very pleased with the way that it all turned out, and I put a ton of my heart and soul into it. This feels like a definitive version to me, and that's nothing short of awesome.

Will do, my man! Always happy to share the music with those who truly appreciate it. <3

[Innocently Evil]

Very simple, yet most enthralling!

DESHIEL responds:

Im so dizzy that I feel like I could reach out and touch every note. xD

[-Clutterfunk Part 2-]

I don't like what I hear...

I love what I hear <3
Really great job on this one! Every part just hits the musical sweetspot :3

[Sobriety]

This is awesome! I love the fact that it's in 7/4 too. Great job :3

[When Your Soul Travels To The Last Frontier Of The Universe]

This is a wonderful tune. It's very meditative. It actually reminds me of some of the music from Final Fantasy games, for some reason. But so does all music, somehow. Either way, I love this.

[Lucid Dreams]

How could I, in particular, not love this track? <3

LawnReality responds:

Haha, glad you like it! <3

[Drowning Bot!]

Man this is intese!
It brings me back to the older days of NG, with tracks released by examplewise ParagonX9. It's perfect for Newgrounds's birthday!

Wonderful job here :D

sebastien01 responds:

Thank you very much for the awesome compliment, being compared to the legendary ParagonX9 is more than anyting I could expect about how much someone would appreciate this song :D Thanks for the review, it's greatly appreciated, even more coming from someone who makes such nice music as you. ;)