LucidShadowDreamer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Doctor Midnight, Burning Escape]

Alright. I finally got some time to listen to the whole thing.

Simply but, I think it's quite amazing. The style seems very similar to some scores for older movies, especially mystery and horror themed.
Most of the composition is good, even though it may be a bit simple at points. I would've probably given this a 4.5 by itself, but with this lenght and consistensy, it easily deserves a 5.

Needless to say, this is better background music than it is standalone music though!

Either way, brilliant job ;)

frootza responds:

Lucid,

Thank you very much for the review! I am definitely a fan of older film scores and probably picked up a few tricks listening to them over the years.

I'm happy that you enjoyed the composition as well, minimalist music is something I enjoy quite a bit but I see what you mean about the simplicity of certain areas of the piece, that may be where the influence comes from.

I'd love to work with someone one day on getting this set to some sort of visual medium, we'll see what the future holds!

Thanks Lucid!

-frootza

[Day of the Sloth]

Happy birthday, Nothisisslothy! :D

I am selfish enough to only make covers of this song for my own birthdays, so I'm glad to hear that someone does so to celebrate others XD

larrynachos responds:

I wanted to make one for my birthday, but I was sick that day so I couldn't.

I actually modeled this one after your latest birthday song. I couldn't figure out how to make it loop properly though ^^

[Big King Boss Music]

For being your first attempt at something like this, it actually sounds really good!
The percussion is really cool, and really shows that there is some action going on, as it's so active throughout the piece :)
The melody is really interesting. It sounds like some kind of trumpet is playing most of it (brass intruments, in the very least). The melody sounds mostly Arabic (deserts, etc), though the combination with the drums makes it so that this could fit in a jungle theme as well. The melody repeats quite a bit for such a short track though (especially the one in the middle, at 6 times, though the tail of the melody is different every second repeat), even if there's a couple of changes here and there, but it's good enough to take some listens.
The transitions work really well, and don't sound forced in the least. The change in percussion for the different parts work too. As for the intruments, it's good that you added a few extra layers at points, to bring them out, like the one that plays in the higher frequencies that enters at 0:28. There's the more bassy one at 0:48 as well.
Even the mixing sounds fine. This is much better than what I did for my first tracks :D
As this track starts and ends with the same percussion, it would've been really great if the track was edited in such a way that it could loop smoothly, especially as it could really fit as game music!

Either way, for a first ever track, this is pretty amazing. If you manage to submit a few more tracks of similar quality, I or someone else will scout you to the audio portal for sure! ;)
Even if the usual code is at least 4 tracks, I'd say that this is good enough that one more upload of the same quality is enough for at least me to scout you, as you're already a known uploader in other portals :)

Marcomatic responds:

Thanks for the constructive feedback LucidShadowDreamer! I'll definitely take those considerations on board. I'm going to work on adding more dynamic to the music :)
Cheers man! I'm really motivated now! :)

[Bom Bom]

I like that BOM BOM BASS, I like that bom bom... :p
Really cool, actually :)

YakovlevArt responds:

Haha, nice! Glad you like it.

[C.U.R.E. (Concentrated Unmaking Robotic Entity)]

That visualizer is pretty rad, I've got to admit!
It's a shame that this track is a bit late, but who knows? Some time schedules on Newgrounds aren't that strict, and as the winners are not yet announced, you may be able to participate :D
Because this track is awesumm!

The beginning is actually the least good part in the song, imo, and let me tell you. The beginning is still pretty good! It evolves into so much more though. It's almost starting to sound a bit like the style of ParagonX9, so you can hear from that alone that it's brilliant. In my opinion, better than the track I submitted. Your mixing is on such another level than mine!

I love the effects you did at places like 0:48 etc. XD

Splendid job with this track!
Me likey a lot :3

Noisysundae responds:

Ahhh, I feel that the intro is a bit lame too but I left it because it will be worse than this if I change. XD
And the robot day, I didn't expect the first places. Having my sundae in the list is enough.
Everyone has different pros and cons. (You said that) I have better mixing. You have better composition and are able to make an improv while I can't since I'm simply just a computer user with a DAW (FL), not an actual musician. (Wait. Why this conversation is being sadder? I didn't mean to make it be like that. :/ ) ParagonX9? Yes, that one will be super legendary if he is still making his until now. :( (Or he got a new title?)

P.S. All hail the time manipulation VSTs for those stuttering effects! (Mine is Grossbeat in FL.)

[Revelries]

It would seem as if the experimentation brought forth some great results. The intro is very effectful, and uses tasty chords and rhythms. I love the minimalistic feel in this track. I mean, sure. There are some things going on. But it never feels as if the track gets heavy. And occasionally, one can really enjoy listening to such a light and happy track :)
I also like that the intruments keep changing. Occasionally there's brass, occasionally there's bass, hehhe...
There's always the synth which helps with the beat though (even if it too changes sound a few times), which is a nice touch.

Nice transition at 2:35!

I can hear that the ending is also experimental, which is my only complaint. I think that you ought to have used a short note as the last one, so that one could really get the full effect or the abrupt ending. At this point, the chords and the structure don't really foreshadow the ending. In some cases, this can have an interesting effect. But in this one, I feel it didn't quite work out. The long note just feels queer to me :/
Not only that, but the sample doesn't sound as good when it holds the note down :P
I'm going to let this slip startwise though, as the rest of the track is so good :3

Keep on experimenting; it worked wonderfully in this case!

adieuwinter responds:

Thanks for the kind words, LSD! I'm glad to hear your impressions, they pretty much mirror what my goals were for this piece. This version was rushed (most of what you hear was done in the past couple hours) for NGAUC, so before I release this elsewhere I'll revise it until I'm more satisfied. I'm not entirely confident in how I ended this song either, so I'll definitely be returning to fix that up. The review is much appreciated :)

[Death of a Prodigy]

This track really is very beatuiful. I am very honored to have been part of this track by way of inspiration. You are a talented musician and composer, especially for your age. Not saying that this wouldn't be considered good if you were older, but that since you're already this great at only 17, surely you'll grow up to become extremely good at composing.
This is already way beyond my level (at least in orchestral music), especially when it comes to dynamics and mixing.

You have a brilliant grasp on melody and harmony. And I sense that you can also feel the music, instinctively, which is very important. For example, I think that the name and theme are very apt, and suit the atmosphere.
There is some volume dynamic going on as well, if one cares to listen to it. This track didn't even need any percussion. I guess you could've tried adding some atmospherical cymbals or deep toms somewhere, but I think that this works just as well without them.

If I would have to give any criticism at all, it's that I feel the final notes could've dragged on for just a little longer. The ending could've also been structured in a way that it was hinted at, for say, the last 15 seconds or so. But upon relistening, it sounds just fine :)
Also, I like that you ended the piece with a chord that sounded a bit inconclusive!

All in all, splendid job. It's great that you finally got to finishing up the album :D
I myself am thinking about eventually gathering the best of my piano tracks, and creating an album out of them XD

larrynachos responds:

I'm flattered that you think so highly of me. I put a lot of love and effort into this song, and I appreciate that you enjoy it!

I probably should have extended the end, but I'm no good with endings.

You should definitely release an album, LSD!

Thanks for the review! It means a lot to me!

[A War Between Our People]

Aww, it's a shame you didn't finish it in time!
This track is beautiful at first. There are some great harmonies and melodies in here. That drastic change at 0:55 really took me by surprise though, and I love it :D
The action works really well in contrast to the beginning. Awesome job ;)

larrynachos responds:

Ah, I'm glad you liked the contrast! I was really worried that would throw people off and they would hate it :X

Thanks a lot, LSD!

[Home]

A very beautiful track indeed. You earned yourself a new fan :3

Ylmir responds:

Thanks a lot, and welcome ! :p

[Love It Like This]

Whoah, this is pretty nice, dude!
A very tasty jam :3