LucidShadowDreamer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Adel's Theme (Menu)]

This is great :)
The calm intro was already good, but the transition at 0:30 and the part after that really got me. The rest of the piece keeps on being beautiful. All the instruments fit well together, while the piano is constantly playing in the background :D

"Lack of anything particularly exciting"?
I think everything was fine, and there was some excitement in the dynamic variation. The only issue is that the end seems a bit abrupt (and the loop doesn't really loop that well), but as you said; this is not the full version :3

I'll certainly look forward to the proper version, whenever it comes out. Amazing job, as always ;)

Step responds:

Heya! I felt pretty insecure about this track so it's very relieving to get a positive response on it.

I don't understand why the loop is off... It should be fine - dominant chord to tonic - but there's a little click that I just couldn't get rid of, which makes it sound kind of weird.

I'm glad you thought this was somewhat exciting, even for a menu loop haha. Thanks a lot for the encouraging feedback.

[Meet Frances]

I listened to some of your songs (and noticed I've heard "Disappointing Love 2014", which this song's intro actually reminds me of, although it's faster and there is much difference), and they were all great!
I don't really have anything to criticise at all. Amazing job ;)

Semaphore responds:

Thanks LucidShadowDreamer I appreciate it a lot =)

[Pareidolic War]

You caught me already at the intro. The mood is perfect.
After that, all the other parts are filled with great stuff too. Not only the melodies and the chords, but the choises of (and uses of) instruments are amazing.
I feel like I'm not only listening to a song, but that I'm told a story, which is how music often works :D
The ony thing I could criticise is that I might've added just a tiny bit more reverb to the drums when they were used more as an addition to the atmosphere (like 2:38 and a while after that). I might totally be wrong in thinking so though.
Really, awesome job with this piece, and I wish you luck in the contest!

Phonometrologist responds:

That’s really interesting that you say the instrument choices and the use of them are good. I’ve gotten mixed reviews about the instruments that I used here. I suppose it’s because when it comes to Orchestral instruments, the goal is to get them sounding as real and authentic as one possibly can, but when you add synths to that, it detracts away from the realness of how it sounds as a whole. Not sure if or how I could help that and maybe it’s more subjective as well. Whatever the case may be, I didn’t have much time experimenting in tweaking the sounds, but also, I didn’t look at this totally as an orchestral piece, nor did I look at this as an electronic piece either. I didn’t really give much thought into the style of it, and the instruments used is what I felt/heard needed to be added for this piece in particular.
For the drums, I just used the room mics for the reverb. Trust me, they sound really dry if I didn’t turn those mics up, but I do know what you mean hence I added a little bit of delay in the beginning of them. Perhaps when I remix this, I will experiment more on the room mics to see how much I can put emphasis on those without making it sound too distant. Thank you for the review—creates a good variety of opinions on this piece as you helped balance it out I suppose. I would have been interested in reading more the kind of story that you felt was being told to you.

[Junkman Jam]

Whoah, great job! This track is pretty awesome :D
I too think it's quite unique XD
Good luck in the contest!

BrainLight responds:

Thanks for the review and support, friend. I am to entertain.

[Spring Surge]

I can definitely hear a LOT of LunacyEcho in this. You managed very well in capturing the heart of your own style in this track, which is also quite impressive; I'd have trouble doing so with my own stuff, even if I have a style (or several styles).
This is a very uplifting track to listen to, which is always nice :)
Still, at points there's a lot of stuff happening.
I think my favorite part is the one that starts at 1:53 and ends at 2:13. It's a bit weird, and different from the rest of the song (quite a sudden transition back after the section, but I don't really care), so that might just be it XD (the part after 2:54 competes for the spot of favorite part though).
You seem to know precisely how you want your bass to sound, which is always good. The percussional aspect of this track is awesome as always.
I actually like the ending, and I hope some of the judges will too. It might be a bit over the top, but I think it actually fits this piece :3

I doubt you'll have to worry about the deadline; they tend not to be that strict with such things on Newgrounds :'D

I'm impressed over the fact that you made two good and somewhat long pieces in such a short amount of time too o.O

Anywhoos, I don't have that much more to say, other than great job, and keep up the great work ;)

LunacyEcho responds:

=> hear a LOT of LunacyEcho =>

Great! That's what I was really going for.

=> 1:53 =>

Funny thing: I'd written the parts from 0:00-1:32 and 2:14-3:14 before anything else, so that stuff from 1:33-2:13 was all just random stuff that I thought sounded good. It stemmed from a couple cool drums beats I thought of, then I started thinking about what would lead into a minimalistic break (2:14) well, so I tried making it sound busy and it turned into that part. The transition used to be a LOT more sudden - the decision to make use the high-pitched, muffled sound (which is actually a bass) and the reverse cymbal were made late into development.

=> bass =>

A while ago, johnfn said that using a regular electric bass in a synth-heavy song actually sounded pretty good, so I decided to try it. As usual, his musical instincts were right, it seems.

=> percussional aspect =>

One thing about the percussion I used this time that people don't seem to notice on the first listen is that from 3:05-3:15, the drum kit changes. It goes from being a standard studio kit to a more drum-n-bass kit. :P

=> ending =>

:D I predict a 50/50 split. I'm satisfied with it, at least!

=> two good and somewhat long pieces =>

In a total of around 8-9 days! I'm really proud of that. Also, I'm really tired. This has been a long week, albeit a fun one. I've learnt a ton about music already, and I'm definitely ready to take a long, long, LONG sleep.

Thanks for the review!

[Primal Time]

Whoah, this is awesome!
This piece is full of creative stuff everywhere. It sounds pretty experimental to me, although it seems you know what you're doing. All the interesting noises everywhere add a lot to the rythm and atmosphere; really good job with that.
The mixing is great too XD
Even the ending is fine :)
Although this is a kinda messy piece, I think you did an amazing job with it :p

Keep these great tracks coming ;)

JoshuaHughes responds:

You got it, man! Gotta get some spare time to see what you've been dishing out lately.

[Reflection]

I don't think this sounds terrible at all :)
I have heard better, but this is a solid improvisation for sure!
I'm not too good at improvising either, even if I can play the piano pretty well. Thus, I'd say you've done a good job here, so... Good job! ;)

Chemiqals responds:

Thank you! I'm glad you think so. Your piano work is beautiful!