acxle's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[WorldAnvil - NGUAC Final]

amazing work
the piano+vocal duet was my favorite part, so beautiful!

Santi-Montali responds:

Thanks!

[Warped World]

juicy chords indeed :) and overall great work!

LordAndiso responds:

Thank you :))

[Posterized]

gave me a feeling of bliss. great work :)

BeeFef responds:

Thank you!!! I hope I do well in the tryouts this time around

[Be Gay Do Crime]

score: 7.5/10

what I liked:

• I like the chaos and constant energy that somehow isn't too tiring
• I like the constant recurrence of the half-step pair motif
• overall pretty well produced
• I like the occasional sound effects you add in, helps add to the chaos
• the 3:26 guitar solo is really cool, but I think a little reverb on it would've made it sound more distant and ominous (which I think would match well with the overall piece)
• I like how the last note transforms into a large foghorn sort of sound, cool way to end the piece

what I think could be improved:

• I couldn't really sense any development throughout the piece, it was sort of more or less just "flat" in a sense
• because of that, I feel like this piece is a little too long for my liking, because it didn't really lead anywhere

this would make a cool soundtrack for an action sequence in a film, I like the overall picture you painted with the sounds, good work!

zybor responds:

Thank you for your review!

[Hole In The Sky]

score: 6.5/10

what I liked:

• the introduction piano is very captivating
• the strings fit with the piano very well and create a nice cinematic feel that I really like
• the groovy section at 1:48 doesn't really fit with the mood of the piece you set in the beginning, but I would really like it by itself
• again, the individual sections sound nice, but I can't say that fit very well together

what I think could be improved:

• I'm not a fan of the piano chord progression starting at 0:40, it sounds a bit awkward to me
• I think a bit more reverb on the piano would have added an even more cinematic feel
• like mentioned above, I feel like this track is like a collection of 5 different songs rather than 1 coherent one
• especially for this piece, I think being strictly cinematic, or strictly rock, etc., would've been a better choice, instead of stitching together the different genres

overall though, I did really like many parts of this track! good job :)

Glassedhouse responds:

Thanks for the response! Although I can't help but strongly disagree with nearly everything here.
Cinematic music, while often technically and compositionally impressive, I often find very boring to listen to on its own. I find that its identity is mostly formed from the piece of media it's meant to be presented with, rather than from itself. Rock as a genre, naturally opens itself up to other genres I find. That's how the progression of rock has gone on so long, and why the branched sub-genres are so striking and unique. I'm not about playing it safe that way, rather combining two or more to make a more unique sonic piece of music. I don't necessarily understand what you mean by sounding like "collection of 5 different songs" either, since all portions have instrumentation used at least 2 other sections, as well as utilizing the same tempo and key. Granted, you have to change chords obviously, but without that, it seems like your piece would quickly flatline and lose interest. I'm trying to make my instrumental music sound as little as background music as possible (which is the death of most like it) by utilizing just, musical change I guess?

Again, thank you for your feedback, I'm not complaining! It's just that whenever I receive it, I can typically see where the person is coming from, and I figured I needed to explain my creative choices here since what you brought up is rather big and something I've never been criticized for before.

[Wertw - Far Away]

score: 9/10

what I liked:

• reverse piano in the beginning is very captivating and beautiful
• very powerful drop and a nice buildup leading up to it
• unique use of guitar in the next section, not a follower of dubstep but I feel like not many people use acoustic guitar
• I like the chords you used, I think it fits the story you wrote well
• I like that you didn't simply copy and paste the first drop into the second, they were both unique and pack the same amount of energy
• good structure overall, the quiet sections help create room for the intense ones to shine
• great production quality overall as well

what I think could be improved on:

• personally not a fan of the vocals, think it would've been cool to use a vocoder synth instead which I think would fit better
• I would prefer more sidechaining or a pumping bass, I think it would help bring out the drums more
• 2:51 - I don't this screamed section fits well in the context of the entire song
• 4:20 - this piano is too robotic; since you used a nice acoustic guitar, I think you should match the human-ness by at least having slight variations in velocity here and there, and maybe offset the position of each note (add imperfections)
• the Ab final chord was a little unexpected, I think to match the overall mood of this song I would've chosen a Db (iii - IV half cadence) to end the song to emphasize the "distant" theme

Wertw responds:

Thanks for the review! I'll keep improving myself :D

[Racer]

score: 4/10

what I liked:

• the guitar on top starting 0:46 rides a nice melody, and I like the fadeaway downward gliss when it exits
• the tremolo in the bass adds nice energy to the track
• 1:01 - this little slide sounds really cool, added something interesting to this section
• nice switch of harmonic progression at 1:01
• your solo guitar/lead runs are very impressive!

what I think could be improved on:

• 0:04 - there is this pump of noise that might be intentional but doesn't sound that way
• the first section is repeated twice with almost no variation, maybe try switching some things up!
• the synth melody starting at 0:28 is a little chaotic, I would like to hear lines that flow better (less leaps and smoother lines)
• 0:52 - the harmony in this section is a little awkward, with too many 3rds on notes where a 3rd might not be the best choice
• this track is 4 minutes straight (more or less) of the same level of high energy; it gets tiring to listen to after a while, and I would have liked to hear a break from the loud guitars, a slowdown, a guitar cadenza, etc.
• the pattern of going from a monophonic melody to a version with an added 3rd is a little predictable

Catpocalypse responds:

Thanks for responding and writing out your reasons for my score. I appreciate the clarification. I do disagree with much of what you said, and I'm not sure you really grasped the idea of what I was trying to do with the song.

There's supposed to be a constant sense of energy, and the leads and synths were made the way they are to keep things fresh and interesting. To me, they sound just fine and this is a song I would regularly listen to. A break would have killed the action and energy I was trying to pursue with this, and ultimately that would be what would make the song less interesting. When writing a track, it's important to pick a theme and to stick to it. Straying too far could potentially mess things up. I wanted to keep my track as heavy and fast as possible so I could keep the listener engaged with the high-intensity theme I was trying to portray. In any sense, a break or a relaxed bridge may confuse or discourage the listener who wants to rock the whole way through.

For the song diversity, I'm not sure how you perceive much of the track with little variation. Having the song be in 4/4 times with a fast tempo meant to help sections accelerate and not drag on for too long. Four minutes in general is not very lengthy, and the only long part, the solo, was kept fresh with periodical harmonies, lightning fast runs, and a key change to emphasize a new phase of the bridge. Yes, I understand that the rhythms weren't as dynamic as they could have been. But the leads, transitions, and changes of instrument/technique should have made up for that quite effectively.

Your critique on the synths, well... I just don't get it. They flow beautifully to me. I like how they are mixed, and how that touch of reverb really makes it blend in well with the rest of the track, while keeping it the focal point of the section. The 3rds, I think, were what made the synth verses most interesting. What it did, was it introduced the second verse in such a way, as for it to pave a path for the new, more dynamic synths that would quickly follow, which would then transition into the bridge/solo.

As for your critique about the chorus, I understand what you're saying about the melody going into the 3rd being predictable, but there's inevitably going to be common techniques that everyone uses in their preferred style of music at some point. Whether they like to admit it or not, everyone gets ideas from somewhere. You can't just create something from nothing in that way, it's just not possible. Everything is influenced by something else.There's really no need to be critiquing a small detail that in no way effects the quality of the piece itself, and hardly at all diminishes its originality.

Oh yeah, that part at 0:04 you're referencing, I'm pretty sure I made it very clear in the track that that is the engine of an automobile. It's to help establish and develop the overall theme of the piece, which, as the title suggests, is racing.

[Overworld Song]

score: 7/10

what I liked:

• right off the bat, the first 8-bit (I don't know the correct term, sorry lol) synth bells I heard were already unique (might be because I don't normally listen to this genre, but either way it caught my attention)
• the arpeggiated pattern sounds really nice, I like how you accented the top notes to create a separate melody
• nice kick drums! packs a big punch
• good choice of snare/effects on the snare, it fits very well with the bells, and overall all your instruments blend well together
• while the IV - I progression sounded nice on its own, your second IV - ii - vi - V progression also fit well within the song, smooth transitions too
• somehow you made the crunchy, 8-bit style sound calming and sweet, and to me that was unique and I enjoyed it overall
• overall good production too!

what I think could be improved on:

• looping IV - I is kind of an easy progression, while I get that you probably liked the simplicity of it, I personally am a fan of more complex harmony, so I would have suggested throwing in a V in between sometimes to switch up the feel a little bit, adding some extensions to warm it up a little, etc.
• I would've liked to hear more of a story, whether it be a buildup to a more powerful section, or temporarily enter a quiet section to clear our minds, etc.
• as far as I can tell, it sounded like the second half was more or less a repeat of the first half; I would have liked to hear more variation (slightly different melodies, different effects on the instruments, etc.)
• the ending was a bit sudden for my taste, I would suggest doing a slow volume fade, or a slow high-cutoff, or a slow growing reverb

BeeFef responds:

Thanks!!! I hope I do well in the knockout round

[AIM - Become a horoscope]

great work, loved it from start to finish :)

Aterr responds:

Thank you ACXLE :3

[The Reunion]

favorite part: 2:40...the cello (i think) entry is so cool and sounds so amazing! good job on this track.

Baumarius responds:

Thanks! :D