Codefreq's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[2021 (A song to cheer up to)]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying why you chose the title. I figured that's the kind of thing you are going for, but it clears things up to hear it from you.

Original 4 Star Review:

"I think this song does a decent job at making me feel like I want to forget my worries through partying. It also does a good job with the imagery. I can see the outdoor club on the beach at night in the summer as people are having a well-deserved good time.

One suggestion I have for you to play around with would be to consider using major chords in your piece. There's a lot of power chords being used, which is good for adding thickness to a piece. The thing is, power chords are by their nature ambiguous in how they display mood. From my experience, major chords tend to represent positive emotions and minor chords tend to represent negative emotions. That's not always the case, of course, but for me personally it often is.

With regard to the title, It's slightly unclear why you named it 2021. My guess would be to show optimism, but I think it would be helpful to hear from you why you named it that.

I hope you find this information useful. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806"

CaptainBoomcake responds:

its called 2021 cause I didn't wanna associate it with this year! I wanted it to feel like a new leaf for peoples ears, and for them to look forward to the world that we have to look forward to, once we can see our friends again and go to places again and live. Its certainly been hard to experience live music lately.

[Condor]

I think this piece gives a vague sense of fighting an epic battle, and there's a nice sense of doom to it at the same time.

What's the story behind the name Condor?

My only major gripe is I don't think your piece's instrumentation went far enough. It's a pretty sparse.

For example, There's a lack of bass-oriented instruments. The melody is good, but there's not any rhythmic strings or instruments underneath the melody you've created. The percussion is lacking as well. Really, the overall mix sounds small. All these factors get in the way of what it seems you are trying to express.

Don't get me wrong; the piece is good, I just think you could've done a lot more with it than you did. As it is, it feels small.

I hope you find this feedback useful. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

[Solvent]

I'd like to know what thought process you had in making this piece. It'll help me understand the intend behind it better and I can give better feedback and a more accurate rating. It would be based on how well I thought that intent came through, rather than my own taste.

It's an interesting take on Dubstep, particularly in the beginning. it's not often that I see dubstep with weird time signatures.

I'm curious about the title, Solvent. What's the story behind that?

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

[Overflowing Confidence]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying. It's reminiscent of a rival to rival battle theme like from Pokemon Ruby and the like. Not sure how well it fits with the bullet-hell theme, though. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt because I am not that familiar with the bullet-hell genre of game, but you did nail the "friendly rivalry" vibe quite well.

Original 4 Star Review:

"There's a lot of motion in this piece. Personally, I think it's less about overflowing confidence and more about optimism. But your on the right track.

I'm curious about what were you thinking when you made this piece. It'll help me understand where you are coming from better. That, and I can give a more accurate rating and review as well as better feedback. I'd like to judge this piece more by how well your vibe came through than by my own taste.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806"

iWTBAT responds:

Your review is most welcome, and as such, I've updated the description to share my thoughts of what I was thinking when I wrote the piece.

[Lawless]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying. in light of your response, I change my rating to 5 stars.

Great job!

Original 4 Star Rating:

"I'd call this genre Cyber Western or Tech Western. The shoe fits. ;)

To me, the song represents less of a vibe of lawless chaos than it does two cyborgs doing a quick-draw in an abandoned futuristic Silicon Valley represented by a technologically enhanced ghost town.

But that's just me. What are your thoughts? I'm curious to know your commentary on what went into this piece. It will help if you put that info in your description so I can judge how well you expressed the vibe you were trying to express. That way I can give better feedback and a more accurate rating.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806"

TheRealHVAC responds:

You nailed it. I was imagining a typical western scene but with androids and robots and such. I don't really get too much deeper into it then that when I'm making a piece (because I end up never being happy with it and scrap it).

As for why I don't add more in my comment section -
I have shown many of my projects to friends and family which is fine and all, but when I tell them what genre/feel I was going for I almost always get told "Yeah I don't hear that at all..." which then makes the song sound worse I guess. So I've tried it this way, and usually I get "oh wow that's pretty good. It sounds like (insert genre/style here)."
So in short, I let the listener decide what they hear. Might not be the best way to go about it, but it's worked out better for me and my pride. lol.

Thank you for the review! I am so sorry that it took me almost a month to reply, but to be honest, this is the best review I've ever had and I had no clue how to reply to it. I read your post and that only made it worse. haha. However, it is a fantastic way to review music.

Thank you again for the review!

[Autumn Daydream]

I'd play this piece in late summer more than early autumn.

If you are specifically going for an autumn vibe, I think you are almost there. IMO The reverb on the guitar, especially in the first half before the piano hits, makes the scene feel more like sitting on a lawn chair on the beach at sunset, listening to waves crashing against the coastline.

Though I like the song a lot, I'm judging based on how consistent the music fits with what it seems you are trying to do, not my own taste. That's why I'm rating this 4 stars. Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you are trying to do? Please clarify that if I got it wrong. It may effect my rating and the feedback I can give.

I hope you find this useful. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

[Welcome In The Arena]

UPDATE: the mixing the 2nd time around is a big improvement over the previous mix. It no longer has that “external speaker recorded through a microphone” sound I stated in the original review.

The strings are too quiet, though. I can’t hear them well at all, the brass is too overpowering.

Original 3 1/2 star review:

“I think the vibe you appear to be going for is close to spot on. Normally I'm not one to gripe about the mix, but I think in this particular case there's something off about the mix that undercuts the otherwise epic feel of the piece.

I can't quite put my finger on why, but it almost sounds like a low-fi mix.

It almost sounds like you put a microphone up to a speaker and recorded what came out of that. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt, but I'd like to hear from you what you did to make it sound this way, I might be able to provide better feedback if you provide that information.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806”

Earel responds:

I have an orchestral template with the BBC Symphony Orchestra library and I figured out earlier that some of the bus in the mixer track were linked to the stereo track but not to the mono track. I think this is why it sounds weak, while all the epicness which should come from the brass and the percussion was lost due to a mistake I made.

I will update my upload soon.

Thank you for the review !

[FunKidline]

Reading your description, it's a bit unclear what you are trying to do with this piece. I think it would be a good idea to add to the description of this song what your thought process was going into it. That way, I can judge based on how clear I thought your song showed your intent, rather than simply by my own taste.

Out of curiosity, why did you pick the tite, "FunKidline"? It's an unusual title.

Technically speaking, the piece is quite well mixed.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

LtFS responds:

Perhaps you are right in some ways. I called my tune 'FunKidline' because the name sounds cool and it's positive