Codefreq's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Epic Music - City of Gold]

You did a fantastic job with the sense of adventure and discovery here; it comes through loud and clear. In my head I see imagery of hiking in the jungle and mountains, and at 1:01, discovery of an aztec city made of gold. Scenes play out like Indiana Jones or Uncharted.

Really, an amazing job. :)

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

[Loop7]

Nice! To me it sounds kind of like a clean futuristic city not unlike Corneria from Star Fox or something out of Custom Robo or something.

There's a couple of things I'd like to point out. First, as this is a loop, I think the ending should not be so abrupt. By this I mean the loop builds its instrumentation and cuts off before starting over. That sudden transition from loud to quiet is a bit jarring for a loop. I suggest transitioning more smoothly by reducing the instrumentation slowly over a couple more bars.

The only other thing is the song is just a little quiet. You may want to add compression/limiting plugins and/or consider normalizing.

Even still, I like it. :)

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

Joeyag responds:

Thanks for the review. Mixing and stuff is really not my strong suit, so tips are always welcome.

[BJ - walking in a forest]

This feels like walking in a forest, all right... In the wintertime. ;)

Something about the production has a "cold" feeling to it. It's hard to explain, but the way it's mixed and the high pitch of the piano make it feel that way IMO.

This could easily have been submitted as a loop. I'm playing it on repeat and it sounds good.

I wish you provided more information about what your thought process was while making this song. It may affect my rating because without that info, I'm forced to rate based on my personal taste, rather than how well I think you intent came across.

Still, nice job. :)

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

[Project Mind Drain]

UPDATE:

Thank you for addressing my review. :)

It's much clearer now what your intent was. The 1980's retro feel comes across really well.

As far as the guitar goes, I actually didn't notice the first one at 1:09 the first couple of times around. I was referring to the one at 2:08. Since you've clarified the last part was just for kicks and not an attempt to add to the original song, that segment makes a lot more sense.

I'm still not quite sure how the title fits the motif of the song, but other than that, great job! :)

Original 3 1/2 star review:

"I suggest providing additional information about your thought process while making this song. As it is right now I can only comment regarding my personal taste rather than how effective your intent comes across.

Also, I'm curious about the name. Why call it Project Mind Drain?

Personally, I like this song, although I feel like this should be two different songs. The part with the guitar feels like a complete departure from the rest of the piece.

I hope you find this helpful. :)

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

ThermalLaser responds:

Thank you for the thorough review. I'll try my best to answer your questions and comments.

My thought process at first was to keep looping and layering onto the opening motif. When the melody at 0:27 was added, I thought "this is kind of sounding like an 80's synth song". From that point I had the direction I wanted to go with this piece. I wanted it to sound like the theme from an 80's action/sci-fi movie. This is also the reasoning behind the title. Kind of sounded like a cheesy 80's action/sci-fi movie plus it describes how I feel with all this self-quarantining stuff going on (LUL).

I don't know if you mean the part where the guitars come in at 1:09 or the riff at 2:08. I feel the part starting at 1:09 really brings the themes of the song to an epic conclusion. 2:08 however, is just a meme I do at the end of songs sometimes. It's not considered part of the "real" song, just a little farewell jam session.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write a thorough review, it was very helpful. I hope I've offered some insight in this response.

- Thermal Laser

[The Flame Rival]

Epic. :)

The Flame Rival is an interesting title. Where did you get the idea for that?

About that correlation between cover art and music; I'd like some more detail on what you were thinking so I can judge based on how effectively I think your intent comes across rather than simply my own taste.

My taste: I like this. It didn't wow me, but I like it.

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

TheSentiment responds:

Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked it! I got the idea for "The Flame Rival" from 1. the discord username of the artist of the cover art (her nickname was "vermin rival") and 2. the feel of the art itself (the art depicts a woman with dragon wings and fiery-looking hair).

I read your guidelines, and am very glad that you've taken such time to plot out how things should be judged. I agree with and am thankful for your thoughts :)

[Never been to Edmonton]

UPDATE:

Thanks for adding your thought process. In the interest of focus and cohesiveness, my suggestion would be to make the title fit with the general vibe of the music. An example would be something like this: To me, this song makes me think of relaxing at home while outside there's a fog causing poor visibility outside. so I'd call it "Chillin' in the fog" or something. You don't have to use my example; everyone thinks about music differently. Just thought I'd try to help offer perspective with how I think about titles for my songs.

I hope you find that useful. :)

Original 4 star review:

"I'm curious what your thought process was with this piece. If you provide this, I may change my rating to reflect how well your intent comes across, rather than purely my personal taste.

Along those lines, why the title, "Never been to Edmonton"?

This piece is well mixed. I like it. It's kind of dreamy. :)

I hope this helps.

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

Vertlain responds:

Hi. Thanks for your comment. The thought process was: I want to make something a bit different, maybe a bit Royksopp-ish.. (obviously I don't know much about that kind of music). Not long before finishing the track I figured out some of the ideas were clearly, though unintentionally inspired by a band Faunts. Then I thought: where do these guys come from anyway? Wikipedia said they are from Edmonton, Canada, which I'm yet to visit... Yeah, I know. I'm not that good with titles. ;p Glad you like it.

[Faug Rolls Out The Eye]

How ominous. :o

This piece somehow manages to marry the concept of curious mystery and unsettling unknown quite well.

The mixing is a tad quiet. I think it could at least use some normalization, or some compression/limiting plugins.

Other than that, great job. :)

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

[Light]

The uplifting and determined feeling comes through pretty clear here.

Why is the title called Rock - Light? I'm curious.

Overall, Good job. :)

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

Schianovus responds:

Thank you!

I put the genre of the music I produced in the title so it's easier for any listener to come to my page to choose what to listen to rather than randomly selecting any music and surprised that the genre is different than what I produced before, so yeah "Rock" is the genre. Light is the title of the music, since the music is something uplifting I think it suitable for the music

[empty chair]

Your description is nonsensical and raises more questions than it answers. At least try to explain your thought process in a coherent way. As it is (quote: "Empty chair risked by posting this playlist. But somehow managed to happen 9/11 must be stopped. Even for some excuse like monuments. And can be done with no harm. At all.") the sequence of words you chose to use are an impediment to understanding.

Technically, the volume is coming in WAY too hot. This is in desperate need to have the compression, limiting. and general volume all reduced. to help with the dynamics.

It's a real shame, because if I hear beyond the mixing and see beyond the flaws in the description, there are elements that under different circumstances could be cool. Also, there is some pretty interesting experimentation that could have potentially good stories behind it.

Unfortunately, I can neither rate this as a listener nor interpret your intent. That is why my rating is what it is. If you can at the very least clarify your intent I may change my rating.

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

[N.L. - Dungeon]

I can't really see this as a dungeon level, at least in the traditional fantasy sense. Maybe a top-down 16-bit rogue-like game, but not a Legend of Zelda style fantasy dungeon. There is a feeling of sneaking around that comes through, which means IMO that you are on the right track. I suggest you post this as a loop rather than a song, and cut off the silence at the end.

Technically speaking, the mix is very quiet and could really use some compression and limiting plugins as well as normalization.

I hope you find this useful. :)

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

NightLover responds:

Thank you for the feedback, very appreciated :D