Codefreq's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Theme of Joshua Smellingstock Jr.]

So convincing is this fiction that I actually Googled Joshua Smellingstock Jr. Can't find any record of him. Heheheh bravo you had me fooled. ;)

Anyway, this beat sounds to me more like a hip-hop beat with jazz elements rather than strictly jazz.

Either way, It's hard to know what vibe you're going for regarding this theme. Is this character a chill ruler or powerful and confident? Conflicted or clear-minded? It would help if you put in the description the kind of person this Joshua Smellingstock Jr. is. That way I can evaluate how clearly I think the aspects of this person come across. If you add these details, my score might change.

I hope this is helpful. :)

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

Czyszy responds:

I added the character bio out of pure boredom. xD There's no connection

[Its The End OF The World]

How bittersweet. :(

I feel like I'm watching the end credits of the world; looking out at abandoned buildings, simultaneously grieving while acknowledging mankind's achievements.

Not sure if that was your intention going into this, though. Also, as much as I like that you put poetry in the description, I think it may be good to also include what your thought process was going into the music. That way I can see your intent and judge how clearly I think your intention comes across, rather than strictly my own taste. If you do that, there's a chance my score could change.

I hope you find my feedback helpful. :)

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

[Eleven]

UPDATE:

I see you added the lyrics. Nice!

Thanks for clarifying your intent. Knowing that, to you, the piece represents belonging, everything falls into place quite well. The instrumentation is quirky and unusual, and now I know why.

I do understand the impulse to let people take meaning from a song themselves without prompt; I'm inclined to do the same thing with some of my music. My review philosophy is meant for when people have something to say with their music and intend to get the message across to others. It's there to help that message come across clearly.

Original 3 1/2 star review:

"Yes. Yes, I can tell you like space. ;)

I wish you included the lyrics to this piece in you description. It's such an interesting and unusual concept for rap I think not including the lyrics would do this creation, and yourself, a disservice.

It's quite well mixed, although the vocals cause some ducking in the synthesizers that makes this a bit tiring and difficult to listen to on repeat. Maybe some tweaking in the compression/limiting would help.

I think you could go even further with the instrumentation. I can see you adding some ambient pads and cool synth-y effects. Still, as it is, it's pretty good.

The only other thing is your intention isn't clear from the description, and reading the title in combination with this makes it even less clear. If you were to include more information about your thought process with naming and creating this piece, I may change the rating.

I hope you find my feedback useful. :)

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

Kalviter responds:

Hey, cheers for taking the time to give this a review. I like that the lyrics got you interested, I've put them in the author comment for you to look at.

The vocals are (mildly) sidechained to the synths to cause that ducking deliberately; I'd figured it might help the vocals cut across slightly better. If that's not helping the mix then that's fair enough, I'll bear that in mind for future tracks.

I think the instrumentation thing can be a bit subjective, I've played with layers and layers of pads before and I find it makes the lyrics even more difficult to pick out (though maybe that's also a delivery issue). I like being a less is more guy for the minute.

With intentions, I'm happy that you're interested in what drove this. I don't like dictating what these more serious songs really mean, I'm always interested to see what people take from it without prompting. My own interpretation of it is it's a song about belonging, hence all the alien and space imagery. Eleven comes from rocketry; To escape the Earths gravitation field you need to reach eleven kilometres per second.

Anyway, cheers again for the review! If you liked this, check out any of the other songs with "Quarantunes" in the short description.

[Found Accordion]

UPDATE:

Cool reference. Like fan fiction. :)

Original 4 star rating:

"This sounds like a throwback to 90's hip-hop.

Not sure what you are going for with this piece. A little more detail in the description, preferably about your thought process, would help me determine how clear I think your intent comes across.

Found Accordion is an interesting title. How did you come up with that?

Personally, I think this piece is pretty cool.

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

Czyszy responds:

The title (and to some extend the song) is a reference to Lost Accordion by Galus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCXgHLeS9Ng

[Kirameki]

UPDATE:

Thanks for clarifying in your reply. I'm going to try really hard to keep my opinion out of this.

It's definitely something I'm not used to hearing. You get points for doing something different.

I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. It is, after all, an experiment.

Part of the problem I have with the piece is there's a lot to keep track of at once, especially in the beginning. You may want to take that into account with your future works.

I hope this new feedback is more helpful. :)

Original 1/2 star review:

"In order to keep this review out of my own subjective opinion, I need to know your thought process behind this piece. That way I can judge based on how well I thought your intent came across rather than based on my own taste.

Also, I would like to know the story (if any) on the title.

My personal opinion, and I hate to down on someone's work without constructive criticism, is that this song is grating for me to hear until about 33 seconds in, and again to a lesser degree in the last third. Something about the way the rhythms clash in those two sections really rub me the wrong way.

There's a chance my score will change if you provide enough information for me to go off, but right now, unfortunately, my personal opinion is all I can provide.

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

Poosac responds:

I watched a video about quintuplets (by Shawn Crowder) and how they can be used to create a swing feel. So all the notes are subdivided in a 5/8 time signature, which is an odd time signature and maybe the reason why it sounds off to you.

[Childish Dream]

UPDATE:

I see you've added a description. Much appreciated. :)

In terms of the Childish Dream vibe, I think it comes across strongest in the beginning with the children sound effects. That's not to say the rest of it is bad, by any means. I think the message is still slightly unclear at times, although it's hard to criticize mode of expression. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and give it 5 stars.

It's a unique take on a dreamy sound, combining trap beats with drops and ambient music. It's well mixed.

Nice work. :)

My previous 4 star review:

"A piece like this would really benefit from a proper description of your thought process while making this song. Otherwise, I have to judge it by my personal taste rather than how effective I think your message comes across.

That said, as it is, I like it a lot. :)

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

ElementalPenguin responds:

Ok I can put a description. Thanks for the comment.

[Interstellar Waltz]

What an aptly named title! This is exactly what I think of when I hear this, especially with the triplet delay. It has an outer space feel to it without being frightening. In fact, I'd argue the main vibe is curiosity and awe.

Well done. :)

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

PythonBlue responds:

I deeply appreciate this comment! Thanks for listening and for the input!

[Melodramarama]

I don't sense any melodrama here, but I can definitely see the potential for an RPG battle soundtrack. It almost sounds like Custom Robo to me. :)

The track is also quite well mixed.

I suggest if you want the tone to be more exaggerated to fit with a theme of melodrama, you could exaggerate the arrangement to be more bombastic; Cheesy enough to be "so bad that it's good", if you will. Mind you, that is a delicate balance to strike. I personally think the song is good as is, and adding too much cheese could ruin the vibe of the song.

The only other suggestion I could make is, as the audio is submitted as a loop, that it doesn't resolve. If you are going to submit the piece a loop, as you currently have, it should cut off abruptly at the end in a way so it can smoothly loop over itself, rather than fading out.

Still, I think it's a cool piece with a cool title, too. More importantly, the idea is clearly expressed. Nice job. :)

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

MightyMuso responds:

Thanks for the feedback! Not sure what Custom Robo is but I will check it out. I say melodrama mainly because of the bridge. I initially thought it was a bit over the top to include that part but ended up really liking it. But I see your point. And I see what you mean by the loop, I thought that just meant the type of composition. Thank you!

[Anguish]

Interesting description. Unfortunately, I'm not getting any emotional resonance from this piece. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, except the emotion, both implied in the title and explicitly stated in the description, doesn't reflect the theme you are trying to present, IMO.

If you still want to modify this piece, I suggest you try different ideas experiment with more variation, such as different chords and/or additional fleshing out of the arrangement, like adding percussion/drums or pads or something. The monotony and repetitive nature of the piece, while it could be seen as reflective of the exhausting nature of encountering hurdles one after another, isn't enough to represent the negativity in your description and title.

The mixing is well done, and technically it's a good piece, I just think the writing could be tweaked. I hope you find my feedback helpful. :)

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

Kelpalots responds:

Not sure if I could tweak it since it's a 2006 track. But imo beforehand with all the suffering I had gone throughout my life, it sounded like ocean waves. But I also heard anguish in some of the parts to the track. And it had an anti feel to it.

[friendly battle]

Neat! It's almost like a Pokemon game, where you're fighting your rival.

I think you could make the mix a lot louder with normalization and/or compression/limiting plugins, if you have access to them.

The song has an abrupt ending, so I think it works better as a loop rather than a song. You may want to consider changing that setting.

Your theme of battle certainly comes through here. good job. :)

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