alternativesolution's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Whiteout]

- NGADM Round 3 Review -

Man, this was so short. Your intro with the plain wind sound was kinda weak, though it does feel like imagery is supposed to do half the work, here. The bells at 0:50 were disorderly and sounded like nothing but filler sound, as does the bass during that section. The song also doesn't have very smooth looping.

I do like your main melody. It sounds somewhat reminiscent of another tune I can't name at the moment.... And as always, I love your simple instrument choice, as they all compliment each other well. I had some pretty good imagery for this one, too. Oddly, I did picture a boat at sea, rather than a snowy landscape. It was actually the main melody and bass rather than the wind that did it for me.

Score: 7.6

SourJovis responds:

Imagery does ALL the work. At least that was my intention. Maybe it's because I like to imagine things when I listen to songs that I compose songs intended to imagine things. The wind sound was quite difficult to make. Not easier than the rest of the instruments. Since it's made out of filtered white noise it doesn't only evoke the feeling of a windy landscape, but gives an old fashioned synthetic feeling as well. It's not only wind you hear. The melody creeps in from the distance. As if you first have a wide shot of a snow landscape, and you gradually get closer shots o the, main characters you follow during the rest of the scene/song, and at the end the characters leave the scene and walk away from the camera. That's how I see it, and I think it's quite effective myself. Sorry.

The part with the bells is the most complex part. It sounds a bit less melodic I admit, but I wouldn't call it disorderly, since I literally calculated every note. There's a clear mathematical logic to it. Also that part has 7 different chords so I hoped/think that keeps it interesting. Many people thought that was the best part of the song. I think the complexity of it just works well in combination with the simplicity of the rest of the song. Did you notice the bell part has the same melody as the windy intro?

You're the first to say this song reminds you of a boat. Wind would work for a boat as well. Perhaps you didn't like the ambient sounds force you to think one way, while you prefer to use your own imagination. I can get that. But I wanted to make a song about a 16-bit/synthetic snowy landscape, and this is what reminds me of that. I just make whatever I want.

[Lying to a Stranger]

- NGADM Round 3 Review -

As usual, you've got great sounds and rhythm. However, even with all the cool effects and attempt at variation, this track does suffer from repetitiveness and a bit of emptiness, along with the same general structural ideas used in each of your entries. And the ending was pretty lame, unlike your very nice intro. Nice title, too, by the way. It adds a certain imagery to the listening experience that I am particularly fond of. It's a shame you weren't able to put more time into this, though. I can't help but imagine what this could have sounded like if you were able to work on it more.

Score: 8.4

InvisibleObserver responds:

Fortunantly post competition, the file won't have disintegrated, so I'll get to have more time with it. :)

Really enjoyed reading your comment about the titling, given I write lyricless music, I still try to form some sort of direction or narrative out of the title if I can.

[Wolftacular NGADM Round 3]

- NGADM Round 3 Review -

Yes, this does sound incomplete! And I don't mean just by vocals (which I think would be very interesting to hear in this piece).

The repetitive hats didn't sit well for me. Mixing percussion around 2:03 and 3:54 could use some work; it's definitely too loud and close to the ears, and takes away from the rest of the song.

Your melodic work and chosen instruments work nicely together, and they're so pleasing and refreshing to hear, and invoke happiness from this ever-grumpy person here :)

The not-so-good points for this song are it's repetitiveness as it drags out to the end of the song (I'd suggest cutting it shorter) and the noticeable lack of dynamic change. I really like this song a lot, and I do recommend finishing this beautiful, uplifting piece into something even greater.

Score: 8

Wolftacular responds:

"...and invoke happiness from this ever-grumpy person here :)"
Birds and flowers and naked women everywhere :D

I'd never thought about the percussions being too loud, but thinking back about how excited I was working on that part and how awesome those samples sounded, it makes a lot of sense, lol!

I blame the repetitiveness on the song not being finished, and lacking the lead instrument (vocals) :c But that's my bad. So many people mentioning repetitiveness must MEAN something, though! So I'm definitely going to pay a lot of attention to that once I'm able to finish this.

Very glad to hear you liked it, despite its flaws! Will share when finished in case you care to listen and maybe give me a 10 the second time ;u;

Last, but not least, thank you for taking the time to listen and review my shit. Contest or not, judge or not, agree or not, I always appreciate it!

[Bajo el sol, sobre las rocas]

- NGADM Round 3 Review -

Wow. Beautiful introduction. The transition to the electric guitars was not very smooth, but the transition right back out of it was great! Very smooth, yes.

The part at 1:30 felt bland in terms of composition, but fortunately this only happens once around. I love how you switch between styles so easily. It's easy to put past with even with the simplest of imagery. Although at 2:26, the beat was not introduced so smoothly...not at all, in fact. This only goes for the drum beat, however; everything else was fine, and the section added a nice touch to break away from the main melody.

Your chords and melodies just come together well. I'm impressed. When you brought your main theme, man it was so awesome. But that ending! It wasn't so good. It was rather inconclusive, as if the file was cut off or something. Overall, man, this is wonderful. Definitely one of my favorites :)

Score: 9.3

InYourDreams responds:

Hey alti! Thanks for the review! :D... I'm glad you liked it that much.
Yeah, my ending could have needed a little more work... but I still like it. I think the main problem is, that the ending doesn't fit well with the main theme... maybe I'll change it one day.

thanks anyways for the lovely review :)

[Public Enemy No.1]

- NGADM Round 3 Review -

Oh geez. I'm really loving this piece. There is only one other track in this round that produces this level of melodic variation, and both are highly impressive.

Your instrument use overall is fantastic, and there is excellent flow that makes this very easy to break down and listen to, even with its general complexity. As for improvements, the brass around 1:40 could have been a little louder, in that it sounds like the player is standing far away from the mic, and a tad muffled.

What really stood out to me is the fitting drum work and upbeat, relentless piano. Very good. And I love the ending especially....and your intro. Hm. What is there not to like?

Score: 9.8

SoundChris responds:

Thanks a lot alternativesolution! I am very glad you enjoyed the track. When i saw the 9.8 score i just was speachless. Maybe the best score i will ever get and i was really glad that you liked it so much! I set focus on the piano here because its my favourite instrument (i am a passioned piano player). The other instruments were inserted to create that 30ties flair. First i wanted it to become a solo instrument piece, but i really liked the idea to bring in some saxophones so it feels really oldschool :D Thanks a lot for your kind review and all the best!

[Pride]

- NGADM Round 3 Review -

Ah, what a nice song. I like the ideas you have, here. Nice melody and use of your voice, especially how you applied reverb to them. Flow is excellent. And your lyrics are easy to hear, and are enjoyable to listen to! However, one thing I did notice a second time around is the general lack of soul in the vocals (the harmonies initially help make up for it), and during several parts it feels a little weak, especially compared to the full sound of the percussion (which was mixed a little too cleanly to combine well with the vocals, in my opinion).There is also an odd emptiness around 2:10, in terms of sound, not quite composition... Also, your lowest voice layer is too warbly and sounds pretty unnatural to the track, although this is a very minor thing. I was definitely disappointed in your ending, as it was beyond inconclusive. It just...stopped, and not in a good way. This contrasts highly with your intro, which draws you in with its warmness. And the general warmness present throughout combined with your lyrical content is easily the strongest aspect of this inviting track. :)

Score: 9.4

headphoamz responds:

Thanks alternative!
Hehe, yes, it is indeed warbly (I love that word) in the lower parts. Thanks for the kind words though, and the generous scoring. I wasn't happy with the end either, actually, and you made good points. Maybe someday I'll revise it!

[This is Not the End]

- NGADM Round 3 Review -

The strongest part of the song is its melodic content during the first half of it. Very beautiful, and soulful. You've got some good compositional ideas....but the way you have played them out is not so good. You do have some unsmooth transitions (1:38 being the worst offender), and your piano melody becomes repetitive after a while. At the section during 2:25, the mixing of the strings and piano was unclear, and made neither stand out in its own way, really. I don't think there is much off about the sound of the piano, itself, except for those high notes at the end, which sound a little hard-hit. I think once the repetition issues are out of the way, along with smoother transitions, this piece could be more improved.

Score: 8.5

ChronoNomad responds:

Thanks for the review, AS. I'm wondering if it's based on the original version or the newly updated one with improved piano, but I guess it's more or less academic. I really like this piece for what it is, whether anyone else agrees or not, and that's fine. It's not perfect, and doing a piano-driven piece when all of my pianos sucked at the time was probably ill-advised.

I've already been dragged through the proverbial mud on this one review-wise, so everything just feels comfortably numb at this point. It probably could be further improved, but I've stuck a pin in it so that I can move forward and concentrate on other things. At least the piano's better than it was! :)

[Cthulhu Surfaces]

Where to start. This is a great cinematic piece. I'm impressed with your use of instruments, and you come up with some really great rhythms throughout the piece. Oh and the section at 0:46 was introduced very nicely. The dynamics in this piece are excellent, and this can be seen all throughout. Your chorus at 2:19 was beautiful, but short-lived. The transition right afterward at 2:21 comes off as abrupt, although the percussion tries to smooth it over and becomes somewhat successful with it. Same with the transitions at 1:01 and 1:38. Melodically, they are fine, but the way they are integrated is not.

Unlike your intro, what I didn't like about this piece was its ending, which gave it an unfinished, unsatisfactory feel, and almost completely offset the unique, memorable sections in your song, and left the song overall as entirely forgettable - which is unfair, because you have some really strong sections, particularly the one from 1:02 to 1:38.

Overall, this is a very solid piece, filled with an abundance of beautifully integrated melodic and dynamic variation.

Score: 9.6

headphoamz responds:

Hey, thanks so much alternativesolution! Great detailed review, and I appreciate the feedback very much. Got some things to work on I see. Glad you liked it overall and thanks for the score :)

[I Feel]

- NGADM Round 2 Review -

Ah, another track with noticeable atmosphere. This is the kind of stuff I love! There is decent progression, and the simplicity of your composition goes well against the already established atmosphere.

Around 3:20 the song the transition is less than smooth, as others have noted and you've explained, though I honestly don't think it's that bad...although it is indeed abrupt, the mood is still consistent, and that's what counts for me. After that, it begins to pick up again, and the sounds that follow are really cool to listen to, although after a relatively short of amount of time, they already become repetitive. Your ending was also done well.

Oh and that koto(?) at 0:18 was nice. I'd have *loved* to see that used once or twice more, like at 0:26, or even 0:46. Looking back at it, those three notes seem somewhat random since they don't come into the song again after that. In fact sometimes as I listen to it again, I can easily imagine it appearing at parts where it actually doesn't come again at all. (0:26 and 0:46...hehe)

Overall, what I like best about this song is its defined tone and set mood, which I appreciate just as much as in your round 1 submission. I'll surely be listening to this again and again.

Score: 8.8

InvisibleObserver responds:

The koto like thing is my grandma's metal full scale dulcimer. I sampled it and played around with it, but I found its metal sharpness stood out potentially too much when layered in with a lot of other stuff. It really only worked (to my ears) when it was reverby and diminished in volume.

I think there is something that an atmospheric feeling can evoke that melodies can't quite do. I'd rather make someone feel something rather than think it sounds like something. Hopefully that makes some sense. I dunno, I'm a bit wiped at the moment.

[inside the machine]

- NGADM Round 2 Review -

Whoa. Very funky. I like how all your sounds come together very cleanly, with the exception of the bass quietly muddled in the background. Your melodies are great, and I instantly recognized this track as yours. If not dynamic range, originality is definitely something you've got down. It's also the way you randomly incorporated those keys that actually did not sound as random as they should have. The structure of the track is good, and is varied enough to somewhat dismiss the overuse of your main synth; the melodies really are the basis of this song, and help keep the beat from becoming too noticeable in its repetitiveness.

Score: 8.8

johnfn responds:

Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked it overall and I think you pointed out some good suggestions for improvement. If you think this is repetitive or the synth is slightly overused, I'd hate to see what you think of contemporary edm... haha. But honestly I'm right there with you, I kinda felt the same way about the track and electronic music in general... and I kind of overcompensated for that in my next track... Someday I will find the balance, and it will blow your mind! :D