alternativesolution's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Test]

Oh, I like your intro! :) Loops perfectly, too. I think your drums and bass go perfectly together. I love at 0:40-0:43 where you hold the strings for a bit. Bringing the bass back in there just afterwards with that low string hum sounded really great. 1:25 is also another great part, where your sounds just mesh very nicely.
As for the mood, I think this did sound more pressure than happy. Not necessarily bad pressure...but pressure nonetheless. The combination of repetitive, fast-moving bass along with the onset of the string melody at 0:25 is probably responsible for that.
Overall, I think you did do well! As long as it fits the setting you're aiming for, then I think that's what counts the most. :)

NikeTheSword responds:

Thank you! I'm glad you like it and that you found so much of those little tricks working as I meant them to. I agree with you that it is a pressuring track all around. It's a bit of a personal problem in my composing :D

Thanks again for the high score and helpful review!

[FS: Taking Over]

Never-ending FS style :] That is my first impression. The drums at the very beginning were reminiscent of the classic Hawaii Five-0 theme intro, but when 0:06 came around with its funky badassery, I can tell it's you. It's kind of like it's screaming 'hey there! I'm BACK!'

Ok, everything goes well...but then there's this thing that just does not sit well with me, and it is the presence of the thick, gated synth around the one minute mark. Perhaps if you take away the gate, it would sound a bit more put together.
You have a strong start as always, and it does seem to wander later into the song...but I know you don't aim for catchy, and that's okay.

Now, you've got a REALLY nice chords progression at 2:50, but again with that synth, I feel like it's taking away from the composition. So I thinking if you ever plan on editing this, I suggest altering the pattern of the synth, or removing it altogether so it says plain. Or maybe changing the instrument entirely, I don't know, it just doesn't mesh well with the rest of the song, which is probably something new I am saying to you, since you are usually very good at this.
Argh ok, after hearing it again, I am doubling my passion for that suggestion. I almost didn't notice your awesome flutey melody around 1:00. It is VERY GOOD! It's just that gated synth pissing me off! >:o Like an actual gate in front of me that keeps flickering in and out of sight, keeping me from seeing (I supposed I should say, hearing) the treasure hidden behind its thick, blocky presence. It pisses me off because you've actually got a very strong point here that is being bullied around.
Excuse the odd visuals... :D

Ha, and when that beat comes in at 2:37 it just is...great. Very powerful in its timing. From 2:30-2:40 is probably my second favorite part after my first choice of the first 30 seconds of the song. The cut-out string sounds at 1:50 went unnoticed to me at first, but then I realized why that part of the song sounded epic. :)

Oh and did I mention your drums? Because they are just fantastic. :3 The various phasing effects you used were done quite nicely. Then again, this is Mr. FairSquare here, so why should I expect anything less? :D

Your transitions are excellent as usual. Or should I say beyond excellent? Because they are so excellent that I do not even remember it being there as a "transition". It's just there, part of the song as a whole, only distinctly audible when being searched for.
One of the transitions that was so tiny and hard to notice, was the one at 2:25. It was pretty smooth in a choppy way... if that makes sense?
Okay, and probably your absolute BEST transition is the one right before 2:50 hits. It just quiets down so, so nicely. SO GOOD! It's like music to my ears. Wait... :P

Overall, strong beginning, but after the 3 minute mark I just don't feel much.

Okay actually, after several times listening to the whole thing, I am noticing something. It just takes what I did to notice I am starting to analyze and appreciate the part after 3:00 much better now. It takes recognition at the complicated stuff you have going on here, so that's maybe why it sounds rather uninspiring at first. But you know me, I break it down. I break down every piece of music I own, and I eventually notice it. So I can sort of see your creative process a lot more clearly now.

Rather than believe the word is more appropriate. People like to hear some sort of familiarity, and a pattern they can easily hold onto, whether they know it or not, and your piece lacks this familiarity at several points, occasionally making the listener lost for some time.

So, I actually do this several times, myself, to check. Analyzing, and in the process (unfortunately, dammit) memorizing it. I'll end up creating a track, or at least a part of something that I THINK sounds pretty good...and then I listen to a couple dozen other WIPs of mine, and just random music, really, and THEN...I go back to the original track in question. Basically, I listen to it with fresh ears, not having memorized every detail of it. This works best when I haven't already drilled the pattern of melodies into my head. When the track is easy to temporarily forget, that is when I find the best time for self-critique. To check and see if it's actually as great as I thought it sounded when I came up with it. After all, the creator will forever be biased from the start, being the creator and all...

Then again, what is it to be biased? CAN an artist be biased favorably against their work? It depends...on what exactly are the intentions, and what hopes to be accomplished from creating it in the first place...
Music is not simply a product for the entertainment of others, but an expression...
All of which is fairly obvious, I suppose.

Anyway, all of which I have said up there just now...ah...I end up not doing it that often, because it's too late-- I can't forget the darn melody in order to come back to it later FRESH! >:(
Ah, I forgot why I mentioned this bit. Well, it's late...

AH! I CANNOT STOP DISSECTING THIS SONG. That is the one fun thing about your songs, you know. They are just so fun to pick apart. I just noticed a very low, nearly unnoticeable plucky synth around 0:43 that continued for a bit.
See? I'm already familiarizing myself with the piece, and that's when you get past the most noticeable and start noticing the not-so-noticeable. Have you noticed? :3 I am guessing yes. Since you kind of are the artist, here. Yep!

Well, it's been nice hearing stuff from you again, my dear FS. ^__^

ps. I believe the character limit has lengthened considerably, no? ...I mean I've probably written 1k words a least, and it looks like I have space for twice the amount I have written here, now.
...I am enjoying this very much so.. :D although with a limit like that, I will truly be challenged in reaching it..
Hm...this is probably the longest review i have ever written, so really I could just start now...but I am way too tired for that. And i'll admit, out of additional ways to bug you :d

FairSquare responds:

Haha, wow, what a review :O
Sorry it took me so long to respond.. it's just hard to respond to these kind of reviews, because i feel kind of obligated to write a long response while i don't really know what to say :p

Too bad you don't like that synth.. it has really grown on me while making the song and taking it away.. it wouldn't feel right. But i can still understand why you think this way. Just not taking it away :3

Thanks so much for this review. I really, really appreciate it <3
And i've read it more than once :p

[The Adventurer]

You've definitely got that "curious adventurer" feel going on! And high quality sounds along with lively composition...A very hard to resist combination, really...and just plain interesting to hear. The song doesn't bring to mind anything original, but is clearly reminiscent of a kind of kid-friendly, fun adventure film. Which is good.
The ending is pretty unsatisfactory compared with the rest of the song though. Probably the thing that would best counter the quick conclusion would be to do away with the short fadeout. It kind of sounds the song just decided to run away! Like listening to only a sample of a song and having it end on you just like that. In my opinion, ending it a bit more strongly would definitely match the rest of the piece and strengthen its entirety into something really great. Otherwise, I highly recommend you continue this later once you have the time!
You've also established quite the memorable tune and I congratulate you on that! Overall, this is very nicely done.

I have to say, for some reason, around 0:50, some not particularly memorable bits of one of the Ice Age scores come to mind. Don't ask how I remember it if it's not memorable in the first place, because I don't know how to answer that, haha. It's been a while since I've watched any of the movies... but I am just very reminded of it. Anyhow, I guess this just goes to show that you've established your goal in setting your desired mood. Hm.. if I had to pick a favorite part, it would be from roughly 0:30-0:40.

And no, it does sound like you know what you're doing. That is to say, you may not have completely planned it (er, planning? what's that?) --and by no means does this sound random, or amateur. Sometimes the best tunes just do come out of nowhere, and this here piece appears to be no exception. The melodies and percussion all connect very well, and that's something I can wholly appreciate.

As for luck, you might not need it for this contest. The skill appears to be quite evident. :)
Nevertheless, it has been wished!

Step responds:

Wow, what a review. Thanks for going into so much detail!

"You've definitely got that "curious adventurer" feel going on! And high quality sounds along with lively composition...A very hard to resist combination, really...and just plain interesting to hear. The song doesn't bring to mind anything original, but is clearly reminiscent of a kind of kid-friendly, fun adventure film. Which is good."

Yep, that was the plan. I submitted two songs to the contest; this one and another one which has more of a sneaky mood. I think my forte (pun intended :3) would be in this genre of music. Even if it's pretty generic and "cheesy adventure family film"-ish, my other submission went totally out of my comfort zone so I thought it'd be a good idea to go back to my niche for at least one of my submissions haha.

"The ending is pretty unsatisfactory compared with the rest of the song though. Probably the thing that would best counter the quick conclusion would be to do away with the short fadeout. It kind of sounds the song just decided to run away! Like listening to only a sample of a song and having it end on you just like that. In my opinion, ending it a bit more strongly would definitely match the rest of the piece and strengthen its entirety into something really great."

That ending, yeah :(. I bet something like 3 other people mentioned it as well. It sucks. I was going to my grandparents' for the weekend and I obviously can't bring my music gear over there, so I had to finish this before going, and I literally finished it with minutes to spare. I was like WHATEVER, JUST GOING TO END IT NOW LOL because I couldn't be late, and of course it came out really crappy.

I can however imagine it working in an animation perhaps, signifying that the adventurer in question reached his destination or something. I dunno.

"Otherwise, I highly recommend you continue this later once you have the time!"

I don't know if I'll actually continue this, since later into the song I start enjoying it less since it is quite rushed. I do like the melody I used here though... I might give it a rearrangement.

"You've also established quite the memorable tune and I congratulate you on that! Overall, this is very nicely done."

Woo ^____^.

"I have to say, for some reason, around 0:50, some not particularly memorable bits of one of the Ice Age scores come to mind. Don't ask how I remember it if it's not memorable in the first place, because I don't know how to answer that, haha. It's been a while since I've watched any of the movies... but I am just very reminded of it. Anyhow, I guess this just goes to show that you've established your goal in setting your desired mood."

Hahaha yeah. If I end up watching Ice Age again I'll see if I remember to look out for it :P.

"Hm.. if I had to pick a favorite part, it would be from roughly 0:30-0:40."

Yeah, I suppose that's the most "epic" part. I do find it hard to make the softer parts as interesting as the louder and more exciting ones; this is the case with a lot of my songs.

"And no, it does sound like you know what you're doing."

Oh good. Because I don't :3.

"That is to say, you may not have completely planned it (er, planning? what's that?)"

Uh... "Planning"? ... I never actually heard of this word before. D:

"--and by no means does this sound random, or amateur. Sometimes the best tunes just do come out of nowhere, and this here piece appears to be no exception. The melodies and percussion all connect very well, and that's something I can wholly appreciate."

In all honesty I almost never plan stuff when making music. I mean I have some ideas here and there which I may use later on in a track I'm working on, but rarely do I fully plan stuff out when it comes to music.

"As for luck, you might not need it for this contest. The skill appears to be quite evident. :)
Nevertheless, it has been wished!"

Thanks for the great, detailed review!

[nonameyet [WiP]]

This is a great even for a WIP! You've got some nice effects going on, and the drums are just perfectly punchy and dancey. My favorite part so far is from 0:41 to 0:51. And that melody you add in around 0:59 is very well placed. Your sounds mesh well overall. Yeah I'm kind of catching that dance/house vibe so either genre would be appropriate I think. Very much looking forward to the finished version! :)

ioneofmany responds:

Hey thanks for the review! I really appreciate it. (:

[Death to the Fire]

The first minute or so is pretty decent. However, I'm really not feeling the drop. There is a ton of distortion and it pretty much blocks out the rest of the song. The short build with the kick right before the drop has some clipping that could be fixed, also. Also, the ending was too plain and abrupt in my opinion, unless that was intentional. Looking back at the entire song, I see you do have a nice melody, and with some improvement on your bass, this could turn out pretty good!

skylukewalker99 responds:

Thanks! I'll work on the bass drop and do a re-upload in a few days.

[FS: Freefalling]

Hey! New song! :)
So, I'd like to start off with, you have a great start. The first 30 seconds sound very solid and put together, full-sounding, and with an interesting atmosphere--with a definite touch of style! After that, new melodies begin to build, and sound a bit random. Not the high pitched one in the background though. I know you don't always aim for catchy, but I really couldn't follow along with them at all. One nice melody I did hear is that one at 1:17-1:25 and 1:44-1:51, with the loud distorted-sounding synth. That one definitely stuck in my head well.
The harmonies were not very strong and supportive, in my opinion, especially toward the end of the song. It takes a few listens to really hear them through and properly hear them meshing together, otherwise it sounds a bit empty, or naked. I don't know how to describe it :(
However, you definitely chose the rights sound to do them in. Which you seem to have a knack for.
1:28 sounds really nice too, to calm down the song's business for a bit. The transition back to the main riff is well done.
Drums are great as always, and the effects are nice and varied. Ooh and the very first few seconds were a very well timed and funky. :) Just listened to it again.
Nice to hear new music from you again! (like I'm one to talk) :D

FairSquare responds:

Yeah, the melodies should be more recognizable i guess.. i just want to put too much in them.
And it sounds empty to you? Hmm, that's not good.. i'll just make everything have it's own place more in my future works, so that the track feels more as a solid piece instead of several loose parts.
Also, yes, you are one to talk because i saw you have a new song too! :D
Thanks for the review! :)

[Snowblind]

I absolutely love the beginning. Right at the drop and onward was really smooth in an unsettling, interestingly new-ish sort of way. Your choice of sounds come together fresh, and funky. I like your style! Only thing I could suggest improvement on is the build from the 0:20 to 0:50, which sounds less solid and uncertain, especially when it came to the synths compared to the rest of the song. Perhaps a shorter, less subtle build?
Also, the composition itself managed to keep away dullness with the repetition, which is a very good thing. Overall, nice work!

CowardlyLion responds:

Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoy my style. I might have to open the song up and work on the intro. Hopefully you enjoy the outcome.