Random-storykeeper's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM 2025 - Aquanaut]

AIM 2025 Judge Review

I think you did a wonderful job using the sound design and composition to capture the scene in the art. Even without the watery sounds, the sine instruments and lack of a deep bassline give this sense of swimming through the water. I like the wandering nature of the faster moving patterns working off each other to create this sense of forward motion with other patterns swelling up as the piece progresses. The composition does a great job at feeling like one is moving towards a focal point like how the diver in the art seems to be moving towards the light.

There's a couple things I would have liked to hear adjusted in this entry. While I do hear some panning, I think more attention could have been given to dynamic panning, especially with the art showing this scene of moving forward. It would have been neat to hear the swelling elements move around the central moving rhythms - perhaps having some of these ornamentations start centred and shift to the extreme left/right channels, having some other elements play in the far right/left channels to start with varying dynamics/filtering. I like the variation of sounds used, but I would have liked to hear that sense of motion to really feel the scope of the soundscape.

That being said, I think sticking with relatively minimal textures helps to bring out the mysterious and otherworldly, wondrous nature of the art. I like how the timbres feel like I am immersed in this underwater world, and there's a sense of brightness that seems very specific to the scene. Overall, I think this is a very pretty and otherwise well done entry.

[AIM - Bomb Pop]

AIM 2025 Judge Review

Following your username change, I could hardly believe I was listening to the same user from past AIMs. As far as sweetness goes, this entry definitely nails the cuteness of its art inspiration. I really like the hook and the warmth of the sound design. The melody is catchy and quite replayable.

For the most part, I think the piece progresses well, taking away elements of the bass and percussion then re-adding them in later sections to enhance the repeating melodies. Personally I feel the accompaniment could have used just a little more texture to it, particularly with the bass and the syncopated chords starting at 0:13. The syncopated chords and bass also being syncopated cause them to hit in unison rhythmically, and I would have liked to hear these elements play off each other in terms of where they hit on the beat. Right now, it feels bare when there's not a lot of rhythms playing off each other and all the musical layers constantly work parallel to each other instead of working with each other. I think it's fine as a start, but I would have liked to hear this more as the track progresses to its later sections.

Overall, I think this a really good entry. I went back to this a lot when it was first submitted to the compo - that opening hook is worth the repeat listens!

Kiraichu responds:

Thank you so much!! Didn’t think about that. I appreciate you listening to it so much! It was definitely an improvement from what I did in the past <3

[AIM / Slugg Dogg SMS²]

AIM 2025 Judge Review

This entry manages to be both smooth/cool while leaning into the silliness of the art, particularly with the use of both acoustic instruments and vocals in the accompaniment. It feels like a strange combination, but the mixing makes it feel natural. I also really love the vocal performance in this. The raspy voice adds just the right amount of edge to help it work with the accompaniment in an otherwise minimal setup.

If I had to nitpick one thing, I would have liked to hear more enunciation in the vocal performance. If I didn't have the lyrics, I would have thought the hook of this song was "slugg dogg sell my soul" which really would have changed things (or not, haha). Perhaps just more emphasis on the consonants would have helped. I still enjoyed the tone of your voice a lot, but with vocals so prominent in the mix, I would have liked to hear the words be more clear.

Overall, I like the sleepy and laid-back nature of this piece. It feels smooth in a slimy way, and I think it's hard to think of entries with this interesting setup for the accompaniment in past compos. There's a lot of substance that feels very connected and focused on the art inspiration, making it a great entry.

CasualBreather responds:

Thanks a lot for this detailed review and the good rating!
I take good note for my pronunciation of "save" my soul for if I sing this song again!

[AIM - Fair I See]

AIM 2025 Judge Review

Between the warm and inviting accompaniment, catchy hooks with an underlying message, I think this song has an intriguing sort of premise to it. I was drawn into the chill beat and soft guitar patterns, and the off-beat clicks in the left channel are strange and off-putting, but I think that kind of works to what you were intending with making the song feel "off".

My biggest issue with this song is that the vocals are too soft against the accompaniment. I just wish they were more present in the mix, as it feels like they take a backseat to the instruments even though the accompaniment is pretty soft-sounding. Even though the song is meant to sound off, I think those hi-hats could have been better integrated into the mix, as they were the only main element in the accompaniment I could pick out that felt distractingly off.

I also found myself wishing that the song sounded even more "off" than what was presented here. The art inspiration presents this dichotomy of red and black in the background and I think interpreting this into a song about hypocrisy makes sense. I just wish that also reflected in the composition itself. Overall I found the song to be a little too nice, and I think this could have been twisted in the later portion of the song. Perhaps taking that loop in the accompaniment and shifting it through various modal scales (Dorian, Phrygian, etc.) to make it gradually sound off-putting. While the rap verse had some interesting chords, the way it just went back to the normal chorus felt like a missed opportunity to have this sense of an outsider's perspective - that the people outside you can sense your (or whoever is the hypocrite's) hypocrisy.

This is still a solid entry nonetheless, and that opening loop is definitely a great intro.

[Sleigh Ride]

AIM 2025 Judge Review

I love how evocative this entry is of the art inspiration. From the orchestration and melodies, there is this instant connection not only to winter/festivities, but of happiness and journeying through the snowy landscape. The main melody being carried by different instruments was a nice touch - I love its contour and the way it jumps up and makes its way back down at the end of the phrase. There are some pleasant additions to the texture, like the use of the strings to create that forward motion that feels like one is sliding along through the snow.

Adding any sort of extra non-melodic percussion would have diminished that festive and whimsical atmosphere, in my opinion, so I think the decision to stick with more rhythmic accompaniment in the orchestral instruments worked to great effect. The main thing I would have liked to hear more is a slight refinement to the processing of the instruments - a little shaving off the high ends to give a more muted sound that would have complemented the wintery night landscape of the art inspiration more. I also felt that when the texture was full, the rhythmic elements get a little buried.

Overall, I think this entry is super pretty and full of charm. The sound design and melody are definitely the standouts here.

[AIM - Tyrant]

Per your request, here are the rough notes I took for your AIM 2024 entry:

That slower beginning section that appears in the middle and end of the track works really well with the art and has a great sense of atmosphere.

I love the use of piano there, but I wish it were more prominent.

The main part of the track with those fast synth lines, for the most part, does not work given the art inspiration and also feels disconnected from the track besides the one part where it's slow and reverbed in the middle section.

I like the sense of playing around with the tempo and the pulsating of the chords.

COMPOSITION: I like the intro and there are nice ideas here like playing around with the tempo and the fast synth line.

PRODUCTION: The panning is fine but the main part of the track is so dry, especially those drums and the loud synths.

EMOTION: The beginning is quite atmospheric but the main synth line doesn't really flow that well from the intro and the lack of reverb makes this a difficult listen.

ART RELEVANCE: I think the long, flowing lines - the slower parts with the piano - feel quite inspired by the art, but that main sort of fast sidechained synth line feels disconnected from the art. Ultimately, the bulk of this track sounds too similar to "Digital Demolition" - which in itself isn't a bad thing necessarily, but I felt like the sounds weren't as strong in conveying this different style of art used as the inspiration here.

Orenge1 responds:

Thank you! This was very helpful. I personally felt the synth was connected with the art as I thought the synth as the dragon approaching aggressively basically. But the lack of reverb and the dry excessive loudness I can well understand is a problem. Can also agree that the piano isn't so prominent and the synth bass sound selection also needed more work and so did the percussion.

All and all, once again thanks for this detailed review! :)

[AIM2024 - To the Skies]

Per your request, here are the rough notes I took for your AIM 2024 entry:

Great seamless shift from the uplifting tone at the beginning to the more intense sections in a short amount of time.

I love the use of the guitar for added intensity and...it sounds more epic like that.

Drums could definitely use a touchup. I missed a lot of their presence here.

Could have used another hook somewhere in the middle that is not like the beginning or ending's main melodic ideas, but also something different as a touch point. Most of the track is quite good, but it feels mostly background.

COMPOSITION: I really like the transition from the happier string section at the beginning to the intensive parts with the guitar and strings. I just feel like there was a lot of "waiting" to get back to the main hooks.

PRODUCTION: I think the guitar was mixed quite well with the strings, but I wish there were more presence of the drums - the cymbal was really the only thing prevalent.

EMOTION: The punches and shifts of emotion and atmosphere work quite well with the sound design and hits in the composition. There is that sense of having an epic battle adventure.

ART RELEVANCE: There's definitely a video game feeling to this, which seems inspired by the art. I think it also reflects the environment and the idea around the narrative is quite well done.

NahuPyrope responds:

Thank you!, I agree that I dragged out some bits a tad too long, I wasn't confident about that, to be 100% fair I wasn't super confident in this track, but I'm happy there were some good things in it.

Thank you again RSK, you're wonderful!

[AIM2024 - Arrhythmia]

Per your request, here are the rough notes I took for your AIM 2024 entry:

Guitar sound is incorporated in a way that works and still follows your signature style

Fantastic, lovely melody recurring throughout. Great sound choices to complement the guitar (piano and strings, etc.)

The vocal section - I like the idea but not the execution. The melody line I would like to hear if it sounds better an octave lower? Also the use of the vocaloid here hampers the emotional weight for me. The way the vocaloid pronounces the words is very unnatural sounding. It's almost there but not quite.

COMPOSITION: The melody is fantastic, but I feel like the vocals section is a bit of a miss. The way the metre changes feels very natural and not something I'm consciously thinking about, which is one of the piece's greatest strengths.

PRODUCTION: I feel like the production could be just a bit lighter, feels a bit heavy-loaded in the lower end.

EMOTION: The melody of the guitars just hits that right level of cuteness and comfort, but I felt like the heavier production and vocals detracted from this feeling a bit.

ART RELEVANCE: Does a great job at making you feel small and the sky feel big, with feelings of comfort and uncertainty wrapped up into one cute little package.

(Sorry I went ham on the vocals. I'm just personally not a huge fan of vocaloids/synthesizers unless it's in very specific contexts. For me, having this lovely sort of piece culminate into sudden vocals where they feel unnatural affected the emotional impact, especially since the piece builds up to the vocals. I still enjoyed it overall, but it was definitely the one thing I didn't really connect with.)

NahuPyrope responds:

I also don't 100% feel good about using a voice synthesizer, of course I'd much prefer having actual vocals, been practicing my singing a lot but I'm still a few ways away.

Thank you so much for the notes RSK♡

[AIM24 - Hypertrain]

Per your request, here are the rough notes I took for your AIM 2024 entry:

Lots of fun little musical ideas here, like the slight ascension of the melody at 0:12 to 0:17 in the lower voice.

The counterpoint at 0:57 to 1:31 with the jumping lead is great.

Wish we had more sense of the bass rhythms to really get a sense of the train travelling. I think there were faster moving bass notes, but the instrument used is so soft and low that none of this is felt at all.

The slower-moving section at 0:40 is uninteresting compared to the rest of the track when the bass, high note and drums all hit at the same beat and play the same notes.

The ending is very abrupt and doesn't sound like a train hitting its "last stop".

COMPOSITION: I think there are a lot of very good musical ideas and counterpoint here, but there are also some sections where it feels like the track grinds to a halt in an uninteresting way. Also the ending is so abrupt in a way that makes the track feel truncated.

PRODUCTION: The lower end is so soft that the sense of bass is lost and I think that causes the track to lose energy and sense of motion.

EMOTION: There are some moments where the track stops and starts, generally, where it does feel like a train travelling on the rails and stopping at the stations.

ART RELEVANCE: I think the synths complement the art style, and I love the idea of the motion in the bass and counterpoint to convey this train moving along the tracks. With tighter execution, I think this would have scored a bit higher.

Dynamic0 responds:

Thanks for feedback!

[AIM - Blinded w/samuraiowl]

Per your request, here are the rough notes I took for your AIM 2024 entry:

I wish the guitar section at 0:29-0:42 were repeated/extended to at least double its length.

Lots of great moments, love the idea of the metal screams juxtaposed with the beautiful sung parts.

The vocals during the normal sung parts are off-key in a way that is quite distracting. They also sound like the throat is closed, making it difficult to hear the lyrics that are being sung.

Great flow of sections, especially towards the end. Just wish there was more sense of the bassline there to balance out those square arps.

COMPOSITION: I think the structure works well for the most part, and the incorporation of sung vocals with metal screaming is a good approach to the theme and a great connection between sections. Again, I think I got similar feelings to your entry from last year in that the melodic ideas feel underexplored here - there's a lot of great sections and transitions between them, but I feel like we don't really spend a lot of time hearing the sections develop to their full potential, which makes the entire track feel very rushed - especially given that the track is not even 3 minutes long but there's so many ideas packed into it.

PRODUCTION: The vocals are quite loud and I wish we heard more of the bass in the last section to balance out the square arps. I also think there should have been some pitch correction for the sung parts - it sounds awkward when the notes are off-key and the enunciation isn't that well-performed.

EMOTION: The song has a dark, cathartic feeling to it that I do get a sense of.

ART RELEVANCE: I think this song does a great job at conveying the tone and expression from the character and their inner turmoil, especially the switching between normally sung vocals and the metal screaming.

veryfakeguest responds:

Thank you so much for the review! And yeah... it seems like there's still issues in this that were present in my previous AIM submission. We kinda had to rush it but I'll be sure to rectify these mistakes next time.