Random-storykeeper's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM - ACID RAIN]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

The composition does a great job at drawing inspiration from the art. It just has this perfect sort of melancholy mood that complements the lone figure in the rainfall while the bright guitars outline the bright colours from the art inspiration. The guitar and drums sound very clean and I love the subtle panning effects in the melody. There is a sparkly sensation that I get when focusing on the melodic line and I felt like that provided an immersive experience, as if I am that person in the art, sitting under the pouring rain.

Honestly, I would have loved to hear more of the groove from the syncopated chords stand on their own without the melody. I know the beginning and the end do this, but I think there could have been some more sections where the groove plays out a bit more with some additional layers as ornamentation. The bulk of this track involves the melody constantly playing and repeating ideas and while I love the composition of said melody, I think the laid back nature of the track allows for the chance to have the melody drop out within one of the middle sections and then return later for more emotional impact.

Overall, this entry is simple but well executed. It took me a while to realize that rain-like ambience bookends the track and I think this entry does a wonderful job at making you feel the rain in its music without it constantly being there in the background. I could lie down and chill to this for a long while.

[AIM - Shuffle!]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

Electric guitar seems like a strange choice for an intimate sex jam, but I think it works here. There's a looseness to the energetic nature of the chords and that plays well into the sketched style of the inspiration. I like how the composition is playful without being overly cheesy, which is fitting for the anime appearance of the two women in the art.

I don't normally like recorded or sampled sound effects being added to the music, but here it seemed like it was needed to get the concept across. Without the sound effects, it would have been easy to think of this entry as being like a surfer piece, but hearing the voices and the kissing at the end makes it explicit (no pun intended, haha) that this is about sexual curiosity and romance. The choice of using an electric guitar provides a grungier sound that actually makes the sexual tension seem more experienced than innocent. I feel like this piece is more convincing as a sex jam about two women who are familiar with each other letting loose in the bedroom and this isn't their first time in this kind of intimacy.

Overall, I enjoyed the guitar playing and the chord progression is fun. The sections flow pretty well into one another and I like the faster chords at 2:57 leading up to the recurrence of the main melody from the first section. I fear I might be too oblivious to understand some of the themes portrayed here, but I hope I got the general gist of it.

[A Land Home to Dreams - AIM]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

You've done a great job conveying the dreaminess and lushness from the art. The main idea throughout is catchy and draws me into this world. The sound design is nice; the instruments are mainly soft and floaty and I like how the percussion has some punch to it but still manages to mix well with the instrument choice. It enhances, but it doesn't overwhelm the track. There are also some cool ambient choices that sound spacey at 0:53 and it enhances the strange, light atmosphere.

The soundtrack angle is a good fit, considering the ground and tree look like they could be platforms in a 2D game. This entry is categorized as a loop, but it doesn't seem to loop all that well. I know Newgrounds doesn't do completely seamless looping (especially given that it's mp3), but I think the track ends too definitively and starts too energetically and these points don't connect with each other. If this were actually implemented in a game, the loop would be very distracting.

Overall, I think this entry captures the world as depicted in the art from a macroscopic perspective. I enjoyed the way the sections flow - the middle section with those off-beat chords was a good break from the main idea while still maintaining its atmosphere. This makes the recurring idea from the beginning all the more satisfying when it returns at the end with that higher melody line as the counterpoint.

[AIM 2023 - I'm Naut Dreaming]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

What I really love about this piece is that it manages to capture this sense of being in outer space without sounding desolate or mysterious. Don't get me wrong; there are many space tracks that pull that off, but I feel like every once in a while, it's nice to hear a depiction of space as being beautiful, wondrous and chill. I think this approach was the perfect choice to reflect this image of these lovers looking at a heart-shaped nebula.

There's so much prettiness in the sound design and chord progression. I absolutely love the section from 1:35 to 2:03. The call-and-response with the horns and the strings against those ascending arps is breathtaking, especially with how floaty and pleasant the arps are. The melodies also have a tenderness to them that works really well to portray the romanticness of the art inspiration.

I think there are a couple of sections with the melody that could have used some more phrasing, particularly at 0:41. Since the higher voices are more prominent, giving them more of an arc to their velocity rather than being uniform would help to add some shape and really bring out the emotion in the melody. A similar thing could be said about the piano chords when they first enter - they're a bit on the forceful side in relation to the rest of the accompaniment.

Overall, this is such a well-crafted track in its composition, section flow and the instrument choices. I must say, the melody at 3:26 reminded me of the Adam Young track "Earth" from the Voyager 1 orchestral score and that is what really sold me on the whole lovely spacey vibes. The ending sounds a bit like a logo jingle which is kind of goofy but it's a pleasant enough conclusion.

[AIM - And Then the Storm]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

When I first heard this piece, my initial impressions were that this was depicting a city floating high above the clouds. The repeating, even-rhythm bassline feels like a slow motor running and the synths overall had this airiness to them that gave an elevated perspective that also made it sound futuristic. It was quite surprising to hear these elements being used to portray what appears to be a downtown city and a coming thunderstorm - not a bad thing, just unexpected for me.

I admit that it took a long time of constant listening for me to come around on this entry. I thought it moved too slowly and the composition felt like it was building up to something than it led on. Thankfully, this compo provides that luxury of time to do so. Eventually, that repeating bassline and the synth line doing the D F# D G pattern got to me and I found myself appreciating the layers and the texture as a whole.

Originally, I thought the piece would build up to some headbanging rock intro and although that didn't happen, I like the way the electric guitar is used to pad out the lower drones towards the end. It was also an interesting choice holding off on changing up the chord progression until the end, where it resolves to the major key before transitioning back to the two chord pattern. Personally I found it to be satisfying, as if the thunder has finally run its course and exits, allowing just the rain to remain.

Overall, I like this entry's atmosphere and sound design quite a bit. The repetition of the two-chord progression works well to set the cityscape scene and in the end, I think the synths do complement the pixel art style of the art inspiration effectively. It really captures the emotional core of experiencing the gradual arrival and leaving of a heavy rainfall with rolling thunder.

LuckyDee responds:

@Random-storykeeper and @damifortune thanks for your kind words. I was aiming to create a very spartan piece, which I ended up adding more keys to because it turned out a little too empty to my taste - it's not the touch I wanted to add, but under time pressure I couldn't afford to spend any more fiddling about with the composition. The relative monotony is a conscious choice too - rain with the promise of a storm that ends up not coming in is itself very monotonous, but in a transfixing rather than boring way, and that is the vibe I wanted to capture. And I love how competitions like this help me branch out creatively like that - although there's probably dozens of contestants how delivered a more exciting piece than I did, I consider myself a winner once again.

Thanks for your efforts!

[AIM- Come Home]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

Whenever I see an entry from you, I immediately think of compelling, emotionally-drive works and of the two entries you submitted, this was the one that tugged my heartstrings the most. It was mainly because of the vocals; it's great that you found a vocal instrument that manages to have some control over the diction of words and breaths so that it feels more organic and less computerized. I was especially a fan of the vocal runs at 1:04 and how they are slightly delayed coming in on the strong beat. The way the vocal runs hit the higher notes at 3:20 was absolutely heart-wrenching.

The only prevalent issues for me come from a few production decisions I'm not sure work. That two-beat kick drum pattern seems like it was trying to mimic a heartbeat and while I like the idea, I think its presence in the mix is a bit too distracting, especially during the beautiful vocal runs. The string instrument in the final vocal run section at 3:04 also seems too loud and prominent. I'm not too production-savvy but I feel like some of the higher frequencies from it could have been cut or suppressed to make it complement the vocals more. I love the string and vocal counterpoint compositionally, so it's more about making these two parts seem like they're working with each other rather than against each other.

I appreciate you sharing your interpretation of the art and how you chose to express that in your music. It surprised me to read that this track was meant to be a little more optimistic and hopeful, like these two people in the artwork went through all these devastating troubles, but in the end, they reunite. Personally, I feel like this track comes off as more tragic than touching. The heaviness of the piano chords paired with the words "come home" come across as the girl calling out for her father, willing him to make it out of his peril alive. The vocal runs especially suggest this idea of a voice calling out and metaphorically travelling throughout the scene, trying to find the father, but in the end, he never returns. This interpretation is what made the piece so heart-wrenching, but I can definitely see that you put a lot of thought into the art and whether this tragic perception was your original intention or not, this entry was thoroughly impactful in its emotional resonance.

DigitalProdigy responds:

Thank you for that detail review. I agree with everything you said, the art interpretation could have went either way, so I appreciate your way you viewed the art work. The heart beat was a production choice and I had trouble in the beginning deciding if I should keep it or remove it, I decided to keep it. Overall I'm satisfied with what I came up with and also your review of the song. Thank you for taking your time to review it.

[Sin Tiempo (AIM CONTEST 2023)]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

What works really well for me is this entry's sense of forward motion. Throughout the whole piece, it feels like I'm flying constantly towards the focal point of the image. The composition captures the wonder and adventure - I can definitely see this fitting into a platform-adventure that takes place in an environment like the art inspiration.

It seems like you were going for a lot with this track - dynamic variations, a composition that has to work for both day and night, and I love that you approached this with the idea of creating a surreal atmosphere. I feel a sense of forwardness from some instruments (like the floaty arps) while the lower instrument with the attack almost feels like it's moving backward. Putting these together creates that perception of motion in two opposing directions simultaneously, as if one is venturing into the unknown.

I was also intrigued by the title of this entry, which I know shares the same name as its inspiration. Apparently it literally translates to "without time", so it is interesting that some of the percussive sounds used here sound like the ticking of a clock or the evenness of the piano notes at 1:50. Out of curiosity, did the meaning of the art's title get taken into consideration when creating this track?

Overall, I really loved the atmosphere from this entry. The use of the ambient sound at the beginning into the main sections worked really well and added a captivating wispy tone to the texture that I enjoyed a lot.

ZagyBoi responds:

Thank your for your feedback! Actually yes, the title did play into the inspiration when creating the track, which led to the decision of using ticking clocks throughout the track.

[AIM - Misery Haunt]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

This entry does a great job at capturing both the creepiness and the innocence present in the art inspiration. I love the use of the piano playing in the lower register with a lot of release in the tails. The use of the jazzy instruments was also well done, particularly in the transition leading up to when the music box comes back at 2:12. I love the use of the horns at 1:53 followed by the weird sort of metallic attacked sound at 2:03. It really conveys the mystery and cuteness in the character and the environment.

The one thing that didn't work for me here is the decision of keeping the music box in the background while the oboe plays. The music box has a very strong sort of pluck to it that remains prevalent even when its volume is turned down, especially when it's accompanying a lower melody being played by a woodwind, so it ends up becoming a distraction at 2:22 specifically. The way the composition was set up, it felt like these ideas from the oboe melody and the rest of the accompaniment already connected well enough that the music box didn't really need to keep playing.

Overall, this piece excels at depicting this character and that sense of wandering forward down an endless dark corridor. I like how you even took into account the kind of music Mizore listens to and working it into the track in a way that enhances the atmosphere and gives an edge that is more specific to the art inspiration.

Codefreq responds:

Thank you for the very in-depth review. I’m glad you enjoyed my piece and that you liked the angle I took regarding Mizore’s character. :)

[AIM - Spiral - A song about losing your mind]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

The things I love the most about this track are the composition and the sound design. The groove from those starting chords is endlessly captivating. I also loved the sense of pulse throughout the piece, which is probably a weird thing to say about music but it stood out to me. I noticed that pretty much every note that plays has some sort of sense of the beat, like the opening chords pan in time with the triple metre and it really helped to make the more varied rhythms around it shine. The instrument choices also play well off each other - I didn't really think I'd hear pizzicato strings with electric guitars but the way they are used here feels natural.

If I had to nitpick one thing, I feel like the emotion of this track didn't quite convey the tone of the art that well. Even though I love the way this track is paced, I think the well-crafted composition and structure work against the tone of despair seen in the art. The track comes across as too epic and energetic and I just don't think of "isolation" when I listen to this. If anything, I would think isolation/depression/anxiety would be reflected as disorderly, perhaps chaotic.

You definitely touch on the overwhelming aspect of the art and I think there is a sense of being confined here, just not confinement as the art depicts it. However, when coming at it from an angle about being trapped doing the same job over and over, I think this piece fits in a lot better with that metaphor (imo). The chords definitely give a "work" sort of vibe and the repetition suggests a return to the same routine day in and day out. That increase in the dynamics with the repeating melody towards the end seems like a reflection of how being too ingrained in routine can eventually drive a person into despair.

The production feels very thick, which does play well into the theme of confinement, I think. I do like that the instruments can still be heard despite the in-your-face sense that some of the lower layers especially carry. Overall, I did go back and forth on whether it really did feel like there was a strong connection to the art inspiration, but I can confidently say that I still love this piece for what it is. The little changing of the emphasis on those chords at 0:41 and so-forth got to me.

[AIM - Shark Dude Shanty]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

A metal pirate shanty is exactly what I was expecting when I saw this art and this entry did not disappoint. I find this entry very easy to enjoy - it's just got the right energy to hook me in and convince me that this is the right sound and approach to bring this goofy, menacing shark to life. Not only does the guitar sound great, but I love how the other instruments work in this track compositionally to paint the scene fully. At one point, I noted that at around the 0:58 mark, it sounds like the shark is dancing and stomping around on the deck. He definitely doesn't own this ship but you'll gladly and fearfully give it up to him in the hope that he spares your life.

While I like the use of the non-guitar instruments in terms of their composition, I think their sound and mixing didn't quite make them as effective as the guitar parts. Perhaps this is in part to the guitar being played live while the other instruments are not and that couldn't be more evident than in the choir. To me, the choir was barely audible (but from what I could hear, I loved the way in which it was used as a layer) and it was where I really felt like the synthetic nature of its sound was most evident. When it changes notes, it just seemed like a program in a DAW moving step by step. I would have definitely loved to hear less MIDI sounding instruments as I think it would have enhanced the piece a lot more, especially against the awesome guitar.

Overall, this entry does a great job at blending fun with a razor sharp intimidating edge. It sounds to me like the structure paints this clear image of a shark rising out of the water then jumping onto and scaring everyone off a ship. Then he destroys everything and it seems like at the very end, with the organ outro, he slowly sinks back into the deep. That's quality musical storytelling right there.

CrossCarrasco responds:

Thank you for the feedback! I appreciate you checking out my song and glad you liked it!