Random-storykeeper's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[rocks and rocks and rocks [AIM 2023]]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

It's interesting to read about how this song evolved from one about an explosive relationship to the perspective of one experiencing an explosive relationship first-hand. The 7/4 metre is an unconventional choice that makes for some sense of unevenness akin to the surface of a rock. I also really like the way the chorus deals with the repetition of the word "rocks" at different volumes and in almost a breathy-sounding tone - it's as if the word is pelting down in a series of smaller pieces. To me, it definitely sounds like the song deals with the aftermath of the explosion - the volcano has erupted and now all the ash and uh, rocks are raining down.

Even though I like the way the chorus handles the lightness of the vocals, I feel like the entire song needed a bit more of a harder edge. The accompaniment also seems very thin and counteracts with the explosive energy and aftermath that the rest of the song conveys. For a song about rocks and something blowing up in one's face, I think the backing track could use a lot more impact. I like the melodic pattern being played in the accompaniment; I think it's just more about how it sounds and the frequencies it occupies.

Overall, I like the song in concept and I feel like a lot of the choices being made compositionally and lyrically help this entry to stand out. My favourite part was the culmination to the shouting of the word "unbelievable" in the second verse. It's neat that this also feels like another sort of figurative explosion that occurs two-thirds of the way in.

MasterHand4444 responds:

First of all, I know it's for a competition, but it's very cathartic to have something I've made so critically analyzed. So thank you sincerely for that!

And second, I agree that the track could've used a harsher edge. Over the past few months I've relistened to this song quite a few times, and while I would change quite a few things, I'm still very proud of this track.

So thank you again for the honest critiques! AIM is incredibly fun and I can't wait to do it again next year.

[AIM - Stellar Guardians]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

I like the way you approached this entry - the combination of the chords with that buzzy sort of synth waving up and down captures the sense of etherealness that can only be described as celestial. The piano melody paired with the chord progression almost felt like the gentle sense of the aura from these beings and the composition does a good job at evoking the wonder and awe from the perspective of a witness.

One thing I would have liked to hear is a reflection of the art and your interpretation of it through the production. Unfortunately I'm not too familiar with a lot of production/mixing terms, but to me, a lot of the solid chords sound a bit too in-your-face and I think that takes away from the scale and distance of these celestial beings. The long-held notes also seem quite uniform in their presentation and I think more sense of some dynamics in how the notes are played or shifting would have helped to give more shape to your beautiful chord progression.

Overall, I think the composition and the choice of instruments were fitting and I like the concept you chose to approach the inspiration with. Also, hats off to inspiring the artist with your inspiration of their work. Nice job!

MauveDash responds:

I am very bad at describing how I do stuff :)

But thanks for the feedback! The more loud/in your face notes I can definitely see as an issue, and the uniform notes I actually noticed whilst creating this (but was too lazy to fix it). Surprised that the more repetitive nature of some areas weren't mentioned, but that means it might not have been as big of an issue as I thought :)

Once again though, thanks! I'll try to improve in my dynamics at least

[AIM - Bellowers of Grief]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

I'm really impressed by your entry this year. What stands out to me most is your attention to detail in drawing inspiration from the art inside and out. For such a painted landscape, I feel like the most obvious portrayal would be to incorporate ambient sound effects like wind blowing or crunching footsteps in the snow. I'm not saying these wouldn't have worked in a piece inspired by this art, but I think it should be commended that you managed to reflect this image using a large ensemble of orchestral instruments.

Not only did you draw inspiration from the image for the composition and instruments, but I love that the mix was factored into honing in on the right atmosphere to depict the art. Everything has this muted, sort of hushed quality that reminds me of the silence heard when standing out during a heavy snowfall. It works so well to convey the snowy mountaintops and serve as an effective backdrop to the character's journey, which still feels like the main driving force of the melodic ideas being explored.

I also really love the way the sections progress. At 1:14, the clarinet lead-in seems hopeful - as if the journey ahead is rough but it's going to be fine - and I like how that eventually culminates into a louder more definitive idea that, to me, feels completely desolate. The mountain continues to loom tall; the character continues trudging forward. Then the clarinet comes back in again and it almost seems like again, there is hope, but the final part with the strings shuts that hopefulness down - at least, that's how it came across to me, and I think that does seem to tie in with the description provided in the art.

Overall, I believe you used your strengths in orchestral composing and mixing to be so in-tune with the art, from the visuals to the description and the journey beyond. Although the experience only lasts about 3-and-a-half minutes, it felt like every second was perfectly attuned to this mountainous landscape.

Everratic responds:

Thank you so much for this detailed review! And thanks for hosting again!

[AIM 2023 - World Code Destruction]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

This is the track I wish played during the final boss battle of the Flash game Serious Dave instead of the menu music they went with. The structure in this entry manages to capture the boss battle theme it's going for really well - including the intro, which feels like that calm before the fight actually begins. I love the drum beat that starts this track; it packs a punch while the other instruments make their way into the texture. The first 30 seconds are a huge stand-out to me with the way everything builds.

Most of the melodies also work well and I think composing upon some keywords based off the art was a great choice to focus on the emotion and the atmosphere. The track has a dark sort of droning undertone with hints of grit here and there that help to bring the image of the character in the art breaking the ground to life. My only challenge with this piece is that it feels like a lot of the melodies feel secondary when put up against one another. I like a lot of the melodic ideas being explored, but I didn't feel like they flowed that well into one another. If I were to rearrange various parts of this track around, I feel like I wouldn't have noticed the difference and I think that takes away from this boss battle concept having an arc and conveying these 5 keywords. It just didn't seem like there was a sense of why the melodies were arranged in this sequence. It makes the piece come across as losing focus which clashes against the very focused intro.

Overall, I love the atmosphere and the intro is super solid and I like what the track is going for as a whole. Generally, the sense of a boss battle is prevalent throughout and the production and sound design reflect the colours in the art strongly for me.

EldritchAutopsy responds:

Thanks so much! I'm glad to hear a lot of elements I experimented with turned out great, especially the atmosphere, I'm really motivated to try more stuff like this going forward!

For the flow of the melodies, I see what you mean. Some sections I actually tried to have them make sudden switches and kinda "glitch" into each other to match up to the Malfunctioning theme, like at 1:04, but think I got too caught up in making each section match the vibe of the different phases as I went and as a result, I ended up neglecting making each section actually flow properly.
Appreciate that catch, I'll remember that going forward for anything else I make, I'm not sure I would've noticed that myself, but It helps a ton, again, Thank you!

[AIM - Final Frontier]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

It's a risky move to pick an art inspiration that was used in a winning entry from last year. I'm not sure if this was intentional or an oversight, but that being said, I think your take on the art inspiration works while also feeling like a very different approach. What really works is that it goes for the movement and the adventure one could experience in this scene and it seems like you put a lot of thought into that when creating this track.

There's basically only hook in this entry and I have to admit, it's a real earworm. That whole descending chord progression and the part from 0:40 to 0:55 constantly get stuck in my head. It doesn't immediately strike me as catchy, but the melody is definitely sticky in a subtle way. I love how the composition feels loopy and every phrase is set up to be able to endlessly repeat itself. It creates a wandering feeling in the emptiness of space and I think you managed to evoke this successfully throughout.

This might be a hot take, but I believe there's a balance to how much a composer gives away in their description versus how much should be left for the listener to interpret. Personally I'm not a fan of time-stamp descriptions, but that's not really the issue here. Having all these lines about what the track is trying to convey and then having the time stamps after seems a little too excessive in handholding the listener through the music. And for the reviewer in me, I become a little more critical in my expectations of what these descriptions say against what I hear in the track. For example, the moment in 3:04 implies a heightened sense of urgency, yet the whole track has a relatively uniform flowy feeling to it that just doesn't match how I would have perceived this part. I think describing the intentions with the track are great, but I think over-describing can lead to a very narrow listening experience.

For me, I think this track works well when I only think about it as someone floating aimlessly throughout space, watching the strange and wondrous parts of the environment surround them. It's got a good sense of pulse that makes me want to sway back and forth while listening.

TebyTheCat responds:

I'm soo embarassed, it was a complete oversight, I had totally forget this art was used before (let alone by a winning entry last year) I'm truly flabbergasted by this

Other then that I'm also really happy that you enjoyed my melodies! When writing music the melodies are always my main focus and to hear other people appreciating them makes me really happy, thank you!

On your hot take, it never occured to me that a heavy time stamped storyline could be so detrimental to a song, but I did understand your annoyance of feeling "guided" rather than being able to enjoy the song on it's own... Yeah, actually in the end if it's more a problem of being unbalanced towards having way too much detail I get it

[AIM - Elegy to a Fallen Star]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

What I love most about this piece is that it feels like everything is handled with care. The piano is very light and even and it serves as a great throughline while everything else surrounds it. The composition lingers with such sadness with an undertone of etherealness that really encapsulates the feeling of being isolated in a vast expanse, focusing in on the image of the fallen star in a way that feels tragic. This was a great interpretation of the art and I think all the components work so well to effectively be moving.

It's so strange at the start, the melody almost feels like there's hope and I like that gradual shift towards the sense that "no, this is very sad and you should also feel sad". It's also interesting how the piano seems plunky, as if every note is almost hitting with the same amount of force. I don't know if that's actually the case, but I think the piano being presented like this works wonders for the piece - it allows the music to feel like it's stuck in time and the gentle pads and ambience come across as colours and shading being added to the image. I feel as though I'm hearing the image being formed in front of my eyes and yet I feel a strong emotion all the way through.

This entry is super well done and I even feel sad just listening to it while writing this review. It captures the scale and the isolation and the lamentation all in one, and it made for a very strong listening experience.

ForgottenDawn responds:

My warmest thanks for your diligence and for taking your time reviewing my piece~

[(AIM) Ryzmik - "Aztec Reaper"]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

I am not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to production, but I feel like the production in this track might be the best I've heard in AIM this year. Something about the way the sounds are placed and mixed hits just right and I can see why this was a huge challenge given how many wildly different sounds coalesce. Every part sounds so clear and even the harsher sounds don't hurt my ears.

There's been a lot of great D&B tracks combined with other interesting sounds or genres in past AIMs, and I think this entry continues this trend perfectly. I love how the composition captures an intensity, but there's also some lightness in the upper winds that help to bring the character in the art to life. I can picture the character as being extremely menacing and swift and they can leap away in a moment's notice when approached.

Overall, I like the balance of simplicity in the melodic elements paired with the complexity of the texture and sound design and that comes through very clearly for me. This track is worth replaying a lot just to hear a lot of what goes on in those musical layers. It not only manages to reflect, but also elevate the art it's inspired by.

Ryzmik responds:

Thank you so much for taking your time to analyze the song!

I spent literally days trying to get the best out of the mix without sounding wobbly from all the shakers and percs playing at the chorus, so I'm surprised that I managed it well somehow :o

About the inspiration, my intention was to give a sneaky and tense feel at the start, then as it goes on I tried to imagine how Maya (the character) takes action, pursuing or fighting its enemies with her weapons or something, so I thought fast paced percussive rhythm mixing aztec instruments with synths was my best option to visualize all that and make it interesting.

I really appreciate judges who gives an explanation to the concursants instead of a score.

[Casporb - Dragonfire]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

The decision to use dubstep as the approach for this track works for the art given the sci-fi nature of the scene. When the drop hits, I can picture the wubs as the attacks from the dragons and the people fighting them from below. I think the sound design and the buildups serve their purpose for the inspiration. I like that some of the sounds kind of resemble the roar of a beast, but in an electronic sort of way.

My gripe with this entry is that I feel like I don't really get a lot out of the composition. I can hear (and read) the logic behind what the structure represents, but I felt like the music was just kind of hitting the beats that it needed to but there was nothing beyond the surface that gave it a lot of substance. The buildups happen so quickly and the track basically just repeats itself twice - same repeating melody with the same accompanying chords. I didn't really find the minor scale melody that interesting to begin with, so its constant repetition throughout wasn't very engaging for me. The drop was certainly the more interesting part - I just wish that melody didn't come up in between it or that this repeating melody were more interesting.

Overall, I think there was some thought that went into making the music resemble the art, and I like some of the sounds that were used to resemble the fighting in the art. For this to have scored higher with me, I would have liked to hear more inspiration drawn from more aspects of the art, particularly its atmosphere.

Casporb responds:

Thank you for the review.

[Beneath (AIM 2023)]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

It's awesome that you made a lot of sounds in this track from scratch and I think that helps give the piece more of a distinct identity. I love the way the atmosphere is conveyed in this entry - there's an unsettling tension but almost everything is hushed and quiet. I feel like I'm underwater with this creature and it's terrifying and beautiful, all at the same time. Hearing the sound designs made for this track on your SoundCloud before they were added was super interesting, especially hearing how loud some of these sounds were before they went into the track.

Almost every sound in this entry has just the right blend for this atmosphere. The only part that really stuck out and didn't feel like it quite fit in was the string that comes up at the beginning and the end. I think it worked well when it was first introduced, but I felt like at the end where it feels like we are moving deeper into the abyss, that the sound of that string instrument would have also evolved or been a little more subtle in the way it is played rather than being so upfront. But aside from that, I think everything, especially the sounds made from scratch, worked perfectly.

Overall, it felt like there was a strong understanding of how to draw inspiration from the art and evoke the emotion, atmosphere and scale through the music. I love this entry and its attention to detail is superb. By far, the rhythmic "Underwater Atmosphere" and the haunting "horror radio choir.wav" were my favourite sounds in the entire piece. I'd love to hear or see more about the process it took to create these sounds. Fantastic work!

chipsqueek responds:

tysm for the review !! :D i'll try working on a sort of breakdown video of it sometime in the future !
speaking of the intro's and the ending i will admit im kinda still a newbie when it comes to introducing a track and ending it, but i will try my best to learn how to get better at them ! :D

but overall thank you for the review on my submission ! this was something i did out of boredom and as a way to experiment to see if i still have the skill from my old track 'strike against god' ! :D