SourJovis's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[endK - Midnight Chariots]

Great song. Very energetic. That brass section is very funky and video game-like. The horse whinny is a nice addition.

endKmusic responds:

Thanks a lot SourJovis.
Love your entry too!
Cheers!

[The Wall]

Great song. You can read a lot into the lyrics if you want. The autotuned voice makes of more fragile and emotional. It works well with the otter instruments and mood of the song. Good luck in the ngadm.

[Speak Easy]

Great song. Sounds very groovy and indeed a bit mysterious. Full sound and interesting harmonies.

[The Machine - robotday2019]

Sounds very gritty and robotic! I like it! Happy Robot Day!

Quarl responds:

Happy robot day sour J :)

[-Energy-]

Great song! Very impressive you did this in just 10 hours. I like your "weird style". Sounds very unique how you combine these instruments you don't quite expect together. I can hear why this song is called -Energy-. Sounds very energetic, playful and adventurous. The flute really captures it all. It's an instrument you don't expect in drum and base, but it works very well. The sound of the flute is very good and fits the feel of the song. Somehow it reminds me a bit of the song "Hocus Pocus" by Focus, even though that song is of a different genre. Probably mostly because of the flute solo in that song.

I'm happy you made it into the NGADM19! Good luck to you!

Preds responds:

I've been using flute a lot in my music lately, glad that this song resembles the energetic I feel now hahaha. I often get to mix different instruments to test if they get along well in my music!

Thanks for the feedback, i'm hoping to do well in this group stage. Not expecting to be in the net round, but at least i'm hoping to get good useful criticism :D

[Le Blazer]

Very good. I like the unusual combination of instruments. Maybe it's rock at its core, but I think there's that much other layers like chiptune, electronic drum sounds and other instruments mixed in there, you can't label it just rock anymore. Makes it stand out. I also like how happy and energetic the chorus is (037-1:08). The rest is built nicely around it. Good variations.

Good luck in the NGADM and have a great vacation.

[Coarse Sand]

The intro is good and gives a mysterious build up that immediately familiarizes you with the D Phrygian dominant scale and the Egyptian theme of the song.

I like the Egyptian sound of this song. Even though it's still very much a dupstep song. It's enough to set it apart from other dubstep songs. Although the way you go up and down the Phrygian dominant scale comes across as a bit of a cliche, and the melody is not strong enough for me to be memorable. The sounds are quite well chosen. The synths fit the style and theme of the song and are all quite diverse. That rattlesnake sound you mentioned sounds good. The short plucky synth that's panned to the right I probably like best. It has a very Arabic feel that still fits an electronic dubstep song like this. Mostly I just like the diversity of the sounds and how they combine. Very well panned as well. You create a very transparent and powerful mix.

The structure is quite good. It's quite a long song, and it's difficult to keep a song interesting for this long. The mysterious intro and the quiet middle part help to create much dynamic. You also use a nice build up. You only go all out at the end of the song, and you use lots of variations and do interesting things with that base to keep the listener's interest. Maybe it's because I'm not that much into dubstep or perhaps my attention span isn't long enough, but to me the song still feels too long. It starts to feel somewhat repetitive. I'd need a stronger melody or perhaps some things I really never heard before to maintain my attention.

Production is great. You create a very loud powerful sound without making it sound that compressed you can't hear what's going on. That's difficult to do, and you pulled it of very well.

To put some numbers on it:
Composition:
2/5

Production:
5/5

Sound Design:
4/5

Structure:
3.5/5

Originality:
2.5/5

Total:
68/100

Good luck with the NGUAC!

Spadezer responds:

Thanks SourJovis for the in depth review! I highly appreciate it. I also enjoy getting to know what people think with their different tastes in music so to me this is also an added treat. I find I tend to like longer songs since I can enjoy them longer when there blasting in my car lol.

I also find it interesting, I thought the production could have used a little more work than the composition, but I definitely see your point. Melodic composition wasn't were my main focus was compared to the atmosphere of the song. Either way, it still sounds like you enjoyed it and that's the part that matters the most :)

Thanks again for the review!

[AIM - sursum=corda.EXFLOW_cls.PANDAEMONIUM::STORMFALL/.]

Congrats winning first place in the AIM. Well deserved I think. I must say I haven't heard all of the other entries, but this song is very good.

That document you liked to about the production of the song is indeed very long. You can hear you thought a lot about how to compose this song and that it means a lot to you.

I'm happy this artwork has rekindled your inspiration to write music. I think you make great things, and I want to hear more from you in the future. I'm sure your music writing days are far from over.

You can hear clearly the Enya influences. It reminds me of Clannad as well, which is an older group and one Enya herself was a few years member of at the beginning of her career. Those drums and nasal chorals are very nice. Nasal chorals always sound very mysterious to me.

Thoese those " “oooohs” that get progressively louder and then abruptly end" in combination with the drums that get stronger and the end hit are very good. You say you achieved the progressive loudness by volume automation. That's much better than reversing indeed, because reversing makes the sound spooky. I have a little tip for you. Rather than only volume automation, you can filter out some of the high frequencies at the softer parts, and then bring them back in for the louder parts. That way not only the volume increases, but also the colour of the sound gets stronger and that makes it more realistic. Alternatively, you can also cross fade between a sample with low velocity, and one with high velocity, or a combination of all of the above. I think it's really a matter of trial and error what works for what sample/synth.

You can really hear the different colours of the art piece in your song, because of all of the different segments that have different moods. Some are desperate, others carry and there's also the hopeful and happier parts. I like that diversity, and the parts flow smoothly into each other. The song never feels disjointed. It feels like a journey.

Those sound effects you use at the beginning are very nice. Those things that sound like droplets (although I also think they sound a little like birds to me). I think they're a little bit too defined for my taste. I'd prefer it if they're more washed out and part of a pad, so you hear the effects, but you don't hear them as individual sounds.

I like the choirs. I'm a sucker for synthetic choirs. I'm always searching for new ones. For each occasion a different one works. These blend very well with your song. Very atmospheric and they compliment your vocals. I like how you put a lot of reverb on your vocals to blend them with the rest of the song.

Very nice you often use vocals. You don't hear that enough on NG. It really ads depth to ad lyrics. However, I must add your singing is often the main thing that puts me off about your songs. I think your voice often isn't that strong, and your notes are too fluttery like you don't have enough control over your singing. In this song however it doesn't bother me that much, because your singing is somehow much stronger during the more hopeful parts and for the more doubtful parts it fits. I haven't heard all of your songs, but I think your singing might have improved.

Nothing else to comment really. I know there's a lot more you put into this song that I'm not able to pick up in just a few times listening. It's a (near) perfect song. I'm looking forward to hearing more from you.

[T-Logic - Kid on the Bike]

Nice. I like how you use lyrics. That's something you don't hear enough on NG.

Very interesting song. Unique and diverse. Unusual funky rhythms. The choice of instruments is great. Very funky and pure. With the lo-fi piano and percussive instruments. I like that indie sound.

I like the refrain best about this song. Especially the last one at 3:07-3:22. Even though it's not the most unique part, it's just the catchiest and easiest to grasp. That's where all your strengths come together I think. Rhythmically your singing is best there.

Your singing isn't bad. (Especially compared to mine haha) Yet I think your singing is the thing about this song that could use most improvement. Especially your timing seems of at times. You often put either too many or too little syllables in a sentence and you don't hit the right accents, wasting a potentially groovy rhythm. At first I thought some of the more experimental parts were a little bit too experimental for my taste, but whilst hearing it again I realize it's mostly because of your singing. When the rhythm get's a bit strange your timing of singing gets a bit messy. Especially the first time you hear the post choruses from 1:54 to 2:11. If you were able to hit the accents more precisely I would be able to grasp better what's going on, and then those parts would become quite groovy. I think the percussion could also be improved to suggest the accents better by the way. It's interesting how the post chorus makes you feel the kid on the bike is stumbling about, trying hard not to fall. That makes sense in the context. Still I pick up an interesting rhythm that doesn't quite emerge. That's a waste.

The song gets better after listening a few times, so it has replay value. Which is always the case with good songs that don't sound much like anything else and are therefore hard to get your head around at first.

Also I must say the later repetitions of the refrain and post chorus are better than the when they're introduced. Is it because of practice? If so maybe re-record the first one now you've practiced more.

I don't think I've heard a lot by you. This makes me want to check out more of your work.

TaintedLogic responds:

Thanks so much for the detailed feedback, SourJovis! I agree that I'm not the best vocalist, and I appreciate your insight on how to make the rhythm feel smoother and more prominent.

"the post chorus makes you feel the kid on the bike is stumbling about, trying hard not to fall" --> I didn't think about that when writing the piece, but I really like that idea! :)

I'll try to improve the timing of my vocals in the future, and get more practice with writing appropriate syllable numbers and rhythmic emphasis.

I really appreciate the positive feedback about the instrumentation, replay value, and chorus. Thanks again for the review, SJ! ^_^