SourJovis's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-Encounter-]

Good song. I like the punchy kicks and sharp bases. Nice sounds overall. Very diverse but they work well together. Reminds me of old school video games while still sounding fresh. Those strings introduced at 0:58 are very catchy. From 2:40 to 3:09 may be my favourite part. I like the piano. Good dynamics. Alternating between the quieter and louder sections keeps this song interesting to listen to. The parts transition well into each other. Good structure.

Great way to end the year! Looking forward to hear more from you in 2020!

Preds responds:

Thank you man! I appreciate the review. Happy almost new year, hope to see you around in 2020 :D

[Neon Gaze]

I like synthwave. I'm learning more about it to try and make it myself. Unusual choice to pan the snare that far to the left. I guess it works because you've panned the tom to the middle. I would,ve panned the snare much more to the middle and the the tom a lot more to the right. The sounds you use are great. They all fit the synthwave style, and nothing seems jarring. I'm curious about the ideas you didn't have time for. I hope you'll later have the time to change this song, or use them for later songs.

AceMantra responds:

Thanks for the tip and the review! I'll definitely try it out in the future.
Unlike other projects, I might actually revisit this one and add some of the ideas that are still buzzing around in my head.

Thanks again! :)

[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 Machine - robotday2019]

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

Quarl responds:

Happy robot day sour J :)

[Keep (ft. The Emerald Ruby)]

Good song! I like your vocals. Very strong and energetic. Good lyrics. The flute is a cool addition as well. Good Job Emerald Ruby. The production is absolutely fantastic. This song reminds me of some of Bruno Mars'better songs. Good luck in the NGADM and keep your head!

midimachine responds:

i'll do just that sir

[-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

[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!

[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! ^_^

[SNES - Mountains]

I like the percussion and the bird(?) sound effects. Makes this sound more unique and lifts it to another level. Other than that it's good as usual. Relaxing and pleasant sounding. Yet, it has a certain drive, that you expect from a mountain terrain in a snes game. Like the music reflects the heroes' determination to keep on climbing if you know what I mean.

Alyxandr responds:

Thank you! I really appreciate your detailed comments. :>

[-Improvised Ambush- [TAWBS OST]]

great song. Very punchy, sharp and energetic sounding. Exactly how I like chip tunes.

Btw: congrats on getting second place for Pixelday 2019. The competition was fierce and your placing was well deserved.

Preds responds:

Thank you! I appreciate it. Im soooo happy that I ended up un second! Yas!