Coop's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Steampunk004]

Tim Burton meets Discworld.

Hmm, this piece starts and ends with a lot of Hallowe'en influence, sounding quite macabre, with the winding of gears and the unmistakeable sound of a theremin mixing in there. It sounds pensive and very horror, but in a child's sort of way, paving the way for a 12A certificate, as opposed to gunning for the 18, that most horrors go for.

Then the tempo picks up and in the middle, it sounds very much like some of the music used in the live action versions of Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. Industrial, clockwork, steam, yet heavily influenced by comedy and a dash of slapstick thrown in for good measure (along with a custard pie)

A strange blend, one that works, yet for some reason, one that I'm not that big a fan of. Oh well, can't win them all.

[Review Request Club]

steampianist responds:

thank you for your review

[Enigmatic Beast - Endless]

Good, but some lingering issues.

When you have the five "clicks" in a repeating loop "tap-tap tap-tap-tap", it seems like they are slightly out of time. There should be a longer natural pause between the end of loop one and the start of loop 2.

As for the rest of the song, it does give a dark, chilling ambience, that really does set a nice stage for something like a deep space shooter, almost Alien-esque, with a hint of unknown, with impending doom potentially lurking around every corner. I like it.

While this track is more of a buildup track, than something that's going to be played in the middle of a shoot-out, for example, so perhaps the next project would be making something that can blend easily into this track, that is faster paced, heart racing, adrenaline pumping fight-for-your-life combat soundtrack. Either base it for a game, or perhaps someone can use it for a game on here, who knows?

[Review Request Club]

Insanctuary responds:

Agreed, once again, except for...

The tappy tap tappy tap tap isn't meant to appease the normal 1-2-3-4 beat. I like to throw in a very psychedelic, abstract and space like atmosphere to really give it a swirly dimensional plane of consciousness where pieces of information just flows through and interacts with the instruments and SFX I've used.

It seems that you didn't have a good taste for it because of your expectations for a 'real' song rather than an experimental atmosphere that wasn't meant to fit the natural code of music, but I do respect your opinions anyways.

Thank you for the review.

[~SW~ No Regret]

Very moving.

I think that this piece is great, in spite of the change of pace in the middle - for a piece this short, I'm not sure that you can justify a change of pace as drastic as you put in there after a mere minute. Yes, some of the greats of the classical genre get away with that in pieces which are three or four times as long as this piece, so you need to consider perhaps adding more to the piece, to give a more balanced piece.

I love the emotions that the piece evokes - you really have given me a nice uplifting piece, that evokes positive emotion and when the true pace of the piece hits, you get lifted and practically thrown aloft by the sheer force of the feeling. Perhaps forced is too strong a word, because it encouraged me very willingly upwards. I love the whole sound and if it could give us some more, in terms of length, that would really give me a great boost.

[Review Request Club]

SkyeWint responds:

Hi, Coop!

"for a piece this short, I'm not sure that you can justify a change of pace as drastic as you put in there after a mere minute."
I'm not sure whether to laugh at the fact that you said this or not - Winrar1337 said pretty much the exact opposite of it.

All I can say is good, you noticed the change. :) The entire piece is intended to flow along smoothly - that change there is essentially the end of the slow 'intro' to the piece, going to the main part of it.

"I love the emotions that the piece evokes"
:D

"I love the whole sound and if it could give us some more, in terms of length, that would really give me a great boost."
Haha, I'd have loved to make it longer, but sometimes you have to know when to stop, neh? There wasn't much more I could have done with this song, and it actually is a decent length for what is /basically/ a solo piano piece in Renaissance style.

Don't worry though, I'm working on a piece that's MUCH longer, it's 4 minutes long already and only about 2/3 done theme and length-wise, probably even a bit less. Plus, it has full-on orchestral sections and a nice calm section with ambient percussion for those that like more laid-back music.

In any case, I'm glad you liked the music! :D

Thanks for the great review, as always! Hope to see more of 'em!

-Swint-

[Ryu vs. Oni]

Good pace and drive.

I think that while the bassline for this piece started off just a little too low (too much water in the ears at that stage, which rises to the surface rapidly, draining it away), it certainly rectified quickly. There is a good balance between the rhythm and the melody, with constructive use of bridges, to give variety and a lovely change for the solo in the middle, then the modulation at the end, to take it even further.

Certainly something that I can see included in beat-em-up or racing games, I feel that there's a great scope to take things further here and make similar sounding tracks, either for remixes, or even with a view to making a whole album out of this sort of thing. Keep up the great work!

[Review Request Club]

Gario responds:

A nice detailed response - it's always nice to receive one of those from time to time. Thanks for giving this your ear and review, as that's always rare on this site.

[Diwanit Bugale [Cover]]

Moving and deep.

Could you not have fit the lyrics in the comments section? Quite a shame, as to have the support of the lyrics, this piece would have truly benefited. Still, a good sound overall, lyrics or no.

The hornpipe / flute makes the piece sound vaguely oriental, which is strange, to be honest in the intro, having read your notes about Breton France. When the lyrics came into full swing, I was a little disappointed that the vocalists didn't quite hit the harmony (I think it was more an issue with the backing vocals, but only minor, to be honest), but the balance of the softly spoken track was well stated.

The guitar and piano could have easily overpowered the piece, but they stayed nicely in check, backed by soft percussion, to compliment the whole ensemble, giving rise to a piece that should bring a tear to the eye of some listeners, if used on the right sort of film / animation.

[Review Request Club]

Troisnyx responds:

I was the vocalist as well as the arranger, and I'm aware my vocals were off key in places. Thank you for pointing that out. : )

Also, thank you for the feedback. I'll put the lyrics (and hopefully a better version of this song) at some point, most likely after my exams are over. No promises though, but I'll try!

[Frozen Heart [8-bit]]

A good blend of sounds, that gives the impression of a pure 1980s game. The combination of various effects from the genre says to me a platformer, though the content of this is largely unknown, so your title of Frozen Heart can be slightly ambiguous, but that's not an issue.

The walking beat that you throw in there about halfway through just seems to be too quick. Halving the speed of it would work well with the rest of the track, but the main melody seems to be blocked out a little by it at present.

It's only minor issues that need dealing with, but I feel that you've got a great track, that is ready to get even better.

[Review Request Club]

SuperBastard responds:

Thanks for the review man, I'll go in right now and try out what you suggested.

[SGKR - Track 1]

Not bad, but it needs more "filler".

I think that there is one of two problems here - either there is not enough in the pause gaps of the track, or that there is too much clutter in there as it is. The initial "gallop" into the piece with the bass beat works nicely and then the addition of the higher pitched melody made it more difficult for me to appreciate. That's not to say I fell out with it, but it could have sounded better.

I try not to be too negative, but that third part of the track (beat, melody,???) seems to be where the problems come from, as the two together work well and the third part (let's call it a counter melody for now) just seems to make a mess. Perhaps that is the issue that needs fixing.

Oh, and it seemed like the track was just getting into its swing and you stopped playing it, fading out and stopping altogether. Another minute is needed, at least, I feel.

[Review Request Club]

silverblazebrony responds:

Thanks! There is, as you've said, allot of work to do on this song. The fade out at the end is actually the looping point of the song in-game, though I'll be making changes to this song for sure. since it's still just a second draft.

Thanks for the review! It's very helpful. :b

[Contact High]

A little repetitive, but good.

I like the way that this sounds, as the beat is powerful, but not overpowering and the melody doesn't have to struggle to get past it. The tune gets repetitive, as both major components seem to have their merits, but looping them as they have been just doesn't get me going. From the way that the variation works its way in there, you can hear something different, but these pieces need to be developed, to exploit their potential a bit more - make the verses a little longer and the chorus just a little shorter.

The length of the track is good and the mix sounds polished, so I think that playing with the balance would be the best thing, as opposed to mastering.

[Review Request Club]

BuggMusic responds:

Again, sorry for the repetitiveness. I do definitely try my best with the mix and mastering as well. Because of my limited working environment (one laptop, 5.1 logitech speakers and headphones), my mix usually ends up sounding pretty good on my system, but other people find it a bit off. I do apologize for this, I really wish I had some good studio monitors, but it's just something I can't afford right now. Anyway, thanks for the review!

[Guitorchestra]

Good sounding, but...

I was a little disappointed to hear the sounds of the piano "topping out" and giving static over the top of the track, as it's just a little too loud. More work on the balance would help this, but I've listened to the track in spite of that issue, which still leaves a very enjoyable track to listen to.

The guitar is nice and well balanced, which compliments the piano nicely. Given the additional work with the strings toward the end, you have left the piece well poised to progress further and then it stops. I felt that was a shame, since the setup is there for a fantastic sounding work, that can truly set the mind racing. Take it forward from these beginnings and give us a few more indications of where you can take this, I'm sure it'll sound great. Keep working at it, this sounds positive.

[Review Request Club]

xionxinks responds:

Thank you for the feedback! Yes I will admit my mixing and balancing skills are, not what they should be. I am improving as I go I suppose. :3

[Null - Abyssal Bliss]

Well, putting this half decent track through the blender never did anything to make it better, that's a stone-cold certainty. It's served to drag it out, which is never good. The intro was good, because there was no meddling with the traditional startup. Then it started to go pear shaped and frankly, I lost interest.

The bass beat is fine, it needs very little work, perhaps moving a note here or there, just to tidy the effect up slightly, but the rhythm needs a lot more work, to bring it away from the dependence upon the dubstep sounds that you've gone overboard with. For me, there is use of an effect, but then the way that you did it was overuse, by quite some way.

I wish I could say more, but picking away at the layers of "dubstep sound", I can't even begin to comment on what remains.

[Review Request Club]

NullSoundwerks responds:

Sorry it's taken a little while for me to get back to you, I really do appreciate your willingness to take this track through an analytical lens.
Now, a *fraction* of the problem may have been *my* inexperience in this genre, leading to a complete misunderstanding of key elements and structure on my end.
This lead to me searching for a *gimmick*: the screeching, overused effect you mentioned. (It is also out of key, listening to it again.)
The fallacy when it comes to the dubstep demographic is that listeners want to hear mainly the distorted sounds. Any inexperienced producer with that mindset will have it really show through their work, literally spamming "dubstep sounds" recklessly, as it was done here.
I don't think this is even deserving of the term "pear shaped." Lack of synergy indicates a flawed production as a whole. The synths cannot work independently, and attempting to supplement them with even more synths could end up debasing the song even further. Which is the case here.
I wish you could say more too, having more knowledge of what people actually want to hear leads to better music being made.