Tangerine's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM 2024 - The Spirit Fisher]

Hey mate, I’m really sorry to hear about what’s happening to your mother. Brain diseases are a very scary thing, especially when it’s happening to a loved one. Trying your hardest to stay positive and appreciate the time with those you have, is a great way to deal with loss. Making the most of what you have before it’s gone. Isn’t that really what life is all about? I hope you are doing well and I wish the best for your mother. It is really heartbreaking to hear stories like this. You’ll come out on top though, I know you will.

In this piece, you have a really good fundamental sense of structure. The song progresses beautifully, yet finishes in a similar fashion as to how it started. Very symbolic and I like it a lot! The melody is very beautifully made and it compliments everything else so well. There is just one thing I wanted to point out that might be something you should consider. In the final chorus of the song, there’s only a slight change in the melody. The first time listening through, I didn’t even notice there was a change. It might be a good idea to make the variation more noticeable and grand. Melodic variations like this have the ability to add so much more emotion to a piece, and I think it is definitely something to consider.

Here’s an example of what I mean. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U0wJmsuUpZ8-sorOTcSxT93VU_Jkqcd2/view?usp=sharing
Ignore the throwaway chords and slight changes in your melody, I am a very lazy individual xD. I have a lot of submissions to rate, so I just made up my own chords because my aural training is horrible xd. But hopefully, that should give you a better idea of what I’m talking about.

I do appreciate the flute at the end of the song. I love that so much, I can’t express it properly :)

The emotion in this song is through the roof. Easy 10, perfection. The rain, the instruments, the effects, and the sound effects.

Alright, so this would have also been an easy 10, but there is just one part that personally brings it down to a 9. At 01:53, where the drums kick in, I think doesn’t fit as well as the rest of the song. From a compositional point of view, this is an amazing section and the song absolutely benefits from having it. But in my mind, the image is very gentle, serene and peaceful. The drums and uptempo beat seem slightly out of place. Reading your description, I assume this is supposed to represent the ghosts partying. But personally, I don’t see that in the image. Of course, this category is completely subjective and you and many others may disagree with me, which is totally fine! But that’s why I rated this section as a 9. Everything else is absolutely perfect for the image. From the melody and composition to the production and effects, the fishing rod sound effects, all work together to make me physically hear this drawing. You did a fantastic job and you should absolutely be proud of what you’ve made!

Very strong submission! I liked it a lot. The nice thing about judging for a music competition is that you come across music like this, which makes the whole experience pleasant. I do wish you and your mother the best though.

GameBoyFireworks responds:

Thank you so much for such thoughtful feedback 💞💞

[AIM - Night Sky]

Hey, great job on this song! It’s very chill and I like it a lot

In terms of structure, there are aspects that are great and some that could be improved on. I’d like to start off with the variation between 00:30 and 01:01. It’s really good and it helps to prevent the song from becoming too monotonous and boring. I also really liked how you used the bass in this section. A call-and-answer style pattern works really well!

But the main aspect which I want to focus on is the overall lack of variation. A good idea to avoid this pitfall would be to change the chord progression in the B section. I usually keep the same initial chord, but change it from there (just so it doesn’t sound too out of place). This change in harmony would do wonders in making the song more memorable and will help it feel like it's going places and progressing. A lack of progression is the saddest thing that can happen to a song because it robs it of the chance to tell a story. Of course, this is different if the song is designed to be a loop, but in your case, it isn’t.

I did want to quickly mention that some aspects of the song are a little bit generic and musically simple. For trap music is actually really good. From what I know, this genre usually has some rapping over it, which means the backing track can’t overshadow that. You don’t want the backing track to be too distracting or enigmatic, which I think you did a good thing with. But the instrumentation and vibe of the song are a little generic, I feel like I’ve heard it before many times. But I think with a bit more practice, you can make something really cool!

Anyway, I really enjoyed listening to this song. You have great potential, and I wish you and your music the best!

[AIM - The Good Times]

This piece is so beautiful! The melody is heart-wrenchingly lovely and the chords/harmony only help to amplify that feeling. I absolutely love what you did with this, and it’s so fitting for the gif below and the atmosphere of the art. Amazing job!

The hitting of the piano hammers is such a lovely feature of the song, and it makes it sound so grounded an authentic. But I do have to say that it can be a little distracting at times. I would try lowering it a little (if possible) and seeing how that sounds. I absolutely don’t think you should get rid of it, or try to hide it. But I think maybe lowering its presence slightly might be something to try out. It’s nearly like if a drum kick were on every note played. If it’s not something you can change, then don’t worry about it! It only becomes super noticeable if you’ve had it on loop for 2 hours straight.

I love how you do your transitions between sections, 01:18 for example is absolutely masterclass and it makes me smile so much listening to it. It’s so beautiful and natural, and it ties up the B section so beautifully. The same can be said for the beginning, it’s so lovely!

[Qual (AIM 2024)]

Wow, no part of me was ready for just how unique and awesome that was. I loved the glitchy effects along with the orchestra, it made for something so beautiful and haunting. Compositionally, I think its very unique because the melody sounds lost and unresolved. It sounds scared and unsure. I think thats awesome! It especially works with the artwork because there is nothing “resolved” about the man in the painting. He’s literally melting, falling a part and disconnecting. Thats why I really like how messy the drums can be at certain points of the song, it drives home that feeling of chaos, pain and confusion. Not to mention I love the beginning and the distant piano. It slightly reminds me of the posh music you’d hear in the nobles parties in the game dishonored. It really fits with the style of the art, with it being that sort of 1800s grotesque painting style. A lot like Saturn Devouring his Son. Though, the drums and glitch techniques betrays this slightly, but it does still heavily give off that feeling.

The cellos, the flies, I love it all so much. Your piece is just as haunting and disturbing as the art, which I think is amazing. I do have to say, I think the drop at 02:34 would have had more of an impact if you went fully classical with the cello section before it. That sudden change in instrumentation would have been really cool, and I don’t really think the drums add anything new to that section. Perhaps having a soft gently choir singing along side it would have been really interesting.

I really like the glass shattering sounds at 01:58. Your use of effects and sounds really make this piece special. It’s so unique and cool. It’s modern yet historic without it sounding off. Also you brough in an electric guitar with the choir, which is always a fun combo xD.

Though I liked the cello staccato at the end, I think it might have been nice for the initial piano to make a return to wrap things up. To have a more powerful ending which a little more meaning. Though, with the context of the artwork, the grim dark cello staccato notes do fit quite well. But aside from the context, listening to the song as its own independent thing.

Also I appreciate you separating the different voices in your soundcloud links, it was quite helpful and interesting to see how everything sounded on its own.

Anyway, I don’t want to drag this out too long. I just wanted to say awesome piece, it was a lovely surprise and I wish you the best with the songs you create next!

chipsqueek responds:

lord this was quite the read! thanks a ton for the long review, it's always appreciated! I was listening to a ton of Igorrr when making this track, and this artwork just gave me a real interesting idea to make something like Igorrr for a first. albeit this track was heavily inspired by 'Valse en Décomposition' and 'Tout Petit Moineau' by Igorrr, but I'm glad someone is really fond of this track! :D

[Shining [AIM 2024]]

Hey mate, Awesome track! The synths give the same sort of other worldly feeling as the aurora does. The synths may sound a little too otherworldly to the point where I think this track would have perfectly gone with anything space related rather than a snowy village. The guitar also helps with this, heavily reverbed guitar always makes me think of space.

I know RSK and I are both saying conflicting things here, but for me, the beginning of the track feels a bit long. It takes about a minute in before I start to hear any changes. A nice gradual crescendo into the next section throughout a londer duration of the song is what would bring this song a tier up in my opinion.

A nice touch you could add to the beginning would be to sprinkle in some lightly melodic guitar harmonics. That’ll also help introduce the guitar so it’s less of a surprise at 1:38. If you wanted to make the beginning more atmospheric, you could add in some soft wind sounds to set the tone. Listening to the track alone wouldn’t instantly make me think of snow and night. Do remember that sound effects are risky legally and can be very hit or miss musically, so definitely play around with them and see what you like. I do like the sounds you have right at the beginning, but a little more to set the stage would be nice.

Genuinely perfect song for out of space. Perfect song with the wrong image. But of course the relevance category is VERY subjective so what sounds like it doesn’t fit to me could sound perfect for someone else.

I really like 02:51 - 03:31. I think that section is such a nice little section to break up the song a little.

At 05:02 I would consider panning the guitar more to the middle. Or if you want to have it panned, have another one panned to the other side to help balance it out. Especially if you are doing an ambient track, you want it to be as non distracting as possible. I do really like you guitar sections though, you’ve got amazing skills. Maybe i’ll hire you to play something for me once i’ve got the cash xD

I like the fade into the rain. If you had kept the rain at a consistent volume between the start and the end, you could have made it a perfect loop which would be perfect for an ambient track. If you can’t easily tell that it’s looped then you know you’ve done something right.

I like the consistency of the pace. Despite the nearly 2 minute long beginning, you’ve got a really nice structure here. Everything flows well and you’ve taken the time to make sure your transitions work. For an ambient track, this actually tells a bit of a story which is really nice.

Also one thing I wanted to mention before I gave my final thoughts, is to be careful with clashing notes. When you’ve got so much reverb, the wetness can carry over to the next bar which can create a little bit of reverbial clashing. Maybe slightly decreasing the reverb on the guitar could help fix this, though it’s not super noticeable.

Overall, I think you made a great piece here! Ambient tracks are deceptively hard to do and I think you’ve done a great job! It’s a very well rounded piece and I wish you the best of luck getting through ngadm!

[bossa tune]

It's so cute!

[Are You Forklift Certified?]

Hell yeah!

[Voice demo reel 2024]

Nice