AlbertAnderson's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Don't Dream It's Over (Select)]

Nice mixing. super feel good track

[AIM - Meditation]

very chill

solid riff and i'm really enjoying the filtered? guitar

clean solo with good delay

the drumkit was abrasive to me at first but it doesn't bother me until you bring it back in @3:00.... it's a preference but It just sounds too fake next to all the other really nice sounds you have going on.

yeah man I mean this guitar track really beautiful imho the drumkit is doing you a disservice.... a lot of people would probably disagree with me on this but i'd rather hear you hit on pots and pans because even in your statement about meditation you talk about letting things come and go but that's not possible with a completely artificial drumkit.... it holds the track down to an artificial kit

whatever man that's my two cents really nice track... really enjoyed the guitar some very chill vibes and played with delicately in post (or was the delay from an amp or pedal?) whatever you did good work

Ceevro responds:

Yeah, I'm doing some tweaks with the percs as we speak...I won't go full-kitchen kit on this one...but yes, there are some improvements to be made.

[A Lonely Christmas]

I love reverb. I love reverb on piano. The reverse piano sounds lovely. The chord progression is solid. I want to hear a melodic line with it. I like the high notes that start around 2:35... very pretty. And what comes after is beautiful.

The strongest melodic line is 2:35 to 3:20. I would have liked to hear a piano solo... maybe @ 4:00... where the melodic line is supported by the rhythm instead of visa versa.

I think some percussion could fit well into this piece. Some reverse-effected cymbals and such. Maybe even a vocal chorus... that would be fun to mess around with.... with some lyrics too. You chose to have this be a solo instrumental track... but something to think about.

Good work, sir!

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I love reberb too, especially on the piano as well! I always need to watch myself, so that I don't use too much xD
I'm so pleased with the reception of the reverse piano! I was a bit worried that only I'd like it at first, but it'd seem like a lot of people are digging it.

Yeah, I get that you'd like to hear a bit more melody in this. Usually, my piano solo tracks are very melodic (take this one for an example: http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/661299). But now and then, I like to compose something that works on a more atmospheric level. That is, it sets a mood, uses interesting chords and patterns that work well together, etc. But I didn't want to leave you entirely without a melody, which is why the second half of the track puts more focus on that aspect. Also, I had to try to remain true to broove's style :)

That said, I think there is a melody throughout the entire piece, but it's not repetitive, and it goes along with the rhythm. But I do play the chords in a certain way, which makes for some notes that gain more emphasis than others. My favorite part of this piece is actually 1:45-2:00. Which is interesting, as I think that that part is improvised. It's not complicated, but it was a lucky strike on my part. It puts so much weight on just the right things :p

I could've added some other instruments, I guess. But I didn't have too much time. Other than that, this is my first test go with the reverse piano effect, so I didn't want to mess it up. I actually asked a few people whether I should add anything or not before uploading, and they all thought it sounded good as it is :3

It would be fun to mess around with it more though!

Thanks a lot for your review, and your ideas :D

[[Tsets] - Jack Is Coming For You]

I love the tempo changes... stuff like that keeps a listener interested. You are exploring tempo in this song which is fuckin fun to listen to. It's not just another house mix. My favorite parts are the beginning and the end with the "jack-in-the-box" esque sounding melodies speeding up and slowing down. It's so pretty to listen to.

I would suggest going further once you bring in that house beat. I'd like to hear you really take the tempo to drastic changes throughout the track... I think it would be really cool to listen to and would give a lot of opportunity for nasty drops. Once the percussion comes in there's only one tempo change that I notice. I'd like more!

Good work.

TsetsukenMusic responds:

Thank you!!! :P
I can most certainty work on a version 2 sometime for this with a more drastic tempo modulation with some extended parts added, as well as including some nasty drops to hit it home. I can definitely see adding more change during the percussion areas to exaggerate the use of tempo modifications in this track. Almost like winding up a "Jack-in-the-box" type effect, going faster and faster until "pop" goes the drop lol

Thank you again!

[Reitselai Intro (megalovania)]

Good job, man. This works really well as an intro. I like the riffs you use. You are playing well with scaling high and low. That's a nice juxtaposition of sound. The percussion serves as a nice support to the fat synths which really take the song. I like the weird fuzzy beeping noises going on to. It's hard to hear all the notes being hit with that loop but it adds a good effect to the overall sound.

Retsamehtmai responds:

wow thank you! :D I wasn't really sure with this one since I wasn't sure the best way to work that main part of megalovania into the original intro that sounds nothing like this! XD The synths were kind of added to try an fill in some gaps the song had, and I figured it would fit in with the sounds from the original megalovania song. :) I'm glad the looping isn't too disruptive...but I'm probably not going to try for looping again since I can never get it to work correctly ^_^;

[A Wish for the Future]

there's a distinct christmas feel to this. but it's very somber. the chorus is beautiful. the break to flutey sounding instrument @ 2 is a nice atmospheric change. especially when it picks up it's very bagpipey/irish. i'm reminded of last of the mohican's soundtrack.

whoop aaa something new at 3:20. i like all the dissonance that happens throughout the song.

great work guys... a lot happening here. different themes and styles... a lot of different instruments used here. transformed from a somber christmas story to an adventure into the new year.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks a lot, dude! I can kinda hear the Christmas feel, with the bells and all. We're glad to hear that you like the piece. The nice instrumentation, those flutes and such were mostly made by dem0lecule.

Yeah, 3:20 returns to a variation of the main melody that you hear in the beginning! The structure is a bit weird, but it almost works for this track :)

Thank you for listening, and for leaving a review! As this was our first collaboration, it was somewhat experimental in nature. Let's hope that 2016 turns out to be a good year :D

[Warm Dissonance]

I like the melodies. The percussion is jarring to me. I want to hear this with a slower... distorted... maybe even bit crushed beat. It's like you really committed to the dissonance in every way except the percussion. The percussion sounds like it's from a dance track but the rest of the song is this weird exploration of dissonant melodies.

Good work.

spikel responds:

Lol I guess, thanks. I guess that's the point, weirdness with catchiness? I used to make songs a lot slower, just depends on what mood im in guess.

Honestly, when I first started making music I feel like I focused on song structure first because I didn't know how to produce at all. Now I go in and I just mess around with stuff so much I'm just grateful to have something that I find enjoyable to post.

For every song I post there are like 25 songs I scrap, not complaining you learn every time you work in the studio.

The bass drum in this song the is generic Fl Kick Drum, I'd never used it before haha. I'm a huge fan of using all kinds of external vsts that are free on the net. So I spent like an hour fiddling with the settings on it and messing with different pitches. I could do that all day unfortunately and drive myself crazy trying to decide what sounds right.

[S (Entropy)]

Really good job man.

So at 1:05 there's the transition from verse to chorus right? The progression changes and the lyrical chorus starts. But it's almost unnoticeable that a new section has started because there's no change in the tone of your voice or guitar. So the verse and chorus blends together.

When you get to the part where you sing "Entropy! Hey yeah entropy... three cheers for entropy!" you open up and I feel you more. You're more expressive when you get to that part. The way you play the guitar and sing changes.

So if that's the chorus... and the part of the lyrics where you repeat "fading" is some sort of bridge... I hear it being played no different from the other verses.

FEAR THE REAPER!@!!@@! THAT'S WHAT I WAS REMINDED OF. WHERE'S THE COWBELL THO??!?!

Hey man, no solo? The song works well without one but couldn't help but think this would be a fun progression to play lead for.

Ceevro responds:

I could do...just didn't really wanna for this one for some reason. Perhaps I just got lazy and should revisit it.