Erkie's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Glib - Eye For a Leg]

Telefon Tel Aviv meets a hesitant foreigner

Not sure if it's really a moody piece, the bell stabs are knitted tightly into the rhythm-fabric of the song itself, giving it a somber edge. The melody itself sounds a lot like the theme at the end of the Fifth Element, just before they save the earth.

Very micro-structured, but with purpose, making it rise above the rest with an unsettling demeanor. And, you went for another slow-motion outro. Not that it gets old, but slow mo is a great way to draw out high quality sounds.

Glib responds:

thanks for the review

[Reminiscence =HFX=]

Unforced

Your music isn't really my style but piano always gets a plus in my book.

I didn't mind the squeak either. Capture music in all its glory I always thought.

I really like the acoustics of the echo when it changes up at 1:22, the harmonization would fit well with a backing symphony. Very uplifting piece, kind of like getting over a sad event. Could see it being used against images of heroic battles.

After 2:40 is also fantastic, definitely getting an RPG/Final Fantasy vibe. Never really played it though.

good stuff. Pure emotion > music theory.

Phyrnna responds:

Well, I'm glad that you enjoyed the song nonetheless even if it wasn't your style.

I personally did not like the squeak.... or the coughs... or the audience ambience.

Maybe I'll do a version of this in FL studio complete with harmony of strings and all. But.... the only thing that I find is that doing a piano solo in FL doesn't express all the emotion a live performance does.

I wasn't going for a fantasy vibe though. O_O But I guess that's how it came out.

[Glib - Unorganized]

Example of underrated pieces

Alright, 6,000 listens and an 853 popularity ranking isn't so underrated, it's simply the style of song that is underrated.

I'd like to think people are driven to harmonic pieces just as they are melodic.
In the previous review, you respond that you don't focus on melodies, yet I can hear the repetitions of several little melodies dancing around each other, while occasionally that echoing VOX mends one synth into bass to match the tone of a snare at the end, and then repeat itself, creating a harmonic world of some lonely soul.

The slow-mo breakdown at 2:33 is also perfection, you begin at around that same vox so it prolongs that emotional appeal that could make anyone want to sit and shiver.

Setting an example for the rest of us.

Glib responds:

thanks man, having people like your music is a good feeling

[Christina Crocker (MAC9)]

SOUNDS A BIT LIKE A MAN

I really like what you did with the melody here.

sculpted-cold responds:

I'm pretty sure Chris Crocker is a hermaphrodite.

[the lonely mouse]

interesting

The beginning and the end had a sweet melody, minus the drums... And maybe different instrumentation... But still a harkening melody.

Stalagmite responds:

why thank you captain :D:D:D

i am glad you could enjoy the theoretic side of this composition. I dont like it personally. it is nothing like my other compositions. thanks for the review. :D:D:D

[Berceuse]

Zippity do dah

Dark for a kid's song, but then again, we tell them fairy tales, which were at one time horror stories.

The melody is fantastic and my favorite, you manipulate it well and blend it into many other elements (like the choir), you give hope, you set up intrigue, then nestle it back down with dark turns.

The bass beats are pronounced but the percussion remains untapped, you mostly use quirked out cymbal taps and sharp snare hits, which is very complimentary when the song is really going. At 1:43 I can certainly appreciate the minimalism but small breakdowns like that with beats only leaves you a large opportunity to do something more, but then again, the way it only lasts about ten seconds, then busts back into the melody warrants what you did originality. Dunno, I'm torn.

Very well done

Quarl responds:

I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel. I'm cold and I am shamed, lying naked on the floor.

*Blush

[+Barricade+]

Too much going on.

I agree with the industrial thing, but I wouldn't say so just because of the beat.

A lot of these elements you chose and treated are very rough, and when they match up together they mask the rhythm and general direction of the song and leaves a kind of want.

At 2:02, this is necessarily a breakdown, but it in of itself could be a complete song, this section actually sounds very good, but it's simply masked when the other elements return to mask it.

Just need more selectivity and trial and error.

The slow fade out at the end feels incomplete only because I didn't really get to hear what warranted an ending.

Great stuff though -- better to have a lot then very little like me.

WritersBlock responds:

Thanks Erkie. I was quite happy with the breakdown, to be honest. Thanks for the criticisms and such.

[Burning Bright]

Ding.... dingding ding ding ding

Gorgeous chime work, and I heard a silent undertone of some other kind of wind instrument playing along with, along with some vox and I'm sure maybe some other little easter eggs. Those are masterful little details that give such a basic thing more body and volume without being a show off and you'd have to listen to loudly to get the full benefit.

I do agree, however, with the guy who pointed out the amen mixtures. Even with bass bouncing around, I get the basic idea of that bridge after the first 20 seconds, but it is minutes later until the changeup.

But those elements paired with the violin churning in the background gives it an aphex dnb feel.

I would've left the chimes out of the breakdown in the middle, it seems like the perfect place to put in a mindblowing orchestrated section that melts back into the amen, then chimes.

Triskele responds:

Thank you for the awesomely helpful review :> I owe you a couple, get to that soon D:

[20thousand]

aah

Very somber ease, I get the images of some guy burnt out after a long day walking home down a sidewalk with a clouded head of thoughts with the sun setting into twilight.

The drums are quiet, yet intricate without being overbearing, and you don't rely on filters or any kind of special effect, it's just the sole sound of the drums themselves.

I don't even think you need to add anything or change anything, it's very mellow, very smooth, nice stuff.

Triskele responds:

<3 you sir. I'm pretty proud of this myself, glad you're feeling it too

[Solus + SBB- Switchback]

yazoo

I liked the piano opening, and I agree with the last guy on the percussion lead in. A few cymbals taps is all one really needs when you have a spiral staircase opener.

The melody in the beginning is very good, brings to mind a hero solving a crisis, then when the main beat kicks in it starts up a great flow, even though you have a lot of elements going on once, you show reservation and control for how it sounds.

The hard synth that comes in at 2:01 kind of throws me off a bit, only because everything is soft and smooth and nice, if it were a bit softer or even had an echo of some kind it'd blend easier.

The high pitch synth going off in the background doing its own little solo was a little excessive, the wobbles really evened it out.

Solus and SBB can't do wrong.

SolusLunes responds:

And truer words have never been spoken.