I like the bassy atmosphere at the beginning and the chilly pads. The crisp hi-hats at :20 and ghostly lead shortly thereafter are great, and the texture really comes together at the frantic breaks at :40. The rhythmic content is top-notch here, and the mix is also really clean and well-balanced. Frankly, ⅓ of the way through this piece I’ve already put it onto my favorites list. The quirky melodies and atmospheric details sprinkled throughout really make the piece what it is for me, and I love the vocal samples at 2:32 too. If I had to complain about one thing, it’s that by 3:29 this piece is long overdue for a change-of-pace or breakdown in the texture. That said, I appreciate you subverting expectations by putting the breakdown/bridge towards the end of the piece. In a way, this piece really comes full-circle by descending into this pensive tranquility. Keep up the good work, Cade! :D

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.5/10

Perfect use of that sine in the beginning. When your lead at 22 secon7 ds comes in, I would like a bit less volume on it, and maybe a bit less FX in general. Something is overdriving and I feel it is supposed to sound smooth and unobtrusive.

By 1:07 I am fully immersed and waiting for more insanity.

1:22, those breaks are gorgeous. They sound like well organized ADHD. I would like a more centered sound for your bass just to sit inside the mix cleanly. Changing bass synths throughout I think does you many favors for variety, even if the bassline doesn't change much.

This is a long track and very busy, so the transition at 2:37 does you a lot of favors. In the future, working with similar arrangements, you may think about changing tempo for transitions. Which I'm not sure if it is happening under my nose or not, haha. Ah, I see by 3:34 you are already on this. Great work and fantastically varied piece. 3:55 is NUTS

Fantastic work here. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!