(disclaimer: AIM judge review here! these are just my opinions and thoughts, you can take from them whatever you like! music is subjective and all that. <3)

you have aimed directly at my heart with this one, as this is a style i love dearly and grew up hugely into. i can't play guitar so my attempts at flirting with it in my own music end up being focused on a different angle. i could definitely envision some disaffected singing and screaming over the top of this too!

altogether i love what you've done here! there's several different ideas that i feel are individually executed well and authentically; the guitar tones sound great and the drumset lines feel solid. one thing that stands out to me though is that it would all gel better if the sections were less separated, transitioned into and out of more organically. each one kinda has its own energy level, which is great, but there could be more of an arc to the song without pauses; they feel kind of like individual movements. additional instrumentation or layers could also help make the climactic parts feel bigger and more cathartic.

as for the artwork, i think you picked a good style to match with this person and the style they're drawn in. it's easy for me to imagine that they'd be heading out to a show to listen to this tonight.

AIM 2023 Judge Review

I liked that intro quite a bit, kinda saw it as a "chill morning" if that makes sense. While I also liked the guitar stuff, I'm not sure it fits the best with the illustration though.
I'd say it needs more work, especially on those empty transitions.

Solid idea nonetheless !

AIM 2023 Judge Review

The guitaring in this is solid. I like the transition at the beginning from the slower somber section to the harder-hitting chords. The jam session style structure captures that sort of angst and confusion connected to youth and teenage years. There is a nice subtle melody line at 1:10 that I would have loved to hear come up in a later section. I also like the way the guitar chugs go into that continuous sort of groove at 2:27, especially when the chords change towards the end of that section.

In terms of this entry's connection with its art inspiration, I struggle to find a lot of connection between the music and the art. It feels more like this entry was inspired by the songs from your teenage years and the art ended up being secondary instead. If we were to interpret the character's emotions and the mismatch of reflections, then I think there is a case to be made, but it feels like there's too many steps to even get to a connection that is generous at best.

Unfortunately, this piece comes across as not really being inspired by the art at all. If that's not the case, I'd love to hear more about why this art was chosen over any other piece from carmine3 or any other Newgrounds artist in general. What makes this music inspired by the art?

Overall, this entry is fine - a little too loose on the structure (not really a fan of how it just abruptly ends especially after that strong opening) but it seems on par with most of your other AIM guitar pieces. I hope your fingers and wrists got the rest they deserve!

All I gotta say is that 0:44 goes hard. You really capture the grit and warmth of the art in this song.

DUDE... THIS IS SO SICK!!! ITS SUPER CATCHY AND I LOVE THE SOUND SM!!!!