I like the ghostly pads at the beginning and the sub-bass and crisp beats at :24. Some of the synths are a bit cheesy, though, and I also found the long stretches of minimalism in this piece to be a bit off-putting. The chord progression is a bit cliche, and at some point the piece could’ve used some more melodic content, or at least some more dynamic harmonies. The breakdown at 1:52 is good for a little variety, and the creative beats and theremin there are pretty sweet. The mixing here could be a bit tighter. There’s a lot of reverb in the texture, and sometimes the low-mid pads get a tad buried underneath the arpeggios and drums. Still, I like how the creative drum patterns continue well into the second half. I actually really like the compositional choice to have the energy gradually die until all that’s left is the theremin and the eerie atmosphere towards the end. Despite the generic and repetitive harmonic content, you really made this piece your own by the end. That said, the mix still needs some cleaning up, but you get some credit for the cool sound design, atmospheric appeal, and compositional details here. Keep at it, ThePal! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.75/10

Lovely atmospheric piece, very spacy, reminds me of olskool gaming back in the day. Banjo Tooie actually

Minor gripes-
The drums are not popping, and seem to be missing a lot of low mid, could be a problem of compression and EQ

hihats through 3:16 are so loud! though I love the panning

3:36, as with other sections of drums, I believe panning could be applied to the drums to help give them some space. Alternatively, they can be processed through a plugin like Diablo for width, dynamic compression, and transient shaping. I used to use KSHMR Essentials Kick for a free fix

Overall the piece is fairly laid back and suffers from a few mix woes, mostly just the drums being out of balance. Drums should be the loudest portion of a mix, namely kick and snare, while hats and tambourines and such accent off to the side. I also can't recall any crashes throughout

On 2nd listen, be sure your bitcrushed drums at 2:08 are balanced. The snare there is quiet, which is not bad for such a section, but the hat, if that is a hat, is quite loud. I would actually double check that highs are represented well on whatever system you are mixing on so they are not over done.

I really enjoy your sensitive approach throughout to phrasing, arrangement, and especially your use of panning for leads. Your transitions are great, and you have an ear for atmosphere in the extreme. Takes me almost back to the club. Great work!

lovely