I like the bright, airy tone of the pads at the beginning and the vocal sample shortly thereafter. The bubbly synth lead at :22 is a nice touch, and the atmospheric details and crisp drums are also really pleasing sound design details. The compression is a bit heavy for my tastes at :44, with the pads getting pigeonholed into tiny gaps in the texture. The beats are catchy, but the harmonic content is very repetitive. It helps add some variety to introduce new instruments, like the piano at 1:50, but overall I was craving a B melody or other major switch-up in the texture. The breakdown at 2:12 is a nice change-of-pace, but it doesn’t quite feel new enough to constitute a “major switch-up.” The funky arpeggios at 3:45 are a nice way of adding a little variety during the second major refrain, and the piano melody towards the end helps hit the piece home. Overall, I really like the sound design, atmosphere, and rhythmic content here, although the mix is a bit distorted at times and the composition could’ve been a bit bolder and more variational. Still, you’ve got a smooth-flowing and catchy track here, Joe. Keep at it! ^_^
Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10