== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review. ==

Very cool experiment. I can't remember hearing a similar idea anywhere! The melody on the flute is really nice, but it gets buried in the acoustic guitar quite often. I think it was probably not a good idea to reverse the entire song and play it back - I know it's part of the experiment, but it doesn't really make a good listening experience after the halfway mark. Still, the melody on the flute in the first half is very nice. 8

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for a description)
* Composition: 3+/4
* Arrangement: 2/4
* Mixing: 2/4

NGAUC Tryout Phase
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Well - it doesnt happen often that i hear a piece that has a very unique feel and that feels authentic. This one has got exactly that. I really enjoyed the celtic feel that the recorder / whistle created and the accoustic guitar added a nice, warm and earthy sound. If i close my eyes i see green hills, an ancient wall of stone, the wind is haunting over the wide and lonely planes - a wild and archaic but stil beautiful and homely feeling. Well done!

My favourite parts where the introduction of the recorder and the moment at 1:30 where the general feel changes and somehow becomes even more intimate. Nice harmonies there. In general i like that you used the tempochanges knowingly and also that you added some moments of total silence where the listener has got the opportunity to hear the piece breath.

What could have been better in my opinion:
- i think that in a piece of 4 minutes atleast one situation where the key signature changes and the piece goes in a fresh new direction would have been almost a must. Its always the contrast that makes a great listening experience - atleast thats my credo. I would recommend to think about that point - most people dont take this serious but they really waste potential for their pieces here.

- the ending. This also is a situation that is crucial for any piece - especially if the introduction of the piece worked very well. In your piece it feels as if somehow you run out of ideas / motivation at the end and just decided to stop here. But before that when you took the new direction at 2:32 to work with the reversed guitar sound i think you overdid it a little bit. While i appreciate it that you added more rhythmic work here (which worked well for a few bars) it became too repetitive and then just stopped quite abruptly. I think that this was the only dicision in the whole track that just didnt work - but of course its just my subjective opinion. After 2:32 there was the opportunity to make the track flourishing - maybe key changes, more variations etc. I also felt as if the reversed part felt too dense for a too long time (i hope you understand what i mean - my english is far from being great :D ). What i mean is: In the first part you created a very wide feel. Everything had a nice balance. Then from 2:32 to the end the reversed guitar totally took away that feeling of wideness. For some bars its ok. But then i as a listener would have loved it to come back to this original feel. Instead of that the piece ends in the middle of that tension you have inserted. I am missing a logic solution somehow. And that is where a strong ending was necessary. Of course i understood that you reversed a whole part and the idea is great. But i would have prefered to break up that concept at the end to fade it out in another way :)

Overall this is a very fresh and unique piece and i enjoyed it very much. Keep up being authentic. This is one of those cases where experimenting worked well! So: Well done!

8.4/10

Beautiful. Love the guitar, and of course the everything else (the guitar was by far my favorite though)
I'm a little too lazy to reverse the song, but it's fantastic forward.
Good luck in the NGAUC, and you'll do well, I can hear it.

Wow! This is a magnificent composition! Very lovely harmonies and a very lovely melody. The reversed section fits quite well, too. A splendid job!

i dont know why but im getting nostalgia feels from this, loving this! amazing combo of elements the flute with the acoustic guitar and the pad flow so nice together! great job!

best of luck in the "N G A U C" !!
- Pandasticality