--NGAUC Review—

Pros:
-I like the minor key tonality. That was a nice contrast to many other submissions I’ve listened to in this round.
-You had some nice transitions. I particularly liked the build from 2:09 to 2:15. It was subtle but effective.
-The first 33 seconds provided a compelling intro. The texture built at just the right pace.
-I liked the contrast between the percussion and piano at 1:30.

Cons:
-I think the piano needs to come up in the mix, especially around 1:31. It’s the most interesting element in the texture, but it sounds completely subdued. I like the heavy reverb, but I think there needs to be more presence.
-Some sections sound needlessly cluttered to me, particularly at 2:15. Maybe it’s the rapid kick drum, or maybe it’s the EQ, but that section sounds muddy to me.
-None of the melodies or harmonies in this piece were particularly compelling to me. The piano section provided a pleasant sonic contrast, but compositionally, it was just okay. Mostly just quarter notes wandering around scale tones without a strong sense of direction. Some of the percussion and sound effects in this track are unique, but the composition is just okay. Not very good, nor very bad.
-I’m going to have to disagree with SkyeWint about the ending. I think the last note faded out way too quickly, and the whole phrase seemed like it was wandering. I know it is quoting a phrase from earlier, but it just didn’t do much for me. I do appreciate the contrast of the ending though.

This piece to me was decent. It had some good qualities about it, but nothing to particularly impress me.

Score: 6.1/10

== This is an NGAUC Knock-Out Round Review ==

I have to say that unfortunately I am just not a huge fan of this one.

First of all, the drums really stand out to me as being far too aggressive and repetitive - the kick hits so often it feels like a machine gun! I understand that this can work in certain types of music, but in this song I feel like it doesn’t really work well with the rest of the instruments, which seem to be quite a bit slower.

Furthermore, when you have both bass instruments and the drums playing at the same time - for example, 2:35 - the drums seem quite buried and hard to hear in the mix.

I do enjoy the melody that pops up in the left ear - the little pitch bend and vibrato that the melody gets a few times are both great touches. What I’m not as big of a fan of is the extremely buzzy instrument at e.g. 1:26. The melody doesn’t seem to be that compelling, and at times it’s a bit difficult to even follow, because the instrument goes so low that I can’t tell which note it’s hitting. The music is very aggressive in a way that is unfortunately just not that enjoyable for me.

I think my favorite part of this song would be the piano. It’s a really cool idea that I wish you had explored more! As for the rest of the song, I have to admit that I just don’t find it to be that enjoyable or compelling.

Overall Score: 4.5/10

Mini-Scores (see here: http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953):
* Composition: 1/4
* Arrangement: 3/4
* Mixing: 2/4

Hey there. Some general commentary on your song for NGAUC.

-This starts out in one of the most interesting ways I've heard a song start in quite a while. Great glitches and chopped sounds. The arps are really cool.
-Dear god this sounds almost like electric metal music at around 0:55 with those kick rolls. Wow. Only thing that could be better there is a bit more mixing and some more thump in those kicks, then this would be really filled out and sound badass as fuck. Seriously. That would make that section one of my favorite sections of music.
-The tempo changes actually work really really well. They blend pretty much seamlessly into the music IMO, and they enhance the moods that I'm receiving here.
-Hell yeah more kick drum madness.
-This song is a fantastic example of one that actually didn't need a particularly clear melodic theme.
-Now THAT is an ending. Best one I've heard so far out of all of these. Major plus for me. ...I just wish it didn't end on a passing tone, that immediately makes it feel like there's more.

Final score: 8.8/10 + download. This is quite honestly fantastic. Hugely experimental, coherent, and great. Literally the only two things I'd work on are the mixing (biggest thing) and just not having a passing tone being the last one in that way. It's unresolved tension that doesn't work nearly as well as a held chord.

cool