NGAUC Review
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First off, my apologies for the EXTREMELY late review -- but, better late than never!

What worked well:
- Super catchy; great melodies!
- Awesome audio detail scattered throughout the track.
- Great mixing (aside from a nit-pick on my part -- see below).
- Excellent use of synths and pads to keep things rolling!

What a catchy track! I don't really like using 'catchy' to describe a song, because it's kind of generic-sounding. That being said, it describes this track perfectly because, well, it IS very catchy. There's not much that I have to say other than that, the track has great amounts of detail and design -- I really dig it!

What to consider:
- Snaps/claps, kicks, and hits stood out due to reverb/general mix.

As mentioned above, there were a few things in the mix that I think could have been altered to fit the song's vibe better. The finger snaps (or claps), kicks, and certain hits stood out just a bit too much with all of that reverb. Honestly, I think it sounds fine (and it is quite clean and crisp), though when you compare it to the other instruments, they certainly stand out.

Wicked stuff! Keep at it!

Score: 9/10

Congrats on winning. I had to come over and check this out and it's well deserved of 1st. Great feel. I don't dabble with this style personally, but with you writing stuff like it, there is certainly no need for me to try. I'll just sit back and enjoy

You freakin' champion, you!

This is so awesome. 10/10 bro. Congrats on winning the contest. I'm grooving to this so hard. Following (obviously for the future) and Favorited this track. A lot of really tasty sound manipulation with tasteful usage of your four part harmonies! I really like the kick, and the mix as a whole sounds great. There aren't any holes in the song that I would be able to honestly complain about because I think you yourself as an artist are happy with this result, and that is what it important!

So, you've made it to the final round. You've clearly proven yourself. Time to judge by NGADM standards - scoring will be harsher as a result. In any case, here are some pointers for improvement.

The Good:
-Oh hell yes. Those chords and plucks right at the start along with the chill percussion and background FX are so great.
-That melody. Yes. I normally don't comment on melodies, but this is really sweet. The synth with it is great.
-DEM JAZZ. YES.
-All the jazz theory and ear candy in this is so awesome that it's giving me eargasms all over the place.

The Not-so-good:
-Okay, first thing. That kick is WAY too loose. I can see why a loose kick is great for this, but this is too loose with the bass section.
-Um, basically the kick and mixing stuff are my only concerns here. There's a bit much in terms of reverb, and all the effects stack on top of each other a bit much. It gets VERY confusing especially with the delay on the lead. Some of the chords are also somewhat buried, like at 0:58, the high end of the chords is fairly buried.

Final score: 9.7/10. Yeah, this is easily my favorite piece out of everything. The mixing quibbles are fairly minor, this has a fantastic theme and great jazzy composition. The chords are well-done, the instruments are great, everything pans well, there's ear candy fucking EVERYWHERE, and it even ends. Like. If you fixed up the mixing a bit I'd be hard-pressed not to give it a straight 10.

Okay, I love the soundscape you have here right off the bat. This has a very original sound design to it. I love the funky synths at :20, and the chill pads and quirky percussion mesh into the texture here really well. I think you made the melody at :47 a little too convoluted, but I love the swells at 1:10, and the subsequent moment of structural relief that 1:20 offered. The echo effects and portamentos are freaking awesome. Sometimes the progression here is a little hard-to-follow and overly busy, like at 2:13. That said, you've definitely created an awesome, full texture here full of bizarre instruments that all compliment each other really well. I thought the ending was a little rushed and ambiguous, though. You kind of just filter away all of the elements until there's nothing but the beat left, and the beat (while cool), is definitely not the MOST cool thing about this piece. If anything, I would strip things away to leave one last awesome melody riff on one of your cool, slide-y leads. Still, awesome work with the instrumentation and moods here, and the production quality is very high as well. Despite my minor compositional complaints, this is a job well done, and I can tell that you really went all-out with this piece, which I love to see. Keep up the great work, Trunotfals! :D

9.35/10