I like the pensive mood at the beginning. The mix sounds a little thin, though. The energy at :11 is good, but the bass sounded a bit too thin, spidery, and high-pitched. I’d recommend transposing it down an octave and giving it a bit more space to flourish in the equalizer if possible. I think one major thing you should work on is your transitions. A lot of them are quite abrupt, and often come with sudden changes in the instrumentation. Fade-ins and -outs, sweeps and crashes, and drum fills can all help you bridge that gap. There were certain sections of the piece where I thought the balance was a bit off. At :36, for example, I think the hi-hats are really too loud. Compositionally, this piece is quite enjoyable, but I think you could’ve done more to vary the instrumentation and create a richer texture with a little more reverb, wider mixing, and in some cases different instruments. The pace of the piece is also quite fast at times. There are a lot of different structural elements here, but it’s hard to keep track of all the changes on an overarching basis, largely because of the sudden transitions. I also think the piece is too long in general. You certainly have a lot of cool riffs and melodies - 3:29 was probably my favorite - but with this much structural variety the piece loses a lot of cohesion. I was very surprised, for example, when the guitar is introduced for the first time at 3:52. It’s actually a pretty good choice as an addition to the texture, but I also think it’s a questionable decision to introduce such an impactful new instrument ⅔ of the way into a piece, and with a sudden transition nonetheless. By the end of the piece, it’s really hard for me as a listener to stay grounded in any kind of major themes, patterns, or motifs. I think that’s the #1 thing you should work on going forward. That and the thin mix with little bass. Overall, though, this piece certainly has its merits. You clearly have a good sense of melody and harmony, and the instrumentation was rather pleasant throughout. Keep at it, Ctr34!

7.5/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10