Interesting chord progression at the beginning. The rhythm is a little hard-to-follow at the beginning, but it gets easier once the kick comes in at :14. The synth at :22 sounds pretty cheesy, and also drowns out the piano in the mix a bit. I like the groovy vibe at :37, although the clap sample is pretty generic. The smooth bass is a valuable addition to the texture, and I admire your sense of harmony and progression. The guitar solo at 1:06 sounds really quirky and cool, although it could’ve used a little more reverb or other mixing effects. In general, the melodic content here is really good, but you introduced a lot of new instruments throughout this piece, almost like a traditional jazz arrangement where each melodic instrument has a solo in turn. The texture comes together pretty well by around 1:50, but I wished you had a little more dynamic contrast and shape to the composition here. The energy level, especially with the underlying harmonies, is near-constant. Also, despite what I said about that one guitar sample, I think in general there’s actually a little too much reverb in the texture in some places. The piano and pads get really drowned out at times because of it. Some more careful equalizing and compression might also be in order, even if the mix is already pretty loud. I really like the dreamy, atmospheric breakdown at 2:50, and the melancholy synth at 3:07 is a great touch. I also like how you gradually transition back into the more energetic parts of the piece, with a refreshing new section at 4:18 to boot. Overall, I think you could’ve switched up some of the harmonies, repeated melodies, and chord progressions, after a while for variety. I think the piano harmonies at 4:48 were an attempt at creating that variety, but the melodies get in each other’s way a bit, which comes across as distracting. Overall, though, this is a solid piece with a lot of great melodic content, atmospheric details, and sound design. Mixing is my main concern here. Keep at it, NeighbourhoodVandal! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10