I like the blissful mood at the beginning. The synths are cute, if a little cheesy, and the underlying pulse to the piece really helps drive it forward. At the end of your little 2-bar mini-phrases at the beginning, the piece occasionally descends into atonality, if only for a split second. I also think the melodic content doesn’t feel very dynamic. Rather, you’re repeating 2-bar mini-phrases with slight variations at the end, which makes for a predictable arc to the overarching refrain. That’s a little detail-oriented of me, though. I like the filtering work at :38, and it leads well into another more climactic melodic section around the 1-minute mark. The change of instrumentation at 1:16 was a little sudden, but the tempo changes at 1:29 breathed new life into the piece. The minimal section helped push the reset button on the track a bit, which was refreshing after a rather fast pace of progression for the first couple of minutes. The piece came full-circle by the end, although I think a final climax like that of 1:00 would’ve hit the piece home more. Still, there are some really creative and appealing compositional details of this piece. One gripe I have with the production, however, is that at times the mix feels really thin and dry. I think the drums could’ve used some more reverb/delay effects, and I would suggest some more advanced techniques like stereo widening to get a thicker texture out of your existing instruments. The mix is still loud and generally clear, although I think the clap was fighting to push its way to the front at 1:30 a bit. Overall, solid work with the composition, sound design, and atmosphere. A lot of my complaints are more “missed opportunities” than things that actively bothered me, which is a good sign. Keep it up, BBouthillette!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.25/10