I like the ominous drone at the beginning and the cutesy plucks that outline the harmonies around it. The progression is pretty slow-paced and the texture rather minimal for a while, but I like the more energetic vibe at around 1:20, and the blissful tone at around 1:50 is a nice mood shift. The tone at 2:02 is a little darker, which fits the lyrics at 2:16 well. The vocals themselves were a bit cheesy - the pitch shifting effect is cool in and of itself, but the vocals were also a bit dry, and could use some more mixing effects to add some intrigue and variety going into the instrumental section at 3:00, especially since the rest of the texture was so bare before that. The sound design and atmosphere are both cool here, but I would’ve liked to see some more harmonic depth at some point. After around 3:15, the snare doesn’t come through the mix very well, although generally the mixing is pretty good here, with mostly well-balanced and distinct frequencies throughout. The atmospheric bridge at 4:00 is another nice detail of the arrangement, and I like the darker tone it takes on by around 4:30. The minimal rhythmic riff at 4:47 seemed a little bland of a follow-up, though, and I would’ve liked to see a more climactic or melodic section later on to hit the piece home. Instead, there’s quite a bit of repetition of the main riffs from earlier, and with all the twists and turns of the arrangement I lose a sense of overarching direction a bit. Overall, the piece has some solid production quality, atmosphere, and a good sense of flow. I think the composition is a little underwhelming, repetitive, and drawn-out at times, but you’re really good at shifting between moods, which is a pretty advanced skill to have. Keep at it, BlighterProductions! :)
Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7/10