I like the atmospheric effects and emotional appeal at the beginning. The progression is a little slow-paced at first, and I would’ve liked to see a stronger sense of direction towards the beginning. The piano part sounded a bit square at times, and some additional phrasing or dynamics considerations could really help you out imo. The string entry at 1:02 was nice, although again I think there could’ve been a stronger sense of climax into the entry of the brighter piano and rhythm section at 1:48. The atmosphere by around 2:15 is really nice, and I like the emotional quality of the bridge at 2:57. That said, the rhythm also felt a bit square there, and the piano continues to lack humanization. The piece comes together well towards the end with the return of the bright piano at 4:16, and the drawn-out string chord at the end was a nice touch. Overall, the sound design and the production quality are my favorite parts of the piece. I think you didn’t quite capitalize on the rich atmosphere and emotional appeal of the composition. I would’ve liked to see some more dynamic contrast, phrasing, subtle tempo changes, and the like. At times, the pacing of the chord progression also felt a little fast-paced to really sell the sense of wonder here, notably 1:20 or so. Still, I’m liking the creative arrangement, instrumentation, melodies, and rhythmic content here. Keep at it, Glassedhouse! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.25/10

score: 6.5/10

what I liked:

• the introduction piano is very captivating
• the strings fit with the piano very well and create a nice cinematic feel that I really like
• the groovy section at 1:48 doesn't really fit with the mood of the piece you set in the beginning, but I would really like it by itself
• again, the individual sections sound nice, but I can't say that fit very well together

what I think could be improved:

• I'm not a fan of the piano chord progression starting at 0:40, it sounds a bit awkward to me
• I think a bit more reverb on the piano would have added an even more cinematic feel
• like mentioned above, I feel like this track is like a collection of 5 different songs rather than 1 coherent one
• especially for this piece, I think being strictly cinematic, or strictly rock, etc., would've been a better choice, instead of stitching together the different genres

overall though, I did really like many parts of this track! good job :)

Reading the other reviews, I'm not seeing any really issues with mixing outside of maybe too much reverb on sustaining instruments. I would like to hear those strings back some off of that piano. They're sustaining, and the low strings are even sort of drowning out the bass at points. I would on the contrary bring that up more.

The coins falling are a bit distractingly loud for me. I might bring that down or pan it differently.

Lots of interesting world sounds here.

Maracas or shakers could move around in the space or be taken down some. I also think the coins or whatever that falling percussion instrument is could stand to move into the right channel probably.

The drum set, I'm not sure what it is that I don't like about it. I think it's the hihats and maybe the snare. Could use saturation there. But I'm very, very happy that you didn't bury them in reverb to get a pleasant sound.

.... I figured it out, it is the hihat. There's a very synthy ring that I don't like. More velocity editing may help. It could also probably be compressed more to drive the piece.

I felt one thing that could have been added is some bluesy ride cymbal work and big spacious crashes throughout.

Other than that I found the melodic content quite compelling and was reminded of the Fallout 4 theme, mixed with Dragon's Dogma character creation theme. Very pleasant, positive, and uplifting vibes. Really enjoyed it.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

I have to say I'm blown away by your work on this one. The songs you've written for this contest are some of the best in your repertoire here on new grounds. We done here. The mixing in my opinion is pretty solid contrary to what Mutty reviewed. After all we all have different interpretations, desires, and headphones. A lot of edm wants to hear the piano very loudly, but I interpreted it as the piano really becoming a part of the ensemble. I didnt have a problem with the dryness of the drums, i just pictured a set player in the front of the ensemble. It all worked very well for me, and your writing and modal mixture use in your composition remind me so much of my early writing, that I've swayed away from these days.

Overall Composition; 9.5/10
Overall Production; 9.25/10
Overall Impression; 10/10

Score; 9.58

Well done glassed house.

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

Pretty relaxing and bittersweet piece of music we have there… The first seconds give a nice atmosphere to begin with; you chose a great piano for that purpose. I think the strings beginning at 0:59 are too high in volume when they reach their max at 1:46 and also at 3:41 and 4:17, causing them to cover too much the other instruments. The rest of the song is pretty good: I enjoyed the funky bass and the chord progression, both original and impactful. Maybe the drums are a little bit too dry, you could have put a small amount of reverb to make them richer. 3:53 is my favourite section, liked how you arranged it and how the instrument come out. I’d say this submission is pretty good, nice job!

Originality: 1.5/2
Composition: 1.9/2
Structure: 1.7/2
Tecnicity: 1.33/2
Impact: 1.57/2
Total: 8/10