FairSquare's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[{dj-N} Overcoming Hardship]

So, classical this time :-)

I'm glad that you've written a classical song, because that's about the only genre i can write a proper review for. There are exceptions ofcourse :P
First of all i want to say that the sound quality is superb and the instrumentation is too. The intro with the piano is pretty good, but i think that the melody is a bit.. static, if you know what i mean. It's a good melody, it just needs to be humanized more. You could work with dynamics on the piano too, but saying that makes me a hypocrite :P
The flute that joins the piano in the intro is really smooth and well placed.
The low strings are really good too, because they bring a bit more balance to the song. Then a timpani roll comes in, together with a reversed cymbal. Those two are always useful if you use them correctly. Which you did.
The melody after that, that is played on the pizzicato strings is really nice. It has the same feeling as the melody on the piano intro, but it's better. Also, the percussion is excellent! It really drives the song.
However, when the percussion goes solo you could add a bit more to it. It just feels kind of slow. I'm not saying that the solo is not good though, because it is. It's just not great.
After the percussion solo the song gets a more serious tone. You left the percussion out here which is a pretty good choice. Also, i like how the strings work together with the piano here and now the timpani roll + the reversed cymbal come in again. The same percussion loop as before comes in. Maybe you could've add a bit more variaty in there.
At 02:13 it's a pretty nice change, but it's just the same as the intro. Except that the low strings play along from the beginning. You really should've made a more advanced melody here. The last note is a bit weird too. You made the correct choice by making the last note a D#, but it still feels weird because the flute and the strings just stop before that last note. What i would've done is this: let the flute play on 2 octaves (maybe even 3) on the D# and hold that note for a while (probably 4 beats). The note that the piano hits as the last note now is good and the velocity too, so i wouldn't change that. And the i let the low string play (softly) on the G and hold that for 4 beats as well. Then add an automation clip to fade out the flute and the strings and there you have your smooth ending :P
This is just what i should do though :P
Now all that's left to do is give you your score and i hope that i was a bit helpful to you.
9/10
5/5
MH16

dj-Nate responds:

These kinds of reviews are what drive artists like myself to become better. Your clear understanding of music theory and neutral constructive opinions provice me an oppertunity to improive, and for this, I am very thankful. I will take what you have said to heart and very likely implement it in another song in the near futire.

Thank you so much for your time in your review

<3 Nate

[Carf - Crawler (dungeon)]

Awesomeness!

Really cool song you have here. I think it would do great in a flash game or movie.
And your intention was to make a dungeon stylish, but like you said it came out different. What i imagine when i hear this is the part of a movie where the bad guys are preparing for doing.. well, bad things :P
But let's listen a little closer to this song now.
I really like the intro. It creates such an ominous mood. The little pizzicato strings draw your attention while the bass is a very solid foundation and then more synths enter the song. The strings are on a brilliant in the mix and the piano that comes in so pretty and dark. It's one of those things that creates the ominous mood i was talking about.
The arp that comes in just before the drums is done very well and.. i love that low bassdrum just before the other drums come in. Great use of dynamics too btw.
The drums itself are really attention demanding, but not too much.
I really like how the drums just stop for some time and give you some time to breathe before it continues.
But i think that the piano should be a bit more noticable. Just a bit, not too much.
Also, i think there could be a bit more variation in this song. I'm not sure about that though, because when you play a game or watch a movie the music shouldn't draw too much attention. So yeah, it's perfect right now :P
I have only one more thing to say. If you want that this song gets used in a game you should let it loop. You didn't create this to loop though, so i won't take that with me when i give your song a score. And giving you your score is exactly what's the only left to do. Great job on this song!
9/10
5/5
MH16

[{B.A.B.} Endless Possibilities]

You stole a song title from me :O

Haha, seriously, i have a song with the same title. It's very different than this though, so i won't make any comparisons. And if i would this song pwn mine anyway :P
But let's get started with reviewing now.
In the beginning i really like the dynamics of those strings. All of the details you add are so good too! The flutes, the little bells and i think i even hear a marimba there(?).
The bass is great too. It's in a great spot in the mix and gives the song some foundation.
You know, it's always so hard to review your songs. There is so much going on and it's changing constantly. I just don't have the time to focus on all the things that are going on simultaneously. Don't think that's negative though, because there's so much going on you can listen to this again and again and again without that it becomes repetitive.
I really love those string runs!
What i also like is the moment when this song ''explodes'' (on 00:44). Normally loops don't have a climax like that, but here it worked just fine. It loops great too!
Another thing that i like to point out is the snaredrum that plays right after that moment on 00:44. It seems like it plays little flam notes and i love that!
Well, not really much more to say here. Keep up the great work that you're doing and maybe i'll watch a movie in the cinema someday with your music in it :P
Here's my score:
10/10
5/5
MH16

blackattackbitch responds:

Glad you checked out my song, even after I haven't checked out anyone elses in quite some time :(

I can assure you, I did not use a marimba hahaha

I was worried about the section at :44 cuz it might throw the listener off when he's playing the game it's intended for. Basically, it's better suited as just a listening song, rather than a song for a video game.

The snare effect might be because I used the Squidfont snares instead of the regular solo snares that I usually use. I like the SQ snares because of their multiple articulations.

Sorry about the song title though, I wasn't aware. At least I put the BAB in front of it lol

[Fancy Mike - Lights in the Sky]

True Ambient

What really catches my attention in the beginning is how warm the piano sounds. The bit of white noise you added here is brilliant and perfectly fits in the song. And the high tone that's going most of the time is good too, but i think you could've made that a bit less sharper if you know what i mean.
What the piano is playing is very simple, but sometimes simple is just better than complicated. This song is made for creating pictures in your mind and that goal is certainly reached.
I also love how everything flows so smoothly.
The woodblock(?) percussion you used here is excellent. It's so simple but so effective and nice to listen to.
Unlike ChrisisD i do like the choir near the end. It just adds a little variation and it.. just fits.
Like you said, it loops perfectly. Good job on that.
Overall, this is a beautiful track. In some songs repetitiveness is a bad thing, but the way you used it, it's a good thing. The mixing and mastering is great and so are the sounds you used. Perfect amount of reverb and vibrato on the piano.
I feel like this would do really good in a Flash movie.
Now that the reviewing work is done i'll just let my imagination flow and let the music paint a picture in my head.
I see a little girl laying in her bed. The night has already fallen and she's asleep.
Slowly a man opens her bedroom door. Rays of light from the light in the hallway enter the room and we see that the man is her father.
He walks towards his little daughter. Slowly he kneels next to her bed.
The girl is still asleep, but her father knows that this is the last time he'll ever see her. He doesn't want it to end this way, but there's nothing he can do about it anymore. Feelings of powerlessness overwhelm him and with those feelings a tear rolls from his away.
He kisses his little daughter on her forehead and turns around. He closes the door and it's dark in the bedroom again, with the little girl still sleeping.
When she wakes up nothing will be the same anymore. Nothing will be what it used to be, but for now, she's still asleep.
Well, that was the picture you created in my head. I hope i was a bit helpful with my review and that you enjoyed reading my little story. Now all that's left to do is give you my score:
10/10
5/5
MH16

Scribbler responds:

You know, this song originally started as a simple 4 second loop and it just stayed that way for days... I didn't really know what else to do or how to move along and sometimes, with music, that's just happens. In any case, while I was revisiting the track, Austin Breed contacted me about a game he was working on, "The Facebook Game." Originally, we had decided that I was going to make an 8-bit track for the game. Well, we tried that, and I went through 3 variations of 8-bit goodness but in the end, none of it was really what I wanted. Incidentally, I had the source file for this song open in the background but I didn't know it. So while I was playing the beta version of the game, I accidentally hit the play button on my keyboard and the 4 second loop began playing and it was so entrancing; that's when I knew that "Lights in the Sky" was the track for "The Facebook Game."

I worked on the song for about 9+ hours straight. I ended up not sleeping through the night because I began working on it at about 3 AM, (true story.) The 9 hours of straight work built the foundation of the track, the backbone. After getting some sleep, again, I revisited the track and spent about 1 hour tweaking each individual sound to sound the way I wanted. The slow, warm piano sounds, the white noise, the percussion; it didn't all sound like that in the beginning, that took a lot of work and I am so glad you noticed!

I did try out some more complex key variations but then they just became too apparent. I wanted a track that would just play without interfering with the game, a track that would just get you into it. The addition of the choir was when I originally wanted the track to be 5 minutes long but then I decided that it would work better as a loop so I was originally going to take out the choir altogether but now I am glad I left that little bit in there. :)

Yep, the other point of this track was to paint a picture. A lot of the music I submit here on Newgrounds is music that works both as game/movie music and well, just MUSIC. Your little story is awesome! Thanks for the awesome review, and great score. I hope you enjoy the rest of my work, even the future ones.

[Gazes of the Thousands]

You wanted me to leave critique

Well, like i said in my response to your review, i'm not an expert. Actually i'm far from an expert. But i'll leave you a review anyway, since this is such an amazing piece of music :-)
The intro is really nice with the choir. And that harp (?) that is playing is really good too, but if i were you i wouldn't let the harp play every sixteenth note. That's because it sounds a little too random, but this can also be personal taste.
The piano that comes in is good, but it could've be a little more powerful. Try lowering it an octave. I know that if you only lower that line that comes in first it doesn't fit with the rest of the piano playing, so try to lower everything that is played on the piano one octave to make it more powerful and a bit heavier. I'm not sure this will work, but you can always try, right?
I don't really like the kick you used. I think it's too sharp and should be much deeper sounding, if you know what i mean. And the snare is a bit too fat. Try to make it sound a little more clear and sharp.
The next thing i'm going to say is my personal opinion. I don't like the tubular bells. Actually, i almost never like tubular bells, because they always sound off tune to me. Maybe it's because they pitch bend down or something.
Those cymbals you used are ok, but i think they are too loud. Lower their volume a bit.
Well, that was all my criticism. Despite all those things i said, i enjoyed this song. The composition is really good and brings a feeling of victory to me. Like i just won a battle or something :P
The staccato choir (i don't know if you can use the term staccato when you're talking about a choir, but i do it anyway :P) is really good. It's in the background so you really have to listen to the song to hear it's there, but when you remove the song loses a large amount of power.
Well, that's all for now. Very good job on this song, although it could've been a tad better.
9/10
5/5
MH16

Theledge93 responds:

Oh man! i appreciate it so much. I wouldv'e never noticed any of those things without your help. and that's an interesting theory with the piano. I'll try that and see if it sounds any better. with the bass drum, it was the only one i could find. and the "staccato" choir is probably my favorite part of the song.

Once again i appreciate the review tenfold. If you have any songs you want criticized, i'll be more than happy to do it.

[Summer Blast]

This sure is awesome!

I think this is one of the best tracks i've heared from you so far. And it's original, yay! :D
I can't give any advice or something, so this review is pretty useless. But i think you'll be happy when i say that i enjoyed the song too :P
I loved the melody and i really like the build up. The beat is really good. I mean, it's a simple beat, but those are the best most of the time :P
Anyway, great job on this song. And the name fits perfectly too!
10/10
5/5
MH16

syphonmax responds:

Thanks man, haven't heard from you in a while!

And I worked hard on this track, but it looks like I'm not gonna make top 5 :/

[~|Feeling Ice [Tech House]]

Cool beat!

Great steady intro. You're really good with percussion :-)
When the chords come in my ears really have to get used to it. Not that it sounds wrong or something, but it's pretty weird if you hear it for the first time. But i like it now that i'm used to it ^^
That piano is great and very light. That fits perfectly!
Well, my conclusion is: great percussion, great piano, great (and original!!!) chords. Great everything! :D
10/10
5/5
MH16

Helth responds:

Lol thanks - the only thing i needed was a great review.. got it now :)

[The_Everlasting_Journey]

Pretty good

There are a lot of things that i like about this song, but some things i don't like too. I'll start off with the negative things.
The notes that are played by the pizzicato strings (what kind of strings btw. Cello?) on 00:38 and 00:39 sound discordant. They just don't fit. On 01:28 and 01:29 it happens again. There are some more notes that sound wrong/are discordant, but i don't feel like telling them all because you probably won't fix 'em anyway :P
Also, it sounds like that pizzicato string is distorting sometimes. Especially at that section after 01:25.
And that percussion intrument that you use just plays the same notes as the piano. It's good to layer your synths sometimes, but i think you should've left that percussion instrument out or actually use it as percussion. Which brings me to the next subject: the percussion. You haven't used any kind of percussion (except that instrument that plays with the piano, but that's not used as percussion but as a lead). I think a bit of percussion could really add to this. It will make the song feel a bit faster and more fluent. The type of percussion should be very light, like bongos, congas and shakers.

That was the negative part of my review. Here comes the positive part.

Man, i love that piano! The delay on it is perfect and it just sounds sweet. What i also love are those violins you used in the background sometimes. It gives the song a more driving feel and they just add so much to the song. The pizzicato string is really good too, it really gives the song a foundation to build on. The little bell sounds that you used and the woosh cymbal sounds (don't know how to call them :P) are incredible and add a little taste of mystery and magic.

You'll notice that the negative part of my review is larger than the positive part, but don't think that that means that i didn't like the song. It just takes more words to explain what i mean when i'm negative then when i'm positive, but i guess you'll understand that.

Conclusion: This song is really good, but there are some errors that stop me from giving it a ten.

I hope this review was helpful and if you have any questions because of what i wrote, just PM me ;-)
9/10
5/5
MH16

Box-Killa responds:

Oh man thank you for this review, Respect :D. Hmmm.... I have no idea how im going to respond. Lol. Those pizzicato strings are basically a whole bunch of string instruments playing in pizzicato lolz. I listened to the song quite loud with headphones on, and I just spotted some slight distortion with those pizzicato strings. I dont really understand why you say they are discordant. I mean they don't create diminished/augmented chords. I suppose they dont take the normal chord route so It must be a personal taste.

Oh yeah the percussion tehe. Well if you listen closely there is a sort of really heavy crash symbol in the background. Should have turned it up a bit. I guess i could have tried adding some rythmn with bongo's, claives etc but with having the bell, all the wooshy sounds (LOL) etc, it wouldn't have the same effect. Also By not having drums, the song seems more laid back, which was what I was going with, Im happy with the minimal percussion but I can understand If your ear wants more.

Well your review was really good and it made me knuckle down and listen to my song in real depth. Thanks peace out :D

[Bridging Worlds]

Really good!

This loop is really awesome!
I love the strings and the melody at 00:29 is just perfect!
There is one thing i don't like though: the bassdrum. I don't mean that i don't like the sound, but what it is playing. It's a tad too busy i think.
But besides that i have nothing to complain about. Good job!
10/10
5/5

Marks-a-lot responds:

Yea, they were supposed to be toms but I didn't feel like looking for some good toms so I just make the bass drums do all the work.