LuckyDee's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[SUNSCREECH - uruk tech]

Official ADM review:
Due to how I experienced this song when hearing it for the first time, let me take you by the hand to share it with me: OK so right of the bat you have me nailed to my speakers. There's a ton of promise in that haunting wail, that we're going to be in for a ride, a suggestion that the tentative chords and the building drums stretch out. And then - an unexpectedly empty section once the music gets going. But that's alright, of course, you can't put the climax in one minute into a five minute song. Except... the climax never comes. The floor falls out from underneath us midway through the song, allowing a new build-up - again, crafted really well, with the spacious strings allowing for a moment of respite before the chords and drums kick in again, this time accompanied by a rising synth tone to add to the vibe even more. This time we are tricked and maneuvered into a section that promises an even steeper ascent, except it levels out after only a handful of bars and stays there for the remaining minute of the song, leaving me much like Mr. Duke in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLfdKtAMKEs&t=83s

If this makes it sound like I was disappointed, well, I was. I'm not a big dubstep fan, but to me, you stand out from the crowd in the way you create tension in your track. The fact that the root note hardly changes throughout the entire length of the song - only during the middle space synth section, if I'm correct - is not an obstacle at all, and that is a trick that's damn hard to pull off. Sound design plays a large part in this, with a wide array of instruments that clearly stand apart from each other but also form a coherent whole. Production too is of very high quality, with enough dynamics to give that roller-coaster-ride feeling and great placement of the different sounds in the mix to keep the listener on their toes. From a technical perspective, this piece is incredible.

Unfortunately, the composition can't keep up. I don't know whether the lack of climax was a conscious choice or the two of us just not seeing things the same way, but to me in the end the song fails to leave an impact. The release that is promised so seductively is missing, and to me, ends up sabotaging your otherwise excellent effort. Nonetheless, I wish you good luck on this round, and keep 'em coming!

[Garance's Theme]

Official ADM Review:
I scrolled over X3LL3N's review when I was listening to this for the first time. I didn't read it, but one word caught my eye: storytelling. And as much I want to do my own take on this, he kinda hits the nail right on the head there. The four sections each carry a clear emotion, following each other up in intuitively logical ways and painting a picture of Garance's life - looking at her picture again while writing this it is only now that I realize that's actually a stray hair coming down her forehead and not a Peanuts style nose, but that's neither here nor there.

There's little I can comment on the sound design. The choice of instruments is phenomenal and you know very well how to make them sound like an orchestra rather than a bunch of individual musicians. For a moment I feared this might not be the case, as - to me - the only thing that really stands out is the piano, introducing the arrival of the second section with its two bars of descending notes. It stands out from the rest of the instruments in how unnatural it sounds, which I think in part stems from the absolute lack of sustain (it somehow sounds too 'dead' to be mistaken for a real piano). But save for those two bars, whatever's left of the piano disappears into the ensemble and it turns out my worries were unfounded.

Likewise, there's little I can suggest on composition either. The different chord progressions between the sections work really well to carry the melody and keep things interesting without feeling forced, with the exception of the modulation going into the fourth section - it doesn't entirely come out of nowhere, but the lead-in and ensuing progression somehow don't entirely add up. I'm not knowledgeable enough of music theory to point out why this is the case, so purely going by my gut here. Another minor thing is the melody vs chords in the 2nd an fourth sections. In the 7th and 8th bars of the second section, the melody goes F#-G-A-C# over Em, so ending on a dissonant C# from the E major scale. While there's nothing inherently wrong with that dissonance, looking at it from a storytelling perspective it doesn't work for Garance, who might have found more joy if the chord progression starting that section were D-D-Em-A instead of D-D-Em-Em. (Hope I'm making sense here, it's hard to convey these things if you think you know what you're talking about, but not really how to actually say it D: )

But this is nitpicking, and that's all I can do here. You've done a great job, doing the young lady more than justice with an ode as beautiful as this. Good luck!

Everratic responds:

Thanks for the long and detailed review!

The piano is the one instrument in the entire mix that was recorded dry, whereas the other instruments were recorded stereo in a hall, so that's why it stands out to me. I do have "wet" pianos, but this particular piano had the right timbre for the song so I used it anyway. I do agree that it gets better when the mix is more full.

I agree that the modulation is not very smooth and seamless. This was intentional but it could have been executed better. Maybe it would sound nicer if performed by a real orchestra.

I don't think all dissonance is necessarily "dissonant". Dissonance can sound beautiful or charming in some contexts. I think that's the case here, for my ears at least.

[The Hungry]

Hey man, loving your style and the atmosphere you create, but the overall volume is really low - boosting the tracks a bit and adding a (subtle) limiter to the master bus wouldn't be out of place. Keep 'em coming!

[A New Beginning]

You never cease to amaze <3

VoicesByCorey responds:

Thank you my dude <3

[Hog Wash]

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY

[Valentine Stokes 2021 Character Demo]

Hey man, acting and sound effects sound pretty good, but your voice hardly has any presence. A little more volume and compression, some EQing and maybe a touch of reverb could make a ton of difference here.

[Blimp Detective - Episode 1 - Gassy's Bar]

Loving this - has a Naked Gun type feel to it, except it's more self-aware. If you're ever looking for a guest voice, I'd be honored to help out!

[Zero Hour]

Groooooooooovy

chitstain responds:

Thanks, dude! Glad you liked it :)

[Lesser]

Gloomy <3

LexRodent responds:

That's correct