vekoN's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Under The Water]

quite solid!

the botanica-esque intro is gorgeous in its minimalism and appropriately watery. i especially liked its granular synth glitches. the melodies and harmony in the drop is vivid and colorful, although i feel like the sound design in that part is missing something; perhaps fullness in the mix or background elements?

the sixteenth note color basses in the section starting at 2:14 sounds amazing, very unique! the breakbeat section at 2:46 does feel a bit out of place though. the outro wraps everything up nicely, although it also does feel a bit disconnected from everything else in the song, probably due to the different tonality in that part. maybe using the same chords/key as in the rest of the song in that part would help it maintain the feel of the tune?

overall the tune is lovely, although not without some sour moments structurally

Nebvla responds:

I appreciate the amazing feedback! Thanks so much!

[~Break My Heart~]

ooh, quite an authentic 00s sound here, but with your signature melodies! i particularly enjoyed the planed stab melody and the euphoric lead melodies!

Preds responds:

thanks!

[Ahura - Kaminoke (VETER VIP)]

quite tranquil, beautiful atmosphere! the bass sound design and flow fits perfectly as well. i just feel like there is some clipping in the mix as well as maybe a bit too much high mids?

[Pulse Rush]

vivid melodies! they almost feel Savant-esque. i adore the guitar parts and chords too

the mix feels a bit dull, like it lacks fullness and a small amount of high end. some saturation and background white noise could help make it hit harder. i'd also suggest adding some more background elements and ear candies to fill up the arrangement

23i responds:

Thanks for the feedback! Really appreciate you taking the time to listen and share your thoughts. I'll think about this for sure moving forward.

[Armonía]

i do believe you successfully made something more cheerful! i love how effervescent the instrumentation is, i love the analog-style percussion, and the chiptune paired with the orchestral elements is wonderful!

[Presage]

exquisite, especially the first half; the crescendo at the end of each half sounds cathartic! i was a massive fan of this composition when you teased it on bluesky

50Steaks responds:

Yeah didn't want to just copy paste for the second half so I alluded to the original piece's beating quarter notes in the second chorus. I also prefer the first chorus a little bit tbh but the second does certainly pick up the energy without increasing the tempo which I thought was really neat. Thanks for listening and reposting!

[empty / feelings (feat. Shawn Specter)]

exquisite! i love the vocals and electronic instrumentation! the lyrics speak to me in a way too, although i can't place how

[antediluvian [2023]]

cool find! pretty neat tune too, i like the kick drum pattern and the chip lead solo in the second half

[MAD TING (FT. MODE AND EFFECTA)]

i feel like the sound design could have something more to it, these sounds are a bit too "plain" for my liking. i think maybe some more experimental aspects like ott or spectral glitches would take them to the next level.

another related gripe of mine is the arrangement, i think the drops are a bit too chaotic and lack a solid hook.

lastly the mix is quite saturated in an unpleasant way. the kick drum in particular really crushes the mix with every hit. maybe you could try decreasing the bass going into the master limiter/clipper with a low shelf filter?

jcm3xtro responds:

Hey, thanks for taking the time to write that, I appreciate your feedback for sure. I think the aim for this track was to recreate the old-school sounding dubstep, specifically the original Skrillex era, back when he first starting making music. If you listen closely the mix does sound very simple and plain, and contains nothing but mechanical sounding basses that can sound chaotic and messy at times, but I personally think that sounds pretty cool, but on the other hand I do completely understand that dubstep is an acquired taste, and takes a certain level of understanding to appreciate, so I think it was more of a style choice. But in terms of the second drop, I can see how it might've fallen a bit flat, and to be honest it's not my favourite either, so again it's just a matter of opinion. And as for the mastering, I did get a tad lazy here and just left it, purely because it continued to flatten the grittiness of the track and reduce the quality in the bass, but personally I think it sounds fine as is. It's not perfect, sure, but I like it, and that's what matters. Thanks again for taking the time to comment :)

[ANGELBREAKER]

i like it! i enjoyed the hopeful melodies, the processed vocals, and the color basses.

however, i feel like there could be more ear candy in the mix, especially in the intro and some parts of the drops, like risers, impacts, little glitchy details, especially in the basses, and whatnot. also the arrangement feels a tad messy, like some elements don't come in exactly on the downbeat, which normally isn't a problem but i feel like here it makes everything a bit too loose. lastly the mixdown could be a bit cleaner and not so hectic; eqing and sidechaining channels to each other really helps

hopefully all this helps!