garlagan's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Lythalia]

WHOA. THIS IS NICE.
1:52 reminds me of Animals as Leaders! Just like with 'Heavy Test 2', the last submission you've uploaded. You've got some serious talent mate.
0:58 gets a little bit repetitive but it sounds really cool.
It's fantastic that kinda saw lead thing that follows the main guitar (0:22 and 2:27 i think)
I think the kickdrum's got too much kick if that makes sense, and cymbals could work better a little bit lower in the mix. All this goes down to personal taste though!
Overall excellent track!

JDawg00100 responds:

I love Animals as Leaders so that's a really nice compliment! :D

Thanks for the listen!

[left behind]

Oh man I'm getting such a cool Donkey Kong vibe!
Sadness tends to be useful for me, especially when making music. Seems it is for you too!
That lead doing these glorious bends, it's beautiful. And I really like how more leads come in and join the main melody, making it a bit more complex and even catchier. Also, a piano always blends the more digital sounds in such a delicate way. Wise choice adding one!
Great job with the drums. They take the melody to a more uplifting state, if that makes sense. And when they're absent, at 5:53, it's really cool how it suddenly gets back to a more contemplative, sad, nostalgic feeling.
Excellent, keep it up!

johnfn responds:

oh hey there garlagan! long time no see! glad you liked this little thing! can't wait to see what you write for the NGADM ;-)

[inside the machine]

Been a while since i wanted to drop a review here.
Finally some time !
I really like your style ; 3. The way you use those synths is pretty cool man. But I'd love to hear something a little bit more catchy throughout the song, at some parts maybe.
The beginning is great. And the way the track starts to build up from there is beautiful.
THE CHORDS, MAN. THOSE CHORDS.
The mixing is pretty much perfect. That's not easy to achieve when there are so many instruments and atmospheres going on. Well done.
Regarding the structure, i think you've done a VERY good job. It sweeps from part to part like nothing. But I feel like the track could be rather shorter. Also, I don't like fadeouts for some reason, but it worked pretty well in this one. Props for that!
PS: i read all the text you wrote. I enjoyed it but give me cookie, now!

johnfn responds:

Thanks man, you have a lot of great points! I'm really glad that the mixing is working well! Seriously... that took SO LONG. And I was really happy about the chord progression - it uses some chords that aren't strictly part of the key, which seems like it shouldn't work, but for some reason it does!

You're right about the length too - what ended up happening is I wrote some really great transitions that needed a place to go in the song, so I had to extend it a little. Kinda silly, I should learn to make songs that have transitions, not transitions that have songs xD.

I'm glad the fadeout is getting some counter-support >:D

Again thanks for the review - it's full of great points that I'll definitely keep in mind when writing future pieces!

P.S. I am way impressed by how everyone is reading that stuff haha. Cookie incoming. [ COOKIE ]

P.P.S After listening to your song some more I have deduced it's probably my favorite of the round. I wish I could edit reviews...

[Old Demo Crap]

Really enjoyed listening to this. Very inspiring!
I especially liked Lounge and Fullfilled . You should finish those. And Rifle Riot of course, as Omegeist mentioned.
Great work as always, Antiskill!

YakovlevArt responds:

Haha, thanks man!
But the hope is not for me to finish it...lol =]

[Cthulhu Surfaces]

Interesting ideas. I really like the song's structure. Great job.
I would suggest less bass/low frequencies at some parts (especially at the beginning)
Also, there a few clipping parts here and there. The melodies are really great though.
Lovely piece of work. Good luck phoamz!

headphoamz responds:

Ah thanks garlagan! Glad you enjoyed, thanks for the feedback! Good luck to you, as well! ^_^

[substructure]

Nice! Sounds really clean. The intro is outstanding. Then it's lacking a little bit of loudness on the drums imo (but it's minimal). Length is pretty much perfect. Listened to it many times and really enjoyed it.
Keep it up man!

johnfn responds:

Thanks man! I will be sure to properly louderize my drums in my future tracks :-)

[Brolo]

Interesting track. There's a lot going on, and I like that. It would go pretty well in a Mario game (hopefully you take this as a compliment, i would : P) Didn't expect what happened in the end, nice one. I think it needs more amplitude on the mid frequencies though.
Keep it up Mawnz

Mawnz responds:

Thanks a lot man! I agree regarding the frequencies :p I've got a long way to go regarding mixing and stuff. I love Mario so that's of course a compliment :D
Thanks again, good luck mate!

[Hard to Decide]

Reminds a little bit of Daft Punk's work for TRON
I'm digging the chord progression. Pretty cool
The kick isn't really my cup of tea, though i think it goes pretty well with this tune.
And the sidechain makes the strings sound a bit weird at times, or maybe it's the compression. I don't know.
Anyway, i like it. Keep it up Deshiel ! c:

DESHIEL responds:

Thanks for pointing these things out, I had no clue.

[Grand Masters (Chillstep)]

Great work. Really chill tune man.
Would love a little more presence on the kick, but that's down to preference. And I can hear it goes harder gradually, that's a pretty cool idea.
The voices add so much to the track. Great use of them. And i love how all the instruments together make a nice catchy melody.
The mix sounds really clean and pleasant. I love that.
And the mastering would be a 10 from me if it was a little bit louder (again, preference).
Overall 9/10. 5'd and faved

YakovlevArt responds:

Much appreciated. I never expected to make a track like this, but that's why it's good to collab sometimes.
I do agree, the vocals are what made me want to make the track in the first place.
Glad you liked it.
Thanks!

[Wings]

Very nice track : D
It starts with a great intro and I like how it jumps directly to the main part.
The synths are really cool, and pretty unique.
The melodies are great, and overall the track sounds excellent. Kick needs more bass though.
Also, when the piano goes alone it clips a lot. You could fix this by lowing its volume a little bit in those parts.
And lastly, the difference of bpm between the outro and its previous part should be less noticeable imo.
Keep it up, Keegs !

Keegs responds:

Thanks for the review!!!

I have so many problems with the piano soundfont I currently have, you don't even know xD I'm getting EWQL Silver at the end of the summer so I am pretty much holding out for that! xD

The outro was supposed to disregard tempo and slow the song way down to that final chord. I think I made it drop from 140 to 60 during that last piano interlude. I'll keep in mind that it's throwing some people off. :)

Thanks for the awesome review!

-Keegs