Kwing's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Paralysis]

This sounds really, really nice. I'm mostly impressed with the dynamics and the mood, which is really spot-on. If there's any issue with this piece, it would be that the tempo, mood, and energy all seem to pick up between the 1:25 mark and the end, and since that's really only about 20 seconds, that's not enough time for you to develop the idea you're playing with. It might have made more sense to make the entire piece more consistent or otherwise develop it into something longer so that the resolution could feel more comfortable.

[Until Then]

This is interesting, for sure. It's hip hop, but you've got melodies that span the whole track and prevent this from being one big sound loop. In that sense, this really is a fusion of jazz and hip hop, rather than hip hop sampling jazz. The thing that annoyed me a bit and got redundant fast was the rhythm (or lack thereof) of the piano chords. It's clear you put the most forethought into the saxophone, to the detriment of the other instruments (this is fine for drums since it is hip hop, but really shows with the same few chords over and over.)

acxle responds:

thanks for the notice!

[Palace of Tales and Memories]

While the sound quality, synergy between instruments, relaxing tone, etc. is all on point, the actual composition here is very simplistic. There's a LOT of stepwise motion and not a whole lot of skips, making some parts of the song sound almost like glorified scales. That said, I really dig the switch to 3/4 at 2:17.

350teric responds:

Thank you for the thorough review. The song is evidently simple (I would say minimal) yes, but with some concrete points to it. Point one - the song is a ballad developing into an anthem, (dedicated to a concrete individual) it contains personal themes and qualities that requires simplicity. Point two - simple things have a certain strength and firmness, the song aims to be clean and effortless (I made it in a day). Finally, point three - there are some serious stylistic decorations in the lead guitar melody and the accompanying chords are not that simple if you listen carefully. (Loved your response) Thanks again! :)

[lchavasse - Lunar Abyss (Ummabeats Remix)]

This was really cool. The layering of all the different tracks feels really good and organic, and as a single piece this feels very cohesive without being too redundant. The second half did feel a little underwhelming (not very different from the first) but still very nice. I especially liked the buildup to the drop at the 1:00 mark - interesting choice to modify every 4th note.

[[ Thunderstruck ]]

Considering this was done with FL Studio, this is damn impressive. As much as the actual composition, I'm completely in love with the blend of electronic, classical, and rock influences. There's lots of variety and progression here, and despite this being fairly long it maintains interest from start to finish.

The samples sound a little corny, but that's more than compensated for by the actual composition here. I would really love to hear this redone with better software, but this was a joy to listen to even as-is. There are plenty of shortcomings here - enough to mark the score down a lot - but there are just as many ways in which I feel like you went above and beyond to redeem those flaws. Kudos!

[Sodium]

As others have said, the drops are really underwhelming. But with that aside, the rest of this sounds kind of nice. The different tracks work well together and I generally liked the transitions. Melodically there's stuff to build anticipation, but you should really be using different sounds (and sound levels) to match the phrasing with the proper intensity so we can really feel the impact.

Walpang responds:

Thanks for the tip!

[Random Trap Track]

I would switch the genre to hip hop for sure. This is a cool little piece. I like the chill tone a lot. I didn't like the drum samples very much, but aside from that this was a really fun listen. You said it's only 7 tracks but I feel like each one served its purpose quite well.

Andethy responds:

thanks :D glad you liked

[NeroExpress - 2006 Style]

This could definitely work for some kind of fast-paced platformer. I like the energy, but some parts sound kind of messy, with the rhythm clashing between different instruments (esp. 1:20.)