Oakwood's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Running Through Summer]

I was absolutely certain I had written a review for this track yesterday, no idea where it went...

Anyway, brilliant track mate! I'm in love with the cheerful setting here ^^ The synths are very well chosen, the drums are perfect and I also really like the gated white noise in the background :)
If I were you I would've added some more reverb or release to the piano at 0:14. It sounds kind of dull right now, even though it's one of the instruments that leads to the main section! Also, I totally would've loved a big climax at the end with a much more present drum track, but I can understand it if that's not what you were aiming for ;)
Last but not least, the track ends kind of abruptly, since there's absolutely no telling the song is going to end at that point. Some kind of build-up to the end would be nice!

4 Stars

- LiquidOoze

LawnReality responds:

Thank you! :D I appreciate the review. This was kind of my first attempt at making happy synth music. Also, I knew the piano sounded a bit dry, but I couldn't figure out what it needed! Don't know how I didn't think of reverb. :P

[Vivid]

Nice trance track man! When I was making trance I was just starting music production, this stuff is so much better xD
The intro is really good! It's amazing what you can do with a simple square wave. The beat is also really solid and the bassline is really powerful and yet not overdriving. I'm not sure about the small clap you use every now and then (first noticable around 0:46), it doesn't really match with the rest of the beat in my opinion.
The breakdown at 1:02 starts of with a really sweet impact followed by a nice violin melody that reminds me of the Braveheart theme somehow, and the synths go along with it pretty well. The filtered kick at 1:30 should be turned down a bit, it's kind of overwhelming because of all those bass frequencies suddenly getting more space because of the missing higher frequencies. ;)
I do like how you brought in the bass during the build-up, and the drop afterwards was amazing as well! The piano could've been toned down a bit though, and it could also use some stereo separation I believe. I love how you brought back the violin here too!

In short, a true masterpiece with some minor flaws. Keep up the good work!

4 Stars

- LiquidOoze

DigohD responds:

Thanks man. Always fun to receive such a well formulated, and thought-out, review. Much appreciated :)

[Float On]

Wow, brilliant! This is so relaxing and easy to listen to, lovely to hear something like this from a new music artist :)
It's actually a really simple track, but because of the different synths you used it really gets a lot more variation. Don't get too repetitive though: after the break you maybe should've added a little more effects or maybe an extra synth to get some more variety in there.
Other than that I really have nothing to complain about. You're beat is really steady and rolls really nicely (something you also do in your other song, I like that), the pads set a really atmospheric tone and give the track a really 'breathing' feel. It's truly a good piece for somebody who just started making music.

I'm scouting you for the Audio Portal because more people should be hearing this! ;)

Keep it up! And send me a message when you've finished the EP, I'd like to hear the final result!

4,5 Stars

- LiquidOoze

thetastate responds:

Thanks! I really appreciate all of the feedback. Repetiveness is my worst problem and definitely need to work on it lol. I'm glad you liked it though!

[Shake it off!]

Considerably good for a first dance track! :)

I really liked the synth you used in the beginning! Nice progression, the ping-pong delay worked really well. The claps could use some more highs in my opinion, and maybe a slight reverb.
The bass synth coming in at 0:30 sounds good, but because it's syncopation is slightly different from the lead it doesn't really match with the rhythm. Also some notes seem to be slightly off-key. But the sound of it is really nice!
It's kinda weird how you take away the percussion at 0:45. I guess this was supposed to add to the buidl-up, but it's a bit to spontaneous and probably would sound better with a crash symbol or a white noise hit. The build-up itself is also kind of empty.
The drop, on the other hand, is pretty good considering the build-up isn't very present. The kick could stand out a little more though, but the beat is pretty solid. I like how you gated the synth at 1:30, good variation :)
The breakdown was simple, but it worked really well! Nothing to say about that.
The ending is really abrupt, which is too bad. A little fade-out would've been nice.

Overall this track is not bad, but it needs attention at some points, try to work on that! ;)
I listened to your other tracks and believe that you're talented enough to be scouted for the Audio Portal, congratulations!

3,5 Stars

- LiquidOoze

Lordmau5 responds:

Thanks for the feedback, dude! Didn't expect to get 5 stars at one of my first tracks anyway, but 3.5? I'm DAMN happy with that :)

Glad you enjoyed it, even though it's not perfect.
I will definitely keep the things you mentioned in mind for the next one I'm doing.
And yes, the ending isn't perfect either - I was thinking about some kindof fade-out, but couldn't do a proper one...

~ Lordmau5.

[Seventh chord fancy in Cm]

Wow, really nice job! The whole song is really groovy and the beat is steady as hell! I love the brass instruments and the organ you combined with it, and I really like how almost every instrument gets its own solo. :)
I really have no big complains. At 1:24 you have some sort of pause in your song, which was a wise thing to do, but I feel like the drums are a bit too random here, they kinda make you lose the rhythm to the song. Also, it would've been nice if at the end an instrument we hadn't heard yet came in, but the outro you've got right now is fine as well!

I'm totally in love with the outstanding sax (I think it is?) at 0:42 :p

8 S=stars for you, keep going like this!

- LiquidOoze

Vierarmig responds:

Thank you for analyzing! Regarding 1:24, this moment was made intentionally to remove the feeling of up beat. As the harmony denies the tonic, so the rythm denies up beat and makes an accent on down beat. I play drums for 14 years and do not have random parts. Perhaps, if you listen to the track more times, it will sound for you more usual. There are other seventh chord fancies in my audios. It would be very interesting to know your opinion on these ones as well.

[gone.91]

I guess this is not so bad, but let's be honest: you too a preset pad from the FL Studio library and pitched it around a bit. That's not really hard to do. I have to admit that this song does what it has to do, which is creating a scary and depressing ambience, but it would be nice to see you creating your own sounds instead of only using the ones that are directly available from the program you're using.

Six stars for the effort. Try to put some more work in making your own sounds the next time, I promise you that this has a lot more possibilities when it comes to creating songs. :)

- LiquidOoze

Komorikiri responds:

Thank you for the constructive criticism I will try to work on it.

[City Scape (Vocal)]

I like the progression, it's really chill and dancable. :) However it needs a lot of fixing.

First of all, there's this loud, short beep at 0:02, sounds like an automation clip that peaks for a split second. This will probably make every listener go like 'what' and immediatly lose focus of the track.

The vocals are really nice, although they could use some better mixing. The synths used together with them are very well-chosen, but there's a great issue going on here...the syncopation of the synths totally mismatches the syncopation of the vocals. It's really, really disturbing, honestly. I get the idea, I really do, but it just doesn't fit together...

At the 1:05 mark you start your build-up, which sounds really good, but the vocals are really weak here. You should've tuned down the synths here to still make the vocals stand out. The drop itself is really great, but needs more of an impact, like a cymbal or a white noise hit. Also I think the bass is a tad loud.

This track has quite some potential, but there are some things that you should think of next time you make a track like this. :)

3.5 Stars

- LiquidOoze

EctiBot responds:

thanks for the good review :). As for the "beep" sound at the beginning, I actually put that there on purpose, though I understand that it might not have been a good idea X3.
I understand what you mean about the syncopation as well. Had the same issue with it. If I were actually able to collab with a singer instead of only having an accapella to work with, there's alot of things I would change to make it better fit to the music.

I'm a bit of a basshead, so can't really say that I feel like the bass is too loud, though I understand why it might not be appealing to everyone.
Don't really like the sound of cymbal hits, but I think you're right that a whitenoise hit would sound good when the drop hits.

Thx again for the detailed review :). Glad you thought the track had potential :D.
-Ectisity

[Determine]

Whew, this thing blew me away, man! It's so freaking powerful. Really experimental indeed, but everything just fits together, the synths, the guitar, the beat... It's a wonderful piece, my friend!

There are still some minor flaws, though. The beat coming in at 0:37 is perfect, it's really energetic and creates a perfect build-up to the drop at 1:00. However the snare in that particular beat has this strange tone over it. Sounds like a tom hit or something, I can't really describe it...but it's kind of annoying. It doesn't occur after the drop though.
The drop itself is pretty cool, but I feel like the kick could use some more punch. The snare it's really powerful here, compression put to good use, but the kick falls behind in my opinion. Also I believe this section could use some more subbass. The kick and the growling synths provide some of it and if I'm not mistaken there's also an occasional sinus wave playing here and there, but overall the lower frequencies are missing here I think.

MOTHERFUCKING PROPS for the breakdown at 2:24 and the drop that comes afterwards. The vocals are awesome, and the dubstep beat is freakin' great! TAnd like I said, I love the breakdown, also with a low vocal and a sweet drum roll. It also really shows that a simple effect (Fruity Love Philter preset *wink*) can still have a lot of effect on the whole track.
For some reason this part of the track actually does contain a good amount of bass, good job on that. Kick is still a bit weak though. I hoenstly wish this part was longer, but it's still a great way to finish of this masterpiece.

4,5 stars for you, and I'm definately scouting you because I believe everybody should hear the great stuff you make. Keep it up!

- LiquidOoze

TheHumanoidDrifter responds:

Thank you so much for this ^^ its been a while since i got any good critique. And I like how how specific you describe it all. I was thinking the same thing about the kick as well. Makes me wanna try harder now :)

[Darkfire]

Well this is something you don't hear everyday, especially on Newgrounds :p
Lovely electro track man! Actually quite slow (120BPM?) for an electro track, but it still rocks. The beat, breakdown and synths sounds awesome, and the vocal makes the drop so much heavier, it's awesome! :)
Some minor flaws: at 0:18 you gradually pitch down that little saw synth in the background, and it really clashes with piano. I'm not really sure about that, you might wanna edit that. Also the ride cymbal on top of your kick...I dunno, it doesn't really fit the track in my honest opinion.

Apart from that this track is an absolute banger! Going to my favorites for sure. :)

4,5 stars

- LiquidOoze

P.S.: notify me when the album comes out! ;)

CrusadeOfficial responds:

It's actually even slower than that! It's 110 bpm, and yeah, the clashing is from the piano pitching up, and the synth pitching down. I'll figure something out with other tracks. The ride over the kick is to add a little more treble, I'm also unsure about it. I might figure something else out for it. I dunno lol.

Thanks for the review! :)
And sure, once I complete the album, I'll let you know ;)

[track - 76]

Very interesting progression man! I really love all the synths you used, and the delay and reverb you added gave this track a really cool ambient feel. Great job on that!
A small downside is the overall loudness. The kick is fine in the beginning, but halfway and further there's so much going on that the synths just overwhelm the kick, causing it to be barely audible. I'm pretty sure turning up the kick would be a bad idea because this would cause a lot of distortion, so if you're ever thinking of making an edit, turn down some of the synths to make the kick stand out more.
Also, the rhythm is really hard to determine, and that's kind of annoying. Your snare and kick have this irregular pattern, which is basically fine, but it's too complex to figure out the tempo of this track. Later on you add hihats, but that didn't make it any easier. Irregular rhythms are okay, as long as you still have something that helps you detect the tempo.

Overall it's still a great track. 4 stars for you!

- LiquidOoze

OPFX responds:

I understand what your saying about the mix, I use my super hearing to pick my instruments ensuring the mix is balanced with all synths and percussion to naturally mesh with each other.

As far as rhythm, all instruments fit into the framework.