etherealwinds's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-Jumper 2-]

This gave me Street Racer vibes (anyone remember that game from the Sega Megadrive?) - really enjoyed it!

[A Natural Conflict]

Welcome to Newgrounds! This is super nice :)

FBole responds:

Thank you !

[Chant Of The Lone Wolf]

This is really nice!

[Hemiptera]

I love stuff like this. It's really beautiful! Reminds me of whale song underwater, or travelling through space!

Mich responds:

Thanks, glad you like it!

[Snowbirds]

This is lovely! :)

[Genesis]

I love the little hints of Celtic inspiration in the melody - really gives it that old RPG feel. The percussion isn't what I'd expect, but fits nicely and that driving bass is really nice. Love the part at 48 seconds! This song doesn't tire and definitely takes me back to my days of playing Sega Megadrive!

[At the Ends of the Earth]

This is one of my favourite compositions of yours. Your songwriting/composing is always really incredible. I don't know many that can write as well as you do. As always, the lyrics are amazing.

In terms of the vocal performance, I think some parts are really great, and some other parts seem unstable. I know that you're going for the fragile dynamic that doesn't always call for a straight tone, but I think it takes a lot of control and attention to detail to really get the right balance between performing emotionally but also as pleasantly as possible.

For example, in the quiet verses, it does suit the part, but at the part at 1:38, because it's a rise in the composition and a swell of strength, the voice wavering between flat and sharp in my opinion isn't as effective as if you'd balance the delicate performance from the previous verses. When you sing 'you', in the 'can you hear me screaming', it literally shifts off the note of the melody four times in that short half a second and thus isn't as emotively powerful for me as a listener as it doesn't come across as intentional as it had in the quieter parts.

The part at 5:23 onwards vocally is really nice though! Those harmonies are really tightly performed and your breath support is really nice too. You sure can hold those notes well!

I really enjoy the choice of instrumentation and I love what you've done with the Celtic harp!

In terms of the mix, it's fairly clean and some of the instruments are mixed in nicely. Generally, I think the track could do with a bit of brightening in the mix. It all seems to be on the lower end of the frequency, which may be because you wanted a darker atmosphere, but it sort of makes the overall tone of the piece mixing-wise sound a bit dull. Almost like the difference between a pre-master and a mastered version of a track; when you switch back and forth between a pre-master and a mastered version of a track, so much is brought out in the master and it sounds like night and day. Did you master this track out of curiosity? :)

I hope you don't feel put down in any way by this review - a big part of what I enjoy about the NG review system is being able to impart constructive feedback! I wouldn't be where I am now without the honest opinions of those around me, and I'm ever-grateful for it. Your songwriting and composing is so top-notch, that I want to encourage the other aspects of the musicality to match that level! :) keep listening, and practising!

As always, it's a pleasure to listen to and an instant fav from me :)

Troisnyx responds:

Eeee, thorough as always -- I appreciate it. Thank you for taking the time with this one, and for the favourite. ^_^ And also for addressing the vocal weakness; even with the perfect pitch I may have course vocal control, but not finer vocal control it appears.

In response to your question: No, I didn't master this track. To be honest, I don't entirely know what mastering entails at this point, and I'm happy to let this be the start of my journey into it. I don't exactly know where to begin, and threads over on the audio forum, for instance, have overwhelmed me because it presupposes that people have an immediate understanding of what mastering is.

[Bonetrousle but its sung by Waluigi]

This trousles my bone

larrynachos responds:

good :3

[The Wizard's Grimoire]

One of my favourites of yours. This is great!

ChronoNomad responds:

You are far too kind, my friend. I am honored that you like it so much.