MockOff's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Iron Helps Us Play]

Yeah, this definitely does sound like an anime opening. Almost reminds me of K-On! if only you had some guitar leads going on. I'm not sure what distorted instrument you have that comes in at about 0:41 but its tone is a bit hard on the ears.
The breakdown-ish part that starts at about the 2 minute part was probably my favorite. I really like the drums. My main problem with this song is that it doesn't really sound full. I'm not sure if its cause of the mix or what. I can somewhat hear a bass throughout the song but it sounds a bit more trebly than bassy, so maybe remix that part to help it fill out the song more.

[Schizophrenic Days]

I like the experimentation and whatnot but this just sounds more like experimenting than an actual song. I'm sure that is the point though. You do got some cool sounds in there though and it had some nice parts. Its just that it didn't really have any flow or anything and was completely random so I recommend working on that.

Blacklawn responds:

Thanks. I confess I was hardly trying to make anything coherent when I made this, haha... If you want something more coherent, the original track will work better.

[The Best Out (3 Verses)]

It was a decent song. I liked the beat but I think you should have changed it up a bit since it was the same thing the entire song and that gets kind of boring.

MDavidJohnson responds:

I agree, I wanted to, but I'd lost the FLP to it. Thanks for the review!

[Lucid Unrest]

Song is pretty chill. Vocals are nice, although seem a bit spotty at times. I really like the change at 1:05, when the drums and whatnot come in. The lyrics seem a tad teenager-y for my tastes though. Something about the song just doesn't feel complete though. I think if you added some low-bass to help fill out the low-end more it may help. I think if the song ended on a very high moment, with like the drums going strong it may have helped end it better.

[The Only Choice]

The mixing in this seems weird. Everything feels like its in the back and nothing is in the front standing out. Transition at the 0:40 mark was a bit odd. Are you playing guitar or did you program that? Nice playing if it was you. Drums could use some improvement too, they seemed rather random at times.
You have some good ideas, I like the main riff, but I think you need to work on your mixing skills so things sound clearer (I think that would help the most) and work on transitioning between sections a bit more as well.

Sielumetsien responds:

:-[ This is what I'm afraid of, those who write criticisms without knowledge on the subject they write.

Anyway, thank you for the attempt of writing good criticism.

[The Road Back Home]

The intro is pretty fun and playful. Kind of reminds me of Daft Punk a little bit. I like the little voices that are panning around in the background. I like the background synth that starts popping up around 1:35, although I wish it would be more prominent. It starts to get a bit more loud and in the main mix but it kind of just disappears as that is happening.

I know this is a techno song so maybe the complaint isn't valid for this genre, but I feel like you could use some more defined sections as the song kind of seems like one big phrase. I know you add some stuff here and there but it all feels like its part of the same section, ya know? It may have been because it seemed like the drums didn't really change much throughout. I know this is a techno song so like I said that may not be valid for the genre, but I thought I'd mention it. Good job otherwise.

idfpower responds:

Thanks for the feedback! Every opinion counts and it helps to hear a different perspective - after all, once published, regardless of music genre, a song is available to everyone; sometimes the critique coming from someone not familiar with that specific type of music can be even more valuable because he/she could spot things a regular connoisseur might overlook. Thanks again & good luck with your work!

[Pierce the Darkness]

I remember listening to this when deciding which person to vote for. I rather liked this piece, it was definitely an interesting take on the theme. The waltz is really fun and you managed to combine that with some cinematic-esque sounds to it. The song seems to flow pretty well too, only compliant I have is that the ending feels a tad underwhelming. Very good job.

bassfiddlejones responds:

Thanks for the review man. I definitely took a non-traditional approach this time around... glad you liked the piece!

[F-Infinity]

Intro kind of drags on, but that may just be personal preference. The song kind of reminds me of a slower paced sonic song for some reason. The percussion seems a tad generic but you said a friend of yours is redoing it so I won't go into detail. The sounds you have are nice, but it doesn't really go anywhere, it kind of just stays in one place the entire song except for the intro. So I recommend adding in some more sections to this to keep interesting. I suppose it could work as like a one time song in a game or something though.

AndrewRG responds:

Thank you for being objective. Agreed about the percussion - it was literally written in a couple minutes with FL Studio's default instruments - and definitely needs redone. I also know what you're saying about it not going anywhere - in no small part due to the fact that there are no recurring melodic elements; no verses. I agree that more sections would help - specifically, choruses and a bridge section. Thanks again.

[Sundans - The Observer]

Oh wow, was not expecting this when the genre said dubstep, this is much more chill. Kind of reminds me of XXYYXX, which you can take as a compliment :P I don't really like the water-y sounding bass you have dropping here and there throughout the song but I guess that is the dubstep element of it? The vocals are really nice and help with the relaxing feel of the song. Along with the water-y bass, the only other complaint I have is that there isn't too much variation for a almost 5 minute long song, but that could be intentional to help build a chill mood.
Good stuff!

Sundans responds:

Thank you for the compliment! Ah, the glitched reese basses. When we produced this track, we were heavily influenced by Koan Sound and Koven, so we were (and still kind of are) digging the reese-y sort of modulated bass. Sorry you didn't like it! ^^'

As for the repetition, we were reluctant to change too much of it for fear of breaking the sort of immersion one might get from the lyrics. Then again, we did sacrifice a lot of variety for the track which we kind of regret.

Thanks for the review!

[Russkaya Mafiya]

A bit middle eastern sounding, I like it. Sounds like it could be used in a pretty dramatic heist type movie scene. I like the orchestra strings that come and go throughout the piece. Not sure how I feel about the drum tones, but I think it works here well. Only suggestion I have is maybe add in some lower bass sounding stuff to help fill out the overall sound.