Bezman's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Tetris'd]

Fun to hear. But doesn't stand apart enough.

When this came up on NGAP, I had no idea what it was at the start, with the deep rumbling synth. (I thought it was just another dance tune!)

I like the vibration that starts at 0:12.

The beats are cool, though I felt maybe you could have had a few rolls or cymbals here or there. Also, I personally find the way you hit on the off-beats can be cool, but when done constantly throughout the tune, it gets annoying.

I liked the way you started with the slow melody (rather than the better-known fast part) and dropped it in with the bell-type sounds. I like those bell-y sounds. Glad you kept them for a while.

The main instrument you end up with sounds kinda like a bit organ! I do like the way you switch instruments, and the sorta glitchiness that really kicks in shortly after the 2-min mark gives it a bit of a unique sound. Just the way that the held notes kinda switch off-on for tiny moments, as if all the instruments are different radios and one of them's starting to break up. That gives it a fresh sound.

==
Fun to hear. I'd have personally preferred it if you'd done more with it, messed around more, deviated more, maybe experimented more with the breaking-up thing...

It doesn't really stand out enough from all the other Tetris tunes... but it's still fun to hear.

Qwertyuiopasd responds:

Thanks! I'm still exloring and expanding what I can do with FL. I wanted to do more with the perc on this, and I might do some more... expect a more different (s) tetris "remix" in a few days...

~Qwerty

[Riddikulus!]

perfect for a mid-tempo puzzler or light platforme

That's awesome!

The guitar-banjo-ish riff sorta sits half-way between a light country riff and some sorta Bollywood dance tune.

The constant beats are great and I liked the little instrumental rhythm. No idea what that instrument is.

The yelling of children is great to hear! I kinda thought that it would get a bit irritating after a while, but it actually loops brilliantly and stays awesome.

This'd be totally perfect for either some semi-relaxed puzzle game (with time limits, but a greater focus on thought than the time limits) or maybe a level of the 1D platformer I'm planning on.

Children dancing, banjo player prancing around, avoid his feet... Or maybe little blobs...

[b00ya Deux]

identical to #1...

Seems identical to the other one, which was also working.

I'm slightly confused. Was it previously broken or something?

AlphaMax responds:

uhh... not really, but I thought it was because it took so long to play when the 'listen' button was pressed.
good job. my secrets out.

[Yumbo-Yak_Beat boxin']

fun to listen to, but not enough to really get me

I liked the combo of everything you've got here.

The beat-boxing sounded good, though a tiny bit rough. I mean the beats could've been a tiny bit more 'pronounce', yaknow?

When the drums came in, that complemented it well.

I really liked the children's voices. I'd have maybe preferred it if it was laughing rather than a sorta distorted half-way point between laughing and crying as you've got here.

The melody was cool to listen to.

Everything here was tight, but I'd have liked a bit more going on personally - maybe if you kept up the beatboxing throughout, added another couple of instrumental tracks...

==
fun to listen to, but not enough to really get me going.

Yumbo-Yak responds:

i don't know y but da tracks i make with vocals always end up not coming to par with what it needs to be...
at any rate, i've pretty much given rappin' up. I'm not a rapper, i make music...like jazze phae, i'll throw my voice in there, but for tha most part i'll just stick to da beats.

[Better Off Alone {Sylacone}]

I'm looking forward to hearing it when it's fini

Despite a fairly repetitive melody, this manages to stay fairly fresh and diverse.

I like the way you bring in, then double up on, the beats at the start.

The way you put slight emphasis on some of the notes of the melody is cool - I reckon you could/should maybe play with that more.

Nice cymbal sounds.

I really liked the high-pitched light keyboardy melody at around 1:46.

The slight variation on the melody at around 2:36 was cool.

There are a few times when I felt you maybe could/should've introduced a new twist a bit sooner, maybe put in a bit more variation. That's my only criticism. Yeah, it's a nice remix and cool for the type of music, but I'm just the kinda guy that thinks if you can, you should keep it always fresh and avoid playing the exact same thing twice in a row unless there's a real reason.

Maybe bringing up the volume of the background resonating notes a bit, playing with the highlighting of some notes...

==
Good to listen to, and I'm looking forward to hearing it when it's finished. You did well with this.

Sylacone responds:

Well... it is supposed to be finished... but if you want me to redo it I'll gladly do so. I like this song alot so doing that wont be a problem considering i got new talent over the time i didnt have a computer.

[Oasis Serenity 2025]

could be on one of Enigma's albums!

Really reminds me of some of Enigma's tracks.

I love the cricket sounds in the background and the melody itself (played with the flutey instrument, starting around 1:23) is great; peaceful, yet driving - specially when you bring it back for the end.

The beats are cool. It'd be nice if they were a proper instrument, rather than just a loop though.

I really like the slow melody and wind-noises at the start, before the real beats start.

I enjoyed the pauses and all the instruments have that sorta 'tribal' quality.

The whole thing is brilliantly produced and this honestly wouldn't be out of place on one of Enigma's albums!

TheOrichalcon responds:

Enigma is one of my favourite music projects. I'd be lying if I said it didn't inspire my music. Glad you enjoyed it.

[dj_padman - sunswept]

Lovely, intriguing. somewhat unsuitable for games.

Enjoyed this a few times.

Definitely got an original vibe. The sorta erratic beats (with extra layers of beats kinda mixing it up, adding complexity and making so the beats aren't really 'clear cut') kinda put me on edge at first.

The odd tempo and the mellow sounds of the melody really contrasted and made it sound fresh.

The more I listened (with the song on repeat), the more I got used to the beats and enjoyed the melodies.

It took me a fair few listens to wrap my head around it all - so much going on and there always seems to be something more to unravel.

I really love the way everything 'echoes'. The melody you start with the sax(?) at the start is great and the synthy-flutey melodies you bring into the lead around the 1min mark are lovely. There's a real sense of progression and whilst the start and end are quite similar, there's a good bit of digression.

My favourite part is within 20s of the end - when you bring it all down, but then have that glorious sound and bring the volume back for a bit.

My only regret is that it's not a loop and its length, filesize and lack of perfect loopage sets it back a bit.

==
Wonderful to listen to.

Question: have you made any loops, for use in games? Any similar in sounds to this?

This is a beautiful sound and could be perfect for some laid back puzzle game, perhaps with pastel colours. Or a simple game about swimming, perhaps where losses are rare or impossible.

[Pixel Dessert]

Well made. Sense of speed. But dodgy loop.

Unlike 'Dark Sub Woofer', which I'd rate 9 or 10 in terms of looping, I'd give this an 8 at most - there's a bit of a gap. Not so much that it's unusable, but definitely enough to make it a bit of a distraction. Also, the way it's slow for a few bars before speeding up doesn't help its cause at all.

I do like the lead melody - enough variation to keep it interesting, whilst enough repetition to keep it in the bg.

When the faster beats come in around 0:28, that's cool. I also like your 'whooooooooooo' around 0:40.

Definitely a melody-led 'loop', this has a good sense of speed. It reminds me of flying over a desert, or maybe high above some forest.

==
Apart from the slightly annoying loop, it's really tightly produced. Fun to listen to.

[Dark Sub Woofer]

aggressive & high-energy. Ideal for some shooter.

Really cool.

Though you kinda slow it down for the end, it loops practically flawlessly.

The constancy of the beat gives it a real energy and I like that you only drop it for one bar.

The high-modulating instrument for 0:06 to 0:17 sounds wild! The higher pitched melody that then comes in kinda echoes the bass-melody well.

There maybe as much going on here as I'd like, but for a high-tempo simplistic shooter, this would be perfect. Maybe for just one level, to be played for a few minutes.

Or maybe even a beat'em up. It could be ideal for a boss tune in a 2D horizontally shooter, if the boss was a big robotic wasp with a lion's head, sharp teeth and big arms, with which it'd try punching you. Its long range attacks would consist of shooting stings or charging at you. You'd be playing some sort of anthropomorphised giraffe. You'd be following this bee through some sort of a tunnel, avoiding the obstacles on the mine-cart tracks, whilst you tried to keep up.

==
Anyway, great loop. I'm not normally one to make shooters but if I ever do so, I'll check back on this.

mooseymaniac responds:

Wow! Nice review... I like nice reviews.
This song definatly holds a certain african plain feel to it because of the digereedoo sounding thing that dominates.

If you wanna use this in a game go ahead, it would make good boss music. Thanx for the review.

[jesus parody]

My only real criticism is its own limited nature.

What are you parodying?

I really like all the sounds. How many tracks is this made up of? Specially at the start, there's a lot of cool stuff going on at the start.

I like the whole vibe - yeah, it's just a silly song, but there's a nice 'feel' to it, with the background voices and guitars giving it all a kinda relaxing feel.

Also, it made me chuckle the first couple of times I listened.

My only real criticism is its own limited nature.

I suppose I could also criticise the fe mic pops near the start, after 0:20 and also when you laugh. But for me, that almost adds to the mood.