nyxl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM - Clouds]

Really like the atmosphere in this piece. The arrangement works well, not too experimental, but it keeps things interesting. The piano is great, and the different arpeggio layers work together extremely well.
I feel like the kick a bit overpowering in the mix. Also, the second half doesn't really introduce any new elements except for some piano embellishments.
Great work overall! :)

[AIM - Moments In Life]

Captures the feeling from the picture very well, I especially like the first half with the hopeful piano arpeggios and the interplaying lines of woodwinds and strings.
The second half feels a bit rushed, the piano in the middle part seems a bit aimless, and I don't really like the string unisono in the last part, which is also kind of following the piano... I feel like in this part, the strings could evolve into some nice chords and countermelodies.

AceMantra responds:

Hey! I haven't seen you in awhile. Good to see you.

Thank you for the review. I will admit, the second half was rushed a tad. I'll take your advice into consideration when I work on my next piece.

Thanks again.

[▩harmonograph]

I like the bouncy chords in the beginning, very cool! Especially the drums could be mixed a bit better in my opinion and somehow the elements do not really fit together that well as the track progresses.
I think there are some great elements in here, the challenge would be to put them together to form a cohesive track.

[FD - Where Did the Time Go]

Ah, yes I was immediately wowed by the pitchy rhythmic elements when I first listened to this. The crackling in the background fits nicely and I really like the atmosphere. To me, it feels uneasy without sounding like a horror movie, and the beat grounds the piece. My only critique could be that not much happens in the arrangement, but maybe that's exactly the point. I could well imagine this track in a dystopian game level playing on endless loop, setting the atmosphere without getting annoying or boring.

ForgottenDawn responds:

Thanks for your input! 🙏

[Débonnaire Inc.]

Really great vibe going on here. I love the combination of genres, and how the filtered drums drive the track forward. The other elements are also well executed and fitting.
One small thing I noticed it that some of the high percussion in the beginning sounds very dry to me, like there is (almost?) no reverb on them, which made them stick out a little too much for my taste.
Also, I feel like this song would deserve some more development, but of course the deadline doesn't always allow for that.

[Giš Eren Giš Tir - (In The Dark Cedar Forest, Humbaba Sleeps)]

Lovely intro that draws you in, a bit uneasy but pleasing to listen to. Everything really fits together nicely and over the course of the almost 6 minutes the same elements reappear, but it doesn't get boring. A great arrangement of several quite strange melodies and sounds.
The mixing is done really well, so that even with this combination of elements, nothing fells out of place. If I had one critique, I think that some elements could be mixed a bit "tighter", maybe reducing their low end and making them a bit louder and "shine", such as the distorted sound coming in at 3:33 and repeating a few times, or the chords at 2:15, which are a bit too quiet for my taste. But in this genre, I get that this is a tough line to walk, as the effect that I dislike here might be exactly what you intended.
Great work all in all!

[L'arrogantissime marquis Daru-Beaumont De Proutampré]

This is a great idea, but too short as a complete piece in my opinion. I think the style is very interesting and captured well, now I would like to hear some more development. The question-and-answer style of the violin and cello is also really nice.
There are some timing issues which are quite obvious in this kind of style, when the short notes do not match the timing of the melody - this makes it sound quite unnatural to me, because real musicians would make sure that they hit certain points in the piece together.

Daru925 responds:

Thanks, i must say, i tried not to be too much on the grid, but i probably overdid it.
If it was electronic music, i would have spotted the timing inconsistencies, but not quite the case yet, with instruments i'm still discovering.
So thanks a lot for the pointers!

[Journey deep into the ijskast]

This has a nice retro "dungeon" vibe to it, the chosen sounds and arrangement fit the mood really well. I would have liked to hear some melody in addition to the arpeggiated chords, and I think that the drums in the second half have too much variation, which felt a bit out of place to me. Just repeating the pattern from 1:04 to 1:10 (maybe with some very minor modifications) would work better in my opinion.

[FD - Imminent Peril]

Great subtle buildup and I really like the more ambient effects at the end. The harmony is alos really interesting and unsettling and the elements that come in enhance the mood very well. I think the mix gets a bit muddy when the bass comes in around 1:45, but that's only a minor issue.

[(NGAIC Layer 2) THE PROJECT (unfinished)]

Really nice ideas, the synths sound very fat. I'd be curious to hear how you develop the track, introduce new ideas and reintroduce old ideas. For example the rhythm at the beginning, which then just seemed to disappear? The anvil sound is a great choice, it works well here, though I wonder if it could be lowered by a few dB and still have the same impact.

lilyyan responds:

Honestly, I think some of the synths could use some work. And yes, I did have a second section planned out (not really with the rhythm at the start, though). As for the anvil sound you're probably right in that it probably is mixed a little too loud. Anyways, thanks for the review!