Soapbubble's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Rocks On The Step MD2011]

Meh

I'm no fan of derpstep. This doesn't feel like the kind of dubstep I'm used to, but it certainly doesn't float my boat.

That aside, it's not a bad track. It's somewhat original, considering that a lot of the music in this "genre" is quite similar.

This is a bit messy, though. I know it's a goal to make it sick, heavy, fast-pacer, energetic and intense, but you've gone just a bit overboard with it here, and it feels somewhat tiring to listen to it. The synths are good, but the drums are very repetitive, and I can't hear any substantial amounts of differenc ein the way it plays throughout the track.

That goes, for that matter, for the synths as well, they're very similar throughout, with little variation. The synths are good, though, so that's always something.

In spite of the lack of variation, it doesn't feel too repetitive until the third listen or so, I guess. I only listened through twice, and I got tired rather fast, probably because I'm not fan of this kind of music. Outro is pretty good, might drag on for just a bit too long, but it's a nice way to end it, just cutting it off like that.

Review Request Club

[Amphoriskos Agape]

Shows promise

The track really shows promise, but as it goes on right now, it just feels repetitive and lacking in some departments.

First impression from the intro was pretty good, I liked the sounds you'd used, but the melody that then joined in just sounded very generic and unoriginal.

It's quite clear that it's a WIP. Biggest issue to me is the lack of... sounds. In general, there's mostly the bass, melody, and a really, really lazy and unoriginal drumline going, that might just be the most over-used drumline in the history of drumlines. Try to experiment some more with that.

In general you'll need more variation, and some more layers of sound, be it melodic synths, ambient synths, or general atmospheric sfx to sprite up the track a bit.

Review Request Club

[KzX - Severed Thoughts]

A bit shallow

Really interesting piece here. Not so fast-paced, which I can enjoy, and it certainly has those hardstyle influences you've mentioned, even though it still can be defined as a dubstep track.

The intro is really, really good. Has a very nice buildup to the track with a great insight on what's to come.

The rhythmics are good, though maybe a bit repetitive. Either way, the samples you've used are pretty damn good, has an absolutely perfect audio quality to them.

The drop around 4.10 was really, really sick. Loved it, it still has that somewhat relaxed feel to it, while being pretty "dirty", in lack of a better word to describe it. some great bass synths, and a really good melody makes it a good track. However, it is a bit shallow, and could've done with some more layers. There is just a bit too little going on with the tracks, some more melodic or ambient synths would be nice.

Review Request Club

[I Like It Black]

Minimalistic-esque

Pretty impressive and definitely an original track. A tad repetitive, though, which ruins it a bit for me.

The issue a lot of people probably will have with this track is that it's one of the more minimalistic dubstep tracks, with a simple drop and laidback wubs. Laidback and slowed down dubstep is, IMO, the best kind of dubstep. instead of getting that intense and "dirty" track, you'll get something that is easier on the ear. You can see from the score of this track that people don't like it when people make dubstep that isn't "FUCKING DIRTY MANG".

It's original in that it's something you wont hear too often. The mastering is pretty well done as well, production quality seems pretty solid and almost at a professional level, though the drop could've had some changes done to it, the bassline at least.

Samples are pretty good, and I feel they fit well with the feel of the track. Outro is a bit simple and dull, though, and the track does get quite repetitive, which is pretty annoying, considering the fact that the track is so short.

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Marfles responds:

Ah the score got 0 bombed. which looks horrible. Thank you!

[Mario Kart 64 -- Title (Remix)]

Ah, memories

I do like this song, and it's a pretty good rendition of it.

The organ-sounding main synth is pretty good, and it fits very well with the dreamy feel of the intro. Very smooth and laidback, not intense. Which I found weird, considering how insanely intense the races usually were.

A good attempt at this track. I'm not too sure about the rhythmics, they sound a bit off and don't fit too well with the main melodic instrument. The outro is a bit odd, I can't remember exactly how the original went, but it's a really odd fade-out. It's also a bit short, you could maybe try to loop it or just extend it, because I can't see to much effort put into this, considering it's really more of a remake than a remix, keeping all the basic elements of the original.

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Birdinator99 responds:

I was aiming to keep this one simple and short, just to focus on my mixing/mastering practice. When I listened to the original, I thought, "Hey, I like this, but I would just do a few things differently," and that's pretty much how it went. Not really a remix then, huh.

I didn't notice how sudden the fadeout was when I made it, but I now see that you're right -- pretty awkward. Ah well, I'll work on it for next time!

Thanks for the honest review!

[[Fiji] Buzzsaw (Dj Sonik]

None too shabby

Great beats in an overall well-executed house track.

The intro is pretty good, has a nice buildup, gives an all right taste of what's to come. The track itself does however take some time before it really gets going, and the first half of the track feels like just one big buildup for the rest. When the beat really kicks in and the house nature of the track is revealed, it's a pretty sick track, with good melodies and heavy beats.

My main issue is the repetitiveness of the track in general. Apart from the huge shift between the first and second half, it really is a lot of the same, and I got tired of it after two playthroughs of the full track.

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DreamEater responds:

I guess i can understand where you are coming from bro; I'm in the middle of one of those artistic stages where I'm really trying to focus on build-ups and dynamics... so sorry if some things are still sketchy. (I like to think I'm getting a hell of a lot closer to my ultimate goal "sound-wise")

As far as this mix goes though, I can understand why so many people dislike the build-up; the build is very gradual, But i can only hope to improve at stuff like this in the future right? ^^;

Thanks so much for taking the time to review my work Soapbubble, I really appreciate it!
You rock dude! :P

~Dj Sonik

[Lamentation by the Sea]

Holy wow

I am amazed that we've gotten a couple of requests for tracks as good as this for this week in the RRC. This is absolutely beautiful.

The composition is crisp, it's amazing. The track is laid out for all to hear, it is very atmospheric, very real and serene, with a perfect combination of instruments that really set a mood and tell a story to you. Quite the epic track, very grand and majestic.

To me the track feels like it would fit towards the end of a movie, during the closing scenes right after a major event has unfolded, where everything starts to settle down.

Excellent volume control, amazing mastering, I'm just honestly stunned at how beautiful this track is, and how you manage to tell this story. The flute that plays the melody is amazing, could possibly have some vibrato added for some parts. The strings, however, violins, is what makes this track for me, they're absolutely perfect. That said, rhythmics do their job as well.

Review Request Club

descara responds:

Thanks a lot! I must admit I was a little lazy with the woodwind patches.

[Zelda Soundtrack Style]

Uhm

Weeeell, main issue for me with this piece is the composition. it's not very good, and the track just feels like a jumbled mess at parts, with off-key synths and th elack of rhythmics.

The instruments you used don't really directly reflect the atmospheric feel of LoZ tracks, I'd expect more harps, and more ambient sounds. I appreciate that you used the sound of ocean in this piece, well incorporated.

I see it's a loop, and it loops just fine, but it gets highly repetitive, very fast. That's a big issue with loops, because they need to be interesting enough to be looped for a long time. More variation in the form of different instruments and melodies would do good.

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[Hype the Core (Silv3Ster Mix)]

Well

I can see where you're going with the completely DIFFERENT sound, but there are similarities, and no-one can deny that. I'm not gonna call this hardstyle though, I prefer this over that.

Considering how little I know of UK Hardcore, I'm not sure how accurate my review is, but I'll give it my best.

Som real good synths used, and the overall composition is really good, nice transitioning, nice intro and outro, and a properly structured track with nice amounts of variation, even though it's not really anything new and at times get a bit tiring to listen to.

The vocal sample is pretty neat, and you used it somewhat well, but I must say I got quite annoyed at it after a while. Goddamn yes I'm ready.
Your incorporation of different instruments, like the piano, is also quite interesting, something I can enjoy.

Biggest issue for me is, in spite of the amount of variation, the track still feels a bit repetitive, probably due to the fact that it's so long, and there are so many similarities between the different parts and sections, even though they might be altered slightly.

Review Request Club