SonicJ's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Animal Remix (DUB) WIP]

You have a really strong near - 5 rating for a reason. I have a some what limited listening of dubstep recently. I'm very familiar with the genre, but it has fallen out of my favor due to the lack of diversity I found out there in the main stream channels: Signed artists, youtube artists, and even some newgrounds artists. I noted mostly the same grime and saw set up of a song and lost interest. The music sounded great, just not unique.

Then I stumbled upon this song! (Well, it was in my feed.) This gives me a clean, relaxing , and unique take on the dubstep genre. First off I want to say, everything sounds very squeaky clean mixed. Now, despite dub and regge being similar at the core to dub step, I was pretty hard pressed to find a song that matched this kind of song. Bass is deep while keeping the buzz to a minimum, the introduction chords had a laid back reggae feel, and the pop-y 8-bit synth sounded "happy" inspiring. Lets not forget the warm pads heating up the air in the background! This song almost did an about face on the typical dub-step song and went for a happy, relaxed, "good mood" sort of feel . I'll admit, I don't have high hopes or expectations of finding music I'll like in the dubstep channel of the audio portal, but I can say with much satisfaction:

I loved this song. Please, finish it!

maer808 responds:

Thanks for that awesome review sonic! I honestly feel the same way about dubstep nowadays thats why I tried taking a stab at it. I'm almost done with the song, just one more day!

[Sequence WIP]

This sounds very good! Whatever mastering you did is making this track come in loud and clear while I enjoy the pop like synths you used. I'll be keeping an eye for the finished product!

Lockyn responds:

Thanks so much for the review! :D Will finish this one first. Cheers!

[Two Fold Shuffle]

I love Jet Grind Radio! That was one of my all time favorite video games due to it's amazing and varied sound track at the time. This song most certainly fits within the confines of jet skating and spraying cans. I have a playlist of music I feel would fit in the J.S.R universe and this song is most definitely added.

The radio tuning set the stage. The synth choice here is amazing. The percussion isn't too much in the foreground. The vocals are used sparingly and are just right for the theme. Kind of like putting a mint leaf on your ice cream. I've listened to this song 3 times so far, so will be listening to it a lot more. Good job, and thanks for the submission!

StaticBlu responds:

Thanks for the feedback. I think the song turned out so well because I was on an a Jet Set Radio kick when I made it (of course) so the influence was fresh in my mind. Glad you find my song worth coming back too.

[Battle Network Fight!]

I throughly enjoyed Megaman Battle network a lot when I discovered it. An RPG take on a collection of games that were known for the vast library of platform games that exist with the same name. This track would fit pretty well for a lower level boss fight, or a common fight in a specific environment.

The song has an old school sound to it. It certainly has the vibe of older megaman games as well. Although you had battle network in mind, I'm really thinking this would fit even better in a game like Megaman 8.

I haven't seen a lot of megaman inspired content lately, good job!

StaticBlu responds:

Thanks for the review. Yeah I felt that it could fit in an original Blue Bomber game myself. I might just go ahead and do a track for a hubworld and a cutscene just to see how it will turn out. Glad you enjoyed it.

[Cloudline WIP]

While it was a short song, it still delivered it's happy tone of dance. The mixing and mastering was certainly clear, and the volume choice for the kick was perfect. Sometimes less is more, and this is a great example of that. The kick is out of the way and yet maintains it's hold on the song. I liked the leads and synths used, good job!

Lockyn responds:

Thanks so much! I will definitely make it longer, stay posted :D

[hp_3.4]

I've never heard of the genre of New wave, so I looked it up. There are tons of genres and sub genres and you always find new ones with each submission! While my search has defined the genre new wave as a sub genre of rock, it really had a slight electronica feel too it. Maybe it could be the lead instruments final mastering, or the strange floating synths used. Either way, the outcome is great to listen to! Thanks for such a great, quality submission and new addition to my "Chillout" playlist. Great work!

dylanasinbob responds:

Thanks for the awesome review!

Definitely more to come in the future!

[Tomorrow]

You choice of synths gave the introduction a nice 80's feel. The drums followed a different direction, but didn't disappoint the outcome of the song! Sometimes varying lead notes and a bunch of instruments fighting for lead aren't necessary to make a good song good. This has a nice relaxing over tone that I ended up enjoying. Good work!

Avalon69 responds:

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[After Dark]

Few genres help relax the mind and calm the body better than Ambient. It's no easy genre to master however, and requires careful planing and work. You did an amazing job putting this track together, and I'm becoming more draw in as I continue to listen. Really future sounding synths you used in here to help set the mood of the song. The muted, ducked drums were a perfect choice of any attention grabbing smashing that would come from more heart racing genres.

I'm adding this to my Chillout playlist. Thanks for a good add! This is professional level stuff!

Rhoder responds:

thanks dude, this means a lot.

I just uploaded a new tune that might tinkle your fancy. :)

[Dreamscape of Nightmares]

Has a good lo-fi, haunting feel to it. This is very reminiscent to certain Megan x4 or X5 tracks which I haven't stopped enjoying for the last 10 or so years. I didn't expect this to be my favorite, but this is great.

zktaichou responds:

Thanks for the review!!! You've just made my day for me. I've waited for such a long time for the first post here. I haven't heard of Megan X4/X5 tracks before, maybe I'll go check em out later =) AND THANKS FOR SCOUTING ME <3

[Ecosystem]

This has a really good Andes feel. If you're not familiar, it's a region of people who make darn good pan flute, and other nice music. It makes me thing "perfect for a jungle scene". I would happily explore a 2D platformer to this song. 5/5!!

Step responds:

Awesome, thanks dude. I appreciate the feedback!