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.

[Zafrece-Skydive(Deleted)]

This is different that what we normally hear of high production audio on the AP. A lot of people go for a traditional and mainstream sound , for their respective genres. Dance is no different. This song has a sound that would fit in well with certain Ps1 titles and could be great in certain platformers! Nice touch adding the imagery to your description! It really is a shame you might be able to finish this project, but I enjoyed what you pinned up so far. I have to say, for an un-mastered track, it still sounds good!

[Sums]

I'll admit, I didn't listen to the whole song.. before I added this to my favorite chillout playlist and rated it a five. I want to say the intro sounds are from Rhodes pianos? If not, still amazing either way. Really great mood setters. This entire song has that great ambient chill I've always wanted. This is the kind of song that would be on a compilation album of ambient greatest hits. Really great work!

[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

[beeps - all day erry day]

A really good song. This goes to show that techno is still relevant today, and not some forgotten out of focus genre from yesteryear. The song did not rely on heavy lifting bass lines or buzz saw leads. No mortal kombat style surprise samples, or random one word vocals. Just a slightly relaxing piece that sounded good, while maintaining minimal note and instrument choices.

[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!