stardew's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[PHANTOM BURNS [GHOST1 EP]]

brilliant stuff! the evolution of this piece is remarkable, and the sheer volume of intricacies in the song's production is really splendid. the heavily thematic sonic world you've painted with this song, due to some choices you've made with genre and instrumentation, really makes this piece stand-out.

[Journey (ft. Ponycutz)]

hey! just popping by to say that this is one of my favorite songs from the NGADM audition round. the song is ripe with creativity; the volume of detailed and earworm-ish sounds you've managed to squeeze into this track is remarkable.

i do think that the song begins to suffer from this sporaticism as it continues, though, because while it does take you on a journey quite far away from home, it never really loops back around and concludes, leaving you feeling a bit unsatisfied. also, i was a bit bothered by how fake the piano at 2:04 sounds :P

nevertheless, i do really really love this song, and i think you and ponycutz have done a fantastic job with it. also, i couldn't help but notice you were in the FORM telephone event, which i also took part in. :)

i'm super excited to see what you come up with for NGADM!!

CylrielOfficial responds:

Thank you so much for feedback! This means a lot :D

[Rumble]

though i do have some issues with the production / instrumentation of this song, i have to say it's incredibly charming, and something about it really hit my heart in the right place :)

the transition into 0:22 is really lovely; the vibrato in the bitcrushed synth contributes quite a lot to the character of the song. a lot of the more energetic sections in this song remind me vividly of garlagan, and one section in particular (starting at 1:49) gave me flashbacks to an artist called acloudyskye (if you haven't listen to his music before, i highly recommend you do).

i think that with a more aggressive, less muted mix, and a more vigorously worked, involved sonic palette, this song would be something really wonderful. i really do love it nonetheless, though :^)

looking forward to hearing the work you'll do in NGADM! i hope i get to go against you at some point.

UmValent responds:

Thank you so much, stardew!
That is some solid advice, mixing is definitely a weakness, but I'll keep working on it!

As for acloudyskye, I have listened to some tracks from his discography and I can totally see the resemblance, especially from a specific track called "A Drowning Cry". The syncopated percussion and ghostly athmo is bizarrely similar and it was completely unintentional. Glad you told me about him, though.

Good luck in NGADM! :)

[Mirage Blade]

wonderful!! the chords that come w/ the final part are super enchanting

[Vaudlow - This Could Be Ours (Echorift Remix)]

so so pretty. production is phenomenal. :^)

[greg]

greg

[Neon Raver]

really solid tune! the vocals sorta remind me of gyrofield's stuff.

[Will of the Wisp OST - 02 - Sanctuary]

i think out of all of your Will Of The Wisp songs, this one is the most enveloping. i haven't been able to play the game yet but with this song alone i already feel as if i'm residing in a completely different reality. the strings are hauntingly broken, and the piano, because of its heavy pace and occasional stumbles, sounds almost mournful. when the glockenspiel enters in reverse, i feel suspended permanently in a moment preceding something unforgettable.

you've managed to capture a rare emotion in this one, a wandering, lonely, sullen feeling that i've only found in soundtracks like Hyper Light Drifter. really great work :')

Miyolophone responds:

thank you star!! this piece was the first one i made, so maybe it got the benefit of my untempered emotional energy before the exhaustion set in :')

[Moonflower, II: Close]

i never really commented on how much i loved the moonflower couplet so:

i love the moonflower couplet! i love how they both take place during the only two night cycles of the EP, according to the album art. the theme seems like some sacred ritual of night, in which a magic garden awakens once the sun takes its leave, and fairies emerge from their hidden floral nooks as the air is filled with millions of tiny light pinpricks. i also love how the theme re-emerges at the very end of the EP in a simpler, reminiscent form, as if it's a lesson learned from whatever mystical events occurred in its first iteration. i love it! i love the whole EP, in fact! one could even say i love music. thank you for making it so that i can jabber on. :^)

Miyolophone responds:

yeah!!! obviously all the pieces on the EP have specific meanings to me but i don't like talking about them because i think it's more interesting to let people develop their own impressions of them. this is a really great one

thank you for the kind words :)

[Will of the Wisp - 05 - Withers]

this is great! the pacing of this is all together unrelenting but thrilling. 0:57 made me smile :)

Miyolophone responds:

thanks star!! i love runs :)