Huh, I kinda wish I had done a thing for this. But in the absence of a track from me here, I shall commence with the reviewing and feedbacky stuff! :3
Sonic Breakbeat - ExileAlright, pretty quick club intro, I like that, cuts to the chase. Interesting pluck-type synths, very cool melody, I really wish I could write like that. And then it 'drops' and I don't really feel any sense of buildup and release. I'd say maybe it would have been beneficial to make the buildup less energetic and full, because it sounds very similar to the 'drop' and this detracts from any actual movement in the energy of the track. But then we get to the big breakdown, I like what you did to the white noise, and we've got a pretty nice arp going, but I think it might have befitted a bit from some atmospheric pads backing it, it sounds empty even for a breakdown. And now the piano - this melody sounds at least twice as good on piano, now I'm thinking it probably would have been better to write an SHM-style drop focusing on a piano, but that's just personal taste. And now we're back to the drop again, with some pretty cool breaks added in.
That actually plays with the energy,
that I like. And then the track's out. Alright, all things considered, this was a pretty nice way to kick off the album, despite a few minor awkward steps in the way of the track's overall energy, but the way it all comes together makes it pretty solid. 8/10.
4thImpulse - Cloud SwimmingAlright, last track of yours I listened to over and over was Canterlot Clubs from TLK, and while I'm hearing some of the same patches, this is already doing way better as a track - this one doesn't hurt my ears with a barrage of treble like Clubs did. This one's already doing a better job of handling rising and falling energy, points for that. One thing I'm a bit irritated by, to be perfectly honest, is the toms, it feels like they stick a bit too much out of the mix when considering how stereoed out they are. But mother of God, that's a brilliant breakdown, what was I talking about? Okay, back to the main bit, still feels nice and balanced save for that minor gripe about the toms, and it also occurs to me that maybe a little bit of level-riding on the clap/snare might have been beneficial, as it sticks out a little when the track's not going full-on, but that's, again, minor. If Exile didn't have me convinced to listen to this album, this track definitely accomplished that. 8/10.
Bartekko - Lights!Oh boy, another song called Lights, this is, what, the third song I've heard by that name? And, I suppose appropriately, the melody sounds vaguely reminiscent of Steve Angello, who happens to be the musician behind one of those other tracks called Lights. But then the strings and bass start to kick in, and now this has a completely different feel, and a pretty interesting one at that. This is starting to sound like Wolfgang Gartner, and appropriately chaotic - not really in a bad way, but this is definitely a change from the last two. And then there's a vaguely rockish breakdown, very nice touch. If nothing else, this track is winning on style alone. Okay, this drop is pretty subdued, so that brings this one back into the same general ballpark of the rest of the album thus far, but I have to say again the way that you approach it is impressing me a good bit. So far no gripes about the mixing or composition, though it occurs to me that maybe you could have added a lower end to the melody carried by the strings to even out the mix. But that doesn't change that this album is getting better with every track. 9/10.
baq5 - The PowerOh, right off the bat, we're in swing time, and this makes me love you and everything about you. Get over here and hug me. Oh, but wait, this breakdown is dissonant and a bit too loud for a breakdown... I hope you're going somewhere with this, but it was very jarring, there wasn't quite enough buildup to it, and I'm already questioning the mastering. And then you drop it and it sounds relatively good, though maybe that arp is a tad too loud and too reverby right off the bat, I'd have pulled back the reverb to have a very dry first bit of the drop, but that would easily bring you even closer to deadmau5 - yeah, this is extremely mau5ey, but I'm not yet sure how well you're pulling it off. And that bass from the breakdown is back, still dissonant, still too loud, and now it's painfully obvious that you probably should have paid a bit more attention to your stereo imaging, because the bass is far too wide to sit comfortably with the rest of this fairly centered business. And then back to the mau5ey drop, which I do like, but now it's starting to bug me that you didn't develop the idea very much in terms of musicality. Deadmau5 may be able to get away with this type of songwriting, but he backs it up with more compelling melodies and progressions and better production than this. I'm not quite sure how to look at this one, it feels like it could have been better executed, but the ideas that are there are pretty nice, undeveloped though they are. I'd have spent a bit more time on it. 6.5/10.
Captain Ironhelm - Out of MilkBig, in-your-face arp right off the bat, okay, where's this going... It's certainly going somewhere, it's got actual progression and development to it, so points for that. And wait, what's that noise? Is that a bass? Yes, yes it sounds like it is indeed a very faint distorted bassline. It sounds far too mechanical to be playing behind these light and airy lead synths you have going unless you plan to drop some bass, which seems unlikely because the track is already half over. Oh, but there's another melody on a pretty nice lead synth, and if that mecha-bass is still there I can't hear it, so this is an improvement. Oh, but now the bass is back, why did you have to bring it back? It seemed content to slink away once you set it aside the first time, and it's kind of distracting me from what you're doing with your actual melodies and synths. So this thing's style seems like it wants to be in two places at once, and consequently the feel of the track is very disjointed. 6/10.
Obrum - Across Thin IceOkay, starting with no drums like a rebel, this is another change of pace, I'll humor it and see where it takes me. Nice, subdued plucks in the back, this feels like it's going places, but oh, the drums kick in with full force and there's a clap that's sticking up way too far in the mix, and some supersaws in the background that could stand to be softened up if you wanted chill, or fattened up if you want epic. Sounds like you couldn't decide between the two. This is some pretty cool synthwork with the leads, however, I've got to give you credit for that... Until one melody comes in far too quiet and I feel like the track is winding down 2/3 of the way through. Yeah, that synth carrying the melody at 2:15 is very undermixed, I feel like I'm trying to hear it, which shouldn't be something I have to do as a listener. 6.5/10.
MRPPony - The Usual Spa TreatmentHuh, I'd expect a song with this title to be more trancey or ambient, but okay. Alright, really 80s-sounding bass right off the bat... I can see this going in an electropop direction from here, which I wouldn't argue with. And, there's a pony vocal sample. I can't tell if you're trying to do anything by arranging the samples like this, but it doesn't accomplish much. Oh, and now a pretty nice sounding buildup, and a drop that sounds like it's trying to be Avicii. Yeah, if you wanna do that, smooth out the lead, add some more apparent low end to it, and put a little reverb on your lead... But now there's a new lead, interesting. And then the track winds down without stopping to catch its breath and come back for a round two. I suppose that's not the worst thing, but this has such a deliberately clubby structure that I'd expect that. Still, it's not an awful piece of music. 6.5/10.
ArcaneSoul - Underground ParadiseOh boy, here we go with an 8-minute house epic. Interesting snare, I wonder how that's going to fit into everything. And then we have a breakdown sans breakdown, with the kick still going strong behind an LP filter. Interesting buildup, it's definitely got some nice synthwork, but the way it decides to try and get epic all of a sudden kind of detracts from the feel it establishes. And the drop, despite that breakdown, is pretty sparse, just a sprawling blur of synths without anything coming out clearly on top. And then we get another buildup and drop, and I can actually hear a clear lead. Yes, this is what I want out of this track, a clear lead, not too chaotic, little bit of SFX, and then it eases back into a more sparse drum-and-bassline, and we get another of those big buildups, which lets down into silence. Interesting choice. Oh, and now we get an ambient section, pretty nice touch, this definitely adds to the atmosphere. And there's the word fro why I'm liking this one, atmosphere. The last few haven't been executing it as well as this one, so I have to give you props for that. This album is definitely starting to redeem itself. 7/10.
HMage - My First HouseDon't you mean your second? I recall a certain severely underrated Balloon Party track being in 124bpm, but maybe that's just me. At any rate, I can already tell this is going to be good, we've got swing time, or something that sounds like it, and even the drums sound better than the other intros. I feel like I'm listening to some Feed Me track from the future, it's definitely got that noisy, organic feel that I can only barely manage to describe. Okay, breakdown, fairly generic synth, but it's playing nice with the rest of the track. And we've got some interesting phrases playing out on the plucks, though with no cutoff automation, which I must admit I sort of expect out of most tracks with plucks like these, and they might be very slightly too loud with regard to everything else, but that's not killing the astounding atmosphere this track has. God, this feels like it should be in a soundtrack, very nice work here. 9/10.
Metapony - Canis MajorisVery cool synth right off the bat, and already this one has a nice feeling to it. I definitely think that's what those earlier tracks were missing. And, wait, did you layer a synthesized guitar with your pluck or something? It's definitely an interesting sound. And this lead is fitting beautifully with the rest of the track, props to you for managing to mix something so reverby into a track so well. And on goes this breakdown/buildup, without really doing anything for the musical idea itself. Now now, kids, decent production is all well and good, but it also needs a well-developed musical idea to back it up, and - hey, I heard a Vengeance vocal sample! Maybe you should have done more to those samples to make them less obvious, and definitely mix them down a little so they don't demand so much of the listener's attention. But anyway, where was I? Oh yes, the musical idea is underdeveloped. Still a nice track in terms of production though. 7/10.
UnderKeel - Dance Floor MoverCould you have come up with a more generic name for your house track?
Okay, title aside, this intro's already got some cool production going on, but oh, I hear a very generic trance gate synth fading in over that nice beat. Please tell me the whole track isn't going to be generic... Your lead at the moment is from Nexus, or so it sounds. I can already say that spending way more time on sound design would have been beneficial here, because these presets are distracting me from the music that's not really progressing in any musical way. Okay, and now we've got a 'drop' with not so much going on, some FX, and then the lead kicks in for a few beats and decides to go away. Still a Nexus lead. Tsk tsk. I can't even say much else about it because it's not doing much else. The music's not really going anywhere at all, except, oh wait, a new arp, which also sounds like a preset, but at least it's got something new to show me. But layering it over the 'drop' isn't accomplishing much other than adding a new element to be repeated over and over. Add to all of this that I cannot for the life of me make out a distinct low end, and this track becomes pretty flimsy on basically all accounts. 5/10.
Matthew N. - Luna's ReversionAnother TLK veteran! Let's hope you can end this on a high note. Please? Okay, I can already tell that at the very least this is going to have some respectable sound design, and now there's a breakdown. Some LP'd vocals... I'm not sure if it's the vocalist or how you EQ'd her voice, or what, but she doesn't really sit well with me. And now there's a drop. A proper drop... Not executed astoundingly well though, the bass really should be louder and cut through the mix more, and you could probably juggle those complextro-type hits with a bit more dexterity, set there as they are they make the drop a bit more awkward. And there's that vocalist again, and I still really don't like her voice. And now here's a slightly proggy interlude, but it feels hollow, I guess it's the organ-type synth not having enough low-mid. And now where are we, the drop without the bass? This is sounding very chaotic, up to and including that half-time breakdown, which also handles mixing the bass rather clumsily. I still can't hear much in the way of a distinct lead while you're in the midst of your drops, and while I can definitely appreciate the composition here, it isn't coming through as well as it really should. Unfortunately, the album could have ended better. 7/10.
Overall verdict: I can appreciate what this album was trying to do, but I think it could have been promoted better so as to attract enough entries to justify quality control, which this album needed. Less then half of these stood out as anything above meh. Here's hoping that the next iteration of this album, assuming there is one, is handled in such a way as to get people to put forth more effort - if there wasn't a group feedback session here, there really should have been, and there has to be next time if you want to top this effort. 7/10.
by Nine Volt » 31 Jan 2013 15:49 
). I am quite content with the mix personally but I still appreciate the feedback and will look at it again in a couple months and maybe hear what you hear.
