MindWanderer

Every eclectic take on the tune, though keeping in that same dark atmospheric tone. Tons of variation to simple source material, that always keeps the track moving. Fantastic performances. I did feel like the climax was a little weak. 2:30 introduces a piercing LFO lead that causes the whole track to pump while it warbles in and out. The 808-style snares here sound radically out of place with the rest of the sound palette, and I found them jarring. Everything else sounded clear and well-considered, though the Bond guitars were an odd choice. Overall an easy YES

I have to concur with the above. The approach is neat, but the harsh and loud melodica is an issue. And even though you do make use of three themes, the arrangement is only 2:40 long and leans heavily on the Water Island hook, the backing is repetitive (admittedly, intentionally), and the ending fades out, all of which combine to make the track feel underdeveloped. The judges above gave you some good advice, not the least of which was to hit up our workshop forum/Discord for more involved feedback, and I hope you take it to heart. NO

I'm with proph on this one, to the point where I'm not even sure I listened to the same track as Larry and Kris, and checked the thread to see if there was an update I missed. On my setup, the kick is loud and clear, and the snare even moreso. The trumpet sounds great, full stop. There's plenty of high end, whether it's being created by a synth or the trumpet. On the other hand, I definitely do hear the complaints about the whistle: it's a little shrill, and when it's not exposed, all its harmonics are being squeezed and it sounds pretty bland. The saw that starts at 1:42 is also overpowering. The guitar is indeed pretty quiet, and it's a shame the fairly vanilla synths were used when you had access to such a great alternative lead. The piercing leads are the only major concern I have, and they're not remotely worth sending this back, From, me, this gets a wholehearted YES Update 6/20: I listened to this again on my good headphones, and I have a better appreciation for what everyone else is saying about the kicks. The bass and kicks overlap a lot in the subbass range, and that makes them a lot harder to hear. On headphones with less bass response, the kicks are covered up less. That said, the kicks are usually doubled up with the snare, which provides enough rhythm for me, and it's not like the soundscape needs the kick's bass presence. Oddly, I think the harmonics on that deep bass are also what's conflicting with the trumpet a little---which is not how physics is supposed to work, but it's what I hear. No change to my vote.

I'm afraid I have to agree with all the criticisms above. The flute is painfully loud and bright, the clarinet performance is squeaky, the soundscape is thin and lacking in character, and the overall arrangement is short and underdeveloped. That's not to say I dislike everything here! The non-clarinet performances are solid, the concept is very good, and the arrangement that is there is well-done. The flute riffing is a highlight. But the issues mentioned above are critical ones. NO

This would be a Direct Post if we were still doing DPs. Fantastic use of the least interesting track on the OST, as a simple foundation to basically do whatever the hell you wanted. And hey, when you give a bunch of geniuses some raw material, turns out they can build something great out of it. Truly stellar metal performances and production. I do have some tiny nitpicks. The drums are a little loud, and them plus the overdriven guitar sometimes drown out some of the accompanying elements, like the guitar at 0:53. The ending is lackluster. The whole thing is just a little disjointed; it's nice that it's so variable and interesting, but I think it pushes past that to get a little schizophrenic. Stiil, as I said, tiny nitpicks and an easy vote, as promised. YES

Nice rich soundscape to open up with. The evil Macarena influence follows, although the tone is so unexpected that it can be hard to pick up on it depending on whether you're listening for it. I imagine many listeners won't catch it until the lyrics at the end and will have to listen to it a second time. Good thing we recently revised our rules about referencing non-VGM music, or this might not have been allowed. You can tell that this is a compo mash-up, unfortunately. Mad Forest and the SM boss theme are both used to build this, but they don't really interact, they just take turns. I'd ding it points for that when it came to voting in the compo, but that's by no means disqualifying here. Still, this is super creative, not something I'd ever imagine existing. Fantastic work. YES

Definitely a piece made by some folks who know their metal, loud and proud. The arrangement seems a little thrown-together, almost collage-like. Starting the melody on part C is really confusing. The production sounded hollow to me. On the bass end, there's a thinly-produced bass and an even thinner kick that I can barely hear. But on the other end of the spectrum, the lead guitar plays pretty high, the cymbals are awfully hot, and there's a synth arp further adding to the highs. I'm actually on the fence about this one. The arrangement is, overall, a lot of fun, and the performances are great. But after a dozen listens, the high-centered soundscape is just too piercing. I can see this going either way, but for my vote, I'm going to have to send this back for a rebalance. NO (resubmit)

For never having written a jazz piece, this sounds pretty fantastic. A little less cerebral than people who do a lot of jazz often get, but that's a plus for me. Fantastic sample usage that could fool most listeners into thinking it was a studio recording; it doesn't quite sound like a live lounge like the crowd noises suggest, but it still sounds great. The integration of Environmental Mystery can never be anything but a weird choice, but you at least made it sounds like it was your weird choice and not that it was forced on you by the compo format. The last couple of measures really made it work. Fantastic job. YES

This is an odd one for me. The integration of the two sources is very smooth, in no small part because they're similar in tone to begin with. And I would say that this remix maintains that same tone, if not for the trap trappings. The sound palette is extremely simple, even primitive, but the synths are chosen carefully and used appropriately. 2:15-2:38 is the most problematic part, because the vanilla sounds aren't adequate to carry the sinister tone you're going for here, and it just sounds discordant. I think this would have benefited from more modern sound design, but what's used here isn't disqualifying. Due to the samples, I wouldn't call this a layup, but everything else about it is done quite well. YES

I've been waffling on this one for a while. It's a clever and passionate blend of the four sources, with a lot of consideration going into it. While there's nothing hugely objectionable about it, there are a few things holding back. The sound design doesn't change up much over the course of the 5½ minute arrangement; although there are a number of instruments and a few SFX used, the synths are pretty vanilla and same-y. The saw "bass" (which sits pretty high for a bass) in particular is overused, and the kick/snare/hat are nearly omnipresent as well. The overall energy doesn't change much, either, nor does the soundscape. It gets a little noodly and uncoordinated in places, too. Despite using 4 sources, I find myself losing interest by the halfway mark. I feel bad for NOing this, because the overall arrangement and thought are pretty good, but the sound design and lack of dynamic interest are really dragging it down for me. NO

Beautiful, rich interpretation of the source material. Clearly written and performed by someone passionate about the work, which is odd given that it's a lesser-known track off the OST. It's a little simpler than other Bluelighter mixes I recall, but there's certainly enough depth to hold up. YES

Frankentrack, indeed. I've been mulling over for this one for quite some time because I didn't know what to make of it. It doesn't sound nearly as disjointed as it ought to, given its backstory, but it definitely goes in quite a variety of directions. But just because I'm having a tough time formulating a description of it, or even an opinion, doesn't mean I can't vote on the merits. And it has plenty of them. It's an achievement of arrangement on several levels, as well as being plenty creative. No reason at all not to give this a YES

Nice synthwave upgrade to a source that doesn't have a lot to it. I found it a tad repetitive, but that's understandable for a mix that's supposed to be mellow, even moreso one that's inspired by trap. Fits the brief, well done. YES

I definitely get the surf rock influence here, even without you having called it out specifically. I have to admit I'm getting a little fatigued with intentionally lo-fi production, but it's not technically a dealbreaker. You can still hear all the parts. The biggest problem is that because the tone is kind of mushy, it makes the track sound more repetitive than it really is. The style works better with lyrics, where a repetitive structure is more natural. Other than that, there's nothing objectionable here. It's a very creative take, executed as intended. YES

Nice tone. The slightly shrill leads began to grate on my nerves by the end of the second main section, and I would have preferred some sort of change there to keep things fresh. The bass blaat noises sound a little bitcrushed. But overall this sounds great and does everything it sets out to do. YES