Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
wobwobrob, Here They Come! 9,7,9,10 (35/40)
Well, it seems we have some eccentric character select music for what looks like a curious bunch of playful rascals and bashful vagabonds. I can totally respect that "Saturday morning kids TV show" feeling you wanted to express. It's not terribly far off from what I initially visualized. Given the level of detail in the drawing, I might start by nitpicking mix qualities, the drums in particular are very lo-fi and uncharismatic. The rhythms are all very well written but as a percussionist myself, I'll commonly rib into people for drums that hit at a consistent velocity. Dynamic volume changes are one of the only ways you can convey emotion with atonal instruments such as drums. Once you master creating rhythms with good dynamic range, other more tonal instruments can also benefit from crescendos and decrescendos.
A few additional instrumentation ideas: fun slide whistles, vibraslaps, gongs, chimes, tambs, bells... with so much diversity in that cast of visual characters the song would have benefit from some diversity in your percussion instruments as well. I often fail to include where I find my samples in the commentary but percussive noises could be grabbed from YouTube videos with most people none the wiser. I'm not encouraging you to sample sounds illegally but with a little pitch bend or fidelity work, one could argue that you've made them fair use.
Panning data is something I bring up often but I'll add here that a complex and everchanging dynamic field is saturated with directional information. Panning data can surprise listeners with tones and textures that convey movement. You also make interesting space in your mix when an auxiliary sound or instrument introduces itself with an emphasis on left or right channel. There's a surprising amount of space you can create with good panning data, low bass frequencies typically mix best towards the center but anything else mid to high can be experimented with. An instrument can even express movement through space if you automate changes slowly, a slide whistle in particular can zoom across the room like a UFO.
The chaotic tempo changes were noticed, I loved that element a lot! The outro tone was beautiful. All in all you have a very strong piece, and there's not much more that could be said about it. Thank you for saying what you did in the artist's comments, I've been getting on people's cases for not gushing enough about their work. We're a creative community that thrives on exchanging ideas and the fact that you love AIM is a solid reminder for why I signed up to judge this year. You people all deserve real feedback, but the winner will probably be the user that can manage to leave us speechless. Your work made me smile uncontrollably but again, I'm leaning really into how flat and uncharacteristic those drums sound to justify taking off points. A little work into your dynamics and you'll be among those top composers constantly delivering unquestionably professional music. I'm happy to now be following you wobwobrob :3
wobwobrob 
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