Astromancer Critique

Hong Kong 2021
+ Mysterious melody that makes listener wonder what is in store within the album, great for the intro song
+ Short and sweet, makes for good intro length
+ Good instrument choice, the mix has a full range of frequencies and the different synths mesh together well
- The bass synth drones on a little bit. The drone at the start is good, but it gets old after 30 seconds of the same bass note. I'd suggest changing up the note of the drone about halfway through.

7/10: Would listen to on every playthrough of the album, as it acts as a good mood-setter for the album, but mostly just because it's short and doesn't get repetitive.

Headquarters
+ That bassline in the start is amazing.
+ Interesting melody in the chorus.
+ Good mix, instruments fit with eachother, although the pad could be a little fuller.
- There are a lot of chromatics that sound way out of place, especially the chromatic bassline at 2:20. You have to be really careful with chromatic basslines, because it can throw the harmonies of the song way out of whack and make it sound bad.

8/10: Would listen to on every playthrough, overall a really good song, but I'd probably skip to the next song at about 2:20 since the chromatic bassline is kinda meh.

Anomalous Anthem
+ Interesting and peaceful arpeggio at the start
- The squarewave arpeggio that comes in at 0:21 REALLY conflicts with the other arpeggio on its first note. Either the notes are off and conflicting at that point, or the sounds of the instruments are conflicting.
+ All the melodies are very peaceful and nice to listen to, and fit their instruments well
- The rhythm arpeggios get really repetitive, especially considering both of the arps already conflicted with eachother.

6/10: Would listen to on most playthroughs, but I'd probably skip ahead to about 1:00 after the squarewave starts because the discordance starts to die down around that point.

Interstellar Highway
+ I love the e-drum tom rolls
- The motif that plays at the start gets repetitive pretty quickly
+ The shift from the motif to the chord version of the motif on a different instrument at 0:50 was a great transition
- The drum beat gets pretty repetitive, especially at 1:10 where the pace of the song changes completely, I'd imaging the drums to change to match the pace.
- The kick feels a little to light, could use a bit of a bass boost, as well as a sidechain to limit the bassline.
+ The tom-based melody at 2:45 is silly, but also I love it so much.

5/10: Would listen to on most playthroughs, but I'd probably skip to the next song about a minute in due to repetition.

Disco In Space
+ Very unique feel and intro, immediately got me interested in the song
- Melodies feel like they follow simple chords, not much in terms of unique melodies
- Could really use a more full mix in some place, especially when there's just one instrument and the percussion playing, could use some pads or something.
- "Preset Syndrome" as I call it. Using presets is something that every musician does and is super useful, but sometimes one instrument's preset feels really out of place in the song. When the arp comes in at 1:06, it feels like it came from a completely different song, and while it sounds good on it's own, it's jarring to listen to the other instruments and then suddenly cut to the other instrument.
- The chromatics in the melody around 2:40 sound out of place
- Drums feel kinda weak.
- The original melody that plays at the start gets pretty repetitive, it feels like a 'chorus melody', yet it's used everywhere throughout the song.

7/10: Despite the fact my critique on this is almost entirely criticism, still a really strong song, albeit a little jarring in some places. Would probably listen to on about half my playthroughs.

Chiptune Tophat
- The simple major chord arps feel a little bit too cheesy. I'd usually suggest avoiding simple ascending chord arps, and would suggest using more complex chords. The arp at the start is going I-III-V, but you could do something more interesting like I-V-III(where the III is an octave higher than normal)
+ The more complex arp that comes in on top of the starting one fits well, and adds a more dynamic feel to the arp without drawing attention to itself
+ Good use of pad chords
+ The melody at 0:50 is beautiful, and while simple, it's probably my favorite motif of the song.
- chromatic at 1:38 is out of place

8/10: Would listen to on every playthrough. Doesn't get repetitive, and the worst that it gets is mediocre at places, but is overall good to listen to! Found myself humming along with it.

Virtual Reality
+ That bass synth sounds fat as hell and I love it
+ Melody is joyous but not overly "major"-feeling.
+ All the synths fit well together, no instrument conflicts
- The pad sounds like it isn't harmonizing with the bass in some places
- Gets a little repetitive, but not to the point of annoyance
- Transition at 1:45 is a little sudden
+ Key shift!

9/10: Would listen to on every playthrough! A very cheery track, gives very good vibes!

Nebulous Spacedust
+ The arpeggio is pretty to listen to and doesn't conflict with the bass
+ The slow bass is a great contrast to the previous more speedy basslines, and serves well to the last song in the album
+ Mixes the cheery and mysterious vibes of album very nicely and feels very conclusive
+ The horns fit PERFECTLY, and this song really pulls off having a lot of things going on all at once without it feeling busy.
- 2:38 starts to feel a little repetitive, and I would've had the transition there instead of at 2:55

9/10: Going into my driving playlist, very pretty to listen to!


Overall: 7/10
For a first album, Astromancer is pretty damn good. You have a lot of good musical ideas and a good sense for melodies. The biggest issue I found was the same that almost every early musician has, and that's repetition. Your rhythm and drum tracks rarely changed what they were playing, aside from when they stopped entirely, and some of your transitions felt sudden or weak.
The tone of the album makes itself clear and consistent, there was never a point where I felt "this song shouldn't be here", and the subtle shift of the tone across the album makes each song feel separate from the last without feeling disconnected.
I'll probably listen to it now and again when I want to change up the style of music I'm listening to, and Nebulous Spacedust is definitely going into my road trip playlist for when I drive up and down from Canada.

If you ever want any mixing or composition advice, or guitar/bass recording/pedals, or anything else, feel free to hit me up.