Ericho's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Bad Words]

This seemed to be pretty different for you. What I really liked was how soft you were in this. What I didn't like was how it seemed to come off a bit weak and it was a tad to hear exactly what you were saying. Then again, most rock bands wouldn't be able to get popular if everyone complained about not being able to hear them. This is still a song that I would recommend, because it comes off as so nice. You just sound like such a sweet person.

It was interesting to take on the topic of suppressing anger. These are problems that all of us have dealt with in the past. What better way to express our feelings than in song? I was expecting swearing in this. I guess there are different kinds of bad words.

Affinitia responds:

Yes. This song was about a tragic event that happened between my Mom and sisters when I was about 18 or 19 years old.

[Guitar Blood]

I think the best thing about this is probably the title. It really knows how to be unique. The song isn't one of your best, but is still well done. I think it may be because you are just letting your heart out so much about an instrument. You've discussed nearly every sad subject before. Why not write a sad song about an actual instrument?

While not that strong, it's great to try something different. It's also nice how it ends on such a soft note. You seem to be a bit more sad than usual in this song. You might want to make something with a different tone. The instrumentals are nice, which I think uses a guitar.

Affinitia responds:

Thank you! I recorded this song on January 1st 2010. I was just thankful that I had my guitar that night. I made a couple different guitar parts and a little drum track for the song to keep the feeling throughout. These days I've made it through a lot of what was making me sad back then.

[Long Way Up]

This was fairly short compared to a lot of other things you have done, but this was still decent. Once again, it seems like you're using a whole new kind of instrument. I keep thinking that all of your songs are about you talking to a girlfriend. I guess it's just that most songs are like that. You're really talking more to he audience. Even with its short length, it's fairly effective. I've probably learned more about you personally than any other audio artist.

I like how you consistently keep up the rythum. We all hate being lonely. We always have long journeys in our lives but the pain will in fact end some day. It's great that this music comes off as so soothing. I could have sworn you say "sex" at one point.

Affinitia responds:

I do say "sex" at one point. One of the lines from this song is "How do you breathe another breath after all of that sex that was meaningless?" And I was definitely talking to the audience with the song. This is mostly about what makes us feel down and how hopeless we feel when we are down, as people. I also say "It's a long way to the top, it's a long way to get out, when you're lost."

[Biggest Mistake]

When I saw the word "life", I thought it said "wife" at first. Speaking of which, I hope you do manage to get a wife of some kind. What I thought was good about this was how earnest it is. It doesn't try to be too fancy or anything. I can recognize most of the sounds and instruments. Once again, it isn't trying to be angsty or anything, just inform people of how you're feeling today. All should go well for you.

You may never achieve much success but at least you have support from people like me. I would think you'd be more popular given that you at least won one Daily Feature. Anyway, this song is great because it departures from montonousness and uses variety. It still manages to keep a consistent tone. I can recognize your voice from your flash cartoons now.

Affinitia responds:

Ah you watched my animations? Some of them are pretty silly. haha. I made the animations between 2002 and 2003 before I got heavily into piano in 2004.

[Keep Trying]

This was strange, because at first I thought it was only instrumentals. There's really nothing wrong with that, it would have worked fine. In fact, you might even want to submit a song like that sometime. It came off as confusing when you started talking. It is still a decent song, mostly because there is some good variety. It did seem to get a tad redundant.

What does matter is that you've managed to send a positive message. We need more of that with songs nowadays. It's neat how you're playing the harmonica out. I'm hoping they don't run out of musical instruments for you to use. You're truly an underrated guy here.

[Younger]

I'm starting to feel for you more and more all the time and I understand what kind of life you are living. It's great to listen to music that really makes you think about personal relationships. I wish I could tell what instruments you were using for this. It's impressive when someone shows talent with so many different instruments. I will say that it got a tad repetitive at times. It's still nice to hear your singing voice.

Your songs really speak to me. This made me feel about how we all used to be young and had our own conflicts. Hopefully, we'll be able to move on in life with whatever we get. It may have a sad tone, but I try to be optimistic. Your voice seems especially soft in this.

Affinitia responds:

Thanks!!

[My Stray Bullet]

Congradulations on your most popular audio sbumission! It's too bad you don't have many reviews on this. Anyway, what I loved about this was how well everything was timed. It was weird to be playing a banjo for this. I expected this song to be about love, but it was really anything but! This truly is a unique idea for a song.

It's always great when people experiment with different styles. I love how subtle your voice is. You know how to give off a good sense of calmness, while still getting inside your character's head. You'd be surprised at how much characterization you can give to a guy in a song. I feel sorry for both him and the girl.

Affinitia responds:

Thank you! Yes I put a download link to this song on my website and it gets downloaded quite frequently. There probably aren't many reviews here because most of my fans are from Facebook and other sites so they don't realize that it's actually a song posted on Newgrounds.com. I really enjoyed making this song and writing the story for it. I was going through a heist obsession at the time. This one was recorded in November 2010 when I was trying to focus more on making music. It has also gotten a very positive reaction from my soundcloud following. Thanks for the great review, I like what you had to say about my song.

[To Follow A Lie]

This was, in my opinion, the best audio submission you've ever worked on! I think its strongest point is probably how well you try to appeal to your audience. The craziest part of this is probably around 2:09 when it starts changing completely. It seems like that would be the kind of thing that would show up at the end of the song. I was confused as to how it could only be half over by then. I love how strong your voice is.

You just don't go for any bullcrap. While it lacks a lot of fanciness, it doesn't need it, because it's so emotional on its own. I couldn't even tell what instruments you were using. You were really pouring your heart into this. I can see why it has a 4.59. It even has a bit of a sinister tone to it, although it's mostly sad. It's so nice to hear the things you've worked so hard on.

Affinitia responds:

What you had to say about this song really means the world to me. This is one of the nicest reviews I've ever read about my music and it gave me chills to know I've touched someone that much with a song. This song "To Follow A Lie" is about how people run themselves into holes with their own lies. I recorded it around the same time as "Bad Words" and for my 2nd album this is the first track and Bad Words is the last. My 2nd album hasn't officially been released yet but it should be coming out in early October to iTunes and everywhere else. This song I was using a Synth and a guitar mostly, I also had some drum machine and other keyboard effects. I'm glad you like the transition, earlier recordings of this song had a completely different distorted electric guitar for the ending but it just didn't fit so then I created this one and found that it worked perfectly with the rest of the song. Thank you so so soooo much for listening!

[Crush]

I thought this was going to be a remix of Jennifer Paige's song "Crush". Looking back, I'm glad it wasn't. It turned out to have a unique style of your own. The funny thing is while it was in fact about relationships, it wasn't about a crush in that sense. It kind of makes you wonder where the term came from anyway? I like how deadpan you sound in your songs.

You just try to be so earnest in this song. It's a great example of how you put your own problems into persperctive. It's about what other people think of you and how your personal life has been shaped. I'm referring to the song story, not actually you. The guitar uses are getting better all the time.

Affinitia responds:

Wow thank you so very much! I was going through some hard times when I made this recording.

[Why Even Try]

As I said before, it's fantastic how you make songs that reflect on how you're going through your life. Anyway, what I love about this song (and some of your other songs) is how subtly you swear. You just randomly say it and it fits the mood. I appreciate you telling us that everything worked out. Hopefully, with these songs released, you're become even better. This song just really spoke to me.

It seemed to be mostly about how you viewed a certain girl. I kind of wish I could at least get a girlfriend at one point to understand this. You don't seem angsty at all, but more effective. You are just trying to appeal to people like you. We all know what it's like to go through pain.

Affinitia responds:

Yeah this is another one of those songs...