The Everending Waterways: This track is unique and is an excellent level-based background song. I love the ritardandos used to mimic the eb and flow of the water. The high piano melody is intricate but not distracting. The neo soul-sounding synth chords are the perfect soft yet present harmonic accompaniment for this. I love the percussive nuances that add extra character to this piece!
The Wheel That Never Stops: The emphasis on the off-beat in this track is the biggest factor that makes me imagine a perpetual motion that doesn’t seem to ever quite reach the intended goal. The lead instrument that enters after the drums and bass enter is perfect to represent what I interpret as the koi fish. This is an excellent dynamic track that would work well in-game to have a second layer added on after you reach the particular checkpoint in the game.
Small and Insignificant: I’m listening to your soundtrack on a nice sound system and the subwoofer is shaking the room I’m in and I absolutely love it! The end does feel a little abrupt and I wonder if a transition in your loop back to the beginning without the drums would really add to this track’s emotional impact.
Palace of Despair: I love that the first 2-3 chords made the despair palpable so quickly into the song. Great harmonic composition. The non-diatonic tones that the violin runs add interesting colors that tend to draw the emotion away from despair and more into fear or anxiety. This is great musical representation of the bats as they emerge in the story.
Patrol of the Underdogs: I love when this turns into the energized battle theme! The automation of the high-cut in the percussion feels really satisfying. The transition into 8-bit sounds is also quite smooth, as is the transition out of it. This is a really awesome dynamic battle track! The only drawback is that it ends quite abruptly. Overall you have a really cool collection of songs. I am not finding many obvious connections to the themes of the jam, but I really do love the story you’ve created. I would be really interested to hear it when it is expanded into the full story/game that you are envisioning it to be! Thank you so much for sharing!