2013-10-02 1:41:00 ¶ ●

By Clark “Plazmataz” Powell, feat. belly dancing by Tavia Morra

I liked the original version of this song, but this remix takes it a few steps higher still. It eschews the more fast-paced middle section of Even in Death, aiming for a more mellow cadence throughout. The key and the bongo drums give it an Eastern sound, and the flighty, expressive violin lead is fantastic. Another one of my favorites.

2013-10-04 1:41:00 ¶ ●

By Various Artists. See the Bandcamp page for details.

Original fanart (used in the comic) by Lexxy.

Four excellent songs combined into one mind-blowing medley. It’s probably the most popular single track in the Homestuck catalog.

The four individual pieces are Cascade, Flare (reviewed here), Savior of the Dreaming Dead (reviewed here), and Black Hole / Green Sun (reviewed here). I’ve reviewed most of the four parts previously, so I’ll stick to the first part. There’s a ‘beta’ version of Cascade on this album as a bonus track, but I think that the final version turned out a bit more polished.

Once again that xylophone gets a heavy-duty workout in the intro. At about 1:33, there’s a really cool phaser or flanger effect on the lead guitar, a great improvement over the 'beta’ version of Cascade featured later in the album. The 'Cascade’ portion of the track varies from fast-paced to introspective.

Of all the music in the Homestuck library, this piece is probably the one you could best describe as a soundtrack, rather than a stand-alone composition. Parts of it were modified specifically to fit the Flash animation, but that doesn’t really hurt its quality as a track. Andrew Hussie described it a little more (as well as the production and content of Cascade, the Flash animation) in a series of Tumblr posts that you can find here.

2013-10-05 1:41:00 ¶ ●

By Clark “Plazmataz” Powell and Astro Kid. Original “Crystalmanthequins” by Erik “Jit” Scheele, featuring the melody from “Crystalanthemums” by Alexander Rosetti

I liked this song’s predecessor (awesome instrumentation, awesome hook), but it felt a little rough around the edges: the opening is a little jarring, the siren kind of comes out of nowhere, and it lingers musically in places that seem a little odd. It feels a little like the middle of a song, rather than a whole composition.

This new version takes the best part of its source, and expands it into an excellent stand-alone track. The instrumentation is almost exactly the same: it’s only been re-arranged in a very effective manner. Parts that were jarring (like the intro) become smooth and ascending. Even the wailing siren finds a more effective spot in the melody.

It’s like taking an old, faithful car, and then souping it up with a supercharged big block, a new paint job, and a leather interior (complete with new car smell). I can’t complement this song enough.

And if I had to predict, of all the unfeatured tracks, which one had the best shot at being picked up for a Flash animation, I’d have to go with this one. This is my favorite unfeatured ‘sleeper’ track in the catalog.

2013-10-08 4:20:00 ¶ ●

By Toby “Radiation” Fox. Featuring Samm Neiland on viola and Clark Powell on cello

A chipper vaudeville romp. Upright piano and strings all the way. This song gets a ton of mileage out of that simple trio.

2013-10-13 1:40:00 ¶ ●

By Clark “Plazmataz” Powell

Image source: Homestuck.

A big, long, mournful cello piece. I don’t know about the subtitle, Scratch’s Lament, though. For one, I’m not even sure Doc Scratch is capable of lamentation. The track is a little too genuine, a little too legitimately soulful to associate with a smarmy, four-foot-tall puppet with a cue ball for a head.

I don’t know. Maybe this is what’s going through Scratch’s head while Hussie beats the stuffing out of him. I imagine his only regret was that personally embarrassing interlude. Omniscient my ass.