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 4:21:00 ¶ ●

By Toby “Radiation” Fox

On top it’s playful and lively, but below the saccharine piano and xylophone, that heavily processed, low-pitch synth line reveals something of a mean streak. It’s maybe best demonstrated by that peculiar churlish laugh that sounds more like it’s directed at you, rather than with you.

2013-10-06 1:41:00 ¶ ●

By Toby “Radiation” Fox

Another bouncy chiptune track. You could almost call it chirptune – some kind of electronic bird makes up part of the instrumentation. It takes something of a Castlevania turn in the middle (like this).

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.

2013-10-09 4:21:00 ¶ ●

Image source: Homestuck.

Frustracean (by Toby “Radiation” Fox) is a bonus track on the album (featured in the comic during a memorable mental breakdown). It’s short (don’t let that three minute run time fool you), but it’s so damn funny. It’s a wobbly mix of Crustacean and Hardlyquin. Perfect for watching Karkat’s mind unravel.

2013-10-14 4:20:00 ¶ ●

By Toby “Radiation” Fox

Probably the most conventional track on the album. That says more about the amount of experimentation on the album than anything: this ain’t The Everly Brothers we’re listening to here. The harpsichord is gaudy and pretentious enough to fit Scratch, and the sinister, frantic crescendos are a fitting introduction for the big bad guy.