By Thomas Ferkol
It has an odd, surreal vibe to it, almost like you’re hearing it from afar, rather than up close and personal. It’s a sound that should be impossible to pull off on a heavy metal track, yet here it is. My favorite part starts at about 1:57, with the distorted violin riff, backed up by an even more heavily distorted electric guitar.
By Svix
Starts off in marching chiptune, then adds some extra synth around the 40 second mark. It’s got a solid driving beat, and that echoey chiptune backing keeps the track tied together throughout.
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.
By Robert J! Lake
After a few listen-throughs of the album, I kept coming back to this one. I can’t put my finger on it. The whole song’s built around that cool, whanged electric guitar that first features in the intro. It’s a little more experimental than I usually like (an awful lot of backwards instrumentation in the middle), yet in the end, it works as a dark, moody piece.
By Erik “Jit” Scheele
It’s not chiptune, but this song has ‘video game music’ tattooed all over it. It would fit right in were it part of the soundtrack for an SNES game, I suppose. Pretty catchy.
Performed by David Ko. Original ‘I’m a Member of the Midnight Crew’ by Eddie Morton
Barbershop! I hope Eddie Morton is taking notes (well, he should be, but he’s been dead for 75 years, so I guess I can’t blame him).
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.
RATING: 11 / 13 - enjoy the utter fuckin domination it affords
Yeah, it’s ‘the one with Cascade.’ And that medley is ridiculously good, especially as featured in the high point of Homestuck. But there’s more to this album than just that one, marathon score. It’s not quite as consistently good as Volume 5, but man, does this album have some kick-ass tracks.
Apart from Cascade (and its individual parts), Unite Synchronization and Even in Death (T’Morra’s Belly Mix) are fantastic, for opposite reasons. With Cascade, those are the ‘singles’ for the album, the anchors.
But there’s a lot of good non-flash material featured on the album, too, and the variation is good: video-game pieces (Frog Forager), chiptune (Scourge Sisters), barbershop (I’m a Member of the Midnight Crew (Acapella)) and metal (Infinity Mechanism) all show up throughout. And as a whole, the album has a very listenable quality: it’s a little soft in the middle, but otherwise good throughout. The bonus tracks add another dimension: a different version of Cascade’s opening is featured, as well as a stand-alone version of the medley’s end.
Click here for individual song reviews for Homestuck Vol. 8.
Up next for review: Homestuck Vol. 9. Must be a pretty good one, to rile up Roxy like that.
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.
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.
By Malcolm Brown
It’s an unholy combination of cantillated Russian folk music and Celtic Lord of the Dance (and I mean that in the most complementary sense possible).
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).
By Michael Guy Bowman. Featuring Thomas Ferkol on electric guitar
For a song called ‘irreconcilable’, that combination of western acoustic guitar (Tavros) and electric (Vriska) seems pretty damn reconcilable. The horn at the end seems a little played out by now though – that damn juggalo’s everywhere.
By A Lunatic’s Daydream. Featuring melodies by various team members
A rockin’ metal take on Black. The first half’s slick and simple, just a kick-ass jam. Love the clean electric guitar solo that starts around 2:30 or so. The middle section of the song has a completely different feel from the rest of the song: it lazily drifts into a medley of some old favorites, before jumping back into a heavy metal conclusion.
By Malcolm Brown
A marching-band track with a pretty cool backing trumpet and brass section. It teases a little bit of Showtime throughout the first part. A little bit of Unite Synchronization features, too. Then, in the second half it kind of intersects with Showtime a little more for a while. It’s a cool track, if a little heavy-handed in the later parts.
By Michael Guy Bowman
It’s ‘Sburban Jungle’ from a wonderful, not-too-distant future (even more so, somehow!). If the original were written in the 50’s, then this would be the version played at the 'World of Tomorrow’ exhibit at the World’s Fair. It’s also a little poppier, maybe even a little bit new wave.
By Seth “Beatfox” Peelle
Epic. It’s got the booming symphonic presence of a Hollywood soundtrack. It kicks off dark and brooding. Most of the track, though, suits its title a little better. It’s almost a chase scene, with a mellow interlude not too far from the end.
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.
No, broseph. That’s no shipping grid. Bro don’t ship. So what all this, and I quote, “mad stunts all wicked up-ins?” I’ll tell you what’s uncannybrutal: statistics. Hard, peer-reviewed motherfuckin’ science.
That’s a grid of all the trolls and how many pesterlog chat lines they shared during Hivebent (Act 5 Act 1). Karkat and Terezi talked the most, so their grids are the whitest. Vriska / Tavros and Aradia / Equius aren’t far behind. Used some wicked ‘MAD SCRIPTING YO’ to count it up, unreal accurate like.
Might do other acts, or the whole damn thing, later on. It would make for a damn cool animation, too, if I could pull it off.
By Svix
Catchy. This song ought to feature Sawtooth on the track art instead of Squarewave: the flow is that good.
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.
Character relationships in Act 5 Act 2: the brighter the box, the more chat lines the characters shared. John-Vriska end up on top (with about 1700 shared chat lines), with Dave-Terezi not too far behind. Notable dead zone amongst the highbloods in the southeast corner: guess they really do hate each other.
Character relationships in Acts 1 through 4: the brighter the box, the more chat lines the characters shared. Makes sense that John and Rose have the most conversations, since they’re talking from pretty much the get-go. Dave’s the only kid who has conversations with himself (Davesprite) during the first four acts.
By Michael Guy Bowman. Vocals by Tavia Morra
It’s a ridiculous gallop through the land of chocolate on a tiny sugary horse.
By Michael Guy Bowman. Featuring Erik “Jit” Scheele on keytar (!) and vocals by Tavia Morra
(I’m just going to back away slowly from this one. I mean, I remember the Spice Girls and Aqua and all that, but that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it. Whoa.)
Alpha kids and cherubs’ relationships in Act 6 (up to but not including Act 6 Act 6): the brighter the box, the more chat lines the characters shared. Dirk’s everywhere, including talking to himself (auto-responder).
I might post a few more of these over the coming days, but I’ve got an idea for showing all of this information in a really cool format. It’ll take a while to put together, but stay tuned.
RATING: 10 / 13 - IT IS PRESENTLY THREATENING TO MAKE ME ITS BITCH
The penultimate volume in the Homestuck library (Volume 10, which is expected to be the final volume, has yet to be released yet). There’s a ton of energy on the album: it’s more often bombastic than reflective. The very first track (Crystalmethequins, one of my personal favorites) sets the bar for everything that follows.
There’s more than one song on this album that ‘revisits’ prior works. Not 'remixes’ that carry over motifs and melodies (though there’s a fair share of them on the album as well): more like tracks that are inspired by prior pieces (such that Another Jungle is inspired by Sburban Jungle). In some cases, the new versions surpass the old (Hate You takes a fun, dark turn on Love You (Feferi’s Theme)), and in some cases, the new renditions don’t work out as well.
It’s not quite as good as Volume 8 (or Volume 5, for that matter), but it’s a fine album (and the longest of all volumes so far, to boot).
Click here for individual song reviews for Homestuck Vol. 9.
Until Homestuck Volume 10 comes out, I’m on hiatus!
… alright, that would be delirious, wicked, rudebrazen weaksauce. Screw that noise. There’s way more music out there than just the main volumes. There’s theme albums (The Felt, The Midnight Crew: Drawing Dead, etc), solo albums (One Year Older, Medium, and so forth), and fan albums, both official (coloUrs and mayhem) and unofficial (Land of Fans and Music). I’ll be jumping around from album to album pretty randomly from now on.
First up on my no-particular-order review docket: The Felt. The original album cover is excellent, but I figured no one would mind if I offered an alternative with a little more juice.
By Jeremy “Solatrus” Iamurri
There’s a healthy dose of backwards xylophone in the intro, but it’s just the ambience, not the driving force behind this track. The main melody is reminiscent of Frost, especially after the drums kick in around the middle section. The second half carries a pretty strong electric guitar solo (one of the few guitar features on the album). And the forwards-this-time xylophone coda makes the track something of an aural palindrome.
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.
By Jeremy “Solatrus” Iamurri
It’s a tale of two songs. The first half is marching-band lite, with a skittery clarinet melody backed up by one lonesome, solemn, drawn-out horn (and the inevitable ticking grandfather clock, because it’s The Felt, and they keep time). Around 3:40 it cracks open into a full-blown synth-driven overture that gives the track a different feel.
By Erik “Jit” Scheele
Mostly piano, with a side of flute and strings. There’s plenty of time-themed effects in the track, but they’re subtle and serve to accent the melody, rather than overwhelm it. Great melody.
Started out working on an animated GIF for another album (Alternia, as it happens), but it turned into a decent wallpaper in the process. You can find a full-sized, 1920x1080 version here.
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.
By Mark Hadley
AUGH!
When I heard the first 30 seconds of this song, I was digging it big time. It’s got an Eastern bloc, Prokofiev sort of vibe. You know, ‘harness the means of production’ and all that. Then, cue the tape deck rewinds.
It’s a high concept track, and I get it: rewind to the beginning, add another layer to the song. It’s clever, but since the effect destroys the flow of the song, it can’t be much more than a novelty. A mildly entertaining one, but still just a novelty.
By Thomas “EidolonOrpheus” Ferkol
Call me a traditionalist, but I like this track better in reverse. It’s not just some previous track played backwards: it’s an original composition, all the way through (a very symphonic reimagining of Clockwork Melody).
The reversed play fits the album theme, but makes it tough to listen to.
By Thomas “suehprOnolodiE” Ferkol
Image source: SBAHJ
Play the track in reverse, and it’s a cool crescendo of a song all the way through, with a different take on a familiar melody to boot. Yeah, I know, I’m missing the point, but I just can’t swing that abstract.
RATING: 6 / 13 – a little melodramatic in retrospect. Heavy-handed.
This is the first ‘theme’ album I’ve reviewed. And the theme is ‘time, and how to mess with it.’ It centers on The Felt, of course: that irascible gang of puppet leprechaun frog men. Some of The Felt are borderline clever and cunning, while a few of them are profoundly stupid in their time shenanigans.
Most of the album is dominated by that theme of time. There’s lots of backwards instrumentation, lots of rewind / fast forward effects, and plenty of ticking clocks. It’s experimental symphony, if that qualifies as a genre (there’s not much chiptune or rock to be found here: it’s pretty much all woodwinds, strings, and brass).
The majority of the songs take off in interesting, avant-garde directions to suit the time motif. Sometimes it works (English, Chartreuse Rewind), and sometimes it doesn’t (Clockwork Reversal, Omelette Sandwich).
With its experimental nature, it’s quite a bit more niche than most of the catalog. There are some very good tracks on the album (I’ve especially warmed up to a few after repeated listening), but the style makes it a little tough to get into.
coloUrs and mayhem: Universe A, coming up next. Let’s try something inspired by Lennon this time around.
By First Turn Fold
The techno beat is pretty good, but what really makes this song stand out is the hook at around 2:20. It’s a great little riff, and the rest of the track drops away for a moment to really highlight it.
One of the update pages from Homestuck, de-glitchifyificated. Had to see that face in all its glory. Of all the crazy Gamzee faces over the years, this one has to be the most malicious.
By Sinister Psyche
Easily the most widely featured track from this album, it’s a cool jam: that distorted, industrial synth drives a rockin’ beat. It’s a little bit like Hate You in its general feel: light on top, but with a belligerent undercurrent (get it? it’s a fish pun!)
By DJ 最テー
Image source: Homestuck.
Karkat start thrashing up stunts something uncannybrutal on his quest for “MAD PALEMATES YO” and get this way rude clown under control. Shit is basically flying off the hook. It’s like shit wants nothing to do with that hook. The hook filed for divorce from that shit and is now seeking custody of the hook and the shit’s two kids.
Oh yeah, the song’s great, too. Heavy metal with a side of 80’s style thrash. It inspired me to look up some wicked flagrant quotes. Perfect for some rudebrazen wicked extreme shoosh-papping.
By repeatedScales
A futuristic techno tune (them Captors sure love their techno raves, it seems). These sort of techno tunes fall a little outside my own personal musical taste, but I can’t deny the energy and the complexity in a track like this.
By Eston “silence” Schweickart. Bass performance by Alex Amlie-Wolf
Fanart source: xamag.
Outstanding. This is one of my favorite songs on the album. It’s another fantastic combination of chiptune and more traditional instrumentation. There’s a few individual parts that I really like: the slap bass intro, the main chiptune hook, and the piano interlude that starts around the 2:20 mark.
And the track has great flow: all these segments are tied together cleanly. There’s no part of the song that doesn’t work well: just a solid, cheerful, driving energy throughout.
By DJ 最テー
What’s cool about this song is how it develops over time. It starts off with an antique marching band sort of feel (like something out of the Civil War or something), before kicking off with a little more depth in the horns.
It takes a different turn in the second half, switching up the snare drum with something a little more synthetic. Near the end, it works in a little chiptune, before dropping back into that marching band feel.
By David “Dirtiest” Dycus
A playful Caribbean tune. I doubt it’s possible to make a song maudlin and brooding when you’re working with xylophone, woodblock and guiro.
By Yan “Nucleose” Rodriguez
Acoustic guitar and flute: yeah, this is the perfect song for a showdown between Vriska and Tavros, only they’re in the American Southwest wearing cowboy hats, in a Mexican standoff with Eli Wallach for some reason.
Seriously, if you like this, go check out some Ennio Morricone, the undisputed king of the Italian western soundtrack. Metallica opens their shows with this (the first link, specifically). Specifically because it kicks ass.
