February 2014

By Joren “Tensei” de Bruin

Image source: Homestuck.

Right off the bat, the album starts with a fantastic track.

Up until the middle of Act 5 Act 2, Aradia has a pretty hard time of it in the comic. She whiplashes from apathetic (as a ghost), to violent and hotblooded (as a homicidal robot), to serene (as a god-tier). This track characterizes that last development in character.

It’s just so perky and positive. Aradia’s spent so long being burned out and jaded that she doesn’t really know how to be cheerful and optimistic. So she accidentally goes way too far without realizing it.

In an album just jam-packed with memorable hooks and cool riffs, this one stands out as my favorite track.

By Joren “Tensei” de Bruin

Image source: Homestuck.

Most of it is pure Troll Pirates of the Carribean. But then, near the end, there’s a hilarious, accordion-backed version of Crustacean. To quote Tensei, “When writing this song, I kinda envisioned a big ship to ship battle between Vriska and Eridan, with a bumbling Karkat acting as comic relief at the very end…”

Mission accomplished.

By Joren “Tensei” de Bruin

The combination of spaghetti-western harmonica and surf-music guitar just screams Quentin Tarantino. Of course, so does the Mexican standoff paired with this tune. The only troll that makes it through unscathed is the dead one. Go figure.