‘Tis the season.
Homestuck for the Holidays up next, another unofficial album (though written almost exclusively by members of the music team). The entire album was created to help support the charity Child’s Play – please consider donating!
By Thomas Ferkol
I like the intro, where it sounds as though half the melody is played by the not-quite random whim of the wind through a set of chimes. And the give-and-take between ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ and Sburban Jungle fits well.
By Mark Hadley
A nice, solid, jazz quartet cover of the old standard. It’s my second favorite version of this particular song (a lot of terrorists have to die before my favorite version can play, though it’s somewhat similar in feel to this track).
By Toby “Radiation” Fox
I’m a fan of Carefree Victory, even though it’s on the short side and not much more than a fanfare. This track fleshes it out a little more and wraps a counter-melody around it, all for the better.
By Jeremy “Solatrus” Iamurri and Nick Smalley
A mashup of Carol of the Bells (the familiar arrangement is surprisingly modern, written in the first half of the 20th century by Mykola Leontovych) and Frost. With a little bit of shoehorning, the bells and the xylophone fit together well, and the simplicity of that horn solo in the middle fits both songs well.
By Robert J! Lake. Based on “Candles and Merry Gentlemen” by Tyler Dever
One of the more musically interesting tunes on the album. It’s a great version of Candles and Clockwork, and the vocals… well… it’s bizarre and ethereal. RJ has a unique sound that shows up in other songs, and I don’t know how else to describe it. Except that I like it.
By Alexander Rosetti
It’s weird, grating, and profane, but I laughed long and hard listening to an intoxicated Squiddle puke (very realistically, I might add) after too much egg nog. Which… somehow creates a Barkley-esque Nog Baby that absolves the Squiddles of all their nog-related sins. Absurd, surreal, and hilarious.
By Nick Smalley
Once I established my headcanon for the narrator as this guy (he built this town out of baling wire and blasting caps!), his ramblings became a little easier to bear. I see the concept, but the old man’s interludes make the album tough to deal with as a long-play.
By Nick Smalley
Nope, Wilbur Cobb didn’t really stick. I’ve already got a new old man headcanon for this dude. More topical.
RATING: 4 / 13 – ………………….. :|
shit. lets be santa.
This is Homestuck for the Holidays. It follows the typical formula for a Christmas album, mashing holiday standards up with material from the Homestuck catalog. It’s a fun, goofy album. I wouldn’t recommend it as ambiance for your formal Christmas event, though: it’s packed full of intoxicated, queasy Squiddles, Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff, and a crusty old man narrator.
Once again, as an unofficial album, it is available free of charge (there’s a download link on MediaFire here). Before the album was released for free, all proceeds were for a charity. Please consider donating to Child’s Play if you like the album: you can find them here at http://www.childsplaycharity.org/.
Click here for individual song reviews for Homestuck for the Holidays.