By Clark “Plazmataz” Powell
Piano, drumset, and bass happens to be my favorite jazz ensemble and man, does this number do that trio justice. There’s a break at around 1:20 where it really cuts loose. That bit didn’t make it into the Flash, and it’s my favorite part of the song. Love hearing that big bass just tear it up.
By Kevin Regamey
A slow-paced ensemble tune. The sax lead is natural and flows well (which is a bit of an exception for the album: more on that later), and I especially like the clarinet reply in the second half.
By Mark Hadley
The unofficial theme of the Midnight Crew. The saxophone suggests style, but that ominous string section says ‘beat with a sack full of doorknobs first and ask questions later.’
By Hilary “Pie” Troiano
The whole album has a serious noir vibe to it, but this song’s the noirest of them all. I can just picture Spades Slick playing that maudlin trumpet intro in the rain, underneath a single lonely streetlight. Possibly after being stabbed in the eye by a femme fatale.
By Andrew Huo and Ian Taylor
The intro sets the tone, with its hopping around in key and pitch. Vaguely unsettling, which I’m sure is the intended effect. That muffled, phased processing effect suggests that you’re sitting in the very back of a smoky dive while the band plays on.
By Toby “Radiation” Fox
My favorite track on the album. It kicks off with a threatening piano introduction, and the slow harpsichord melody that follows carries an air of terrible inevitability (that bent-note oboe really helps drive the point home). Perfect for scenes of courtblock drama. Like many tracks on this album, this one is revisited on AlterniaBound, but I prefer this version and its slower, measured pacing.
By Toby “Radiation” Fox
Image source: Homestuck.
A nice change of pace from the energy and aggressiveness that dominates the first half of the album. The main hook from Crustacean shows up here too. That melody is all about presentation, it seems. It sounds legitimately yearning here. Not crabby at all. Nope, not one bit.
By Toby “Radiation” Fox
Where Death of the Lusii was light but maudlin, this track skews in a much more positive direction. It’s just a simple, flighty piano melody, backed by a tremulous string background. But it’s got a good vibe to it.
Image source: Homestuck.
Theme (Bonus) (by Toby “Radiation” Fox) is one of three ultra-secret bonus tracks on the album. No, it’s not exactly appropriate for a planet full of sociopathic, foul-mouthed aliens, but damn is this a great melody. There’s an even better version of this song lurking on a future album (AlterniaBound): I think I’ll elaborate a little bit on it when we get there.
By Eston “silence” Schweickart
It’s best described as a very stylish medley. There’s versions of many familiar tunes remixed into this song, but each has a unique kick to it.
There’s a jazzy, Latin version of Crystalanthemums. That’s followed up by a symphonic, soaring cut of that Nic Cage sappy specialty, How Do I Live. An aggressive version of Ruins intercut with Liquid Negrocity fits in too. But I think it’s the bookends that are the best on this song.
There’s a song called Lotus that shows up quite often throughout the Homestuck catalog. I never really dug it, until I heard it borrowed for the intro and the coda here. It works great as a slow, simple piano dirge.
Composed and performed by Kristian “Dacen” Anderson. Mixed by Eston “silence” Schweickart
The clean, plucked electric guitar gives off a huge 80’s pop/rock vibe (I swear there’s a Van Halen or Van Halen-ish song that this reminds me of, but I cannot for the life of me remember it). Atmospheric and relaxing.
By Eston “silence” Schweickart
I want to describe it as ambient or atmospheric (there I go fighting to cram in puns again), but this song is just too damn cool for those sorts of adjectives. Great flow and a fantastic, eclectic mix of instrumentation. My favorite part? The windy static at 2:00, followed by a fade-in of the main guitar melody.
By Brad “Avinoch” Griffin
It’s a tidy mashup of Doctor and Sburban Jungle. The main piano melody meanders between the two, all backed by that frantic xylophone rhythm. The little snatch of Penumbra Phantasm at around 1:20’s a nice touch, too.
By Trent “Trogg” West
It’s taken a couple of trips through the gears of the wub machine, but that combination of low synth and high electric piano makes for a slick beat.
By Mark Hadley
Its combination of slow, quiet, otherworldly ambient effects provides a good sample of the type of music to follow on the rest of the album. I would say that it’s what the Furthest Ring sounds like, but it’s not horrifyingly terrible in any way. More likely, given the title of the next song, it simply represents ‘before Skaia.’
By Mark Hadley
My favorite track on the album (and the title track is very good, too, so it was a difficult choice). The best part about the song is the subtle transition point at around 1:09. Prior to that, it’s shaky and unsteady, with concerned strings backing little snippets of a melody to come. Afterwards, the song exudes reassurance and confidence.
By Mark Hadley
An ambitious reimagining of Skies of Skaia. The deep strings section and the plucked harp gives it a new grandiosity. The lyrics confused me until I looked it up – it’s got Latin and Lord of the Rings Sindarin going on there.
Sometimes, on other tracks, vocals can feel forced. That’s especially so when the song is something that people are already familiar with. But here it works very well. The singer’s voice fits in as cleanly as another instrument, and it creates a new, interesting layer on the base track.
By Jeremy “Solatrus” Iamurri
The Derse tracks tend to have good hooks, and this one’s no exception. Neat combination of violin and tech-noir synth backing in the beginning, and the energy and tension slowly builds into the second half, where the beatbox dominates.
By Jeremy “Solatrus” Iamurri
Best hook of the album. Where Darkened Streets featured the violin (Rose) and beatbox (Dave) in separate sections, this track effectively intermingles the two. Cool snippets of Endless Climb and Atomyk Ebonpyre (once again shining the spotlight on the first two Derse dreamers we meet) show up in the second half.
By Jeremy “Solatrus” Iamurri
It came this close to being a #cage pick just because the intro reminded me of this. But that whomping synth anthem in the second half lends it some gravity, so, even though it’s not as mind-numbingly catchy as Popcorn, a #haunting refrain it remains.
By Jeremy “Solatrus” Iamurri
Another rolling drumline intro, this time into a bit of freestyle piano. Once again, though, it’s the middle section that does it for me: a sparse, austere remix of Frost starts at 0:53 or so. Love that protracted horn solo.
I find myself liking these sorts of Frost remixes better than the version that was first issued on Volume 6. I think that in the original, those chiptune arpeggios diluted the power of its slow, tenor melody. I like that version but for different reasons, I guess.