By Erik “Jit” Scheele
Begins with such a simple little motif. One of my favorite introductory tracks on any Homestuck album. It could make for a really cool live ensemble, with such unique parts for each member of the string section.
By Eston “silence” Schweickart, original “Walk-Stab-Walk” by Erik “Jit” Scheele
Another take on Walk-Stab-Walk. The new-agey bookends (with an especially interesting intro) cap an otherwise faithful synth remix of the original.
By Erik “Jit” Scheele
The first full minute features a dying dot matrix printer, and I can see how that might be off-putting. But there’s a very cool piano melody hiding behind it. And the echoey, distant, tinny drum beat really contrasts well with the weird techno-noise that hovers in the background.
By Erik “Jit” Scheele
That skittish piano drives the song, with most of the main melody provided by oboe-led woodwinds. My favorite bit starts around 1:40, where one of the piano parts sort of lazily plunks around the main beat.
By Erik “Jit” Scheele
Every time I listen to this neo-ragtime tune, I find something new to like about it. Its theme is common to Unite Synchronization: the kids get together to jam. Later on in the album things get a little more serious, but this tune’s all about positive energy.
On this album it’s tough to pick a favorite, but I think this is it for me (Under the Hat’s a close second, and FantasyP and Game Over aren’t far behind). Top track.
By Erik “Jit” Scheele
This tune feels… old. Like something that an heirloom music box might play. In listening to it a couple of times, I think I can see how it might have come to be called Unlabeled. It’s cut from the same sort of cloth as tunes called simply Adagio, Rhapsody, or Minuet.
By Erik “Jit” Scheele
One of the album’s bonus tracks. It’s jazzier and more improvisational than the prior versions of this tune. Like a victory lap, or more appropriately, an encore.
By Erik “Jit” Scheele
As a ‘boss fight’ track, it falls a little short. The relatively modest ensemble, which works so well on the rest of the album, holds this one back. The melody speaks of danger (especially the ‘flight of the bumblebee’ interlude towards the middle), but there’s no imminence to it, no lack of control. Compare this to another epic villain track, Eternity Served Cold: the horns absolutely roar out the arrival of the big bad guy
It’s the final minute of the track that really makes me a fan: a reserved, wistful little fanfare. Like victory, but at great cost. Its intimacy, the same aspect that pushes me away from the rest of the song, draws me closer to this bit. The lead-in to Mother is superb, and only reinforces the effect.
By Erik “Jit” Scheele
Like October, the main instrumentation reflects the kids: piano and violin, flute and percussion. But there’s a new, hard-won maturity to this tune: one year older, I suppose. A great choice for the closing track on the album.
RATING: 12 / 13 – 4 W4RM 4ND COMFY B4THROB3 M4D3 OF FL4VOR 4ND M3LODY
This is another one of the albums that I happened to buy later than most. There’s not really any Flash tunes on it, and, being unfamiliar with the catalog, I had naturally gravitated towards stuff I recognized at first.
I had no particular expectations, good or bad, with regards to this album. Because of this, my first listen-through of the album, months ago, was all the more gratifying.
Most of the songs on this album feature just a handful of instruments. But there’s a deceptive complexity to the music, and layers of counter-melody are scattered throughout. The interplay between the synth lead and the strings in Sunrise… the skittery piano set against natural woodwinds in Firefly Cloud… it’s taken to an extreme in The Scratch with improvisational piano and sampled musique-concrete. The simplicity of the orchestration only serves to highlight the quality of the melodies.
This is my favorite of all the solo albums (and there have been some excellent solo albums). Erik Scheele has a very significant talent for songwriting.
Click here for individual song reviews for One Year Older.