East London sextet sharpen their palette with second record.
It’s been an outrageously fun time for Home Counties so far. Ever since we sat down with them a year ago, the band from London have gone on leaps and bounds. Riding off the coattails of their bold Exactly As It Seems debut last year, gleaming at the deservingly riotous reception, they dove into headline shows at London’s 100 Club and The Lexington.
Combing through wit and wallop – backed by a rip-roaring live presence – the group have emerged as one of the UK’s most vital alternative bands. Now, ‘Humdrum’ sharpens that promise with something far more straight-talking, if you excuse the pun.
A joyfully unhinged whimsy on the mess of small talk, ‘Humdrum’ is a Krautrock art-punk delight in wound-up synth warbles and dual vocals that sees them stretch their sarky tendencies and sedate us to the dancefloor. Instrumentals fitting for a two-bit scroller; vocals fitting for a counselling session – this is Home Counties at their most frenetic.
Once you sweep away the dizzying modulations, communication is at the heart of this record. A melting pot of bleeding background chatter, distorted voices, call-and-response hecklers and swooning vocals conveying reason litter the ten tracks.
Take opener Take You Back for example. A startling introduction to the bands’ next chapter, that gorgeous Moog modular running through the record is an homage to Noughties’ indie-pop frivolities that ran rampant with similar vernaculars. The dance trounce beckons you out from the rainy streets but the heated exchange amongst the call-and-response vocals makes you question whether its a conversation you should really be a part of.
Funky go-getter Spain was the first blueprint for this records’ thesis. Tilting into a far more darker approach, the song stages a spat between your younger and older selves. Title track of Humdrum is an addictive slur of ‘should-a, would-a’ amongst regrets after the fact in conversations; but it’s made all the easier with that undulating warble beckoning you to just forget all about it. The lazy big-wig swagger of New Best Thing is quite the records’ most bodacious – this is a band very much in their element.
We’re then met with a monumental shift with When In Rome, a heavy-heart groove exploring the darker drabs of 2024 riots in Italy, as it was cleaned up behind closed doors. It demonstrates the bands’ maturity as songwriters. We’re not just talking about talking now. We’re addressing concerns that are far bigger than anything we’ve ever come across. Ravelling is a socio-commentary on the perverse effects of our actions on the Internet. An integral talk to have swept up in synth rollicks, it feeds into jaunty juxtaposition
that the band strive off of. Gauzy guitar-and-song partnership in Roundabout plays into an immeasurably fun track destined to play at spaces where your sweaty head grazes the roof.
Below the hubbub, Home Counties are quietly establishing themselves as a stalwart anecdote unwavering in the face of adversity. If anything, they use it to their benefit with nuanced expressions of resentment and exasperation. It may seem one note away from all falling apart; but its actually meticulously woven together – as the six excel in breaking the mould and land a hit with their sophomore.
Home Counties are scheduled to embark on a headline tour in November capping off an exciting few months with a hometown show in London’s Scala in December.
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