We’ve all dreamed about travelling back in time. Whether a Biff Tannen-esque voyage into the past to amend one’s own financial destiny or the age-old fantasy of imparting the wisdom of adulthood to our younger selves, “What would you do if you could change history?” is a question that doesn’t generally require too much time to answer.
Personally we’d give our 18-year-old selves a serious talking to about the over-use of Bedhead hair wax and the importance of actually paying attention in lectures, but ask the members of Surrey quintet Homebound what they’d change about the past and it’s possible they’d go back and rename their debut EP. For while ‘Coming Of Age’ was a perfectly competent piece of pop-punk, it was undeniably the sound of a band finding both their feet and their voice. On follow-up EP ‘Permanence’, however, that earlier title becomes truly applicable.
Over the course of five driving, fast-paced tracks the band make a convincing case for the burgeoning British pop-punk scene to be taken seriously beyond the obvious break-out acts, and give an idea as to its authentic identity. While the success of any homegrown talent is to be applauded, not least for the opportunities it presents for lesser known bands in the early stages of their career, we can’t shake the feeling that the Stateside success of certain British acts smacks of selling sand to camels.
Homebound join lesser-known but less affectation-laden acts like Nathan Detroit and River Jumpers in their mission to craft a sound that balances its obvious influences with retaining a musical truth regarding its origin. With an undeniably English lilt to Charlie Broughton’s vocals and lacking (for the most part) the horrendously processed and compressed sonic footprint that’s exemplified the pop-punk scene ever since the Pure Noise roster set the bar for production, ‘Permanence’ shows there’s more to these fair isles than simply gargling what the Americans throw at us and spitting it back at them on splatter-coloured vinyl.
Bookended by its strongest tracks, ‘Blossom’ and ‘Cave In’, the EP can’t be accused of doing anything to change the world but the whole thing smacks of youthful exuberance and Summer vibes. As the mellow, acoustic, near-spoken word to the latter track rings out we found ourselves wanting more. It’s a moment that stands out on an EP that’s otherwise wall-to-wall growling bass and fuzzy guitars but one that hints at much more interesting endeavours to come.
ROB BARBOUR