Review: Homeward Bound

HOMEWARD BOUND – CHORUS OF CAST OUTS

I have only ever been to Sydney once. Everyone who’s not from Sydney seem to give the place a pretty bad review and to be honest, I didn’t really get to see a lot of it apart from my hotel room, the bottom of a few wine bottles and then The Descendents later that afternoon. The rest is pretty much a blur up until sitting in a 24 hour McDonalds at about 4am. But from what I do remember, I thought it was a pretty cool city and I would really like to go back to and see it properly pretty soon. Today I heard an album that prompted me to devise a little Sydney to-do list and has made me more motivated to go back to that city more than ever. The list basically reads something like this “Go see Darling Harbor, Go see a Homeward Bound show, not in that order.”

Punk rock/post hardcore quintet Homeward Bound have been making quite an impression on bearded punks as of late, not only in their home town, but across the country. The band have a few very strong backings in their corner, they feature members from some of the most well respected punk/hardcore bands of recent times (Irrelevant, Rex Banner), they have managed to score a string of awesome shows with some excellent local and international acts, as well as a spot on the hallowed Blood, Sweat and Beers fest last year, and what’s more, they have crafted an incredibly passionate and solid full length record, their debut, Chorus Of Cast Outs.

With production credits featuring Baltimore’s Brian McTernan on mixing duties, who has worked with bands the likes of Cave In, Hot Water Music, Thrice and Polar Bear Club, just to name a small few, you already know that what you’re about to listen to is going to sound great. Opening up things with the somewhat ambient intro track “For This!” and then kicking into “No Soul To Speak Of” like a boot to the face, the record maintains a solid and steady upbeat pace for it’s entirety. There is no bullshit, no pointless over experimentation, just 10 tracks of anthemic, gritty, catchy, balls to the wall punk rock, executed in the vein of bands like Hot Water Music, Small Brown Bike or Sommerset.

The simplicity of Homeward Bound’s sound is what really shines through on Chorus Of Cast Outs. The song arrangements are pretty straight forward, and the band keep away from complicating things too much musically, which really allow for the vocal melodies and lyrics to really shine through, and a read through the lyric booklet will explain why that’s a really good thing! Every song on this record is dying to be played, fucking loud, to a small, packed room of sweaty, beer filled patrons, singing every word with one hand fisted and raised and the other clenching a cold pint.

In closing, if this record doesn’t get you stoked to quit shaving, don a flannel and a denim jacket and revisit the Avail back catalogue over a sixer, I’d be very surprised. This is one you can really listen to over and over, and a record that will stay relevant and talked about for years to come. An excellent first effort that will no doubt see a big year for these dudes.

Chorus of Castouts is available now through the band.

Homeward Bound on Facebook

Rating: 25/28 Days

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