Description

Prioritisingthe beauty in the ordinary and unanimously leaninginto afun, exploratory way of thinking, debut album’Exactly As It Seems’ presents a notable sonic shift for Home Counties, embracinga more danceorientated sensibility and an ambitiousinventive attention to detail, all with a focuson melody in its purest form. With last years In A Middle English Town EP propelling their live set into fullon hedonistic party territory, the addition of new vocalistLois Kellyin late 2022completedtheirtransformation, with the bandfully embracingthe power of a good time.We just love songs that are dancey and we want our gigs to be fun. On our last tour we were finally at a stage where we had enough new material, on top of the last EP, where every song basically felt like a dance song thats the music we like to listen to and the shows we want to go to.I dont really consider us a guitar outfit anymore. We want to be a more melodic band, with pop tunes and catchy songs,34 said Will. On the Home Counties stereo when it came to finalising their debut album, a list of favourites as varied as they come were given air time jungle the genre, not the band, Talking Heads, Britney Spears, The Slits. At the centre of it all is nothing except simple quality.We just appreciate something if its a banger rather than having to put a criteria on it,says Conor. Thematically, meanwhile, the band have been traversing the ups and downs of London life, documenting their findings as they barrel towards the second half of their twenties and all that that entailslaments on renting and how rubbish landlords are and how unaffordable it is, the feeling of getting olderturning 25 and not wanting to go clubbing and feeling guilty about that always managing to balancethe duality of lyrical frankness and musical buoyancy with gusto. With an eye for the daytoday, alltoorelatable details of crap modern living,coupled with an ear for hookfilled, grininducing melody, the payoff is one riddled in joy rather than despair. Or, as Conor succinctly sums up the current ethos of the bandMy life is ruined cos I cant afford rent, but Im gonna dance about it. Home Counties LP is available for home delivery from Vinyl Records London, only £22