ALBUM REVIEW: A Place That Feels Like Home – Slackrr

SLACKRR‘s blinding sophomore album A Place That Feels Like Home proves that pop-punk is more alive and kicking than ever in 2022. Hailing from Southampton, this three-piece really set the standard when it comes to pop-punk on the underground scene. With the follow up to their 2019 debut Time, It Waits For No One, SLACKRR have only raised the bar with this latest sonic offering.

A Place That Feels Like Home kicks off with the track Home – a heavy song full of playful guitar riffs and powerful lyrical content which is what this band is becoming known for. It delivers on the nostalgia hit as it’s reminiscent of the 00s pop-punk bands and it’s clear to see where these guys took their inspiration from. Playing With Fire was released as a single and it’s an anthemic track. The guitar is light throughout the verses and you can clearly hear Cait’s basslines and Joe’s drumming perfectly complimenting each other whilst driving the song forward. Scotty’s guitar parts during the chorus are punchy, and they round off the song perfectly.

Waves is one of the strongest songs on the album and was also released as a single. Again, clever song-writing is on display here whilst keeping the pop-punk feeling which is present throughout the entire album. With this one it’s nice that they’re not trying to do anything too complex. It follows a simplistic structure and they instead rely on their playing to make it great which they pull off easily. Reflections is a chaotic little number. It feels a little frantic which may not sound great but it was written that way and the band manage it because it still sounds great. The talent on display from all members is really on show in this song.

Forgive Me is an interesting track. Scotty seems to be singing in a slightly lower range than on other tracks which is cool to hear as it gives the band even more depth. The way all the instruments merge in this song is perfect, especially in the chorus. A song with a great intro is The Current. It grabs you with ear-wormy hooks and catchy verses. Also, Cait takes vocals on the bridges and the addition of a second voice is really great here as it just adds another layer to the song. This track also can be heard on the videogame VR Skater, which is just the most pop-punk thing you could want to happen with a song like this.

Following this is The Beginning Of The End, We’ll Start Again, which is just about as slow the whole album gets. It’s more thought-provoking and hits a bit closer to home. It’s pretty great how it keeps such a big sound yet it’s certainly a different pace to some of the other songs. Right Here is the last track on the album and it ends it on a high note. It has some cool guitar licks that help break up the songs. The bass is very present in the verses like rolling thunder which really works for this track. The drums are punchy and the beat gets under the skin effortlessly. The song ends with no instruments and just a voice which is just the perfect way to end the record.

There are quite a few pop-punk bands on the underground circuit at the moment that claim to be saving the scene but SLACKRR stands well above the rest in a league of their own. With consistently good songs, catchy song-writing, and their own brand of pop-punk, they really just set the bar for everyone else. In short, picking up a copy of A Place That Feels Like Home is one of the best things you could do right now.

Rating: 9/10

A Place That Feels Like Home is out now via Lost Music Collective.

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