ALBUM REVIEW: The Crucible Of Life – The Home Team
It would be fair to say that 2023 was a big year for THE HOME TEAM. While they’ve had a modest following for some time, last year saw them move into a much wider field of view. Their 2021 album Slow Bloom was (no pun intended) a slow-burner for them, with tracks like Move It Or Lose It and Right Through Me eventually proving to be the big hits they are. This album also gave them the opportunity to show off their more alternatively-charged direction from the straight-up pop-punk vitality of their debut Better Off. The Crucible Of Life is yet another change of pace for THE HOME TEAM, but it makes for an album that’s overflowing with infectious, pop-infused tracks that take their sound to a totally new level.
Early peeks at the album have come through a slew of singles and brilliant music videos (see Roommates//Overtime and the animated video for Hell) that have shown off this new slant on their style. Brian Butcher’s vocals continue to be perfect for their sound, but the change of direction perhaps suits him best out of everyone. It’s a style that’s perhaps best described as a nod towards the emo-glancing alternative-pop that bands on the Fueled By Ramen label popularised some 20 years ago. But it’s also much more than that – instead of being a deliberate rehash of this scene (pun intended), they take the vitality and fun that made those bands special at the time and mould it to sound fresh in 2024. There’s as much early PANIC! AT THE DISCO on the ridiculously bouncy Overtime as there is a modern pop sensibility to Walk This World With Me – and while those ideas weren’t exactly mutually exclusive for bands of that ilk, THE HOME TEAM combine them on The Crucible Of Life in a way that they seem inseparable.
And that’s only one factor that explains the brilliance of this record – there’s also the post-hardcore that’s under it all. The guitar and bass tones from John Baran and Ryne Olson prove that these are musicians that may make pop-leaning rock music, but that are unwilling to let their metal spirits fall by the wayside. The rhythm guitar underneath the chorus of Roommates and the bassline under Somebody Else’s Face should be enough evidence of that, but if any more was needed then you need only turn to the classic rock/metal solo on the otherwise jazzy/city-pop track Love & Co.
After the success they had with support slots and their own tours throughout 2023, THE HOME TEAM had something big to prove with this new release. The Crucible Of Life does exactly that, and it does so with such confidence and charm that it’s difficult not to grin while listening to it. For a 12-track album, a startling percentage of this record is made up of singles, or tracks that could easily have been singles. Time will tell if The Crucible Of Life makes as much of an impact as it (rightfully) should, but between the brilliance of this release and their sold-out UK tour later this year, it seems unlikely that THE HOME TEAM’s momentum will be slowing down any time soon.
Rating: 9/10
The Crucible Of Life is set for release on July 12th via Thriller Records.
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