EP REVIEW: Winter – Halfway Home

Buckinghamshire five piece, HALFWAY HOME stare down the bleakness of depression on their new EP Winter. From the energetic passion of metalcore to the emotional roots of post-hardcore, HALFWAY HOME waver between the two in order to ensure that emotional catharsis strikes at the core of the EP. 

Winter opens with an audio clip set to a haunting piano, isolating ruminations on identity and despondency. Depression and anxiety fuel the early moments of Winter, with the opening track Solstice building out into a confessional monologue. The heart behind it pierces through, but the track becomes little more than a sum of its parts amongst the rest of the EP’s bolstering moments. 

As the following track Leeches opens, it feels as if HALFWAY HOME are shifting into gear, opening out with explosive guitars and drums. This is mellowed with more subtle verses, but it is in the tearing choruses that HALFWAY HOME find their footing for commanding hooks. This blisters over to following track Dreamawake that despite initially playing on the softer side, bursts out with gnarly riffs and an explosive energy that finds the EP’s heart on full display. These elements culminate sonically in the penultimate track The Edge. Offering a particular high point on the EP, The Edge melds melodic hooks and roaring lyrical passion with electrifying riffs. 

Ego Death concludes the EP on a softer note. Opening to a simple acoustic guitar and a confessional tone to the vocals, the track initially pulls you out of the catharsis that has been building, only to grow into a dramatic end of its own design. Existentialism meets honesty and vulnerability, and spoken word opens the track out to a bold declaration of persistence in the face of depression. 

Maintaining a keen emphasis on emotional outpouring, the storm that HALFWAY HOME rain down on Winter ensures that emotion is tackled in every inch of the EP. In their wavering between metalcore and post-hardcore, Winter offers glimpses of HALFWAY HOME honing their style to deliver these threads with impact and purpose.

Rating: 6/10

Winter is out now via self-release. 

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