The Home Guard – “A Head of Steam”

http://thehomeguard.bandcamp.com/

8.2 / 10.0 (For uniqueness and excellent production)

You never quite know what you are going to get with an independent album. Fortunately for me, The Home Guard chose to stream their entire album for free off of their website. I liked what I heard. It was unique in its own right, and this is especially the case for my ears because this style of music is definitely outside my norm. After listening to The Home Guard’s debut album a couple of times, I decided to invest in the downloads so I could further my listening pleasure on my car stereo.

Dan’s vocals are fitting for this style of music. He’s a natural. Never do the vocals seem out of place or off-key.

Chris’s producing is so thorough that you could have just as much luck looking for a needle in a haystack than to find a better-produced album out there on the market. And I mean this with sincerity. The average mainstream producer probably doesn’t give a care in the world about the depth of quality in their artists music… as long as these “producers” get paid to do their half-baked job, they’re plenty happy. Not so with The Home Guard. It is evident that Chris took his time to produce this record… and rightly so, being that it is partly his music, after all.

Since this album is so far outside my normal scope of music, I literally have nothing to base this album off of subjectively – so I will try my best to review it objectively.

1. The Orator– A piano-driven rock song with a steady beat. From the very first 22 seconds of this song, you’ll already know that the producer knows his stuff and is bound to have brought you a finely crafted record. Musically, the beginning may seem a bit on the quirky side, but the rest of the song shows otherwise. My favorite parts of this song are the pre-choruses. This song was one of my original favorites.Note: Subtlety is not a key feature in this song! (*hint* – watch the volume at the start; I’ve jumped many times whenever I’ve just put this CD in my car stereo…)
2. Friend or Foe?– Segueing from track 1, this song instantly brings more energy (and sax). My favorite part is the rolling drums (reminiscent of battle drums) during the bridge. An effective 2-minute song.
3. The City that Never Wakes– Here it comes… the good stuff. Peeling away from the brighter tone of the first two tracks, this song leans towards a more moody and heart-felt atmosphere. The verses are comprised mainly of just vocals, acoustic guitar, and piano. Very minimalistic. The choruses are brought in by a thumping bass guitar, paving the way to the contrasting nature of the rougher choruses.
4. Poor Man’s ….England….– If sax were a species of bird, then the first 6 seconds of this song would be its song… I say that in jest. I’m just not a fan of saxophones.A solid bass-driven rocker, this song shines during the verses. I’m not big on the rest of the song, though.
5. Josephine– Starts bright and breezy, but pays off during the first bridge (1:10) as it turns into one of the finer rock moments on the album, complete with guitar solo and anexcellentrhythm section.
6. Champagne Socialist– I adore basslines. I really do. This bassline also happens to be coupled with an efficient drumbeat, making this song one of the strongest on the album. This song also gets straight to the point, reaching its second chorus before even one minute has passed. Another effective short song.
7. Rendezvous– The coolest song on the album. If you listen carefully, you can hear an organ playing some eerie notes in the left-channel. The lead synth also plays a nice riff. Dan’s vocals are at his best on this album when he duets with himself during the line: “Follow me and rid the world of something venomous.”The final bridge plays as an effective calm in an otherwise busy song.For some reason, the lyrics remind me of the story ofPaul Revere: “And so I’ll see you at the rendezvous. We’ll come through at the rendezvous tonight.” AND “I can feel the sway they hold on land and sea.” Despite the fact that Dan is a history buff, I doubt that this was his intended meaning.
8. Walking Against the Wind– Another piano-driven track, this song plays softly for the most part. The heavier choruses complement the verses without being adverse. As an added bonus, the first chorus seamlessly strings right into a sort of double-chorus at 1:11. Not my favorite track, but very well arranged.
9. Everyman– The greatest quality in this song is its ever-changing nature. One moment it will be playing one line, then the very next there will be a twist. Another brilliant moment is during the bridge when the guitar and sax intertwine in a call-and-response section.
10. I’m the World’s Best-Kept Secret– This is a nice song to relax to. The first verse is extremely laid back. The guitars don’t stay hidden for too long, however, as they make their appearances during the choruses and bridges.As I mentioned before, I adore basslines. The second, second-and-a-half, and third verses of this song are no exception.The bridge section at 3:45 dives into an eerie atmosphere that acts as a mirror to the narrator’s soul. Nicely done. Overall, a fitting end for the album.