Twelve years ago the majority of us were fiddling with Tamagotchis, wearing jean shorts, and listening to whatever was shoved down our unpretentious throats, all the while completely unaware of the high caliber music being produced around us- far away from the apparently all-encompassing shroud of MTV. During this time, a band of as many as fifteen musicians, collectively gathered under the humble moniker Homelife, were putting together truly whimsical arrangements. Years passed, and several offspring (side-projects) were birthed; Homelife disappeared for a while. Multi-instrumentalist Paddy Steer and vocalist/guitarist Anthony Burnside have always been the group's main components, and now with their triumphant return on Exotic Interlude they've become Homelife's sole contributors, while still holding true to their DIY practices.
Exotic Interlude may be your first look into the Mancunian electro-folk twosome. After reading the tags and ignoring what you've read- if anything- the next best thing is attempting to interpret the titles we have before us, however contradictory they may seem. Home-life tends to be associated with the mundane and quotidian, but that's not always the case. “Exotic,” implying something mysterious or foreign, paired with “interlude,”referring to a intervening period of time. To me, these ideas encompass Homelife as a whole–this record and those that led up to it. Burnside's impeccable vocals laid over Steer's boundless array of musical gadgets, with Hawaiian, Afro, Caribbean, and Latin patterns sewed in. The styles flow seamlessly together but remain pleasantly off-kilter throughout the album, stripping apart what we envision British indie to be.
Opener “Circles” plunges down, creating a sort of psychedelic stained glass window looking into the 1960's. Burnside's dream-like vocals along with interlocking guitars, drum kicks, tambourines, and baritone synths could send you off into a pleasant daze with its overall listlessness. “More Wine” carries on that same psychedelic vibe, but it takes a few seconds for the realization to seep in. A catchy drum line encircles the track- sounding like a manic homage to Peter Bjorn and John's “Young Folks.” Burnside's voice echoes, trailing off and sometimes over itself, weaving a bitter tale of a relationship gone awry. It seems to be a crowd favorite.
Halfway through, bags packed and plane ticket in hand, “Exotic Interlude” send you off to an all-expense-paid trip to Hawaii. It may be another chilled-out island instrumental track (which seem to be very popular lately), but a more intricate and dark rendition than you're accustomed to. In “Along The Verge,” lazy slide and guitar strums make up the foreground, while stray maraca shakes, xylophone melodies, and wistful vocals keep the Hawaiian dream alive. “Atlas” is more of the same: slide guitars on top of light beats and a bopping bass-line. Paradise is only nice for so long, it's time to fly back to reality.
The record comes to an unexpected close with “Trapdoor,” led by a swinging bass-line and drum beat.
Out-of-this-world synth collides with metal/glass/electricity, to create a kaleidoscope of noise. Fading off into to cyber-bliss, you can almost envision the house scattered with discarded makeshift instruments.
Exotic Interlude ends up on both sides of the home-life spectrum, staying roughly in the same routine throughout, but containing unexpected perks here and there that keep you keeping on. It's clear that after dropping their mini-orchestra, Homelife have essentially pared down their cultural globe-trotting, and moved on towards a more fine-tuned, basic sound, which gets better with every listen.
Track List:
1. Circles (3:50)
2. Along The Verge (4:05)
3. Sunday Streets (4:32)
4. Lincoln Square (3:15)
5. Exotic Interlude (3:04)
6. Lazy Man (3:42)
7. Everywhere (2:50)
8. More Wine (6:10)
9. Atlas (3:37)
10. Trapdoor (3:56)
