While I am no great fan of pop punk Home Wrecked’s take on the style had me converted. Ben Hinchliffe (drummer in the band) said about this EP that
“I guess our main aim was to just try to write an EP which we all love. We are all into similar bands and music, but at the same time have a lot of different influences. We tried to use this to maybe step a little outside of the typical pop punk style of songs, and maybe a little out of our comfort zone”
and even a cursory listen is going to show that there’s nothing run of the mill about the tracks on the EP.
The EP opener ‘Moving Day’ while obviously rooted in pop punk has these wonderful touches of subtlety that had me hooked. Yep it rocks out but there are these moments where there are clever drums, where suddenly it’s 80’s metal, and where there is this almost funk guitar.
‘Back On The Grid’ is, as far as my limited knowledge can tell, mainly pop punk through and through. Except that there’s this bit where suddenly it goes all indie pop. Sounds like it shouldn’t work but it does people. It’s one of those ‘I really like this, but I haven’t the faintest exactly why I like it, I just do’ things.
The next track up I do know why I really like it. ‘Nothing Like You’ startled me, to be honest it somewhat slightly freaked me out. It’s this rather delicate ballad. One that at times sounds rather country influenced. The song features guest vocals from Christina Rotondo – and boy can she really sing. And it works, it works fantastically. I have grown rather attached to this track, it’s wormed its way into my head. From the rather wonderful guitar intro to the surprisingly heartfelt vocals from Joe, this song is moving. And the parts where Joe and Christina share and swap vocal lines, bloody hell, they work so so well. And the words are great, take some time to really listen.
‘Red Card’ had me guessing, it starts like some US hair metal track (look I rather liked some hair metal back in the day, so this isn’t a bad thing) but it changes into this frankly kick ass pop punk track. And it’s heavy, it has an edge. And listen carefully, there’s all sorts of clever guitar touches.
Quite what the fuck guys ‘Stepping Stone’ has this out and out metal intro. There’s nothing predictable about this track, this thing changes and changes and changes again, there are killer riffs to die for. It even has this rather clever quiet section. Love this track.
The thing with reviewing stuff is that sometimes you find yourself liking stuff you might have passed by because you just don’t like the sort of music the band says it plays. Home Wrecked have me converted to their brand of pop punk, nice one guys.
The info
‘Try What You Want, Just Make Sure It Works’ is the second EP from Sheffield pop punks Home Wrecked following 2016’s debut EP ‘When All Goes Wrong’
Home Wrecked are
Joe Daniels – Vocals
Alastair Murphy – Guitar
Richard Copley – Guitar
Dan Peddis – Bass
Ben Hinchliffe – Drums
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HomeWreckedUK/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/homewreckedband
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homewreckedband/
Website: https://www.homewreckedband.com
