Homesick, The
What's Up With All These Shangri-las
The Homesick's Jaap van der Velde, Elias Elgersma and Erik Woudwijkt masterfully blend styles like post-punk, krautrock, new wave, and experimental pop with a fearless curiosity and abandon. Dogma-eschewing yet restlessly romantic, THE HOMESICK have reinvented themselves several albums over; from the rousing debut LP Youth Hunt to the more baroque-inspired Sub Pop-released breakthrough LP The Big Exercise. On the post-pandemic, independently released third LP The Homesick, the trio melted down their wide net of references into something more sleek and pulse-driven. Now, on the trio's fourth album and first via Siluh Records, The Homesick have forged their own highly inventive, and ceaselessly fun version of club music in the span of 10 tracks, creating an infectious continuity between tracks, hopping between the catchy city pop-inspired lead single "Esperanto", the 808 heartbreak of "Policelessness" and the fairy dust disco of "The Bees". To achieve this functional-yet-fantastical dance odyssey, The Homesick entrusted a fourth set of ears to streamline things. Amsterdam-based producer and artist Rimer London, a key figure in both mainstream and underground circles, put his own nitty gritty, pop-leaning touch to the material after the trio was done tinkering in the lab. This fresh surge of creative energy helped The Homesick reach some pop-leaning north stars in the sultry "Love off the Leash" and the wistful West Coast pop of "Hey". By hanging their hat more on clubby 80s inspired sounds over the discordant post-punk of yesteryear, the trio often found themselves carried away in the incessant snowballing of ideas, like on the chugging electro-pop of "Sway the Needy". In the end, the intent was to give each track its own unique sonic characteristics: "Humdrum" dares to rub elbows with vintage Talking Heads, whereas the frantic dub of "Street Cyst" uncorks into some compulsive hyperpop flirtations. The Homesick's reputation as mavericks remains intact with the exhilarating synth pop march of "Horse Alone". And be sure, there's even more eclectic grandezza to be experienced on this album. Let The Homesick soundtrack your open questions, it's rewarding fun.