I first discovered Glasgow’s Homework last year whilst looking for bands to play an all-day line-up I was helping pouty together. I can’t remember how I found them, but they immediately grabbed my attention. They ticked so many of my boxes, fitting right in with the classic Scottish indie bands like Teenage Fanclub and Urusei Yatsura, and the lo-fi sounds of Pavement.
Bang Here If Stuck is their debut album, follows on from a handful of single releases and more than lives up to their early promise. At 42 minutes across 12 songs it is a nicely paced record that manages to balance variety with cohesion. That variety comes in part from having two lead singer/songwriters, Michael Newton and Santiago Taberna, trading tracks on the album. There is a distinct flavour to their respective songs, but they sit so well against each other. From the opener Heroes Welcome we know we’re in for a ragged good time.
Some of the songs hit home immediately, like single Made, and others take some time to build before taking flight, like Trivial. It is a well sequenced record and avoids front loading too much. In fact a lot of the albums charms come in the second half, right up to the aptly named Ending Song.
I mentioned Pavement in my intro, and they are clearest influence on this album. And for fans of that band, a band who haven’t recorded a new song for 28 years, that is good news. Only on Hedge Your Bets does the influence lean a little too close to mimicry but, as with so many of their songs, the twists and turns through the 4 minute runtime save it from being a pastiche. And when you clearly love your influences as much as Homework do, then a loving homage is no bad thing.
This is one of those albums that grows with each listen. I’ve been lucky enough to have access to the album for several weeks prior to reviewing, and so many songs feel liked I’ve known them for years. In the world of “content” and drip feeding tracks, an album that is a grower might be anachronistic, but there are so many rewards for a listener with patience.
9/10
By Dorian Rogers
You can find the album on all the streaming services or pick up a copy from the band’s Bandcamp page.
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