Ok, first things first people – Grown At Home are NOT a tribute band for American Pop Punk Wankers – Homegrown, they are a neat little ska band from the good old UK! There are eight members in Grown At Home – but they’re not your typical Ska-in-numbers sort of band and they sure do have a wide range of influences. With such bands mentioned as No Comply, Less Than Jake, Lightyear, and Howards Alias – and with a release recorded by the almighty Iain Wetherell who has of course worked with loveable Skacore legends Capdown, you just know that the band are going to be something special and well worth listening to.
They describe themselves as ‘Ska Core Pop Punk,’ and I suppose it is a fair description of the kind of music that they play but it probably doesn’t conjure up the right image in your head to be honest. No, they are not the offspring of Capdown and Busted – they are their own band and play their brand of Ska, and play it well they do indeed. Grown At Home are one of the most energetic bands you could possibly hope to have the pleasure of listening to – this EP is more like a gig than a CD with its energy, frantic beats, and flow. A lot of bands fail to capture the whole live experience when they make the transfer to CD, but this young band seem to have pulled it off with perfection, coming up with a truly exciting EP.
They are all very good on their instruments – and there is an ace horn section that forms the back bone of the band set up with trombone, two trumpets and a saxophone. If you have heard latter stuff by No Comply then you will understand the format of the horn section on this EP – rather than being heavy horn lines going over the top of the music, they flow with the general music of the band and work with other instruments to make them stronger rather than working alone, creating a weaker effect. There are some amazing guitar riffs, some awe inspiring bass lines, catchy drum beats, and impeccable vocal styling. Grown At Home are a band that you don’t really want to be messing with – this band are sure to go far in the scene as the music which the band create is absolutely amazing and they just have so much energy that its unbelievable. Somehow they manager to maintain this high energy throughout the whole of the EP and there is not a single moment at any point on the CD when the band are at all lacking in momentum and flow.
If I was to pick a favourite track off this CD then it would probably have to be ‘Captain Stabbin’ or opening track ‘One up’ as I just think that both of these tracks convey immense energy and really help to create this EP what it is – an uplifting mix of Ska and Punk played at a good, strong pace with mega energy throughout. If you are a fan of Ska Core, or anything remotely Punk related then the chances are that you are going to like Grown At Home because they really are a terrific Punk band making remarkable music.
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UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
