Photo by Matthew Kadi

The Edmonton pop-punk band Home Front released their sophomore album, ‘Watch it die’, which is an exploration of mortality, but not just the idea of dying as a person, although that is in here. It’s about all sorts of death, between the dying city mentioned in ‘For the Children (F*ck all)’ to a dying childhood in ‘The Vanishing’  this album talks about these themes incredibly well starting from the first song. Which makes me wonder if their 80’s sound is playing into that theme.

Watch it die:
The intro to the song was a wonderful build up to the rest of it and likewise, this song was a wonderful buildup to the rest of the songs. Setting up this album’s themes of mortality right off the back.

New Madness:
The ghostly synth is really the star of the track in the verses, the drums are super heavy in this song, and the guitar screams at you louder than the actual screams in the song. And yet, it works so well to create one of the punkiest tracks on the album. However the lyrics are the weakest here, especially when they contrast the line “like something’s always missing” with “Something’s missing always”.

Light Sleeper:
This is the song that I can see people cringing at the lyrics the most, as the first line is literally “a piece of my spirit dies everyday”. I do find the delivery stops this from being as cringy as it would be, as its fast pace guitar and bass outruns it. It’s overall a more hopeful song than that first lyric implies, ending with the line “Don’t ever think you have to live alone.”

Between the waves:
The lyrics are drowned out here which honestly sucks because I find the intermentals need them badly as they are comparatively simple. It sounds like a background song in a movie. It’s still a good song, just not my favourite on the album.

Eulogy:
This is the most explicit song about death. I find the lyrics being on the nose good here because it feels less like the singer isn’t beating you over the head with the message and rather pouring out their heart, especially when it gets to the last verse where they describe their grief. I do find the intermentals a little lacking compared to the others.

The Vanishing:
Now this one hits hard for me. It’s a song about giving up your adolescence. The music here is dreamy as it establishes the contrast between late nights doing legally dubious things as a teenager to working a 9-5 as an adult. If anyone is like me and longing for the days where studies didn’t make you turn down plans, this song will scratch that itch. It also has a higher emphasis on Edmonton referencing the north saskatchewan river and the high level bridge.

For the Children (F*ck All):
This song is more punk than pop. The band takes a look at the issue of homelessness via the hell that is the housing market and how cops treat it as a crime. It’s a rallying call for those that feel like “fuck all is all that’s left for us”. The instrumentals really help support the message, without overshadowing it. It’s hard not to see why they are upset with this, especially with how homelessness is treated in Edmonton.

Kiss The Sky:
This is one of those songs that you don’t really realize its deeper meaning until you actually listen to it. The song talks about the struggle to succeed in a world where no one cares about anything unless it makes money. All while a near-perfect replica of some damn good 80’s dance music plays.

Always This Way:
This is the most boring song on the album in my opinion. It’s fine but it feels like filler, and I feel like anyone could make this song. The only reason I can tell it’s Home Front is its use of synth.

Dancing With Anxiety:
This song is messy in the best way possible. The use of distortion on the vocals and the drums with the synth makes the whole song feel ethereal, and the guitar grounds it in reality. It’s a lot without being too much, this is my favourite on the album. The perfect mix of punk and 80’s pop.

Young Offender:
This feels like a different version of ‘New Madness’, but the synth moves to the chorus instead of the verses. The vocalist is putting on a deeper voice than normal, which separates it from the other songs, but it feels so forced. It honestly drags it down as the instrumentals would be so much better with his natural voice or the screaming in ‘New Madness’.

Empire:
The final song on the album, and also the longest, calmest and most hopeful one. There are rarely any songs I can say are good endings to albums, and I’m happy this is one. Like ‘Light Sleeper’, it contrasts the lyrics of society collapsing with the line “the sun never sets on us”. All while the guitar, synth and even the drums melt into each other as it ends.