Review Summary: Sexual tension and repetitive foreplay
Social media really makes the music industry rather interesting nowadays. A few months ago, I stumbled upon this band that was getting a little bit of buzz across TikTok. The Home Team’s lead single “Loud” was catching people’s attention with its catchy rhythm, powerful vocals, and sexy (?) lyrics. I was surprised to find that this band already had an established discography, with
Slow Bloom being a rather solid effort. It was safe to say I was pretty excited to see what this group had in store with
The Crucible of Life... but that didn’t really last.
Before I get into it, I do need to acknowledge that The Home Team is a talented band. They’ve really cracked the code with their catchy heavy pop rock style that dips a bit into the groove side of swancore. The lead vocalist has some powerful pipes and does some pretty cool runs across the entire record. The guitars and bass really lay down the groove and provide some great leads while the drums pull their weight providing the framework for the entire instrumentation. However, talented musicianship can only go so far - and that’s where
The Crucible of Life falls apart. Opener “Turn You Off” really shows off all the strengths of the band with their undeniably earworm-y instrumentation that gets you moving and sets the stage. Then “Brag” continues the album and it feels almost the exact same, and that unfortunately rings true for the majority of the album. Aside from the post-hardcore focused “Somebody Else’s Face” and the slow burning ballad “Walk This World With Me,” The Home Team remains in their comfort zone, hitting the autopilot with a consistent drum pattern, rhythmic guitar groove, and even nearly-identical vocal melodies.
However, while the monotonous songwriting is mostly inoffensive, the lyrics are where the band simply gives up. Like I said before, this band got some TikTok traction a few months ago, and that was mostly because of their sensuous and scandalous lyrics. Throughout
The Crucible of Life, the entire thematic focus revolves around love, lust, and hopeless romantics, and not in the poetic manner. Whether it’s talking about not being able to find out how to get their lover off in “Turn You Off” or telling their lover that it’s okay to be loud when they
are getting off in “Loud,” the lyrical content reads more like a horny teenager’s diary than an established band’s writing.
Sure,
The Crucible of Life is catchy, and you will find yourself bopping to some of the grooves on the record, but it’s surface level at best. As long as you don’t read too much into the lyrics or the repetitive songwriting, you might find The Home Team somewhat entertaining. However, the monotony and horniness (a truly wild combo) is too difficult to look past. There is no doubt that the band’s music will get some traction across social media - and I congratulate them for their success, but
The Crucible of Life fails to truly stand out and make an impact.
