In the three months or so Punktastic has been listening to CAVES‘ debut album, the Bristol trio has been on a full UK tour, released a split 7” with Sundials and are now preparing for a trip to Florida and a performance at Fest. An apology then to the band: sorry for being so slack whilst you’ve been working your tails off.
Having received a fair whack of plaudits for their earlier releases, ‘Homeward Bound’ sees the band continue on a path to success, or it should at least. The 13-track album offers a brand of melodic, indie pop-punk that is raw to the core, smudged around the edges, and lo-fi serious.
Sounding like it’s been recording in the bedroom or in a live environment, there’s a raw impassioned feel to the record. Some of the cymbals and hi-hats seem quite high in the mix, which adds a somewhat distorted feeling to proceedings. The vocals are unique, and take a little tuning into. It’s certainly not your smoothed out sound. Comparisons to Lemuria are probably fair, but only if that band was less polished and shiny.
Ultimately, ‘Homeward Bound’ is a very good listen, with the title track and ‘Water Wings’ standing out amongst the up-tempo numbers, and ‘Bad Weather’ offering a contrasting acoustic number that resonates across like a cave, if you’ll excuse the pun. It’s a thinking person’s record that would suit those that enjoy the likes of Great Cynics, Crazy Arm, and The Arteries, not because they all sound the same but because it has that type of individualism to it.
ALEX HAMBLETON