Homesick – Muzik Speaks

Sea Girls are a UK-based indie rock band that formed in 2015, consisting of four members: Henry Camamile (vocals and guitar), Rory Young (lead guitar), Andrew Dawson (bass) and Oli Khan (drums). Since their formation, the band have become known for their high-energy shows and big indie anthems. With a string of EPs and a debut album behind them already, 2022 sees the release of the band’s sophomore album, Homesick. Here’s what we have to say about it…

From the outset, it is clear that this band have worked hard to create an album packed with anthemic chorus and catchy hooks that are begging to be sung along to in big arenas.

Album opener, ‘Hometown’, serves as an epic introduction to the record with its euphoric, stadium-filling sound, before leading into single, ‘Sick’ – the rhythm chugs throughout, whilst vocalist, Henry Camamile, sings about all the things he’s “sick” of and how he wishes he could turn back time to when he was a child and times were more innocent.

Next is ‘Lonely’ – another big song with its eerie whistling (like something you might expect to hear in an old Spaghetti Western) and a massive chorus about the loss of an old flame.

There’s so much to love about the record, but some of the best tracks on the album include: ‘Someone’s Daughter Someone’s Son’ – a song that starts with a deep vocal before picking up the pace and launching into some serious feel-good vibes to the beat; ‘Paracetamol Blues’ with its upbeat, The Killers-esque vibes; and the incredibly danceable ‘Higher’ that features processed beats (in parts) and has a very Walk The Moon-type feel to it.

Homesick is an album that brilliantly cements Sea Girls as giants of the British indie music scene.

‘Sleeping With You’ sees Camamile singing of remembering an old love whilst sleeping with someone new, ‘Again Again’ has a big stadium feel to it and the wonderfully appreciative ‘Lucky’ looks at how “lucky” they are for the things they have in their lives and the time and place they were born into.

‘Cute Guys’ stands out (not necessarily for the right reasons) as an other-worldly song that starts with acoustic guitars, spacey-sounding synths and cracking vocals before descending into a chaotic, shouty and altogether quite horrifying track that’s so different from the rest of the record.

The album closes with the nostalgia-infused ‘Friends’ that’s calling out for members of the crowds at their live shows to put their arms around one another and embrace a shared experience.

Homesick is an album that brilliantly cements Sea Girls as giants of the British indie music scene. It’s eclectic, interesting, poetic and packed with songs that will have you coming back time and again. There are clear inspirations taken from bands before them, but they have used these influences to craft something wonderful. For those who are already fans of the band, this is going to prove a real treat to listen to. Whilst others who are new to their work, will find this a great starting point to get excited about them and is sure to have you delving into their debut album too. All I know is that it’s left me excited to see what direction they will take next.

Rating

‘Homesick’ is out now and can be downloaded from iTunes – https://music.apple.com/us/album/homesick/1579054914

Homesick on Spotify

Sick (Official Video)

Lonely (Official Video)

We hope you’ve enjoyed our review! What do you think of the band’s second album? Are you as much of a fan as us? What would you rate it out of 5? Please leave your thoughts in a comment or via our social media.

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Muzik Speaks Album Reviews

Matt – Muzik Speaks
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Doll Skin are an all-female rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, consisting of Meghan Herring (drums/co-lead vocals), Sydney Dolezal (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Nicole Rich (bass/backing vocals) and Alex Snowden (lead guitar/backing vocals). The band’s sound is a blend of punk, metal, alternative rock & pop. In April 2019, Doll Skin announced that they had signed to Hopeless Records, to release their third album, Love Is Dead And We Killed Her. Here’s what we have to say about it…

There will undoubtedly be people who will compare Doll Skin to the likes of The Donnas or other all-female punk bands but Love Is Dead And We Killed Her is possibly one of the most exciting rock records I’ve heard this year. It’s fresh, enthralling and unique.

From the anger-fuelled, scream anthem that is the opening track, ‘Don’t Cross My Path’ which sees the chanting of “This is a song for everyone I hate,” and “Throw your tantrum, meet my rage,” to the final notes of ‘Homesick’ – a track about returning home, to the people you have missed – this is a cyclical album with strong themes of karma, facing internal demons and broken relationships throughout.

There is plenty of metaphorical imagery intertwined too, such as the closing track casting thought-provoking scenes about finding peace, or single, ‘Mark My Words’, casting scenes about tattooing Sydney‘s words onto someone to tell of the hell she’s been through because of them.

It’s really hard not to write about every track for different reasons; from ‘No Fear’ with it’s captivating vocal melody and impeccably strong delivery or title track, ‘Love Is Dead And We Killed Her’, a payback track about karma catching up with their ex lover, through to ‘When They Show Their Teeth’ and its frantic drum intro with good old punk rock ‘na, na, nas’ (very much the kind of track you’d hear playing over the footage of a car chase scene with shaky camera shots, high-octane, skilled manoeuvres and even a crowd-pleasing, clap-along breakdown at the end too; there’s really a bit of something for every punk or rock music lover here.

There’s something exciting about the delivery throughout the record and a real sense of diversity in the production and tone of each track.

For me though, it’s the middle tracks of the record that really grabbed my attention. ‘Outta My Mind’ is possibly the strongest track on the record, instantly giving me goosebumps. It’s the kind of career-defining song that people come back to as a fan favourite with incredible gang vocals and and angsty but upbeat tone that is somehow also heavy at the same time.

‘Ink Stains’ has some lovely the half-time moments, a high-pitched, powerful vocal, with the cutting line, “You won’t be hearing from me any more,” and even a chaotic, half-spoken, half-sung breakdown, a bit like the one in Good Charlotte’s ‘Predictable’.

‘Nasty Man’ is a deep track, seemingly about a predatory man – someone promising a young girl what she wants and taking advantage of it, whilst ‘Your Idols Are Dying’ is an angst-ridden anthem about internal struggles, drugs and finding out that the people you admire and look up to most are not all they’re made up to be. There’s a perfect scream breakdown that goes right to the end of the track too!

‘Empty House’ is another example of a metaphorical track too, initially addressing being alone and screaming out for help, but it’s a progressive story that builds to a more positive ending, about learning to love yourself – it’s quite beautiful!

It’s actually funny how an album cover can mislead you – I wasn’t expecting to like this record quite as much as I did, based on the cover alone, but ended up thoroughly loving it. It’s a real testament to show that you shouldn’t judge an album by its cover.

Love Is Dead And We Killed Her is a truly exciting album that although wouldn’t always be my normal cup of tea, truly captivated me. There’s something exciting about the delivery throughout the record and a real sense of diversity in the production and tone of each track. Sure, there are certain elements that fall within the same vein as Paramore but they are also, so much more – it’s like they learnt to scream and got a whole bit heavier in tone.

I’m super excited to see what Doll Skin put out next, as this album is a banger, and you can bet these tracks will be incredible live!

Rating

‘Love Is Dead And We Killed Her’ is out now and can be downloaded from iTunes – https://music.apple.com/gb/album/love-is-dead-and-we-killed-her/1459583026

Love Is Dead And We Killed Her on Spotify

Mark My Words (Official Music Video)

Outta My Mind (Official Music Video)

We hope you’ve enjoyed our review! What do you think of this band’s third release? Are you as much of a fan as us? What would you rate it? Please leave your thoughts in a comment or via our social media.

Enjoyed this? Check out some of our other reviews here:

Muzik Speaks Album Reviews

Matt – Muzik Speaks
www.facebook.com/muzikspeaks
www.twitter.com/muzik_speaks

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