Homebound | Interview

Last week, Homebound released their new EP, Permanence, which is the second release in the band's repertoire. Alongside the release, the band finished up their UK tour with Six Time Champion. Vocalist, Charlie Boughton, kindly answered some questions for us about the new EP, the UK tour and Homebound's plans for the rest if the summer...

HOW ARE YOU GUYS AND HOW HAS THE TOUR BEEN GOING?

We’re good, this tour has been way too fun! We’ve had the best company in the form of Six Time Champion and These Minds which always makes touring SO much better. We’ve got to play shows in lots of new and familiar places which are both good in equal measure. Definitely the best tour we’ve been a part of. 

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE DATE OF THE TOUR AND WHY?

Bristol was fun, we’ve always had a good time there and it didn’t disappoint this time either. I mean, who would’ve thought we’d have a push pit in our set? Although, I’m gonna say London was my favourite. Seeing kids give a shit about your band is what it’s all about. Shout out to the American dude making the most of his time in the UK to come and see us! It was a great way to end the tour.

YOU'VE JUST RELEASED YOUR NEW EP PERMANENCE, TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT...

It relates a lot to the feeling that everything around you is changing while your still the same person struggling to kick start your life. There’s that fear that the same opportunities aren’t coming for you as they are for others and being left behind, only making you doubt yourself and every decision you make. I think these are sentiments that a lot of people can relate to at some point in their own life and situation. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TRACK FROM PERMANENCE AND WHY?

I like them all for different reasons! Probably Blossom? I think it shows the most progression musically from our last release. Lyrically, Cave In captures the essence of the EP and ends the record on a positive message…So maybe Cave In. I’m very indecisive, I’m sorry.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE ARTWORK FOR PERMANENCE? 

All credit goes to Jordan Pryke for this one as he absolutely nailed it. We gave him a pretty brief outline of the meaning behind ‘Permanence’, mainly highlighting the feelings of being left behind and struggling to break out of the rut we get ourselves into which he quite literally captured. We as a band like interesting artwork and all the fine details put into it that you don’t always notice on first look. We couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.  

WHO ARE YOUR GUYS' FAVOURITE UK POP PUNK BANDS?

Boston Manor are firm favourites of ours, they’re good guys too. Six Time Champion, Ca$h Boat ROAM, These Minds, WSTR, Best Years. Too many to name these days which just shows you the strength in depth the UK scene has right now.

IF YOU COULD PLAY A SHOW WITH ANY BAND WHO WOULD IT BE?

I think we’d all have a different answer but there’s a few we’re bound to agree on. Blink and Sum 41 are no brainers. Might be a weird show but Limp Bizkit would also be sick. 

WHAT ARE HOMEBOUND'S PLANS AFTER THE RELEASE OF PERMANENCE AND THE UK TOUR?

More touring hopefully! We’re dead happy with these tracks and just wanna keep playing them to as many new and familiar faces. We’ve started writing a few bits here and there as we don’t want to wait another year before releasing something new if we can help it.

Permanence is out now. Check out the video for Worthwhile below: 



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Homebound - Coming of Age - Artwork Feature

South East pop-punk quintet
Homebound have spent a year 
behind closed doors, writing, writing and writing some more, until they were ready to share their infectious fruits with the world. The result is their 6-track debut EP ‘Coming Of Age’, complete with hook laden vocal lines aren’t without substance and context: “The lyrics deal with that time in life when you start having to make decisions regarding your ‘future’” states vocalist Charlie. Here the band talk us through the process behind creating the artwork for the release…

“When it came to the artwork for the EP, none of us had any idea of what we wanted it to look like. It had to be original and something different; something you might not necessarily expect from a Pop Punk band. We came across Joe at LookHappy Design and explained the EP concept. With his mind being ten times as creative as ours, he managed to draft all sorts of awesome ideas until we decided on this one, which we felt depicted the EP and everything it stood for perfectly. That is, the fear of stepping out into the unknown, filled with a sense of danger and wildness, then having to choose a path to follow. It really grasps the feeling and sentiments we shared as a band and we couldn’t have been happier with the outcome.”

Pick up Coming of Age for free here.

Homebound Coming of Age Review

Homebound have spent a year writing the songs which make up their debut EP 'Coming of Age'. The EP consists of songs penned about regret, learning from past experience and just growing up in general. The outcome has resulted in an excellent EP that is an impressive first release from the band.
Valor is a striking start to 'Coming of Age'. Although it's only a minute and a half long, it delivers a bold kick off for the EP. The second track,Turning Point, is an fun and upbeat track with an infectious verse and chorus. The drum beat alone is enough to get you on your feet and sing along.
High Ground is a dynamic mix of energy and vehement vocals. Throughout the whole EP the vocals are strong and vigorous, allowing the listener to really grasp the message of the song and nowhere is this more true than in High Ground, a song about learning from past experience and conflicting interests. 
The fourth track, Clutching Straws, is a return to an old school style. The band admit that the riff after the chorus pays homage to Blink 182 and it definitely suites them. The song is vivacious and buoyant, resulting in an upbeat track about not giving up on something you're passionate about. 
Again, Second Best and No Regret displays ardent vocals, prominent guitar and lively drums. The band state that this is the song they are most proud of and they definitely should be as you'll be singing the lyrics all day. 
Coming of Age, the title track, displays a catchy riff that leaves the song engraved on your memory. The song changes pace throughout and has an impressive build up before the chorus comes storming in. The track conveys a message that most of us can relate to; not knowing where to go in life, living up to expectations and choosing your own path. 
Overall Homebound's concoction of heartfelt lyrics, catchy riffs and dynamic drums makes for a brilliant first release. It's clear the band have put a lot of thought and effort into 'Coming of Age' and if you're a fan of ROAM or Handguns you should definitely pick this up on July 21st.   
Check out the meaning behind Homebound's songs here.

Homebound - Coming of Age - Track by Track Guide

South East pop-punk quintet Homebound have spent a year behind closed doors, writing, 

writing and writing some more, until they were ready to share their infectious fruits with the 

world. The result is their 6-track debut EP ‘Coming Of Age’, complete with hook laden vocal lines aren’t without substance and context: “The lyrics deal with that time in life when you start having to make decisions regarding your ‘future’” states vocalist Charlie. Here he delves further into the thought processes and meanings behind the tracks of ‘Coming Of Age’… 

Valour: After what was originally a full four minute song, we condensed it down to be the perfect intro track for our EP. It reveals feelings of regret and self-pity at a time I didn’t feel I had much to shout about. I knew it was the start of a long year and that I wasn’t gonna get through it like this. Sometimes you have to keep a level head and believe that things will turn out for the best. 

Turning Point: It was also the first song we recorded up at Emeline Studios with Ian. We had only really played this song as a full band 3 or 4 times before going to record so we were surprised with how good the outcome was! Lyrically, it is quite aggressive. It’s a build-up of feelings over time that at some point were going to boil over. Sometimes you have to take a step back and see that things aren’t gonna work if they keep going the way they are. Some people might find comfort in this song about a girlfriend or a boyfriend but that is not what I wrote it about! 

High Ground: High Ground was the first song idea conceived for this EP and has undergone many changes. If you listened to the early demos of this song you would be surprised with how different the final outcome is. We all look to learn from previous experiences and use these to help make better choices in the future. This song shows my sporadic thought process. The up and down feelings you have, the overthinking of situations and the conflicting interests. 

Clutching Straws: We wanted to write a simple verse chorus structured song. It’s one of the more ‘old school’ sounding songs on the EP. The riff played after the chorus is reminiscent of Blink 182 as a form of homage; a way to show our appreciation for their music. It’s about not giving up on something you feel passionately about however improbable it seems. There will always be setbacks and people will tell you to think otherwise but sometimes you’ve got to be gutsy and do what’s right for you. We wanted an upbeat and positive song on the EP and I think lyrically and instrumentally, that’s demonstrated in this song. 

Second Best & No Regrets: As a band this is definitely the song that we are most proud of. It’s another song that went through a multitude of changes. Vocal parts were completely rewritten and the drum parts dramatically changed. It took a while for us to get a solid version of this song down for the studio but on the day it came out better than we could ever have expected. We all have different things going on in our lives, some more important than others. You may have to make sacrifices for what means more to you and that’s what this song is about. I found myself in this position and took a matter of fact view on it. 

Coming of Age: This song was a very late addition to the EP. We started improvising together at a practice and realised what we were playing was worth something. We managed to completely write the song only a few weeks before we hit the studio and it turned out to be one of our favourites. With this being the EP track title, you can already guess it has the most relevance to the EP and its meaning. I think like most people my age, I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life. I didn't even know where to start looking with the all the endless possibilities. I think the freedom of it all scared me the most. So this song explains how I came to terms with it all. 

Coming of Age if released July 21st 2014

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