W: George Gray

Home Counties have delivered the latest installment in their upcoming LP HUMDRUM with the beautifully rich and angsty Meet Me In the Flat Roof, a track that you’ll find it hard not to come back too.

I mean, have you ever had a feeling or emotion overtake you completely? Something that starts gradually, growing from a heady mix of angst and anticipation before it rushes through
your body head to toe, heart in your mouth.

Well in an overly-metaphorical way - this is what Meet Me In the Flat Roof captures. A track that seems probably closest to the production roots of Al Doyle, it starts with a simplistic yet gripping synth, before slowly expanding layer by layer, with Will’s echoing vocals at its core.

Before long, an echoing and rasp of bass come emerging through, as the tension and tempo seem to simultaneously build, it feels at any moment it could crash into a burst of energy. That is until the chorus hits. The backing vocals of Lois matching the nostalgia-evoking lyrics in an instantly juxtaposing way, all of a sudden melting that anxiety into a comforting warmth.

It’s a juxtaposition that the track revolves around, with the lyrics painting the irony of seeking out ‘authentic’ experiences, all the while fuelling the gentrification that kills them.

A double edged sword that flitters from a work of love to the many flat roof pubs and their crimson carpets to a bashing self critique of realising, that self-hubris and occupation, could be the very cause of the humble locals disappearance. A fact ominously mirrored by the brooding pub pricing ad-libs, as the track bounces back into another dark rise.

It’s hard not to be drawn in by that yo-yo from uneasy build-ups to sweeping chorus of light hopefulness as a listener, yourself wondering what might come next. It feels a production ear-marked by the stylistic influence of Al Doyle, emphasised by the middle eight that Doyle pushed them to include. For good reason, as the track opens up into a panoramic release of emotion, the vocals tumbling out like words in a love letter.

You could easily compare it to a production of Doyles’ such as Flutes or a classic slow-burning LCD tune, but once again Home counties are leaving their own trademark sound.

Their distinct wit and playful energy, also jumping through in the brilliantly directed video. A concept shot around an intense-looking Boules club, with the band dodging shot after shot from a group of steely looking players. Maybe not the highest stake or tension scenario, but that just grows the feeling of irony at the song’s core, in a very entertaining way.

As the middle eight melts away the track abruptly enters its final minute, with a choral drop into the crescendo. A ratchet-like guitar riff comes growling in cranking up the angst and energy of Will’s vocals, as the band echo band behind him in an almost religious manner.

It all ends with chanting, never seen them scrap like this before…catch me dead here that’s for sure, the song suddenly flipping from nostalgia mining to an explosive cassandra-like look to the future.

It’s certainly a journey of a track, but one you just can’t turn away from, and when it finally drops you’re just left wanting more. Part of me wishes it just kept going, but being left wanting more seems apt for this track building into an explosive spurt of electro-rock, but with production this good you can’t complain. It’s that lingering feeling of what comes next that makes me so excited to see the next installment in this talented young band’s second LP.