One has to admire the tenacity and near belligerence of the current generation of alternative rock stars.
Such is the frequency with which it occurs, it’s barely even worth acknowledging how many artists are either dropped by their label (major or indie, though primarily the latter) or opt to take a DIY approach for various other reasons.
Immense kudos to those who dare. As you’ll have read, the music industry is in a pretty bad spot at the moment, so it would be hard to deride those who have opted out for a more stable income.
It’s even more impressive to read about an artist who instead steps away from the label voluntarily and then goes on to record, produce and release an album, throwing in an accompanying clothing line for good measure. Step forward Du Blonde.
While this may be the official second album from Du Blonde, the architect (Beth Jeans Houghton) has been around for a decade-and-a-half so has surely picked up some tips along the way which have stood her in good stead.
But where 2019’s Lung Bread For Daddy had grunge riffs and riot grrl attitude in abundance, Homecoming garnishes the garage grunge with melodic sweetness.
Pull The Plug opens with a charming belch before cavorting off to become a marauding but concise rocker, with power chords and catchy hooks galore.
Yet the belch is the benchmark; there’s going to be no shortage of sneering but playful punk-pop, and that’s your first salvo. The playfulness is ratcheted up a notch on Smoking Me Out, with a bellowing, near parodic deep voice the likes of which are found in sci-fi B-movies, amidst a fuzzy combination of punk and theatre.
Houghton has also been able to add an impressive roll-call of guest appearances: self-proclaimed feminist punks The Farting Suffragettes provide backing vocals on the rollicking I Can’t Help You There, but can’t upstage Houghton in full nonchalantly insolent mode.
The insanely catchy I’m Glad That We Broke Up features a guest appearance by Ezra Furman but he too gets sidelined by the drawling, Ziggy Stardust-cribbing riff and the shining glam-punk atmospherics.
Andy Bell, formerly of Oasis and Beady Eye, brings his experience and pace to the flag-waving All The Way, but more importantly brings his own pace. While much else on the album has fast or snappy melodies, proceedings are slowed right down for the comparatively epic and anthemic track.
Best of all is the appearance of one of Houghton’s spiritual forebears, Shirley Manson of Garbage. Medicated is a slice of heat-hazed peak-Pixies which crunches accordingly while lyrically empathising with mental health sufferers. There aren’t a huge amount of troughs on Homecoming, but Medicated is definitely one of the peaks.
For all the star names involved, Houghton is always front and centre. Whereas across the rest of the album she’s on bullish and fighting form, on the delicate Take Me Away she reveals a more fragile side of her character, complete with haunted vocals.
The song itself is slightly plodding, but that’s more down to its length (at nearly four minutes, it’s the longest song on the album) in comparison to the brief bursts of riotous excitement that have gone before it.
At less than half-an-hour, Homecoming wastes no time in entrenching itself into the psyche. As strong as the melodies are, often than not Houghton’s actual lyrics are buried in the mix and effects, which can be frustrating when the lyrics are as resonant and important as on Medicated.
But ultimately, while it may take a few listen to extract the quality from the bombast, it’s worth the effort.
