Home Counties

"Fabulous stuff"
Elton John

"Home Counties are set to be the hottest new indie dance act"
Rough Trade

"A post-punk mirror maze of electronics"
Jack Saunders - BBC Radio 1

"Synth laden, sardonic, politically-charged and fizzing with rhythm"
The Line Of Best Fit

Today, Home Counties release new single "You Break It, You Bought It", the latest taster of the band's highly anticipated debut album 'Exactly As It Seems', out 3rd May 2024 via Submarine Cat Records. "You Break It, You Bought It' follows last month's "Uptight" - described by BBC Radio 1's Jack Saunders as "a post-punk mirror maze of electronics", along with previous album tasters - the expansive, shape-shifting "Wild Guess" and their glitchy ode to east London "Bethnal Green".

A staple of the band's live show since 2022 and already a firm fan-favourite, on new single "You Break It, You Bought It" vocalist Lois Kelly's sharp-witted quips on the state of renting in London ["lynching landlords in my dreams"] dart between intricate, zesty guitar work and funk-laced bass lines, further expanding on the band's hook-filled, grin-inducing dance-punk. "You Break It, You Bought It" is accompanied by an animated visualiser created by Theo Polyzoides (King Nun).

Speaking more on "You Break It, You Bought It", vocalist/guitarist Will Harrison said: 

"Having lived for years in shoddy flats, and having recently moved to the extortionately priced area of East London, we focused on our experience of renting. The song talks about landlords’ refusal to improve conditions for their tenants and their eagerness to evict anyone threatening high profit margins. In response, it encourages petty actions as if revolutionary behaviour: lose your keys, make blu tack stains, refuse to use coasters, don’t empty the toaster tray. In this way, it reflects the shift in lyricism on this album away from detached political commentary to using more mundane lived experiences of daily life, whilst still reflecting upon wider social issues."

––
 

When disenchantment runs high, when city life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be — when you’re forking out seven quid for a pint, shivering in a queue for a club night you don’t really care about, getting ripped off by landlords over blu tac stains, and squeezing in studio sessions around a relentless 9-5 schedule, there is only one logical response: fun.

Produced in its entirety by the band’s guitarist Conor Kearney, the band recorded ‘Exactly As It Seems’ in a small studio in Hackney where they convened every evening after work for months on end, “all six of us crowded in like sardines”, as vocalist and guitarist Will Harrison recalls.

The resulting body of work – mixed by the renowned Andy Savours (Black Country New Road, Róisín Murphy, The Kills) – dutifully captures the band’s rapturous live performances; a fizzing display of eclecticism all with a focus on melody in its purest form. Home Counties have always excelled at poking at life’s mundanities, but this time they supply the humdrum with some enormous pop hooks.

Drawing on a swathe of broad-ranging influences, early 2000s pop, the “dopamine overload” of Confidence Man’s live shows, to LCD Soundsystem, The Slits, and the nuanced art-rock of ‘Remain In Light’/’Speaking In Tongues’-era Talking Heads; on ‘Exactly As It Seems’, Home Counties unanimously lean into a fun, exploratory way of thinking.

Thematically, meanwhile, the album traverses the ups and downs of London life in your late twenties. 
“The album is about moving to London and the experiences of that,” notes Will. “It’s an album about despair at your current financial prospects, feeling guilty about your role in gentrification, being overwhelmed by consumer choice, and disintegrating friendships.” 

Laments on renting and how rubbish landlords are ["You Break It, You Bought It"], turning 25 and not wanting to go clubbing ["Uptight"] and fear of social isolation in old-age ["Wild Guess"] – Home Counties always manage to balance the duality of lyrical frankness and musical buoyancy with gusto.

––

Having firmly established themselves as one of the UK's most vital alternative bands with their two acclaimed EPs 'Redevelopment' and 'In A Middle English Town' and double A-side single "Modern Yuppies" / "White Shirt Clean Shirt" - Home Counties have played host to notable sold out headline shows at venues including the 100 Club and The Lexington, as well as embarking on nationwide support tours with Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, FEET, Courting and bdrmm, adding to further appearances alongside shame, Sports Team, Pip Blom and more.

Home Counties have received widespread radio support from Elton John (Apple 1) Jack Saunders, Sian Eleri, Huw Stephens (BBC Radio 1), Steve Lamacq, Amy Lame, Tom Robinson, Radcliffe & Maconie (BBC 6 Music) along with key press tips from Loud & Quiet, The Sunday Times, NME, So Young Magazine, The Line Of Best Fit, DIY Magazine, Rough Trade, Gigwise, The i, Dork Magazine, Clash Magazine and more.

Home Counties' debut album 'Exactly As It Seems' is out 3rd May 2024 via Submarine Cat Records. New single "You Break It, You Bought It" is out now. Home Counties embark on a UK headline tour in support of 'Exactly As It Seems' this May, with further festival appearances confirmed at The Great Escape, Deer Shed, Dot To Dot, FOCUS Wales, Are You Listening, with more yet to be announced.

Home Counties are: Will Harrison (vocals/guitar/keys), Lois Kelly (vocals/keys), Conor Kearney (guitar/vocals), Dan Hearn (drums), Barn Peiser Pepin (synth/percussion/guitar/vocals) and Bill Griffin (bass/vocals).

More Praise for Home Counties

“Whirring splendidly like the manic mastery of a Devo Sonic-Screwdriver"
So Young Magazine

“Ramshackle guitars dance around a series of weird and wonderful noises"
DIY Magazine

"The Elton John-backed six-piece pair black-as-night lyrics with a sprightly bossa nova rhythm, the contrast twisting the knife"
The Sunday Times

“Danceable post-punk, agitated guitars, prominent baselines and political lyricism”
Gigwise

"Home Counties perfectly capture a ‘dissatisfied and nihilistic youth"
The Rodeo

"Pair dark irony with synth-infused punk... Home Counties are a band with something to say"
Dork Magazine

"Home Counties are one of the most exciting new bands in the UK scene right now"
Clash Magazine

"Home Counties squirm, writhe and wiggle their way through undulating soundscapes that take in the quirkier aspects of indie, electronica, pop and post-punk"
Northern Transmissions