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Prior outings on Total Punk and their own Market Square imprint posited The Suburban Homes as torchbearers of classic-form UK punk & DIY, efficiently launching sharp shocks in the spirit of SWELL MAPS and DESPERATE BICYCLES at today’s less economic and terribly busy punk forms. The lot’s accusive and anarchic sound snaps further toward pop on Magazine Version, their latest small-dose offering. A considerable part of The Homes’ wonder lies in their knack for making the familiar sound fresh, jutting the foundational chatter and unrest of their influences up against the exasperations of the modern day. This approach sparks the current running throughout this EP, roused most via the title-track, where today’s proclivity toward pre-packaged easiness is gnashed apart, exposing the lazy and lame core of consumer culture. Vitriolic enough, dear mates??? You’re all about this. You’re all about that. But what it’s really all about is fuck all. Hear The Suburban Homes now or lead a terminally gutted existence. The choice is yours, as if you had one. - Mitch Cardwell
Our take: So, when you saw the title of this record you probably thought to yourself “wait, I’m sure I have more than two other Suburban Homes records in my collection.” You’re right. EP3 is Suburban Homes fifth release to hit the shelves. In the Red was supposed to release the EP, but several years of production delays and a switch to a new label put everything out of whack. The sound here is what we expect from Suburban Homes. They sound a lot like Desperate Bicycles with their deadpan vocals and gloomy, late-70s-Britain atmosphere, but their lyrics address the brutal mundanities of 2010s life. Their sound (like late 70s Britain) can be monochromatic, so my favorite moments in Suburban Homes songs come when you get a sudden burst of color, which comes in forms like a chiming, Billy Childish-style guitar solo (like in “Magazine Version” and “City Life”) or an unexpected overdub of noise guitar (“Corporate Hijack”). Suburban Homes’ flash factor hovers around zero, but I’ve always loved punk rock that has this unpretentious, workmanlike quality. Each new Suburban Homes record is a pleasure, and EP3 is no different.